In Brief
Windows identity Foundation (WIF) is a component of Microsoft's identity and access management solution. It is a 'Federated' and 'Claims' based identity framework with the distinct goal of decoupling the mode of authentication from an application and/or service. On the face of it then, WIF appears to be an solution for externalising the authentication mechanism altogether, no longer necessitating the need to create custom identity providers and user account tables for disparate applications within and without an organisation.
