What Does Federated Mean in Search, Identity, and Databases?

Federation in technology refers to independent systems united under a central organization. It is particularly important as internet usage expands across various aspects of life and companies rely on third-party SaaS providers for technical services. Three common use-cases of federation are federated search, federated identity, and federated databases. Federated search involves compiling results from multiple sources into a single format for the user. It is different from distributed search as it centralizes the process of formatting queries, de-duplicating results, and presenting them in a unified format. Federated identity allows users to access data and apps across multiple systems through one interface without needing individual logins. This concept is similar to single sign-on (SSO), which is a subset of federated identity. Common technologies used for this include SAML, OAuth, and OpenID. Federated databases connect disparate databases with a unifying user interface, allowing each database to maintain its own structure and query language while communicating with the centralized database. This approach avoids complicated data migrations and merges by keeping all data in their original formats. Overall, federation enhances user experience by abstracting implementation details across different systems.