Does SAML enable authentication for applications that do not support federated Single Sign-On (SSO)?

SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) is designed specifically for federated Single Sign-On (SSO), allowing users to authenticate once and gain access to multiple applications without needing to log in again. For applications that do not support SAML or federated SSO protocols, SAML cannot facilitate authentication since those applications lack the necessary foundation to process SAML assertions.

In situations where an application isn't capable of handling SAML, users usually need alternative methods for authentication, such as traditional username/password logins or, potentially, proprietary APIs, but these would not fall under the realm of SAML. Thus, for applications without built-in support for federated SSO via SAML, authentication through SAML is simply not possible.