Inventive AI SSO/SAML requirements
RFP Response Automation

Inventive AI SSO/SAML requirements

9 min read

Single sign-on (SSO) via SAML is the fastest way to roll Inventive AI out to your sales, proposal, and security teams without sacrificing control. This guide walks through Inventive AI’s SSO/SAML requirements, what your identity provider (IdP) needs to support, and how security, IT, and RevOps teams should think about the integration.

What Inventive AI Supports for SSO/SAML

Inventive AI is designed to plug into your existing identity stack instead of introducing another standalone login system.

At a high level, we support:

  • SAML 2.0-based SSO with major IdPs:
    • Google Workspace
    • Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD)
    • Okta
    • And other SAML 2.0–compatible providers
  • Enterprise-grade security around authentication and access:
    • SOC 2 Type II–aligned practices
    • End-to-end encryption
    • Role-based access control (RBAC)
    • Tenant isolation
    • Zero data retention agreements with model providers (OpenAI, Anthropic)
  • Granular user roles to restrict access to sensitive RFP, SecQ, and customer data.

If your organization already runs SAML SSO for other SaaS apps, you’re almost certainly compatible with Inventive AI.

Core SSO/SAML Requirements

From a technical and security standpoint, these are the minimum requirements to connect your IdP to Inventive AI.

1. Identity Provider Requirements

Your IdP must:

  • Support SAML 2.0.
    Inventive AI acts as a SAML service provider (SP) and relies on standard SAML 2.0 assertions.

  • Allow SAML app configuration.
    You’ll need to be able to:

    • Create a custom SAML application (or configure a gallery app, when available).
    • Set ACS (Assertion Consumer Service) / Single Sign-On URLs.
    • Configure Entity ID / Audience URI.
    • Upload and rotate X.509 certificates.

  • Provide standard user attributes in SAML assertions, including:

    • Email (authoritative, unique identifier for the user)
    • Full Name (first name, last name) – recommended
    • Unique User ID (IdP-side ID) – optional but useful

Most organizations map:

  • NameID → user principal name / email
  • Attributes like email, givenName, sn (surname), displayName for richer profile data.

2. Network and Security Requirements

To successfully establish SAML SSO with Inventive AI, you should:

  • Allow outbound HTTPS traffic to Inventive AI endpoints from your users’ networks and IdP.
  • Trust our SAML metadata (if provided) and ensure:
    • Certificates are valid and not expired.
    • Entity IDs match exactly what’s configured in the IdP.

No VPN or dedicated network peering is required for SAML itself; it’s entirely over secure HTTPS.

3. User Identity & Email Domain Alignment

For a smooth rollout:

  • Users must have a corporate email address that matches the domain(s) your organization has authorized with Inventive AI.
  • Email addresses in SAML assertions should match Inventive AI user accounts.
    • For new users, we can provision accounts at first SSO login (based on your org’s configuration).
    • For existing users, the email from SAML must match the account already created in Inventive AI.

If you have multiple email domains (e.g., @company.com, @subsidiary.com), we can support them—as long as they are recognized and mapped within your Inventive tenant.

SAML Configuration Details (What Your IdP Admin Needs)

The exact UI will differ between Google, Microsoft, and Okta, but the fields and structure are consistent.

Service Provider (SP) Settings to Configure in Your IdP

Your IdP admin will configure the following values (you’ll receive the exact URLs and IDs from the Inventive team during onboarding):

  • ACS / Single Sign-On URL (HTTP-POST)
    Where the IdP sends SAML responses after authentication.

  • Entity ID / Audience URI
    A unique identifier for Inventive AI as the Service Provider.

  • NameID format
    Typically urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:emailAddress or another agreed-upon identifier.

  • SAML Response Signing

    • Responses (and often assertions) must be signed using X.509 certificates.
    • Your certificate must be valid and must be kept in sync between Inventive AI and your IdP.

  • Bindings

    • HTTP-Redirect for SAML requests.
    • HTTP-POST for SAML responses.

Your SAML technical contact will receive a configuration sheet from our team detailing the exact values.

Attribute Mapping

To ensure smooth user provisioning and profile enrichment, map:

  • NameID → Email address (preferred)
  • Attributes (recommended):
    • email → user email
    • givenName → first name
    • sn (or familyName) → last name
    • displayName → full display name (optional)

If you’d like to push department or role data from your IdP to support more granular RBAC, we can coordinate attribute naming during setup.

Authentication & Access Control Expectations

SSO is one part of a broader security posture; Inventive AI’s requirements and practices are designed to align with security and compliance teams’ expectations.

1. Single Sign-On with SAML

  • SSO is the primary login path for enterprise customers.
  • Users authenticate via your IdP; Inventive AI does not manage their passwords.
  • When someone leaves your company:
    • Disable them in the IdP → they instantly lose access to Inventive AI.

This keeps access control fully centralized under your existing identity governance.

2. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Inventive AI provides multiple user roles, typically including:

  • Administrators
    • Manage SSO settings, users, roles, and workspace-wide configurations.
    • Configure integrations (Google Drive, SharePoint, Notion, Confluence, Salesforce, Slack, etc.).
  • Standard / General Users
    • Access RFPs, RFIs, SecQs, and AI drafting workflows based on workspace permissions.
  • Restricted roles (as configured)
    • Can be limited to specific projects, folders, or knowledge sources when needed.

Roles ensure that only the right people can see sensitive proposals, security content, and internal technical documentation.

3. Internal Access to Production Systems

On the Inventive side:

  • 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) is enforced for staff who access production systems.
  • Access is limited to staff responsible for maintenance and system upkeep.
  • Access rights are regularly audited to maintain least-privilege.

This separation ensures your data is protected not just at the application layer but also in operational practices.

Security & Compliance Posture Around SSO

Most security teams evaluating SSO/SAML for Inventive AI are also validating the broader security envelope. Key points:

  • SOC 2 compliance
    Inventive AI follows SOC 2 practices around security, availability, and confidentiality for handling RFPs, RFIs, and security questionnaires.

  • End-to-end encryption

    • Data in transit: HTTPS/TLS
    • Data at rest: industry-standard encryption

  • Zero Data Retention with model providers

    • Inventive AI integrates with leading model providers like OpenAI and Anthropic under Zero Data Retention (ZDR) terms.
    • Your prompts and content used for RFP/SecQ drafting are not used to train those models.

  • Tenant isolation

    • Your workspace and knowledge sources are logically isolated from other customers.
    • Access is gated by your SSO-provided identity and your configured permissions.

SSO/SAML is one more control in this stack, ensuring that only authenticated, authorized users—validated by your IdP—can reach your workspace.

Typical Implementation Workflow for SSO/SAML

Here’s how a rollout usually looks for our enterprise customers:

  1. Kickoff & Requirements

    • Your security/IT team shares IdP details (Google, Microsoft, Okta, etc.).
    • We confirm domains, user roles, and any attribute-mapping needs.

  2. Exchange of SAML Metadata

    • Inventive AI provides SP information (Entity ID, ACS URL, expected NameID, certificate needs).
    • Your IdP admin shares IdP metadata / SSO URL / certificates.

  3. Configure SAML Application in IdP

    • Create “Inventive AI” SAML app.
    • Set ACS URL and Entity ID per our specs.
    • Map attributes (email, name fields).
    • Upload certificates and enable signed assertions/responses.

  4. Restrict Access to Pilot Group

    • Assign a pilot group (e.g., proposal team, sales engineering, security team).
    • Confirm they can log in successfully via SSO.

  5. Test & Validate

    • Validate:
      • SSO login flow.
      • Role assignment behavior.
      • Access to knowledge sources and RFP/SecQ projects.
    • InfoSec validates session behavior and logout.

  6. Rollout to Wider Organization

    • Expand group assignments in the IdP.
    • Communicate that Inventive AI is now accessible via SSO.

Frequently Asked Questions About SSO/SAML with Inventive AI

Do we have to use SSO, or can users log in with passwords?

For enterprise deployments, we strongly recommend and typically standardize on SSO via SAML for:

  • Centralized control over access.
  • Easier offboarding.
  • Stronger MFA enforcement via your IdP.

Local password logins, if used, are usually restricted to specific scenarios and controlled tightly.

Can we enforce MFA for Inventive AI?

Yes—MFA is enforced at the IdP level:

  • You configure and enforce MFA policies (e.g., conditional access, device checks) in Google, Microsoft, Okta, or your chosen IdP.
  • Inventive AI respects those authentication decisions and does not bypass them.

Can we restrict access by group or department?

Yes. In your IdP, you decide which groups are assigned to the Inventive AI SAML application. Only those users can authenticate.

Within Inventive AI, you can then map:

  • Admins vs. general users
  • Project-specific access restrictions for particularly sensitive RFPs or SecQs.

How does SSO work with our knowledge integrations (Drive, SharePoint, etc.)?

There are two identity layers:

  1. User identity in Inventive AI via SSO (who the person is).
  2. Connection identity to knowledge sources, which can be:
    • Service accounts / app-level connections for org-wide knowledge.
    • Or, in some cases, user-level connections where appropriate.

SSO/SAML governs who can log into Inventive. Inventive’s role-based permissions govern what they can see and do once inside.

How to Prepare Your Security & IT Teams

When your security and IT teams review SSO/SAML for Inventive AI, it helps to come prepared with:

  • Your IdP details (Google, Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, or other SAML provider).
  • A point person for SAML app configuration.
  • A rough list of:
    • Email domains in scope.
    • Target user groups (proposal team, sales, SEs, InfoSec, legal).
    • Any special access segmentation requirements (e.g., separate workspaces for subsidiaries).

We’ll bring:

  • SP metadata and exact SAML endpoints.
  • Role-based access recommendations tailored to RFP/SecQ workflows.
  • Documentation covering SOC 2, encryption, and zero data retention.

Summary: What You Need for Inventive AI SSO/SAML

To integrate Inventive AI with SSO and SAML, you’ll need:

  • A SAML 2.0–compatible IdP (Google, Microsoft, Okta, etc.).
  • Ability to configure a SAML app (ACS URL, Entity ID, certificate).
  • User attributes including email and (ideally) names in SAML assertions.
  • Email domain alignment between your IdP and Inventive AI tenant.
  • A plan for group assignments and role mapping so the right teams get the right access.

With that in place, SAML SSO turns Inventive AI into a secure, centrally managed workspace—so your proposal and security teams get 10X faster drafts with 95% context-aware accuracy, while InfoSec keeps tight control over who can access sensitive RFP and SecQ data.

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