Microsoft Entra ID Reviews

I have been employed as a subject matter expert for Microsoft Entra ID, as well as other Microsoft projects. Presently, my organization is collaborating closely with the Microsoft product team. This involves handling end-to-end customer scenarios connected to the products. In cases where there are issues related to configuration or operational scenarios, I provide assistance by configuring based on the organizational requirements. Additionally, I ensure end-to-end security through Microsoft Entra ID. I have dedicated the past 22 months to working within my organization on various Microsoft projects.

Microsoft Entra ID is a cloud-only service. However, if a customer has existing on-premises resources, they can integrate them using Azure Ready Connect to Microsoft Entra ID. It can be used in a hybrid mode depending on the organization's requirements.

Microsoft Entra ID provides a unified interface for managing user access. The user's sign-on experience relies on several factors, including the specific service or resource they are attempting to reach. The initial sign-on process involves first-factor authentication, which typically entails entering the username and password. Depending on the user's assigned security level, multi-factor authentication may be required. If the user is attempting to access an application and Single Sign-On is enabled, they can also enjoy a seamless sign-on experience for accessing both on-premises and cloud-only resources.

The admin center assists us in managing everything, from global administrators to Role-Based Access Control provisions. If a specific admin needs to be assigned to access all user authentication methods, an authentication administrator will be made available. Similarly, a conditional access administrator can assume this role if needed. We have a variety of roles accessible for performing tasks such as accessing, reading, writing, and editing operations, all based on specific requirements. Alternatively, there's the global administration role, which holds the capability to perform various actions and possesses full control over the tenant. This control can be exercised through the admin center.

When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, all of our employees across various organizations worldwide began working from home. This trend of remote work continues significantly. Users operate from diverse networks, which might vary in terms of security levels. In order to safeguard resources, Microsoft Entra ID plays a pivotal role for all organizations, not solely for mine. Microsoft Entra ID provides essential security features, such as continuous access evaluation, multifactor authentication, IP restriction, and device-based blocking. These features constitute a device registration scenario that organizations can adopt. Whether an organization chooses to manage devices through Microsoft Entra ID or one of the other device registration scenarios available depends on the specific context, particularly the industrial location for an IT engineer. In this setup, an organization can impose restrictions or temporary blocks on users directly, contributing to the assurance of secure logins. This approach aids organizations in preventing unauthorized access to user accounts and organizational data from potentially malicious actors like hackers or unauthorized exporters. Microsoft Entra ID has been designed to enhance the security of both users and organizational information, aligning with Microsoft's commitment to safeguarding user data.

Conditional access is among the most reliable and secure features enhancing the performance of Microsoft Enterprise ID. This functionality enables us to execute various actions, as I have previously indicated. These statements are straightforward and comprehensive. To prevent access for specific users, we must apply logs based on specific requirements. If there is a need to restrict a user, we can implement a pause. This means that if a user is accessing from a certain location or utilizing a particular device, they will be granted access. Conversely, if these conditions are not met, the user's access will be denied. Therefore, conditional access policies can be employed as the organization's primary line of defense. In the past 22 months, updates have been made to the conditional access framework, incorporating conditional access policies from both session management and control management. This enhancement enables organization administrators to apply more refined filters, thereby enhancing user security. These updates include the potential enforcement of app protection procedures through Entra ID. Alternatively, administrators may create custom policies for specific applications or websites using the Defender of products. In the past, the option to merge different Entra apps and conditional access was not available. Presently, conditional access policies offer heightened security, allowing the creation of policies from various Microsoft services, including different apps. This capability empowers us to restrict users or employees from actions like copying certain data or transferring information to other locations. It prevents downloading of company information from untrusted devices as well. Additionally, our implementation of app protection policies aligns various Microsoft services with conditional access policies, further fortifying overall security.

The three factors for implementing a zero-trust framework are verifying the users, checking their privileges, and aiding in identifying any breaches. Conditional access assists with this process.

We can establish application restrictions and enforcement policies based on the Entra ID. These policies can then be aligned with conditional access policies across various locations. Additionally, we have the ability to formulate policies, such as designating trusted and untrusted locations for device data. This ensures that specific applications will only be accessible if they meet the conditional access prerequisites both from Entra and within the Endpoint Manager policies. This encompasses all first-party Microsoft applications as well.

The Verified ID feature is one of the most impressive functionalities I have encountered. Although I haven't used it personally, my role involves working as a technical support engineer for Microsoft. My responsibilities include handling support requests for Microsoft and assisting customers worldwide, whether they are utilizing premier or personal support services. To the best of my understanding, the Verified ID offers one of the most secure methods for organizations to store their data via the Decentralized Identifier framework. This enables them to manage their setup autonomously and perform DID verifications. Through this process, organizations can issue credentials to users using the Microsoft Authenticator app. This ensures that a web server is set up and a decentralized ID is created. Importantly, all organizational data remains confined within the organization; Microsoft does not retain user credentials or passwords. Consequently, all organizational data becomes integrated into the decentralized ID. This process is carried out by administrators responsible for onboarding users into the organization. When an employee joins the organization, they are issued credentials using the Verified ID feature through the authenticator app. Subsequently, these credentials are passed on to the user. The authenticator app then verifies the legitimacy of the request.

Microsoft Entra ID has proven invaluable in saving time for both our IT administrators and HR departments. Prior to Entra ID, we were required to generate individual user IDs sequentially. However, with Entra ID, we now have the convenience of producing them in bulk. This includes the ability to furnish these user access IDs temporarily, along with corresponding temporary passwords. This is achieved through a CSV-formatted Excel sheet. This process is particularly advantageous when juxtaposed with onboarding new users. For our existing users, determinations are made based on their user activity and potential risk status. In this regard, our IT administrators or global admins are promptly alerted if any user is flagged as risky. These notifications and identity protection features are integral components of Microsoft Entra ID, especially in relation to potential users. Furthermore, our system incorporates the latest workflow feature. This functionality closely resembles Identity Protection, although the latter exclusively pertains to users and objects. Conversely, virtual IDs oversee services, including applications and various other resources that have been generated via web apps, SQL, or SharePoint instances.

Microsoft Entra ID has significantly contributed to cost savings within our organization. Prior to implementing Entra ID, substantial financial resources were dedicated to various investments. Particularly in the realm of licensing, any learning initiative incurred substantial expenses. However, there has been a notable transformation in Azure, now rebranded as Entra, accompanied by the incorporation of numerous features under the Microsoft Entra ID umbrella. Undoubtedly, this has greatly enhanced cost management for our organization. Moreover, we now possess the capability to effectively manage subscriptions. We receive regular alerts from the cost management infrastructure, providing insights into our resource consumption. A distinct 'pay-as-you-go' option empowers us to select and pay solely for the resources we utilize. This approach enables us to forego committing to a fixed amount of virtual machines for a predetermined period. Instead, we can opt for resources as needed, paying only for their actual usage. Indeed, the cloud plays a pivotal role in cost savings when compared to the complexities of managing on-premises servers and resources.

The Microsoft Entra ID has significantly enhanced our user experience. In our daily scenarios, there is no need to log in every time. This is especially beneficial for user authentication and accessing various resources. Entra offers features that simplify our daily tasks and the use of dynamic applications that we host. One remarkable feature is the ability to utilize single sign-on, which is both cool and highly effective. Additionally, we have the option of Windows Hello for Business, including field authentication for Windows Hello for Business. These authentication features streamline the login process and contribute to the ease of our work. 

The most valuable feature of Microsoft Entra ID is its security options, where we can provide highly effective security for user accounts during authentication. We have a conditional access policy in place, along with modern authentication methods that can be configured in various ways to meet organizational requirements. These methods may include phone calls, SMS, or even passwordless authentication, which is the most convenient and secure method introduced by Microsoft. This includes Windows Hello for business and certification-based authentication as well.

There are several limitations that Microsoft is currently facing. Since I work with global customers daily, they often come up with new ideas. However, these ideas are sometimes hindered by Microsoft's limitations. As a result, many people are turning to third-party tools or services, even from vendors that are not as reputable as AWS or GCP.

I have personally made similar suggestions to my product team, especially regarding the vendors that users are attempting to rely on. For instance, certain organizations prefer to restrict the use of mobile phones, particularly in countries like India. These organizations are very strict about security and prohibit the use of Android or camera-enabled mobile devices for their employees. Consequently, these users cannot utilize Microsoft Authentication, and instead, they must resort to other password authentication methods such as Fido or Windows Hello for Business.

Among these options, we have only one choice, which is Fido, a security key. However, when users need to use Fido, they are required to also use multifactor authentication. This means that a user can only register for Fido after they have registered for the Authenticator, which is not an ideal scenario. If an organization has already decided not to use mobile phones and has opted for Fido authentication with security keys, it's not advisable to then ask them to use Microsoft Authenticator.

Recently, Microsoft introduced an alternative solution known as the temporary access pass. This pass allows users to log in temporarily, but its effectiveness is limited. This is especially true for Fido authentication with security keys, although it is included in the Entra IDs CBA, particularly for Android and mobile devices. Unfortunately, these secure options are not available when logging in from devices like iPads or iOS-based mobiles, other operating systems, laptops, mobile devices, Chrome, or Linux machines.

Microsoft needs to make improvements in this regard and extend its services to other operating systems as well, especially when considering their widespread usage.

I have been using Microsoft Entra ID for almost two years.

The solution is continuously being updated and enhanced with new features. As we are involved in Microsoft projects, we get a sneak peek into the upcoming release of Microsoft Entra ID, and I am confident it will be exceptionally stable.

Microsoft Entra ID is scalable.

I have been employed as a tech support engineer, assisting with Microsoft products since the inception of my career. As a result, I have not required the services of their customer support.

I have utilized Okta solely for federation services in some testing capacities within my laboratory environment. Okta proves advantageous for establishing federated connections between Azure instances across different clouds. To illustrate, imagine that Microsoft employs local active directory federation services. This duplication seems inevitable, given Microsoft's explicit intentions conveyed through the Microsoft Ignite channel.

Consequently, Microsoft ought to develop federation services akin to Okta's, which offers exclusive cloud-based federation services. This offering would greatly assist users and organizations habituated to utilizing federated authentication protocols. It would be prudent for Microsoft to integrate a cloud-exclusive federation service into Azure Cloud.

Furthermore, Microsoft contends that, in terms of security and trustworthiness in authentication service identity providers, Entra reigns supreme compared to other options. In this regard, I concur that Entra boasts superior security when contrasted with Okta.

Azure Cloud refrains from provisioning specific federation endpoints for certain applications due to the persistent usage of on-premises or federated applications by numerous organizations. This gap is where Okta has capitalized, effectively occupying the market space that Entra commands in such scenarios.

The initial setup is straightforward. The deployment is simple. We possess Microsoft learning documents and public articles from Microsoft, along with community channels. If we aim to adhere to these instructions, the process is quite simple. Even a college graduate attempting to configure from the Entra web portal will find it easy to follow. The procedure is particularly straightforward for specific scenarios and the specific topics that Entra provides.

I completed the implementation in-house using the documentation provided by Microsoft and by following the Microsoft YouTube channels.

Entra's pricing is somewhat higher compared to AWS. With AWS, we have the ability to access EC2 servers, which are essentially virtual machines, for free for a duration of up to one year, specifically the basic virtual machine instances. However, Entra does not offer a similar option. If we are utilizing any form of virtual machine on Entra, we must begin payment after one month of complimentary usage. Unlike AWS, Entra does not provide access to basic virtual machine instances for educational or testing purposes. Furthermore, there is a discernible difference in pricing and licensing when we compare AWS Identity Access Management with Entra's ID system.

I would rate Microsoft Entra ID eight out of ten. I deducted two points due to the limitations concerning the connectivity of services for Android and other operating systems.

The primary use in my organization is for identity and identity security management. In our case, it's in our hybrid infrastructure, where it's not the cloud-native option; it's based on on-prem identity infrastructure on the cloud. We use it to manage our identity in a multi-cloud scenario. 

We use it also for our software developers for credentialing. They use a single credential, and they can use multiple platforms, like, GitHub, Google Cloud, AWS, et cetera. 

The product is connected to our security operation setups.

We also use it in our organization to on and off-board the users constantly. It helps strengthen our permission management and privilege access management. For example, if one of our engineers or users needs temporary sole permission to perform an action, we use the product to temporarily grant that security role, or that extra permission that will last a certain amount of time. After the desktop is completed, the permissions are revoked. That way, users do not have a sensitive role constantly enabled.  

The overall identity management and lifecycle management capabilities are great. We can support our entire operation. For example, we can create an onboarding package for the users so that at the right moment they have everything that they need and access to exactly what they need when they need it, and this will help our transition team when new users start. They can have the password, credentials, et cetera, all accelerated while making sure there are no security gaps. 

Entity management is great. We can provide access for short amounts of time as needed. 

When we develop applications, we leverage Entra ID to create an application like an identity so we can tailor the security posture of an application that is often used or exposed on the public internet for customers. 

To summarize, identity lifecycle management, privileged access management, and identity and credential management for developers and applications are all the best aspects of the product, in a nutshell.

Entra ID provides a single pane of glass for managing user access as well HRID of API capability for third-party integration. The single pane of glass positively affects the consistency of the user's sign-on experience. That is one of the strongest points. Using a single pane of glass and then adding HID, like a gatekeeper for identity, is very helpful. The user now knows what they expect when they authenticate an application or they authenticate a portal or simply consume Microsoft Office since the experience is very consistent. It's always the same. Our support knows when, in which scenario, and what could be a problem and then quickly can help the user to overcome an issue. The single pane of glass actually is the beauty of the product.

Security policies can now be very consistent and very granular and can be completed in specific ways for individual users. For example, there is a way to tailor your security experience for certain container reviews. A sensitive user, a high-risk user, or a developer, can have a custom mail detail or security policy that will impact only them while the rest of the standard users will not be affected by an end security policy since their workloads wouldn't require that.

The portal is really handy. It's exactly what you would expect it to be. The management center is very comprehensive. We've had no problems with the useability of the admin access and the capability of the product offering. 

This solution removes a lot of burdens, especially for us as cyber engineers. With a few clicks, we can create and target certain users. It will provide inputs and insights on scenarios and security settings. It will send warnings before we enable policies to let us know what might be affected. It helps us on the front end to avoid security configuration mistakes. That's for the sake of security as well as the user, who could otherwise be blocked every now and then by an incorrect security policy. 

We use Entra ID's conditional access feature to enforce fine tune and adaptive access controls. We use that for user identity and to protect workflows. In EntraID, an application in the directory, it's considered an identity, even if it is an application. Therefore, we can create a policy for users as well as for applications where it will authorize access only if certain conditions are made. We use that extensively.

The conditional access feature positively affects the robustness of a zero-trust strategy to verify users. We use the conditional access feature in conjunction with the Microsoft Endpoint Manager.

We can use combined security products that fit with the product. It's very effective. It ensures security overlap.

I'm working with a verified ID as well. Users can use that single identity to access what they need and to configure the software developer pipeline to use that Microsoft-managed ID to push and pull code from restart to the application. If you have multiple other solutions, for instance, GCP, you can use that federated credential to manage software and code regardless of the cloud provider that is used by using the unique identity. This makes the work of developers more secure since they only need one ID. Otherwise, they will put on a piece of paper, their username and password for each application that requires access. With this solution, you have one identity secured to move them all, and it's easier for the developer who can be more productive while staying more secure.

We've used the product to onboard or move new employees. That's part of the identity lifecycle workflow that we are experiencing. It's probably the number one product for HR management when it comes to user onboarding. It helps onboard and offboard remote workers with ease. After all, not all departments require the same applications, for instance. With this product, we create the prerequisites by creating an access package. 

Verified ID is good when it comes to privacy and control of identity data. Privacy control is a mix of responsibilities between the organization and Microsoft Cloud, of course. There is full transparency with Microsoft covering this data, however, nothing is perfect. If Microsoft changes something, since they are linked, it may affect performance.

The visibility and control for permission management are excellent. Integrations are becoming more and more native. It helps reduce our surface risk when it comes to identity permissions. When in combination with Microsoft Sentinel, it's really feature-rich. I can also create reports for when management wants to assess problem areas.

It's helped to save time for your IT admin waiters or HR department. There is a reduction of recurring tasks by up to 50% to 70% compared to the legacy solution. It's tricky to contemplate how much money is being saved, however. 

The product has affected the employee user experience in a positive way. The organization is very happy with it.

Sometimes with this solution, since our old API can have some latency and short links if you want to enable permission on a system application can be some delays. For example, sometimes, when a user requires their access, sometimes it's not happening in real-time; they just wait a couple of minutes before the TCI really provides it. Sometimes this can create confusion if a user an engineer or a developer believes that the solution is broken. The solution is not broken. It just sometimes has a delay. That is something that I encourage Microsoft to fix. During the pandemic, we had a lot of conditions with the remote workers. So when the capacity increased, there could be latency. However, that is a Microsoft scalability problem that they have to address at a certain point. That said, it's not a dealbreaker.

It would be good to have more clarity around licensing. It's a bit technical for those strictly dealing with budgets. 

I would like to see a little bit of improvement in the resiliency of the platform. Entra ID has a global point of presence worldwide, however, if one node goes down in a geographical location, it has a global impact. Sometimes even a simple certificate that is not renewed on time can cause global issues. Microsoft should improve global operations and sandboxing. So if one of the nodes is down in Asia, it won't take down the United States as well. The redundancy and the resiliency of the product should be improved over the global geographical scale of the product.

In terms of features, at the moment, the solution is covering everything. I don't see a new feature needed aside from improving their API.

I've been using the solution since 2015 or 2016. I've used it since before the name change.

Overall, the product is stable. It's 99.9% stable. 

In my current organization, we have around 100 users on the solution. However, we have B2B integrations that include 3,000 to 4,000 users.

Microsoft does scale up to hundreds of thousands of objects. The solution scales well.

If you need more than fifty thousand objects that can be created in a single tenant they can be created within an additional directory.

Microsoft offers different tiers of support according to the licensing model. The support is great. Generally, at first, you get a general engineer. They'll tell you to go and check an article. I tend to tell them the issue and lay out the problem and ask them not to send me an article since I am an expert. then I'll get to a second-phase engineer that can help. However, once you get to the right person, support is excellent. 

Positive

I have experience with One Identity, SharePoint, SharePointIQ, and InsightID.

I like how this product has a view on a single pane of glass. Out of the box, it can serve multiple types of organizations that may have multi-cloud strategies. It also has good third-party integration and reporting capabilities. Everything we need to start is right in one solution. 

We do have Okta, which we are phasing out. We use it for some B2C scenarios. It's an excellent product and has solved problems for us over the years.

When you set it up the product, there's always a combination of business people, decision-makers, and IT people, and I always encourage business and decision-makers to read the Microsoft adoption framework for Entra VNS Ready. So that way the decision makers have an idea of how to use the product and which features are required. Then we start with the technical part. 

We should basically start always with an assessment. How many users do you have? Which one is the office license model? And so on and so forth. When the assessment is done and when we have an idea of the topology of the user, we can start the design. We ask, okay, would you like to be cloud native? Would you like to have a hybrid model where you have an on-prem identity shipped to the cloud? And based on the decision, we'll start by usually setting up Azure AD Connect. 

Azure AD Connect is a solution that's on-prem. We'll onboard the identity on the cloud and all the security tokens that come with it. Then, of course, we start to plan the identity migration.

Based on the call on existing users, the next design is to onboard a lifecycle identity for the new commerce that will join and for people that will lead. It's important to read the Microsoft architecture and adoption framework for InsightID. And based on that, then we go into the nitty gritty technical decisions. 

The setup can be handled by one person. However, once you begin to integrate it with 95% of the organization and need to touch messaging systems and mail systems, you'll need to collaborate with others. If you are using the Internet and SharePoint, you need an Internet engineer. You likely need a few people to assist.

The maintenance aspect is not difficult. It's a SaaS and Microsoft handles most of the burden. You just need to perform hygiene rather than maintenance, for example, removing people you no longer need. While maintenance is mostly taken care of, people should pay attention to the Azure cloud as Azure can cause security holes with changes. 

We have witnessed a return on investment, however, it's hard to quantify. Definitely, in the long run, there's a benefit to leveraging the product.

Decision-makers dealing with budgets will sometimes struggle to really understand the kind of license that's needed. When you are doing multi-cloud the costs can be a little bit higher. It may not be cost-effective if you do not how to use the platform.

The price point is pretty high.

However, for Android and Office users, it's very useful to have.

We use a hybrid approach on-prem. We have some log applications and some legacy applications that require us to have an active directory as a primary identity source of view. This means that we ship our identity to the cloud, however, we don't have a vice-versa mechanism. 

I'd advise potential new users should investigate by creating a POC free of charge. Microsoft offers free credits for POCs. These can be extended for a certain amount of time.

I'd encourage anyone to contact a Microsoft representative and set up a POC and get training material and really evaluate the product first. Once you use it, there's no going back.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

We have been using Microsoft Enterprise for ten years, and we actually started beginning to really use it about two years ago. Earlier, we had an access manager on the premises, but everything is moving to the cloud. So we are moving our access management and identity management solutions to the cloud as well.

The whole access management solution is valuable. In 2015, we were selecting a new access management solution, and because it was already integrated, we started using it. 

Integration with Defender allows us to get alerts and respond to them by blocking users. Microsoft Entra ID has streamlined and centralized our device management and threat response processes.

We are looking for more customization with BRAIN and everything else, and while they are following up on that, we want some more of it.

We have experienced some downtime because of the use of the data centers.

In Microsoft technical support or Microsoft Denmark, we have an account manager and strategist, whom we contact along with the suppliers who have their own technicians. The experience has been positive.

Positive

Earlier, we had an access manager on the premises before moving to Microsoft Enterprise for cloud-based solutions. In 2015, we selected a different access management solution initially.

Would you rate the overall solution on a scale of 1 to 10? Yeah, excellent. From one to ten, would you mind the call? I think, yeah, excellent.

Microsoft Entra ID serves as an identity protector and service privilege manager.

It has enabled my organization to build a secure environment for user login and asset access. We can enable secure user logins and access to assets.

When we implement app access with Microsoft Entra ID, it gives us confidence that we have secure authentication for our applications.

With privilege identity management, we can grant or escalate rights to a role for a short duration of time and not forever. It is a great feature. It is useful to validate the escalation of privileges. 

Federation on access service principle and the ability to be passwordless in certain use cases are valuable. Federated identity management is a great feature for the zero-trust model. 

Microsoft Entra ID could benefit from more fine-tuned rights. It is necessary to prevent granting an application or user broad access rights. A more precise approach would allow for specific rights, limited to certain contexts within the organization.

I have been using Microsoft Entra ID for three years.

Microsoft Entra ID efficiently responds to numerous requests, and we have not faced significant connectivity issues, making it reliable.

Their customer support is good.

Positive

I have not used any other solution. I was previously using Azure AD. About two years ago, it was renamed to Microsoft Entra ID.

I would rate Microsoft Entra ID a nine out of ten.

I have had multiple use cases for Entra ID during my previous position as a system administrator. In that role, I was responsible for managing around three thousand users within our organization, including some external parties, which brought the total user count to approximately ten thousand. Entra ID is a cloud-based solution designed for identity and access management. In our organization, we primarily employed it to maintain user groups for authentication purposes. Additionally, we had on-premises applications that required registration within Entra ID, enabling us to provide a single sign-on solution for these applications, granting access to our users.

Entra ID boasts several other features as well. For instance, we utilized a security feature called NFA to enhance user security. We also implemented a conditional access policy, tightly integrated with Microsoft Intune. This policy allowed us to define specific access rules based on user locations. This means that if a user was located in a particular branch, they would be granted access to certain services while others would not. Such configurations were established within our conditional access policy in Entra ID.

At times, we needed to provide temporary access to certain users as administrators. For instance, our compliance team might require access to check compliance reports or logs for a limited period, which we facilitated by granting access for one or two hours. Within Entra ID, we have a functionality known as Security Score, which we utilize to assess and benchmark the security of our organization. This helps us identify potential risks and areas for security enhancement.

Among the tools we employ, Intune plays a crucial role. With Intune, we effectively managed our Windows, iOS, and Android devices. We could establish compliance policies and configuration settings for both Entra ID and Intune, ensuring a consistent and secure user experience across different devices and platforms.

Entra ID can be deployed using a hybrid model for organizations with a significant on-premises presence, or in a fully cloud-based setup for those that do not.

Entra ID offers a unified interface for managing user access.

In addition to the Single Sign-On provided by Entra ID, we also offer a biometric option through Windows Hello.

In the admin center, we can locate the dashboard. Recently, Microsoft has made significant improvements. Previously, searching for a username required navigating to the user test section. However, presently, I've observed that Microsoft has enhanced the search scenario. Now, by simply searching for the username on our web page, it will display the username along with all associated details. Furthermore, we have password identity management, group management, and application registration options available. We also support on-prem authentication, specifically rescoping authentication like NTLM, which is an older authentication method. However, if we register our application with Entra ID, we can easily enhance the security of our authentication through modern authentication methods. These security features are available within the admin center.

Verified ID, in fact, is obtained when we create or subscribe within Entra for the initial time. Therefore, it is a default setting on Microsoft that provides us with a default domain. However, if we perform this on Microsoft.com, we need to append that tenant and subsequently verify it. This, of course, necessitates the addition of certain DNS entries to incorporate our customized domain into Entra ID. Consequently, we have the capacity to include up to 500 domains within a single tenant.

We are three global admin users. As such, we are responsible for maintaining our company's tenants. Occasionally, the security or compliance teams need to assess the current status. For instance, we might have a project requiring a vendor to have access for a specific duration. In such cases, we can readily grant customized access to that user for the designated period. Post this duration, access will be automatically revoked. Hence, we can manage these settings through permission management.

Microsoft has indeed introduced new features. For instance, we now have the ability to create a multitude of users or add members to a group all at once. To facilitate this, they have developed a custom script. By including the object ID of the user in an Excel or CSV file and importing that file, the system will automatically add the users. Entra ID is particularly time-saving, as it allows us to add 100 users in just 30 seconds using the group method. If we were to create the group manually, it would take one to two hours per user.

In my situation, not all users are motivated. The IT division and the technicians might be up to date with the latest technology. However, when we consider the finance or sales personnel, their primary focus is on their business sales. They lack knowledge of IT or technologies. As a result, when we introduce a new solution and onboard their users to that system, we encounter certain issues. Nevertheless, through integration and training, we established the necessary procedures for logging in and working, which eventually became acceptable. Entra ID has played a significant role in making the user experience more seamless.

As an administrator, we sometimes observe a discrepancy between Microsoft Intune and Entra ID – these are distinct solutions, each with its own licensing subscription. On occasion, these two solutions are combined into a single service, or conversely, certain services might be removed. Such situations can create conflicts for administrators. A few days ago, I noticed that certain aspects like the Microsoft Compliance and Microsoft Security tabs were missing when accessing Entra ID. It appears that some services have been removed from Entra ID and new ones have been introduced, which wasn't communicated to us. I would appreciate receiving notifications regarding the removal of services from specific tabs, along with information about their replacements. This would allow us to plan our logins accordingly. Microsoft offers two portals – the classic portal and the modern portal. When using the classic portal, we promptly receive notifications about its upcoming transition to the modern portal after a designated date. However, no such notifications were provided for Entra ID. In my quest to locate security and compliance checking features within Entra ID, I discovered that the options were seemingly absent. Subsequent Google searches revealed that these features had been consolidated under a single solution.

We are receiving false security alerts on the dashboard. We have set up a conditional access policy that restricts access based on the user's location. However, we have observed that there are instances when Microsoft's AI might be generating these false alerts. This is causing users to be blocked from accessing their accounts. When we reached out to these users, they confirmed that they hadn't visited the specified area or country in the last seven to ten days. Despite this, they are receiving notifications to reset their passwords, with a warning of being locked out. Microsoft should work on enhancing its machine-learning algorithm to prevent unnecessary lockouts of users.

I have been using Microsoft Entra ID for five years.

Entra ID is a cloud-based solution. Microsoft, in fact, operates multi-zone data centers which greatly reduce the possibility of service outages. However, this year we have experienced a significant amount of downtime. For instance, we encountered Exchange Online issues in Bangladesh. They source their authentication from either the Singapore or Indian data centers. Unfortunately, there were several instances of problems in this area this year, about two or three times. We faced communication as well as mail-sending problems. While their Service Level Agreement is supposed to be 99.99 percent uptime, it seems to be closer to 99.98 percent. Interestingly, for the past four years, we did not encounter any such issues. Strangely, this year, these problems began around the time of the Russian incident. It's possible that backend issues, perhaps related to cybersecurity, contributed. Additionally, Microsoft laid off ten thousand employees this year, and after this restructuring, we started facing these issues.

I would give the scalability a ten out of ten.

The quality of technical support depends on both the issue at hand and the expertise of the assisting engineer. In certain cases, they might be unable to provide assistance, leading us to resolve the issues on our own.

Positive

We previously used the on-premise version of Active Directory before switching to Entra ID.

The initial setup for Entra ID is simple when opting for a full cloud deployment. We only need to onboard the users and enter the license. However, in a hybrid scenario, we require network connectivity from on-premises to the cloud. Additionally, a separate server is necessary to synchronize the users with the cloud. This process is time-consuming and intricate to manage.

I implemented Entra ID for three to four companies in Bangladesh. Additionally, for on-premises Active Directory deployments, I handled more than ten to fifteen projects. In the capacity of a vendor, I collaborated with a company that served as a local partner of Microsoft.

The deployment involves four or five teams, including IT, Networking, and Security.

To facilitate hybrid implementations, we need the support of an architect to design the servers.

As Entra ID is a subscription service, a payment is required for each user every month. To access its features, purchasing the license is necessary. Initially, upon creating the tenant, a complimentary subscription for either 30 or 90 days is provided. After this trial period, it's mandatory to choose a subscription. Entra ID is relatively expensive compared to other solutions. There are free alternatives available for managing and providing authentication. However, considering a comprehensive range of solutions under one umbrella, Entra ID stands out. It offers additional benefits such as one terabyte of OneDrive and SharePoint storage, along with Microsoft Teams integration. The cost covers various applications and extra features, providing good value for the investment.

Entra has P1 and P2 licenses that are bundled with lots of applications.

I would rate Entra ID a nine out of ten.

Since Entra ID is cloud-based, remote users or branches need to ensure that they have a stable internet connection to access our environment.

Maintenance for cloud solutions is generally not obligatory. This is due to the automatic functionality that activates when users are enabled. However, if a license expires, we must either seek assistance from Microsoft or renew all licenses, subsequently testing the new licenses. Occasionally, for maintenance, especially when dealing with our own custom applications and enabling single sign-on with Entra ID users, we require assistance both from Microsoft and our mitigation team. This is because each application has its own authentication method, often resulting in compliance issues. To address this, discussions with the mitigation personnel are necessary, and we may need to allocate time for aid from a Microsoft engineer. In certain instances, collaboration with Microsoft vendors from the integration team is essential. Apart from these situations, the process remains fairly straightforward.

We primarily use the solution for user integration; we have many users around the globe and use it for authentication syncing in Microsoft 365 and SSO, and the product provides a single point of use. Our environment encompasses many offices around the world. 

As we have a hybrid deployment, providing our engineers access rather than allowing them direct access to our Azure AD server is easier, reducing our security concerns. Our end users can also reset passwords themselves without going through our support or services teams.

The solution saves us a lot of time for our IT department and others. Taking into account onboarding, IT, and HR concerns, Azure AD gives us 50% time savings weekly.

Azure AD saves us a lot of money. 

Overall, the solution positively affects the employee user experience in our organization. We can manage all kinds of activities and other MS products from a single pane of glass, including users, endpoints, roles and permissions, mail, and more. This ease of management ensures a positive experience for our end users.  

Single sign-on, license management, and role management are the most valuable features. Integration with Microsoft 365 is also very valuable. 

Azure AD provides a single pane of glass for managing user access, which makes the user sign-on experience very consistent; users can access multiple applications with the same credentials.  

The single pane of glass makes the security policies we apply consistent.  

We use Azure AD Verified ID to onboard remote employees, and it's pretty quick.  

Verified ID is excellent for privacy and control of identity data; many options, such as multi-factor authentication, are available. 

We have used the solution's Permission Management, which provides good visibility and control over identity permissions. It's an easy feature to operate, and the portal is intuitive.

The custom role creation function could be improved as it's somewhat tricky to use. 

We've been using Azure AD for over five years. 

The product is stable. 

Azure AD is a scalable solution; we have around 10,000 end users managed by 12 to 15 engineers. 

The technical support team is good; I rate them eight out of ten.

Positive

We previously used an in-house Active Directory and Okta Workforce Management. Azure AD is more affordable, has the benefit of being a Microsoft product, and allows single sign-on from the same page. Onboarding products is more manageable with Azure AD, and we prefer to use the Microsoft suite rather than mixing and matching from multiple vendors.  

The initial setup was straightforward. 

Azure AD is worth the money and provides us with an ROI. 

The pricing is good; it's not cheap but very reasonable. 

I rate the solution nine out of ten, and I recommend it. 

I handle access management.

Microsoft Entra ID has positively impacted the secure access to apps and resources in our environment. It's just easy to integrate.

It makes management easier. We have visibility into password compromises and other things.

What I appreciate the most about Microsoft Entra ID is that it integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products, which streamlines the process.

It integrates with applications, such as our Password Manager, and multi-factor authentication, and it integrates with Office 365 and third-party applications. That's very useful.

Microsoft Entra ID can be improved by having more resources for learning how to best use the tool and understanding best use case scenarios. The learning curve is challenging, so I would appreciate seeing a training portal that is easier to use. I would appreciate seeing more guides and training materials about Microsoft Entra ID.

I have been using it for six months.

The stability and reliability of Microsoft Entra ID are good. It is very reliable, and I have never experienced any problems.

Microsoft Entra ID is very scalable with third-party applications.

We have been using Entrust within our environment, and Microsoft Entra ID is in our larger environment. We use both solutions.

The biggest return on investment when using Microsoft Entra ID is the integration with third-party applications.

I would rate Microsoft Entra ID a nine out of ten.

We have it synced to our on-premises Active Directory environment where we have some Active Directory servers. We use it for authentication into our cloud apps. We use it for SSO. Because it is connected to our Office 365 tenant, we use it for single sign-on for applications that support it. 

We also use it to evaluate risky sign-ins or risky activity for users. If there are user sign-ins from a geographic location that they would not normally sign in from, we get a notification for it, and we can investigate what is going on with a user's ID, if the person is actually there or not, and if we need to take any action on it.

Entra ID has primarily helped with security and some level of organization of our user environment and application access for staff.

Entra provides a single pane of glass for managing user access to some degree. We still have to use local Active Directory management for certain items or troubleshooting. It does not seem to extend management and troubleshooting down to the endpoint level or have the same sort of granularity as managing Active Directory directly from an Active Directory server.

Entra ID has helped to save time. It has saved four to eight hours of staff member's time per week.

In some ways, Entra ID has saved us money because using it for single sign-on for third-party applications means that we do not have to use a third-party solution such as Okta or OneLogin. It is a default solution. It comes out of the box, and it works with multiple applications, which means that we do not have to go the route of having a third party to have that same type of solution for us. In that sense, it does save us money, but I do not know how much it has saved because I have not priced out Okta or any of the other solutions. I imagine it is a fairly substantial amount that they would charge per user per month times the number of our users.

Syncing with our on-prem Active Directory is valuable because we do not have to keep multiple identities for each of our staff members. We can easily evaluate login risks and provide access for SSO via 365 into applications, such as Salesforce, and other things that we run our business on.

Certain aspects of the user interface can be rather clunky and slow. It can sometimes be circular in terms of clicking a link for a risky user sign-in and seeing what the risky login attempts were. It takes you in a circle back to where you started, so drilling down into details, especially if you are not in it every day and it is one of many tools that you use, can be difficult. It can be difficult to track down the source of an issue.

There should be better integration or support for FSMO roles and cross-tenant force management. If you want to enable it, it is tricky when you add Entra ID into the mix for domain sync or directory sync.

I have been using this solution for five years.

The Entra ID and Azure Active Directory support is quite good. Sometimes, it may take a little bit of time to get past tier one basic questions and basic pointing to support articles and talk to somebody who looks at your configuration and starts to understand what your specific challenges are, but once you get to that next tier of support, it seems like you are able to get answers very quickly.

I would rate their support an eight out of ten. A ten out of ten would be where you make one phone call and all solutions are given.

Positive

We did not have single sign-on capabilities for our SaaS apps. Prior to implementing our Azure environment, we did not have a cloud identity provider. It was all on-premises.

I was involved in the deployment and initial setup of Entra ID. It was not that difficult. It had medium difficulty. There is a Microsoft way of doing things. Microsoft certainly seems to have made things easier since then. Whenever I go back into the system, it looks like some of the usability improvements are there. 

I believe that we also contacted Azure support a number of times during our deployment, and they were quite helpful. They were helpful up to the point where I got contacted by a product manager for Azure Active Directory at the time, and they were able to walk us through some of the implementation challenges we had, so Microsoft, at least for us as we were adopting Azure and Azure Active Directory, had a lot of hands on help with getting set up. They are open to feedback as well. The implementation was about as difficult as I expected an implementation to be. It was not certainly a turnkey where it just works right out of the box, but I have had more difficulty implementing other Microsoft solutions.

It is good. We have Office 365 E3, and then that is tied in with Azure Active Directory. I believe that we only have to pay for our technician-level access or IT department access for Azure Active Directory Premium, which I am sure they call Entra Premium P2 licensing, so it is not a very large cost. We just adopted that, and that gives us a lot of insights into user security that we would not otherwise have. 

We looked at Okta. We looked at Cisco Duo. We looked at OneLogin. I believe that there was some cost that we would have to bear if we had adopted them. Okta looked like a very good solution, but Azure AD came integrated out of the box with our Azure environment and our 365 environment, so we decided to move forward with it instead.

We have started using Permission Management. We have not fully rolled it out yet. We have also not used Verified ID. It is something that is a little tough to implement because the documentation is not necessarily there yet. We have just started touching the surface of it.

I would rate Entra ID an eight out of ten. It is a good product. It works out well for an organization of our size. We are fairly small, and we have limited IT resources. We are able to use Entra ID for permissions management and access management. I am trying to learn more about secure access and secure edge type of solutions that Entra has. At this Microsoft event, the demos in Demo Theater 3 have been overflowing and overcrowded to some crazy degrees, so there is definitely demand for it. Microsoft can put these demos in a larger room because there is a lot of demand for it.