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Version: NG-3.1

User Federation

Overview​

User Federation allows vuSmartMaps to integrate with external identity systems such as LDAP or Active Directory. This enables organizations to authenticate users using their enterprise directory instead of managing user credentials separately within the platform. A similar concept can be seen in smartphones, where users can sign in once using a Google or Apple account and access multiple connected apps without creating separate credentials for each app. In the same way, User Federation helps users access vuSmartMaps using enterprise-managed credentials.

With User Federation, administrators can:

  • Import users from LDAP.
  • Map LDAP groups to platform roles.
  • Control authentication centrally.
  • Manage platform permissions for mapped roles within vuSmartMaps.

This ensures that user access aligns with organizational identity policies while still allowing flexibility within the platform.

Key Benefits​

  • Simplified Access: Choose the authentication method that suits your preferences and organizational requirements, including traditional credentials, LDAP, ADFS, or MFA.
  • Time Savings: LDAP and ADFS integration eliminates the need for managing different usernames and passwords, saving you time and effort.
  • Enhanced Security: ADFS Integration provides the security advantages of SSO and leverages your organization's established authentication infrastructure.

Why This Feature Is Useful​

In enterprise banking environments, identity management is usually centralized using systems like LDAP or Active Directory.

Without User Federation:

  • Users must be manually created in vuSmartMaps.
  • Passwords must be managed separately.
  • Role assignments must be duplicated.

With User Federation:

  • Users log in using enterprise credentials.
  • User lifecycle is managed centrally.
  • Role mapping can be automated or controlled locally.
  • Authentication and access control can be managed consistently.

This significantly reduces operational overhead while improving security and governance.

Example Scenario​

A bank uses Active Directory and LDAP to manage employee identities and groups. The bank’s observability team wants payment monitoring users to log in to vuSmartMaps using their corporate credentials. At the same time, the platform administrators want only approved payment-operations roles to access sensitive dashboards and reports.

In this case, the bank can configure LDAP in one of the following ways:

  • Import only users from LDAP and assign roles within vuSmartMaps.
  • Import both users and roles from LDAP.
  • Continue to create some special local users inside vuSmartMaps if needed.

This allows the organization to keep authentication centralized while still managing platform-specific access in a controlled way.

When to Use This Feature​

Use User Federation in the following situations:

  • When your organization uses LDAP or Active Directory for user management.
  • When you want to avoid manual user creation and maintenance.
  • When onboarding a large number of users across teams.
  • When enforcing centralized authentication policies.
  • When ensuring automatic user deactivation based on directory changes.
  • When mapping organizational groups to platform roles.
Don’t worry—LDAP and ADFS integration is totally optional. Pick what suits your organization's needs!