Identity federation standard, Security Assertion Markup Language, or SAML, enables single sign-on (SSO) SAML has a wide variety of uses for businesses, government agencies, non-profit organizations and service providers. Without the standardization afforded by identity federation, SSO cannot be scaled beyond one or two partners in a cost effective manner. SAML is the primary identity federation standard due to its certifiable interoperability, proven security and thousands of production deployments worldwide. This white paper describes why standards like SAML are necessary for implementing scalable, secure federated identity across organizations.”]
Source: https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/whitepapers/saml-101-w-1282