October 2024 Release Notes

Written By Devin O'Neill ()

Updated at April 24th, 2025

This document covers all product updates included with the October 2024 Release issued on October 7th, 2024.

Hierarchy Management

Update Summary Value/Benefits
Hierarchy Management Restructure

Audience: Everyone

Description: Hierarchy Management enables loyalty members or corporate accounts to be organized in hierarchy groups. Groups can pool points together to earn points or share status.

Prerequisites: Hierarchy Management module should be enabled and configured. 

Limitations and Restrictions: This release of Hierarchy Management does not support Tiers. Support to set tiers using group status will be included in a future release. Enrollment and group management functionalities are not yet available through the loyalty iFrame. 

Use Cases:

  • Members can create a group and send invites to other members to earn points together, achieve rewards faster, or redeem collective benefits. For example, group members who frequently dine at the same restaurant can aggregate their points to enjoy a larger reward, such as a free meal or a special event invitation. 
  • For B2B customers, an account with oversight of sub-accounts can pool points together at the parent level.

For more details on this enhancement, please visit the following Annex Cloud documentation pages:

Group accounts enable loyalty members to collectively join groups and earn rewards that may not be accessible to individuals. The potential outcomes of group accounts can vary significantly, depending on the structure of a loyalty program.  This solution allows controls to be set at the group level rather than globally.

Loyalty members can create a group and send invites to others to join the group. The members of the group can earn and burn the points collectively based on the permissions set by the group owner. The owner of the group can define the administrative permissions to remove the other members from the group. The members themselves can leave the group. To keep transparency within the group, each member of the group can view the group performance, i.e. who joined the group, who earned points for the group, who redeemed the group points, who left/was removed from the group.

Single Sign-On (SSO) Configuration 

Update Summary Value/Benefits
Self-Serve Single Sign-On (SSO) Configuration

Audience: Administrators

Description: This enhancement introduces a self-serve setup for Single Sign-On (SSO) using SAML authentication within Annex Cloud. This feature allows administrators to configure SSO independently, streamlining the integration process between Annex Cloud and various Identity Providers (IdPs).

Prerequisites:

  • Identity Provider (IdP Configuration): Set up your IdP (steps may vary based on provider). Obtain the required metadata, including the Identity Provider Issuer, Login URL, and Public Certificate.
  • SSO Configuration in Annex Cloud:
    • Log into Annex Cloud and navigate to the SSO configuration in the Users menu.
    • Enable SAML SSO by checking the relevant checkbox.
    • Use provided SP details to set up the connection with your IdP.
    • Enter IdP-specific details such as Login URL and Public Certificate into Annex Cloud's configuration.
  • Advanced Settings: Define SAML attribute names corresponding to claim names in your IdP, including First Name, Last Name, Site ID, and Email ID attributes.

Use Case: A company using Microsoft Azure AD as its IdP can quickly configure SSO within Annex Cloud, allowing employees to log in through Azure AD and seamlessly access Annex Cloud's services without needing separate credentials. This improves security and simplifies user access management. 

For more details on this enhancement, please visit the Annex Cloud Configuring SSO help documentation page.

  • Simplified Access: Users can log in once with their Identity Provider (IdP) and gain access to Annex Cloud without additional login prompts, enhancing security and user experience.
  • Centralized Management: Administrators can configure SSO settings directly within Annex Cloud, reducing the need for custom support and speeding up deployment times.
  • Flexibility: Compatible with a wide range of IdPs, allowing organizations to choose their preferred authentication provider.

Members Report

Update Summary Value/Benefits
New Columns Added to the Members Report

Audience: Everyone

Description: This enhancement added three additional columns to the Members Report dashboard table: the Last Activity Date column, Last Purchase Date column, and Current Balance column.

For more details on this enhancement, please visit the Annex Cloud Member Report help documentation page.

The additional columns provide more information on members' participation within the loyalty program. When running a report on a group of members or a specific member, the report now shows the data points of when a member was last active in the loyalty program, when a member made their last purchase, and how many points are currently in the member’s available point balance.