Identity · Security
SAML
Also known as: Security Assertion Markup Language
The protocol behind enterprise SSO — log into your identity provider once and gain access to connected apps without separate credentials.
SAML — Security Assertion Markup Language — is the protocol that makes Single Sign-On work for enterprise applications. It allows users to log into one system (the identity provider, like JumpCloud or Entra ID) and automatically gain access to connected applications (service providers, like Salesforce, Slack, or Workday) without entering separate credentials.
How it works: your employee clicks "Log in with [your company]" in Salesforce. Salesforce redirects them to your identity provider. Your identity provider confirms their identity and sends back a signed assertion. Salesforce accepts it and logs them in. The employee has no Salesforce password — their identity provider is the credential that matters.
SAML has been the dominant enterprise SSO standard since 2001. If you're configuring SSO for a business application today, it almost certainly supports it. Understanding SAML matters when SSO breaks — tracing a failed authentication usually comes down to a misconfigured assertion or a mismatched entity ID.