Want to reduce interactive user authentication in your application(s), yet still deliver a safe and secure experience? Provide your customers with a single User Profile, no matter how they login? If something like this is what you’re looking for, then Single Sign On (a.k.a. SSO) is probably what you need!
User Authentication
User Authentication is the process of identifying a user to your application, in order to secure access to the features it provides. You can learn more about it here. But even if your application doesn’t require secure access, implementing User Authentication can still enable you to provide your users with a consistent profile context which they can take with them no matter how they login.
The Classic Approach
When it comes to performing authentication of your users, the classic approach is often the one that’s often used: collect the user credentials in the application – typically a UserID and a Password – verify them, and you’re good to go. It’s something that almost every application builder has implemented themselves at some point in their career.
A Centralized Alternative
But what if you have multiple applications? Or a user has multiple identities? What if you need to support external Social or Enterprise identity providers, such as Google, LinkedIn or X (formerly Twitter), where user authentication is handled by a 3rd party? How about adding support for MFA? And what about supporting Passwordless workflows that do away with passwords altogether?
Reduce interactive user authentication
By deferring to a centralised service – typically an IdP – SSO allows the process of user authentication to be handled in one place. One place with which to integrate; one place to QA and test. One place to manage all aspects of production deployment, and one place to add new features and functionality.
Reduce first-factor friction
However, that’s not all. SSO significantly reduces first-factor interactive authentication, by mitigating the need for a user to constantly supply credentials. It’s a win-win situation: less user friction means better adoption in your application.
Deliver user profile consistency
By leveraging a centralised IdP, steps can be taken to ensure that user profile information returned as part of successful authentication is consistent, no matter how customers login to your application(s). If you’ve ever used an application where your user profile – including your user preferences – seem to change depending on how you login, then you’ll know exactly how infuriating that can be!
Build it yourself?
You could build support in-house, yourself. That’s true. Click on the image to read more about doing just that, and watch my related webinar recording here. If your team has the resources, time, capacity, knowledge, and expertise in developing SSO; deploying Attack Protection; leveraging OIDC and/or SAML for Authentication, Social and/or Enterprise Federation; implementing Passwordless and/or MFA, and/or (optionally) OAuth 2.0 for API Authorization – then it’s definitely an option. But what if there was a better way?
Meet Universal Login
Say hello to Auth0 Universal Login! Universal Login allows you to create a fully customized SSO authentication experience at the push of a button. One that can be shared across all your applications too! Integrating Universal Login into your application login workflow also provides seamless access to all of the additional capabilities supported by the Auth0 platform – such as providing a consistent and reliable User Profile for each of your customers.
Account Linking
Link one or more account for the a user to create a single User Profile. Account Linking ensures that no matter how your customers login, their information and their preferences always remains the same.
Extensibility
Customize identity flows with visual drag and drop Actions to build functionality that will address your unique requirements.
Integrate with ease
With a variety of out-of-box options provided by a wide range of SDKs, you can build an initial integration with Auth0, written in any programming language and supporting any technology stack, in a matter of hours. Click on the image to visit the Auth0 SDK website and discover how to integrate with ease.
Log In. Just Once.
Universal Login provides a seamless authentication experience as your users navigate through your applications. It works by leveraging Auth0 as the central IdP – which all applications trust and leverage, typically via the Browser. When a user goes to login for the first time, a successful interaction creates a cookie in the context of an Auth0 Tenant. Then, whenever another another application’s accessed, the user’s redirected to the same Auth0 Tenant and if there’s already a valid cookie they’ll simply get redirected directly to the application, without any further prompt for interactive login.
Architected Scenario Guidance
Whatever scenario you’re building for, Auth0 has comprehensive guidance to help you navigate through the design decisions often faced when building a Customer Identity & Access Management solution. Let our Architecture Scenario guidance for both B2C and B2B help you prepare for any eventuality.
Read more about it on the Auth0 Blog
Read more about SSO on the Auth0 Blog, where you can find numerous other articles on how Auth0 makes life easier when it comes to building Customer Identity & Access Management.
Stay informed
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Begin the journey…
Sign up here, and create a free Auth0 Tenant to begin your journey. Play with prototyping an integration of your existing code – or develop something new; experience the Okta Customer Identity Cloud, powered by Auth0, in a way that best suits you.
…or try a Demo.
If you’re looking for some inspiration, why not take a look at some of the pre-build demos at demo.okta.com – where you can test-drive sample integrations for both the Okta Customer Identity Cloud and the Okta Workforce Identity Cloud too!
