The solution is a hybrid cloud with connectors into Azure/Microsoft 365 cloud.
Senior Information Technology Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Has a high learning curve, confusing licensing when users have hybrid deployments, and isn't very intuitive
Pros and Cons
- "It's not intuitive and we use it mainly for our Office 365 files. The integration between the two is interesting. However, the learning curve is high."
- "The scalability of the solution is good."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
I am still figuring out the whole on-prem/Azure Active Directory Premium/Microsoft 365 integrations and administrative connections.
What is most valuable?
The scalability of the solution is good.
Technical support can be helpful.
What needs improvement?
It's not intuitive and we use it mainly for our hybrid capability now and are expanding our footprint in Microsoft 365. The integration between on-prem and Online is interesting. However, the learning curve is high.
When you have an Office 365 enterprise subscription, it comes with Azure Active Directory, however, you don't have an Azure subscription. Yet, all of our active directory connectors put our credentials into the Azure Active Directory.
There are enough things that aren't implemented on our side and we are in the middle of this transition. I don't blame the product necessarily for that. However, there are links and items within Microsoft 365 that still point back to the .com side.
Items seem to continue to move, such as security and compliance. Now there's a security portal and a compliance portal, and all three are still being maintained, however, one's being phased in and the others are being phased out. Things continue to change. It's just been a bit to learn. There's a lot to keep track of. There should be a bit more transparency.
The Office 365 subscriptions are a bit confusing with a hybrid environment with what credential has an Microsoft 365 subscription. However, then some of the documentation I was reading this week was where I ran into a wall. This particular document clearly showed that when you have a particular ability on the Azure side, and then you have another ability on the Office side, intuitively the Microsoft cloud knows to give you certain other rights, to be able to do stuff. This settings and configurations are in different places. Some things are then in the Exchange Online, some things are in the Intune section, etc.
I am not sure if the intent is to have an Microsoft 365 administrator with a second subscription for a cloud admin account or not. I was trying to do something in Exchange online and received a message that I couldn't do it because I didn't have a mailbox. It's frustrating and confusing at times. There are things like that just are a different user experience between on-prem and online.
The Microsoft Premier Agreement we have has been very beneficial and we have had an excellent experience with a couple of different short cycle projects.
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For how long have I used the solution?
We've been working with the solution for just over a year and I have been involved for the last five months. It's been under a year, and not very long just yet.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability seems to be there. We are not a very big shop but we have unique needs and requirements.
How are customer service and support?
The premier services we have are very good. We have a contact that's been with Microsoft a while and that's really saved us. The reach back into field engineers and their amazing ability to get the job done have been hugely beneficial. The Exchange Online engineer we had was worth double what we paid for. It was amazing. If it weren't for that, I am not sure if we would have made our schedule. Often the timing hasn't lined up, with short notice compliance requirements and implementation constraints due to configuration or version of technology. They are very responsive, but depending on if it's break fix or planning, the planning side as longer cycles.
How was the initial setup?
I wasn't a part of the initial setup. I can't speak to how long the deployment took or how easy or difficult the process was.
What about the implementation team?
We had assistance with the setup. We're actually bringing in some more help as our needs have short turn cycles and some ageing infrastructure that we still have to move online.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would say to make sure you have a trusted integration partner or someone on staff that has been through this transition.
What other advice do I have?
We're just customers. We don't have a business relationship with the company.
While we use the on-premises model, we also have it synced for hybrid functionality.
With COVID especially, there have been a lot of changes in a lot of companies and a lot of rethinking of processes lately.
We're in the process of rolling out Office 356 internally. We've had really great feedback that people really like Teams, and we want to move more into that area. We had a roadmap meeting with Microsoft a few months ago. It was probably five months ago, four or five months ago.
Some of the more accessible types of items were on the roadmap for the first quarter of this year. However, Microsoft's working hard at listening to customers, especially through the COVID situation that changed a lot of work and priorities. The collaboration stuff has changed. They've been pushing a little bit more on getting some more integrations. We're not going to have that kind of clout where I am, however, where I used to work, we would have. We were the ones that were making sure the Exchange got upgraded and got to the developers.
I would rate the solution at a six out of ten. If the solution offered better transparency/clarity I might rate it higher.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Head of IT at a non-profit with 51-200 employees
It is stable and allows us to see and control PCs and mobile devices
Pros and Cons
- "The ability to see and control PCs and mobile devices is the most valuable. I can see where they are and how many we have. I can also see the age and retention of PCs."
- "The only issue with Azure AD is that it doesn't have control over the wifi network. You have to do something more to have a secure wifi network. To have it working, you need an active directory server on-premises to take care of the networks."
What is our primary use case?
We use it to have better security and better control over PCs and clients.
What is most valuable?
The ability to see and control PCs and mobile devices is the most valuable. I can see where they are and how many we have. I can also see the age and retention of PCs.
What needs improvement?
The only issue with Azure AD is that it doesn't have control over the wifi network. You have to do something more to have a secure wifi network. To have it working, you need an active directory server on-premises to take care of the networks.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft products for a really long time. I have been using cloud solutions for a couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable and working for us.
How are customer service and technical support?
They don't give support to the end users in Sweden. We always have to go to a reseller, which is a bad thing.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We didn't do it ourselves. A company did it for us.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are a non-profit organization, so we get good prices from Microsoft for their products. It is working well, but it could be cheaper. For the type of organization we are, it would be good if they could give a little bit more and be more generous like Google, which has completely free services. Microsoft has free versions or web services called Office 365 E1, which is free for use, but we want to have it with more qualified clients.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise getting some help from professionals to implement it. You have to implement it in a very planned way with a very detailed roadmap.
I would rate Microsoft Azure Active Directory Premium an eight out of ten. It is quite good, and we are quite pleased with this solution.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Senior IT Manager at a pharma/biotech company with 1-10 employees
Stable, easy to set up, and useful for people who travel a lot
Pros and Cons
- "It has been stable, and we haven't had any issues since we started to use it."
- "Microsoft Authenticator is as easy as Google Authenticator, but it is not open to all types of applications. Google Authenticator is integrated with other third-party platforms and applications, whereas Microsoft Authenticator is not. It should have more integration with third-party platforms and applications."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Authenticator as well as Microsoft SMS Authenticator. Normally, we enable MFA for all users who have email access and application access. Users can choose which authenticator they want to use. Based on their convenience, they enable Microsoft Authenticator or Microsoft SMS Authenticator. Almost 80% to 90% of users use Microsoft SMS Authenticator. Users who travel a lot choose Microsoft Authenticator.
We are using the latest version. It is updated by default, and we don't have to update the application. It is also automatically updated on mobile.
What is most valuable?
It has been stable, and we haven't had any issues since we started to use it.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Authenticator is as easy as Google Authenticator, but it is not open to all types of applications. Google Authenticator is integrated with other third-party platforms and applications, whereas Microsoft Authenticator is not. It should have more integration with third-party platforms and applications.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for the last two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
How are customer service and technical support?
We didn't have any issues or concerns. Therefore, we have never raised a ticket for Microsoft Authenticator.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy. You have to enable MFA on the portal for a user, and you have to put the user's phone number. The user can then log in with Azure ID. The user is redirected to the second level of code authenticator and receives an SMS on the mobile. The user needs to enter the OTP.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It comes free with the Microsoft account. We have a yearly agreement, and all products are covered under it.
What other advice do I have?
We will keep using Microsoft Authenticator as a secondary solution. We prefer Microsoft SMS Authenticator over Microsoft Authenticator.
I would recommend this solution to others. I would rate Microsoft Authenticator a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Security Architect at a hospitality company with 10,001+ employees
Provides secure connections and authentication of people
Pros and Cons
- "Its ability to provide secure connections to people at all locations is the most valuable. It is mostly used by enterprises."
- "The onboarding process for new users can be improved. It can be made simpler for people who have never registered to Azure AD previously and need to create an account and enable the MFA. The initial setup can be made simpler for non-IT people. It should be a bit simpler to use. Unless you get certifications, such as AZ-300 and AZ-301, it is not a simple thing to use at the enterprise scale."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for the authentication of people in a hybrid configuration. In most cases,
Office 365 makes companies move to Azure Active Directory.
We have both on-premises and cloud deployments.
What is most valuable?
Its ability to provide secure connections to people at all locations is the most valuable. It is mostly used by enterprises.
What needs improvement?
The onboarding process for new users can be improved. It can be made simpler for people who have never registered to Azure AD previously and need to create an account and enable the MFA. The initial setup can be made simpler for non-IT people.
It should be a bit simpler to use. Unless you get certifications, such as AZ-300 and AZ-301, it is not a simple thing to use at the enterprise scale.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for four or five years.
How are customer service and technical support?
I never use technical support. I usually find the information on my own or through my friends at Microsoft.
How was the initial setup?
It is not complicated for me as an IT guy, but the feedback from the field or non-IT people is that it could be simpler.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
MFA and P2 licenses for two Azures for fully-enabled scenarios and features cost a lot of money. This is where Okta is trying to get the prices down.
What other advice do I have?
I have spent seven years at Microsoft, so I have a tendency to like Microsoft solutions because I know them and the philosophy behind them. Till now, Azure AD is probably the best solution for identity and security.
I also use Okta. For integration with Microsoft solutions, Office 365 Azure is just right. However, for some scenarios, such as consolidations, Okta seems to have a few advantages as compared to Active Directory. Okta also has a very interesting price.
I would rate Microsoft Azure Active Directory Premium an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Head of enterprise systems at Fidelity Bank Plc
Easy to deploy and supports conditional access using multifactor authentication
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the ability to set up conditional access, where you can enforce users to connect using multifactor authentication."
- "Technical support could be faster."
What is our primary use case?
Typically, we have applications deployed within the office network that we need to make accessible to our staff outside of the bank. Some of them are also our clients, but mainly, this is for people working in the region.
So without having to put them behind firewalls, what we opted to do is publish them to the proxy. This means that they can then come in via a secure port and begin to access the resources as if they were internally and securely within the network.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the ability to set up conditional access, where you can enforce users to connect using multifactor authentication. This is one of the things that we are using it for. It means that users who are accessing the applications remotely are authentic.
What needs improvement?
Technical support could be faster.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this product for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable and we plan to increase our usage.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable product. It can be deployed in a highly available manner, where you have to have two or three connectors. We have approximately 7,000 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
We are satisfied with the technical support from Microsoft, although it could be faster.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
This product is part of our enterprise license and we did not previously use a different one.
How was the initial setup?
This is a cloud service, so the initial setup is straightforward. It is not complex.
For each request, it does not take very long.
What about the implementation team?
We deployed this product ourselves.
No staff is required for maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This product is sold as part of the enterprise package and our licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis. You can get it as an add-on and it's not expensive.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have not evaluated other solutions, which makes it difficult to tell what additional features I would like to see in the future. It is sufficient and adequate for our current use case.
What other advice do I have?
In our current use case, there is nothing that is lacking. This is definitely a product that I can recommend for other users.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Solution architect at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees
User-friendly with good pricing and easily customizable
Pros and Cons
- "The single sign-on of the solution is the most valuable aspect."
- "We would like to have more granularity in the Azure conditional access in order to be able to manage more groups for devices and for applications."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution only for the employees. It offers a single sign-on to business applications. Internal modern applications also go through Azure Active Directory, however, we use Active Directory for the legacy ones. (Kerberos).
How has it helped my organization?
It takes a couple hours to add SSO to new business SaaS. The Azure AD Marketplace has all the applications we bought so far as built-in templates.
What is most valuable?
The single sign-on of the solution is the most valuable aspect.
The initial setup is straightforward.
The solution offers good bundles that include Office 365.
The pricing is pretty decent.
The product is pretty user-friendly and offers good customization capabilities.
What needs improvement?
We find that most of the new features are in preview for too long. It gives you the announcement that there's a new feature and yet, most of the time, it takes more than one year to have it generally available. Often we have to go and sometimes just use a preview without support.
We cannot run all the configurations from the APIs. I would like to have something that has code and to just be able to back up and apply my configuration. Right now, we are managing more Azure tenants. It's hard to keep all of those configurations at the same level, the same value.
We would like to have more granularity in the Azure conditional access in order to be able to manage more groups for applications. That way, when adding a new applications I don't have multiple conditional access to modify.
One of the main requests from our security team is the MFA challenge. Azure, by default, is more user-friendly. We have a lot of debates with the security team here as the MFA doesn't pop up often enough for them. From an end-user perspective, it's a better user experience, as users generally prefer fewer pop-ups, however, security doesn't like it. It's hard for security to add.
We don't have Azure Premium P2 yet, however, most of the advanced security features are in the P2, and it costs a lot more money.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for four years at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is relatively stable. The only issue we have is that there's a lot of things on Azure that are synchronous. Sometimes it takes time for changes to apply, and it kind of depends on the time of the day. A lot of the time we're happy with it, however, sometimes it creates a bizarre issue that is difficult to troubleshoot.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is quite stable. If an organization needs to expand it out, they can do so rather easily.
We have about 9,000 people in our organization using the solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
While the technical support is good, you need premium support. The standard support is more for small enterprises. We have the premium support and with the premium support, it's much better. There's a direct line to the correct type of support. It's very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used SiteMinder from Computer Associates. The main reason we migrated to Azure was for the integration with Office 365. It then became our primary authentication source for the employees.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not too complex. It's pretty straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We didn't need the assistance of an integrator, reseller or consultant for deployment. We were able to handle everything in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is really great and Office 365 packages are good. We don't pay for it separately. It's included in our package and the APIs are really great. I'm not sure of the exact cost of Azure. It's a package deal.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We've looked into Okta for B2B and B2C clients, not necessarily for our internal employees.
What other advice do I have?
We're just a customer.
We're using the latest version of the solution.
I would recommend the solution for employees. It's a really great tool. However, we tried it also for consumers, for clients for B2B and B2C. For me, it isn't really a great production product. We researched Okta for that.
Overall, I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Software Engineer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Easy to manage and integrates well with third-party applications
Pros and Cons
- "The ability to grant access to other organizations is helpful."
- "Microsoft needs to add a single setup, so whenever resources join the company or are leaving the company, all of the changes can be made with a single click."
What is our primary use case?
We are a software development company and solution provider, and this is one of the products that we implement for our clients.
This is an easy way to give users access to applications. I can share access with other organizations outside of our network.
What is most valuable?
This solution is easy to manage.
The ability to grant access to other organizations is helpful.
It integrates well with a large number of applications.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft needs to add a single setup, so whenever resources join the company or are leaving the company, all of the changes can be made with a single click.
I would like to see a secure, on-premises gateway that offers connectivity between the physical servers and the cloud. The capability already exists, but it is not secure enough when the setting is marked private.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Azure Active Directory Premium for about a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In the time that I have been using Microsoft Azure, I haven't had any problem with stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is the right platform if you are looking for scalability. We have more than 100,000 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have not needed to use technical support.
We have a couple of contacts in the Microsoft team, so we will reach out to them in case we have any questions.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have recently been working with Okta, and I find that most organizations are moving toward it. With this in mind, I think that Microsoft has to take care, and consider why so many people are switching. The most important reason is the single setup. Once they set up Okta, it's easy for the organization.
How was the initial setup?
I have been working in Microsoft Azure for a long time and I find the initial setup to be easy.
What about the implementation team?
For maintenance, we have a team of 20 administrators and developers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing fees are paid on a monthly basis and the cost depends on the number of users. There are no charges in addition to this.
What other advice do I have?
The suitability of this solution depends on the technology and the environment at the organization. Many companies are still transitioning to the cloud, leaving part or all of their data on-premises. Ultimately, it depends on the data that they have and their preference or requirements for keeping it on-premises. In some cases, people want to move only non-private data to the cloud. All of these things have to be considered before implementing Azure Active Directory.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Infrastructure and Cloud Principle Specialist at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Integrates well with Microsoft products but configuring third-party solutions can be difficult
Pros and Cons
- "Multi-factor authentication really secures our environments and gives us the flexibility to use location-based policies. Azure AD also gives us a lot of flexibility in our scope of integration."
- "I would like it to be easier to integrate third-party applications."
What is our primary use case?
We use Azure AD for sign-on security as well as for our customers' Microsoft 365 solutions. We help migrate our customers from the traditional Active Directory, and to use Exchange Online and Microsoft Teams. We use Azure AD to secure their login processes with multi-factor authentication. In some specific cases, where there are specific applications, databases, or Active Directory login information about users, we integrate Azure AD with those elements.
What is most valuable?
Multi-factor authentication really secures our environments and gives us the flexibility to use location-based policies. Azure AD also gives us a lot of flexibility in our scope of integration.
It's easy to configure Microsoft products with Azure AD. It is almost an instant integration. In hybrid installations it is a bit more complex to configure, but not that much. In short, it is good for most Microsoft customers and the products they use.
What needs improvement?
Some of the features related to authentication could be made clearer. In my last organization, I tried to integrate a third-party education solution with Azure AD, but it was a bit difficult to configure. I would like it to be easier to integrate third-party applications.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Azure AD for three or four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable product. I haven't encountered any problems or bugs.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable.
How was the initial setup?
In general, there is no problem in configuring Azure AD. It's not hard. But, as I said, configuring third-party, open-source applications with it is a little bit difficult.
We usually set aside one day to configure Azure AD for new organizations. In general, it takes one person to maintain it, perhaps two in some cases.
What other advice do I have?
We have faced a few little problems in our customers' hybrid environments. Backing up the ADFS (Active Directory Federation Services) is very important, but some of our customers didn't do so and they lost their ADFS proxy servers. That is one of the important lessons I have learned. In those cases we had to reconfigure almost everything. It's simple to back up ADFS, so I would advise doing so.
But from the user's point of view, we've faced no problems. It works well.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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