What is the purpose of SAML authentication?

SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) authentication serves the primary purpose of enabling single sign-on (SSO) capabilities across applications. This means that users can log in once and gain access to multiple applications without needing to re-enter their credentials for each individual service. SAML achieves this by allowing identity providers to send authentication tokens to service providers, confirming the user's identity and enabling seamless access to various resources or applications.

This process streamlines the user experience, enhances convenience, and can improve security by reducing the number of times users must enter their credentials, thus lowering the chance of phishing attacks or credential theft. It also facilitates centralized authentication management, which can simplify the administration of user credentials and permissions across multiple systems.