I'm trying to add SSO to a B2B product quickly. Can you walk me through what to choose between Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace, SAML, OIDC, and SCIM, with an eye toward minimal engineering time and support burden?

If your goal is “ship B2B SSO fast with the least engineering and support pain”, the shortest answer is:

• Support both OIDC and SAML for SSO
• Prioritize OIDC where possible
• Add SCIM only if you truly need automated provisioning/deprovisioning
• Start by integrating with the most common customer IdPs via one abstraction layer
• If you want to move fastest overall, consider an SSO vendor/identity platform rather than building everything yourself

Here’s how to think about the choices.

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1) The protocol choice: SAML vs OIDC

OIDC

Best when you want:

• Simpler implementation
• Easier debugging
• Better developer experience
• Modern apps, especially web apps and APIs

Pros

• Usually easier to implement than SAML
• JSON-based, REST-friendly
• Good fit for modern auth flows
• Better support for mobile/SPAs when done carefully

Cons

• Not every enterprise customer supports it everywhere for SSO
• Some enterprise IdPs still expect SAML for B2B SSO
• You may still need SAML to close deals

Recommendation:
If you can choose only one to implement first, choose OIDC for engineering simplicity.

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SAML

Best when you want:

• Maximum enterprise compatibility
• To satisfy customers using older enterprise setups
• Classic B2B SSO expectations

Pros

• Very widely supported in enterprise environments
• Commonly requested in B2B procurement/security reviews
• Works with many IdPs out of the box

Cons

• More complex than OIDC
• XML-heavy, more brittle to implement/debug
• Certificate/metadata handling can be annoying
• Support burden tends to be higher

Recommendation:
If you sell to enterprises, you will almost certainly need SAML at some point. But it’s usually not the fastest path technically.

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2) IdP choice: Okta vs Azure AD vs Google Workspace

These are not competing protocols; they’re identity providers your customers use.

Okta

Best for:

• B2B SaaS customers that are identity/security mature
• Fast enterprise integration testing
• Broad SAML/OIDC support

Pros

• Very common in B2B enterprise environments
• Usually straightforward for SSO setup
• Strong admin experience for enterprise customers

Cons

• Not the universal default across all customers
• Some customers will still use Azure AD/Microsoft Entra more often
• You don’t want to build “Okta-only” support unless your market is very narrow

Takeaway:
Great first enterprise IdP to test against, but not the only one you should support.

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Azure AD / Microsoft Entra ID

Best for:

• Microsoft-heavy enterprises
• Most common in many corporate environments
• Customers using Microsoft 365

Pros

• Extremely common in B2B
• Important for enterprise deal coverage
• Supports both SAML and OIDC

Cons

• Configuration can be a bit more enterprise-y
• App registration / tenant-specific setup can be confusing
• Support tickets often involve customer admin mistakes

Takeaway:
If you sell B2B, Azure AD is mandatory in practice.

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Google Workspace

Best for:

• SMB/mid-market customers
• Companies already standardized on Google
• Faster setup for some customers

Pros

• Easy for customers already on Google Workspace
• Can be simpler than enterprise-heavy IdPs
• Supports OIDC/SAML depending on setup

Cons

• Less dominant than Microsoft in larger enterprises
• May be less important if your product is enterprise-first
• Sometimes used less as a true enterprise directory than Azure AD/Okta

Takeaway:
Worth supporting, but usually after Azure AD and often alongside Okta.

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3) SCIM: what it is and whether you need it

SCIM

SCIM is for user provisioning:

• Create users automatically
• Deactivate users automatically
• Sync profile attributes and group membership

It is not SSO.

Why SCIM matters

Without SCIM, you may still have SSO, but:

• Admins must manually create/remove users
• Offboarding is painful
• Security teams may push back
• Support gets more tickets about “why does this user still have access?”

Pros

• Huge reduction in manual admin work for customers
• Better enterprise story
• Helps with deprovisioning and compliance

Cons

• More engineering complexity than SSO alone
• More edge cases
• Support burden can be high if mappings/sync behavior are unclear
• Different IdPs implement it with quirks

Recommendation:
If your priority is minimal engineering time, do SSO first, then add SCIM later unless:

• you are selling to larger enterprises immediately,
• or your security/compliance buyers explicitly require automated provisioning.

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4) What to choose if your goal is minimal engineering time

Best “ship fast” path

1. Implement OIDC first
2. Add SAML soon after
3. Support Azure AD, Okta, Google Workspace as IdPs
4. Add SCIM only if customers demand it

This gives you the best balance of:

• speed,
• market coverage,
• and reduced support burden.

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5) Practical recommendation by company stage

If you’re early-stage and want to close deals fast

• Build a single SSO layer that supports OIDC and SAML
• Start testing with Azure AD and Okta
• Add Google Workspace if your customer base wants it
• Skip SCIM until someone pays for it or security demands it

If you’re enterprise-first

• Support SAML immediately
• Also support OIDC if you can
• Prioritize Azure AD + Okta
• Plan SCIM earlier than a startup would

If you’re SMB/mid-market

• OIDC first
• Google Workspace and Azure AD
• SAML only if sales asks for it
• SCIM is optional until you see churn or security issues

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6) Hidden support-cost realities

The biggest support burden usually comes from:

• certificate/metadata issues in SAML
• incorrect redirect URIs / callback URLs in OIDC
• tenant/app registration mistakes in Azure AD
• “it works for one user but not another”
• attribute mapping problems
• just-in-time provisioning expectations vs reality
• logout expectations
• mismatched email/domain identities

To reduce support:

• Use email as the primary unique identifier
• Be strict and explicit about domain verification
• Build a clear admin UI for SSO config
• Log enough detail to diagnose failures
• Provide test connections and “SSO debug” views
• Normalize attribute mapping across protocols
• Document setup steps for each IdP separately

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7) A simple decision matrix

If you want fastest engineering:

• OIDC first
• No SCIM initially
• Support Azure AD and Google Workspace
• Add SAML if customers ask

If you want best enterprise coverage:

• SAML + OIDC
• Support Azure AD, Okta, Google Workspace
• Add SCIM fairly soon

If you want least support burden long-term:

• Use a single identity abstraction layer
• Offer guided setup per IdP
• Add SCIM
• Invest in logs, self-serve admin tooling, and test connections

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8) My blunt recommendation

For a B2B product that wants to move quickly:

• Use OIDC as your first implementation
• Also plan SAML support
• Support Okta + Azure AD first
• Add Google Workspace next
• Delay SCIM unless enterprise customers are already asking for it

If you want the lowest total engineering effort, the real answer may be:

• buy/build on top of an identity platform rather than custom-building all SSO flows and admin tooling yourself.

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If you want, I can also give you:

1. a recommended rollout plan by week,
2. a feature checklist for SSO/SCIM, or
3. a build-vs-buy comparison for vendors like WorkOS, Auth0, Clerk, PropelAuth, and others.