Understanding Auth Terminology with Examples

Authentication terminology often overlaps, but key distinctions clarify how identity systems work: authentication verifies who a user is, while authorization determines what that verified user may access or do, such as deleting only their own content. Workforce identity manages internal employees, whereas customer identity and access management (CIAM) handles external product users. SAML enables identity information and access relationships between systems, commonly allowing employees to use their company identity provider to access a business’s product, while SCIM synchronizes user and group data between systems to automate onboarding, offboarding, and permission updates. Single sign-on (SSO) broadly describes logging in once to access multiple services, including social logins and enterprise SAML connections. OAuth allows users to delegate limited access to third-party applications without sharing passwords, while OpenID Connect (OIDC), built on OAuth, supports authentication and is often used similarly to SAML for workforce-based product access. The discussion emphasizes that requests for features such as SSO should be clarified because they can involve different protocols and intended workflows.

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