Move Microsoft Office 365 from Secure Web Authentication to WS-Federation

There are two sign-on methods for Microsoft Office 365 available in Okta:

  1. Secure Web Authentication (SWA): SWA relies on a username and a password for security credentials that can be selected by the end user or assigned by the administrator.
  2. WS-Federation: WS-Federation is an older form of SAML. It's a specification that defines mechanisms to transfer identity information using encrypted SOAP messages. It adds a level of security. WS-Federation doesn't require a separate password for Office 365. Therefore, Okta doesn't need to sync user passwords when WS-Federation is used.

Procedure

  1. In the Admin Console, go to Applications > Applications.

  2. Locate and select the Microsoft Office 365 app.

  3. Select the Sign On tab, then click Edit.

  4. For Sign on methods, select WS-Federation.

  5. Follow the setup instructions in Configure Single Sign-on for Office 365.