Introduction to Single-Sign-On (SSO) and SAML Follow

What is single sign-on?

• Single sign-on (SSO) is an authentication method that enables users to securely authenticate with multiple applications and websites by using just one set of credentials.

How does SSO work?

• SSO works based upon a trust relationship set up between an application, known as the service provider (Like Salesmate), and an identity provider (Like Okta, OneLogin, Azure Active Directory, or Google). This trust relationship is often based upon a certificate that is exchanged between the identity provider and the service provider. This certificate can be used to sign identity information that is being sent from the identity provider to the service provider so that the service provider knows it is coming from a trusted source. In SSO, this identity data takes the form of tokens which contain identifying bits of information about the user like a user’s email address or username.

What is SAML?

• It stands for Security Assertion Markup Language. SAML is a standard protocol used by web browsers to enable Single Sign-On (SSO) through secure tokens. The great thing about SAML is it eliminates the need for passwords. It does so by using standard cryptography and digital signatures to pass a secure sign-in token from an identity provider to a SaaS application.