Authenticate O365 Manager Plus users with Office 365

Though O365 Manager Plus allows users to access its console using their Office 365 credentials, this method is not considered a best practice. This is especially true when multi-factor authentication (MFA) is enabled for Office 365, as users have to undergo MFA for both Office 365 and O365 Manager Plus.

To resolve this concern, we're now facilitating single sign-on (SSO) between O365 Manager Plus and Office 365. With this option, users will automatically be logged in to the O365 Manager Plus web console after being authenticated by Office 365, irrespective of MFA options.

Advantages

• Reduces password fatigue: Users will no longer need to struggle with remembering which password goes with which account.
• Leverages Office 365's MFA to improve security: Users are authenticated not only via MFA in the Office 365 portal, but also through O365 Manager Plus. Learn how to enable MFA for Office 365 users with O365 Manager Plus.
• Boosts the end-user experience: Users can now move between Office 365 and O365 Manager Plus seamlessly.

Case 1: SSO with Office 365 accounts (without MFA)

When a technician is logged in to Office 365, they'll automatically be logged in to O365 Manager Plus without having to enter a username and password.

If they're not logged in to Office 365, they'll be redirected to the Office 365 login portal. Once they've successfully authenticated their account in Office 365, they'll be automatically logged in to O365 Manager Plus as well.

Case 2: SSO with MFA-enabled Office 365 accounts

When a technician is logged in to Office 365 with MFA, they'll be logged in to O365 Manager Plus automatically without having to enter a username and password or undergo MFA.

If they are not logged in to Office 365 with MFA, when they provide their username in O365 Manager Plus, they'll be redirected to the Office 365 login portal to undergo MFA as configured by their administrator. Once authenticated successfully in Office 365, they'll be automatically logged in to O365 Manager Plus and taken to its home page.

Case 3: SSO with third-party identity providers and federated identities

Even if you've deployed a federated identity or any other third-party identity provider (IdP) with Office 365 in your organization, SSO still works for O365 Manager Plus. In this case, when an admin provides their username in O365 Manager Plus, they'll be redirected to the IdP's login portal where they'll have to provide their IdP credentials. Once authenticated successfully by the IdP, the admin will be automatically logged in to O365 Manager Plus.

Getting started

Ready to enable SSO for O365 Manager Plus? Just follow these two steps: 

• Enable REST API access.
• Configure O365 Manager Plus to allow MFA-enabled and federated accounts to be configured as technicians.