Zendesk cloud app

Using the SAML 2.0 standard, you can configure single sign-on (SSO) for a number of cloud apps. After you set up SSO, your users can use their Google Workspace credentials to sign in to an app using SSO.

Use SAML to set up SSO for Zendesk

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You must be signed in as a super administrator for this task.

Step 1: Set up Google as a SAML identity provider
  1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

    Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).

  2. In the Admin console, go to Menu and then Appsand thenWeb and mobile apps.
  3. Click Add appand thenSearch for apps.
  4. For Enter app name, enter Zendesk.
  5. In the search results, point to Zendesk and click Select.
  6. In the Google Identity Provider details window, for Option 2: Copy the SSO URL and certificate:
    1. Next to SSO URL, click Copy  and save the URL. 
    2. Next to Certificate, click Copy  and save the SHA-256 fingerprint.
      You need these details to complete the setup in Zendesk.
  7. Click Continue.
  8. On the Service provider details page, for ACS URLEntity ID, and Start URL, replace {your-account-name} with your Zendesk subdomain.
  9. Click Continue.
  10. In the Attribute mapping window, click Select field and map the following Google directory attribute to the corresponding Zendesk attribute. The Email attribute is required. 
     
    Google directory attribute Zendesk attribute
    Basic Information > Primary Email Email
  11. (Optional) To add additional mappings, click Add Mapping and select the fields that you need to map.
  12. (Optional) To enter group names that are relevant for this app:
    1. For Group membership (optional), click Search for a group, enter one or more letters of the group name, and select the group name.
    2. Add additional groups as needed (maximum of 75 groups).
    3. For App attribute, enter the groups attribute name of the corresponding service provider.

    Regardless of how many group names you enter, the SAML response includes only groups that a user is a member of (directly or indirectly). For more information, go to About group membership mapping.

  13. Click Finish.
Step 2: Set up Zendesk as a SAML 2.0 service provider
  1. Open an Incognito browser window, go to the Zendesk sign-in page, and sign in with your Zendesk administrator account. 
  2. For Zendesk Support, click Adminand thenChannelsand thenAPI.
  3. On the Settings tab, turn on password access.
  4. Click Adminand thenSettingsand thenSecurity.
  5. On the Global tab, select Manage security settings in Admin Center.
  6. On the Single sign-on tab, click SAML.
  7. Click SAML SSO URL and paste the SSO URL that you copied in Step 1.
  8. (Optional) Click Logout URL and enter a URL.
  9. Click SHA-256 fingerprint and paste the fingerprint that you copied in Step 1.
Step 3: Turn on app for users

Before you begin: To turn a service on or off for certain users, put their accounts in an organizational unit (to control access by department) or add them to an access group (to allow access for users across or within departments).

  1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

    Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).

  2. In the Admin console, go to Menu and then Appsand thenWeb and mobile apps.
  3. Click Zendesk.
  4. Click User access.
  5. To turn a service on or off for everyone in your organization, click On for everyone or Off for everyone, and then click Save.

  6. (Optional) To turn a service on or off for an organizational unit:
    1. At the left, select the organizational unit.
    2. To change the Service status, select On or Off.
    3. Choose one:
      • If the Service status is set to Inherited and you want to keep the updated setting, even if the parent setting changes, click Override.
      • If the Service status is set to Overridden, either click Inherit to revert to the same setting as its parent, or click Save to keep the new setting, even if the parent setting changes.
        Note: Learn more about organizational structure.
  7. To turn on a service for a set of users across or within organizational units, select an access group. For details, go to Use groups to customize service access.
  8. Ensure that your Zendesk user account email domains match the primary domain of your organization’s managed Google Account.
Step 4: Verify SSO is working

Zendesk supports both identity provider-initiated and service provider-initiated SSO.

Verify identity provider-initiated SSO

  1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

    Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).

  2. In the Admin console, go to Menu and then Appsand thenWeb and mobile apps.
  3. Click Zendesk.
  4. In the Zendesk section, click Test SAML login.

    The app should open in a separate tab. If it doesn’t, troubleshoot the error message and try again. For details on troubleshooting, go to SAML app error messages.

Verify service provider-initiated SSO

  1. Close all browser windows.
  2. Go to the Zendesk sign-in page, and sign in with your Zendesk administrator account.

    You should be redirected to the Google sign-in page.

  3. Enter your Google Workspace email address and password.

After your credentials are authenticated, the app should open.

Step 5: Set up user provisioning

As a super administrator, you can automatically provision users in the Zendesk app. For details, go to Configure Zendesk user provisioning.


Google, Google Workspace, and related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. All other company and product names are trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.

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