Suggestion: Custom Authentication Methods

Purpose: Allow admin to create a custom authentication mechanism not tied to the Zoho user ID system

Motivation: Custom applications that are purchased by corporate entities and organizations may take issue at having to use Zoho accounts. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with Zoho accounts, it just that there may be policies requiring certain auth methods OR member contact data may be viewed as propriety information and cannot be released outside the firewall. In other cases, for small organizations, the admin may want to communicate login info to individuals so they do not have to sign-up. For these, and many other similar reasons, I think a key step for Zoho Creator will be to offer custom authentication methods. This may be a premium service, depending on the authentication type.

Example: A simple example would be a club membership application. The admin may distribute login info to individual members. Or have them go to a web page and sign themselves up. A more complex application would be an invoice system or a learning management system that uses NT Auth driven from a corporate AD.

Implementation: Custom Auth would be an option when an application is first created. The admin could select from Zoho ID, Basic Custom ID, and premium authentication systems like LDAP, OpenID, and others (I'm no expert here; the community may suggest as necessary – possibly as another round of voting). The "Basic Custom ID" automatically creates a ready-made user database. It would contain columns for user-name, password (possibly obfuscated), IP, and password retrieval Q&A. The admin could then use some new deluge code and/or a new standard ready-made Authentication Sign-in Form that is keyed to the login data. There would also be another standard ready-made forms for Subscription and Password Retrieval. The situation would be similar for the "premium" auths (like LDAP) but with more set-up required by the admin to connect the systems over https. I'd like to see Zoho roll-out the "Basic Custom ID" right away, and then over time release updates for the premium auth mechanisms.

Issues: Nothing for the "Basic Custom ID" application. But there may be significant issues with the others I'm calling "premium". I simply do not have the expertise to judge how complex it would be.

Workaround: Yes (limited), both Gaev and I have posted examples. Mine is very close the what I’m referring to as "Basic Custom ID": http://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community?ftid=2266000000341280

References: The password field has been suggested (http://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/?ftid=2266000000242689) but I'm expanding on the idea here.