How Covance Achieved Seamless Jira SSO with Multiple Identity Providers Using miniOrange’s URL Based Redirection
Covance, a leading global contract research organization, streamlined secure access to Jira for users across multiple identity systems using miniOrange’s SAML Single Sign-On solution. With URL-based IdP mapping, Covance was able to direct users to the correct IdP based on the Jira URL they accessed, eliminating confusion and manual routing, while enhancing security and user experience.
Covance Business Challenge
Covance needed a way to support SSO access for different user groups, each authenticated via a different Identity Provider, while using a shared Jira environment. Traditional SSO solutions lacked the flexibility to route users to the correct IdP based solely on the Jira site URL they accessed.
Managing SSO Across Multiple Identity Providers
As a global organization supporting a wide range of clinical and research activities, Covance had users spread across various regions and business units, each with its own IdP.
To improve access control and reduce administrative overhead, Covance wanted a solution that could:
- Route users to the appropriate IdP based on the Jira site URL they visited.
- Eliminate the need for manual IdP selection.
- Maintain a consistent and seamless login experience for all users.
- Securely provision user access with minimal friction.
Existing SSO tools couldn’t meet this level of flexibility. That’s when Covance turned to miniOrange.
How miniOrange Helped Covance Streamline SSO
miniOrange provided Covance with a custom URL Mapping feature within its SAML SSO add-on for Jira. This feature automatically redirects users to the correct Identity Provider based on the specific Jira URL they access.
Solution: URL Mapping with miniOrange SAML SSO
miniOrange’s SAML SSO app functions as a SAML Service Provider, enabling secure authentication between Jira and multiple Identity Providers. Here’s how the URL mapping solution worked:
- Covance configured multiple Jira access URLs, each linked to a specific Identity Provider (e.g., Okta, Azure AD, ADFS)
- When a user accessed Jira via a given URL, miniOrange SAML SSO detected the URL and automatically routed them to the corresponding IdP for authentication
- After successful authentication, the user was redirected back to their original Jira page, with the correct permissions automatically provisioned
- User group assignment and access control were managed dynamically based on IdP and group mapping rules
This automated URL-based routing removed the need for manual selection of Identity Providers and allowed Covance to scale access management across teams with different authentication systems.
Success Outcome: Centralized Access with Decentralized Authentication
With miniOrange, Covance was able to unify access to Jira under a single, user-friendly SSO flow, without forcing all teams onto a single Identity Provider.
Key outcomes included:
- Automatic redirection to the correct IdP based on URL.
- Elimination of login confusion and user misrouting.
- Centralized Jira access with flexible authentication.
Results & Business Impact
Covance’s implementation of miniOrange SSO delivered immediate benefits across IT and end-user operations:
- Improved User Experience: No need to select or remember which IdP to use, just access Jira via a known URL.
- Reduced IT Support Load: Fewer login issues, password resets, and manual provisioning.
- Scalable Architecture: Easy to add new teams or IdPs by configuring new URLs.
- Cost-Efficiency: No need to replace or unify Identity Providers, saving time and resources.
About Covance
Covance, a division of Labcorp, is one of the world’s largest contract research and drug development service companies. With a mission to bring better therapies to market faster, Covance supports pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device organizations through every phase of product development.