AWS IAM Identity Center and Microsoft Entra External ID are identity and access management solutions. AWS IAM Identity Center is noted for its pricing and support, while Microsoft Entra External ID stands out with advanced features.
Features: AWS IAM Identity Center supports seamless AWS service integration, centralized identity management, and multi-factor authentication. Microsoft Entra External ID provides advanced security like conditional access policies, integration beyond Azure, and versatility in hybrid environments.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AWS IAM Identity Center offers straightforward deployment in AWS with responsive support. Microsoft Entra External ID, though more complex, offers extensive documentation and support for diverse cloud integration.
Pricing and ROI: AWS IAM Identity Center has competitive pricing with lower setup costs, favorable for AWS-centric operations. Microsoft Entra External ID requires higher investment but justifies it with comprehensive features and security, providing significant ROI for complex identity management needs.
The return on investment includes operational efficiency gains, security risk reduction, compliance with regulations, improved user experience, productivity benefits, reduced overhead, and better security posture.
We have achieved significant time efficiencies with AWS IAM Identity Center.
It has led to cost savings as well as time savings because I can use a single solution for all applications.
Companies can leverage it for setting up external identities without needing to develop their own solutions.
In terms of return on investment, prior to using this product, our company managed our own mail server with all internal authentication happening on premises, resulting in a ROI in the thousands every year.
AWS provides immediate solutions and assistance whenever needed, especially if issues arise that cannot be handled internally.
They are prompt, keep you updated, and provide excellent assistance.
AWS offers better assistance plans for their services.
Companies without a Microsoft license for Entra ID or Azure portal cannot add Azure AD B2C, creating logistical issues for some of my clients who are unable to evaluate the platform.
The support for business applications, infrastructure support, and Entra has been mostly positive with highly skilled technicians.
The documentation is very thorough, reducing the need for support.
AWS Identity Center successfully supports scalable deployments, allowing additional resources as the company grows.
The scalability of AWS IAM Identity Center is excellent.
It can handle both a small number of users and a bigger number of users efficiently.
This is one of EID's weak points compared to Azure AD B2C, which offers customizable authentication options, including attribute and password combinations.
End-user workloads experience increased latency in a cloud environment compared to on-premises resources.
Microsoft Entra External ID is quite scalable, and I would rate its scalability between eight and nine out of ten.
There can be issues if there is an outage on AWS's side, which could prevent logging in because your region might be down, affecting the Identity Center's availability.
It offers 99.96% uptime.
Stability-wise, it is functioning well without any outages or crashes.
I'd rate the stability of the Microsoft Entra External ID as a 10.
The stability of this solution is very good.
I have not encountered any stability issues with Microsoft Entra External ID.
Having a lot of users on one instance is hard to configure, so I hope for more flexibility and ease in configuration.
Enhancements could include automation tools or a centralized dashboard for managing roles and policies across multiple accounts, simplifying the process.
When configuring it with third-party tools, like Active Directory, the naming convention of permission sets requires careful attention, which can be confusing.
This is particularly challenging during enterprise agreement renewals, as it's difficult for customers to review costs leading to lengthy negotiations.
Enhanced customizable login options and the ability to use attribute password logins are critical features that are required for Microsoft Entra External ID to gain dominance in the authentication market.
I would like to see a more detailed alert system that provides a summary of why alerts are generated, who is generating them, and the reasons behind it.
AWS IAM Identity Center is available as a free service by default.
It is not that expensive, rated at three out of ten for costs.
Pricing for AWS IAM Identity Center is very affordable, rated at two out of ten with one being cheap.
Regarding pricing, the cost seems high for single sign-on, especially for external applications like Oracle.
Microsoft's pricing is complex and difficult to fathom due to a range of different licensing options.
The cost can be a factor for Microsoft Entra External ID, but in general, it offers a scalable and efficient solution compared to deploying individual solutions.
It provides the least privilege-based access control, which limits users to only the operations they need to perform without interfering with unrelated configurations.
These features allow for excellent micro-level control over resources, ensuring specific permissions are granted.
Its valuable features include granular access control, allowing precise control over who can access specific AWS resources and under what conditions using JSON-based policies.
It is crucial for hybrid environments, especially for integrating existing on-site infrastructures with cloud-based Active Directory, such as in Office 365 implementations.
EID unifies workforce users with external business partners, which is a very strong feature.
The detailed monitoring and reporting in Microsoft Entra External ID support compliance efforts effectively.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| AWS IAM Identity Center | 1.4% |
| Microsoft Entra External ID | 2.4% |
| Other | 96.2% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 3 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 3 |
| Large Enterprise | 4 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 8 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 2 |
| Large Enterprise | 6 |
AWS IAM Identity Center is the recommended service for managing your workforce's access to AWS applications or your multiple AWS accounts (or both). It is a flexible solution that can be used to connect your existing identity source or help you create users in AWS. IAM Identity Center can be used alongside your existing AWS account access configurations.
Microsoft Entra External ID, part of Microsoft Entra, provides highly secure digital experiences for partners, customers, citizens, patients, or any users outside your organization with customization controls. Combine external identities and user directories in one portal to seamlessly manage access across the organization.
Microsoft Entra External ID refers to all the ways you can securely interact with users outside of your organization. If you want to collaborate with partners, distributors, suppliers, or vendors, you can share your resources and define how your internal users can access external organizations. If you're a developer creating consumer-facing apps, you can manage your customers' identity experiences.
With External ID, external users can "bring their own identities." Whether they have a corporate or government-issued digital identity, or an unmanaged social identity like Google or Facebook, they can use their own credentials to sign in. The external user’s identity provider manages their identity, and you manage access to your apps with Entra ID or Entra External ID to keep your resources protected.
The following capabilities make up External ID:
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