Introduction

• Overview
• Benefits of a SAML-based SSO implementation
• What is SAML 2.0?
• New single sign-on (SSO) SAML 2.0 knowledge base articles in this series

#Overview

Managed Studio now supports Single Sign-On (SSO) built on the SAML 2.0 protocol. This article is the starting point for a series covering how to configure, integrate and roll out that implementation with your chosen identity platform.

#Benefits of a SAML-based SSO implementation

Until now, SSO in Managed Studio meant Entra ID (previously AzureAD). SAML 2.0 support removes that constraint: any identity provider that speaks the standard can now be used as your authentication source.

For teams with existing identity infrastructure, that means:

• Provider choice Google, Okta and others are all viable, alongside Entra ID.
• Policy enforcement MFA, conditional access, device posture checks and session rules are applied by your IdP before a user ever reaches us.
• Fewer credentials in circulation Users authenticate once, against a system your security team already governs.

#What is SAML 2.0?

Security Assertion Markup Language 2.0 is an open standard for passing authentication and authorisation data between two parties:

• the Identity Provider (IdP) the system that holds your user directory and verifies who someone is (Okta, Entra ID, Google Workspace, and so on)
• the Service Provider (SP) the application the user is trying to reach, which in this case is Managed Studio

It is a federated identity protocol. Rather than Managed Studio maintaining its own set of passwords, it establishes a trust relationship with your IdP and accepts that provider's word on a user's identity. When someone signs in, the IdP performs the actual authentication and returns a digitally signed XML document — a SAML assertion — confirming the result and carrying attributes about the user, such as email address and group membership.

In practice a login looks like this:

1. A user attempts to access Managed Studio.
2. Managed Studio redirects them to your IdP with an authentication request.
3. The IdP authenticates the user according to your organisation's policies.
4. The IdP returns a signed assertion to Managed Studio.
5. Managed Studio validates the signature, trusts the assertion, and establishes the session.

The standard has been in wide enterprise use for well over a decade, which is precisely why it is a safe foundation: the tooling is mature, the security properties are well understood, and almost every serious identity platform implements it.

#New single sign-on (SSO) SAML 2.0 knowledge base articles in this series

This is the first article in the Managed Studio SAML 2.0 series. The remaining articles cover provider-specific configuration:

• Single Sign-On (SSO) SAML: Integrating with Microsoft Entra ID