Why would folks use this instead of an existing library for their language de jour?
You have a python SDK, but something like https://github.com/SAML-Toolkits is popular, well maintained, and fully featured. Why use yours?
Launch HN: SSOReady (YC W24) – Making SAML SSO painless and open source
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Re: Launch HN: SSOReady (YC W24) – Making SAML SSO painless and open source
#12Hi Ulysse, this is incredibly timely as we are looking at a more cost-effective alternative to WorkOS as we're building our enterprise data validation portal. Will give it a go and see how we make out - do you have any immediate instructions on integrating with Entra ID? Is it literally just the API endpoint that's needed?
Hey! I'm Ned, the other cofounder at SSOReady. Yes, absolutely. The code you'll write will cover all IDPs. The variation from one IDP to another gets addressed in the configuration settings for each of your customers. For example, I put some documentation together specifically for Entra not too long ago here: https://ssoready.com/docs/idp-configuration/guides-for-commo... Does that get you what you need?
Incredible. Yes perfect. Thanks Ned!
Re: Launch HN: SSOReady (YC W24) – Making SAML SSO painless and open source
#13This looks very cool! Having implemented SAML before, it was definitely a pain and your tooling looks painless! That said, the pricing worries me a bit. This is a tool we'd have to build on top of . Which means that if it disappears later because you went out of business (or just changed your pricing in some way that hosed us), we'd have a whole big, unexpected engineering project to rewrite our SSO. And given that y…
I totally understand your concern. It's very valid, and we hear it a lot.
I may not successfully convince you of the commercial logic here, but we are making a calculated bet that a generous free offering serves our long-term interests.
We're betting that this product will establish our credibility with developers and result in efficient distribution in the future. It's a pretty common commercial open source playbook not to monetize in the early days.
Thankfully, some subset of venture capitalists will happily underwrite companies with popular commercial open source products.
Please bear in mind that we're an early stage company. We will build more depth into the existing product, and we'll offer new products over time. We will charge for those new features / new products. It may take years to earn meaningful revenue, let alone generate cash flow, and we're fine with that.
Re: Launch HN: SSOReady (YC W24) – Making SAML SSO painless and open source
#14Hi Ulysse, this is incredibly timely as we are looking at a more cost-effective alternative to WorkOS as we're building our enterprise data validation portal. Will give it a go and see how we make out - do you have any immediate instructions on integrating with Entra ID? Is it literally just the API endpoint that's needed?
Hey there - I’m the founder of WorkOS :wave:
We have automatic volume discounts for pay-as-you-go users, and even lower prices on annual plans or custom contracts. We also have free credits for early-stage companies. Feel free to send me a note if you’d like to chat: mg@workos.com
Today hundreds of companies use WorkOS, including a ton of startups you probably know: https://workos.com/startups
Re: Launch HN: SSOReady (YC W24) – Making SAML SSO painless and open source
#15Why would folks use this instead of an existing library for their language de jour? You have a python SDK, but something like https://github.com/SAML-Toolkits is popular, well maintained, and fully featured. Why use yours?
Most folks will read that README and conclude SAML isn't going to happen for them today.
Take any language's biggest SAML implementation, and it's the same story of a library with some epic README covering dozens of public methods you may or may not need to use. People can't make heads or tails of this stuff.
Clarity and simplicity are the precursors to security. I'm pretty obsessed with making SAML clear and simple for folks.
Re: Launch HN: SSOReady (YC W24) – Making SAML SSO painless and open source
#16Why would folks use this instead of an existing library for their language de jour? You have a python SDK, but something like https://github.com/SAML-Toolkits is popular, well maintained, and fully featured. Why use yours?
Most folks will read that README and conclude SAML isn't going to happen for them today. Take any language's biggest SAML implementation, and it's the same story of a library with some epic README covering dozens of public methods you may or may not need to use. People can't make heads or tails of this stuff. Clarity and simplicity are the precursors to security. I'm pretty obsessed with making SAML clear and simple…
Cynically, why not open a PR to improve the README...
I think you'll have better luck on the consulting side with this idea than the product side. There are so many SAML implementations running the gamut from plug and play like Auth0 to DIY toolboxes that I don't think "simpler" is a good enough value add here.
Re: Launch HN: SSOReady (YC W24) – Making SAML SSO painless and open source
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most folks will read that README and conclude SAML isn't going to happen for them today. Take any language's biggest SAML implementation, and it's the same story of a library with some epic README covering dozens of public methods you may or may not need to use. People can't make heads or tails of this stuff. Clarity and simplicity are the precursors to security. I'm pretty obsessed with making SAML clear and simple…
Cynically, why not open a PR to improve the README... I think you'll have better luck on the consulting side with this idea than the product side. There are so many SAML implementations running the gamut from plug and play like Auth0 to DIY toolboxes that I don't think "simpler" is a good enough value add here.
You might turn out to be right! Only time will tell.
Re: Launch HN: SSOReady (YC W24) – Making SAML SSO painless and open source
#18Why focus on SAML rather than OIDC2?
Re: Launch HN: SSOReady (YC W24) – Making SAML SSO painless and open source
#19This looks great! I am curious about "We expect to monetize in the future by building extra features that serve large companies with complex needs". During the YC application process, was this enough to be accepted? I wonder how much emphasis they put in the business model in order to fund you. I wish you success!
Candidly, we were working on other projects when accepted to YC. We wanted to build data cleaning software with LLMs, before we realized no one really cared about messy data. Part of the reason we're comfortable with a generous free offering is the basic truth that helping SaaS companies support SAML logins ... just isn't an enormous market. We need to make money on other products anyway. *Monetizing extra features*…
Sounds a lot like Spolsky's "commoditize your complements"
Re: Launch HN: SSOReady (YC W24) – Making SAML SSO painless and open source
#20Why focus on SAML rather than OIDC2?
I was wondering the same. In my corner of IT, everyone is ditching SAML as 'outdated' over OIDC2 (usually against Azure). It's pretty painless in comparison and seems to require less maintenance - even tho I know the SAML2 spec well.