Automate Slack User Management with JumpCloud

Written by Zach DeMeyer on June 13, 2020

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As today’s organizations adopt remote work models to accommodate public health guidelines, many IT departments require the means to remotely control their users’ access to applications, especially communication apps like Slack®. Thankfully, using a cloud directory service like JumpCloud® Directory-as-a-Service®, IT administrators can remotely automate their Slack user management — from a new hire’s first day to their final shift.

How to Automate Slack User Management with JumpCloud

JumpCloud Directory-as-a-Service provides organizations with cloud identity and access management (IAM) for virtually all IT resources. With JumpCloud, an end user only needs a single secure set of credentials to leverage their systems, applications, infrastructure, and more, also known as True Single Sign-On™. True Single Sign-On (SSO) includes SAML SSO for web applications, with JIT (Just-in-Time) provisioning for many popular apps and SCIM (System for Cross-domain Identity Management) provisioning for Slack at no additional cost

What is SCIM?

SCIM is a standard provisioning/deprovisioning protocol used by some service providers who also may support SAML 2.0. It allows for remote provisioning and deprovisioning in the application through a centralized identity provider, essentially allowing IT admins to fully manage a user’s lifecycle in an application like Slack. Slack is the first application of JumpCloud’s SSO offering to provide SCIM provisioning.

Managing Slack app user identities with JumpCloud

Inside JumpCloud, admins can apply the Slack SSO connector (under Applications) to groups of users across their organization. Any user in that group, even a newly added one or one without a pre-existing Slack account, will instantly be granted a new Slack identity using attributes stored in JumpCloud by the admin.

Why Automate Slack User Management

With remote work becoming the new normal due to global pandemic concerns, communications apps are critical to business continuity. Solutions like Slack, Zoom, Teams, Flock, Hangouts, Meet, etc. provide organizations with the ability to converse, meet, and share digitally, simulating the office experience when such a thing is no longer possible. 

Amidst the pandemic, however, organizations continue to onboard new employees that need access to these critical apps, and some may need to remove former users while cleaning up their infrastructure or letting someone go. SCIM provides full control over users’ access to supported web applications, and by leveraging the protocol through JumpCloud, admins automate their provisioning/deprovisioning needs for the app.

In order to create a new account, admins simply need to add a new user to a group bound to the Slack SCIM connector. In order to eliminate an account, admins just need to suspend or delete the user in JumpCloud, or remove them from a group bound to Slack.

What’s more, IT admins can integrate solutions like Workato with their JumpCloud and Slack instances to create a ChatOps environment they can use to support their users and remotely manage their IT needs. 

What Else is JumpCloud Used For?

JumpCloud is a cloud directory service that enables IT departments to remotely manage their users and their resource access — wherever they are in the world. See what Directory-as-a-Service can do for your organization by trying it yourself and signing up for an account.

The entire JumpCloud product is available for free for 10 users and systems, so you can evaluate if Directory-as-a-Service is a good fit for you before scaling to meet your needs. You can also request a guided demo from one of our experts.

Zach DeMeyer

Zach is a Product Marketing Specialist at JumpCloud with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. He loves being on the cutting edge of new technology, and when he's not working, he enjoys all things outdoors, music, and soccer.

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