Embedded Analytics: SAML SSO with Tableau Cloud and Okta

In this article we will learn how to:

  • Implement single sign on (SSO) for Tableau Cloud with security assertion markup language (SAML) identity provider (IdP) Okta
  • Create a simple embedded analytics application that embeds a Tableau Cloud dashboard into a web page
  • Provide a seamless end user experience in an embedded analytics application (note that this may be at odds with the most robust security setup configuration)

You might also find this article useful:

Embedded Analytics: SAML SSO With Tableau Online & OneLogin | Zuar
Implement single sign-on for Tableau Online with SAML & IdP OneLogin. And create a simple application that embeds a Tableau dashboard into a webpage.

Prerequisites

Tableau Cloud

Tableau Cloud account. If you do not have a Tableau Cloud account, please let us know and we will spin up a trial for you or help you make a purchase.

  1. Admin access to your Tableau Cloud account.
  2. Tableau dashboard content published you want to use for embedded analytics. For testing, you can use any Tableau dashboard published to Tableau Cloud.

Okta

  1. Okta account. If you do not have an account with Okta, you can sign up for a free trial here.
  2. You'll need admin access to your Okta account.

Web Server for Embedded Analytics Application

Check out this article for instructions on setting up a simple embedded analytics web server with Python and embedding a Tableau dashboard.

Setup Instructions

We followed the set up instructions directly from Okta's help documentation: How to Configure SAML 2.0 for Tableau Server

Tableau also has it's own set of instructions as an alternative or for more information: Configure SAML with Okta

As part of our testing, we wanted to make sure the embedded analytics experience was as seamless as possible.

DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. Tableau warns about this in their documentation and in Tableau Cloud itself.

Tableau Cloud Additional Settings

On the Tableau Cloud side, under Settings -> Authentication -> Authentication types:

Tableau Cloud enable an additional authentication method - Okta (SAML)

Under section "6 Embedding options", click "Authenticate using an inline frame (less secure; not supported by all IdPs)".

Tableau Cloud embedded analytics - authenticate using an iframe

Okta Additional Settings

In the Okta app, under Admin -> Settings -> Customization and under the IFrame Embedding section, we checked to "Allow IFrame embedding".

Okta - Enabling IFrame Embedding

User Authentication

As a last step, update the authentication of any existing/new Tableau Cloud users you want to authenticate via Okta. Make sure they are using okta.com (SAML) as their authentication rather than Tableau.

Note that a user can only authenticate via a single method, either Okta or Tableau.

Update the Authentication of Existing Tableau Cloud Users

On the Tableau Cloud users page, select the user and click the three dots (...).

Tableau Cloud - example of a user with Tableau (local) authentication

Click Authentication...

Tableau Cloud - configuring authentication for a user

Change the Authentication from Tableau to okta.com (SAML) and click update.

Tableau Cloud - configuring a user's authentication to okta.com (SAML)

If you are testing this on your own user, this will log you out of Tableau Cloud. When you log back in you will authenticate via Okta.

The user should now have okta.com (SAML) in the Authentication column.

Tableau Cloud - example of a user with Okta (SAML) authentication

Add New Users to Tableau Cloud and Have Them Authenticate Via Okta

When adding new users to your Tableau Cloud site, click the "+ Add Users" orange button:

Tableau Cloud - Add Users

If you have one or a few users, click "Enter Email Addresses". You can also import using a CSV file if you have a large list.

Tableau Cloud - Add Users to this Site
Tableau Cloud - configure new user for Okta (SAML) authentication

Make sure that you select "Add users for okta.com (SAML) authentication".

Embed a Tableau Dashboard in a Website

Now that you have at least have one user in Tableau Cloud authenticating via Okta, it is time to test the end user experience in an embedded analytics environment.

For this part, you will need a simple HTML page hosted by a web server. Check out our blog here for instructions on setting up a simple web server with Python and embedding a Tableau dashboard.

Simply navigate to a Tableau dashboard in your Tableau Cloud and click the "Share" button.

Tableau Cloud Embedded Analytics - Tableau Share Button

There are several ways to embed a Tableau dashboard, in this case, just click "Embed Code" to copy the code.

Tableau Cloud Embedded Analytics - Tableau Embed Code

On your HTML page, paste the "Embed Code".

Here's a simple example of the HTML:

<!doctype html>

<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <title>Embedded Analytics with Tableau Cloud</title>
</head>
<body>
    <script type='text/javascript' src='https://us-east-1.online.tableau.com/javascripts/api/viz_v1.js'></script>
    <div class='tableauPlaceholder' style='width: 1488px; height: 706px;'>
        <object class='tableauViz' width='1488' height='706' style='display:none;'>
            <param name='host_url' value='https%3A%2F%2Fus-east-1.online.tableau.com%2F' />
            <param name='embed_code_version' value='3' />
            <param name='site_root' value='&#47;t&#47;zuar' />
            <param name='name' value='Regional&#47;GlobalTemperatures' />
            <param name='tabs' value='yes' />
            <param name='toolbar' value='yes' />
            <param name='showAppBanner' value='false' />
            <param name='filter' value='iframeSizedToWindow=true' />
        </object>
    </div>
</body>
</html>
Tableau Cloud Embedded Analytics - Embed Code in an HTML page

Save and refresh your page.

If you are still logged into Tableau Cloud, this is what you will see:

Tableau Cloud Dashboard Embedded Analytics Web Page

SSO and End-User Experience

Now let's test the embedded analytics application from the end user's perspective. In an external, customer facing embedded analytics application, your end users will probably not be aware that Tableau is driving their analytics experience nor will they be aware that your application is using Okta for authentication. All they will see is your application's login screen.

So let's mimic that environment.

Sign out of Okta.

Sign out of Tableau Cloud. It turns out that this step is harder than it seems. There is no sign out button in Tableau Cloud when using Okta for authentication. So, I needed to do the following:

  1. Change my user's authentication method back to Tableau.
  2. Sign back in using my Tableau Cloud credentials.
  3. Change my user's authentication method to okta.com (SAML). This logs the user out again.

Sign back into Okta.

Refresh your embedded analytics application's page and you should see this:

Embedded Analytics application - Tableau Cloud sign in using Okta (SAML)

If your user clicks "Sign in to Tableau Cloud", their experience will be something like this:

Embedded Analytics SSO user experience using Tableau Cloud and Okta (SAML)

The end user only has to go through this "login" flow once or until they are signed out of Tableau Cloud. Tableau Cloud's idle session timeout duration is 2 hours (and cannot be modified).

Wrap Up

The end user experience is less than ideal with a user needing to click a button to authenticate, however, they do not have to log in with a username and password. If you are looking for a more seamless embedded analytics experience for your end users, we have products that solve this.

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