Navigating the Transition: IAS and SuccessFactors Integration Insights

IAS and SAP SuccessFactors – Did you integrate them yet?

With the upcoming deprecation of Basic Authentication and third-party Identity Provider (IdP) direct integration with SuccessFactors (read about it here), there is no better time to integrate IAS. The below is intended to help clients understand everything about the solution and what it takes to roll it out.

Should you have any questions, please refer to the “How” section below for more information on getting in touch with us and getting a conversation started.

What is IAS?

To improve SuccessFactors, SAP is increasingly weaving it into other tools to make it more capable. Story Reporting, for example, is a version of SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) that was created for SuccessFactors. When you open a Story report you are actually logging into a completely different system in the SAP ecosystem!

Identity Authentication Service (IAS for short) is the most common component of SAP’s Cloud Identity Services (CIS). Its main function is to authenticate users when logging into different SAP tools. In our Story Reporting example, IAS ensures you’re seamlessly logged into SAC when you open a Story report. Some features that currently require IAS:

  • Story Reporting
  • Work Zone
  • Redesigned Internal Career Site
  • LMS external/native login (login for employees/contractors who don’t exist in Employee Central) – as of November 19, 2024

As time goes on, more and more features will require IAS, hence why SAP is making it universal.

Here are some useful resources around IAS and CIS:

Why do we need IAS?

Besides enabling seamless access to different SAP tools, IAS is also a stronger, more secure way to authenticate into SuccessFactors itself!

Most importantly, basic authentication (password authentication) and direct Identity Provider (IdP) integration (i.e. direct SSO through your IdP) will be deprecated in November of 2026, with other functionality being deprecated earlier. We strongly recommend you start thinking about integrating with IAS soon.

Here are some useful resources around upcoming deprecations:

Where does IAS exist in relation to our SuccessFactors system?

As mentioned earlier, IAS is one of several components of SAP’s Cloud Identity Services (CIS). CIS is the central gateway for accessing SAP cloud solutions. Chances are if your organization uses other cloud solutions from SAP, IAS might already be in use! As you’ll read below, IT participation in the implementation process is strongly recommended (and sometimes required!)

As a SuccessFactors customer, SAP will provide up to one (1) IAS tenant for each SuccessFactors instance, so there should be no additional licensing required for the implementation process (hint: while you can map multiple SFSF instances to a single IAS tenant, it’s not recommended!).

Here are some useful resources around IAS, CIS, and their relation to SuccessFactors:

When should we implement IAS?

As with any deprecation, some organizations might choose to wait until it’s absolutely necessary to take action. However, Syntax strongly advises all its customers to take action sooner than later to avoid last-minute issues or unforeseen delays.

This is no different for IAS. Not only is it a vast improvement for SSO (full and partial) and password login, but it’ll also enable usage of great features like Story Reporting!

Who needs to be involved in implementing IAS?

SAP is open about the steps to integrate IAS with your SuccessFactors instances. Can just about anyone implement it? Yes. Should just about anyone implement it? No.

There are intricacies to implementing and integrating IAS that require know-how and experience. Here are some of the tasks you should expect to see:

  • Initiating and completing the implementation within SuccessFactors
  • Configuring IAS and connecting with relevant SAP applications (ECP, SAC, Career Site)
  • Connecting IAS with your IdP
  • Conducting the initial user data sync between IAS, IPS, and other tools like SAC

You should expect to experience a brief interruption in access to your SuccessFactors system through this process, and we strongly recommend executing it in your Preview environment first.

Here’s a brief list of who we believe needs to take part:

  • IT stakeholders involved in SSO and security
  • HRIS stakeholders with administrative rights into the system
  • A trusted partner to drive and manage the process (Have you heard of Syntax?)

How do we move forward with the implementation?

Whether you’re looking for an estimate, have questions, or want to get the ball rolling, reach out to your Account Manager to start a conversation. If you haven’t worked with us before, please send your inquiry to [email protected].