Microsoft Entra ID vs Azure AD – What’s the Difference?

As an IT Pro in the Microsoft online landscape, you’ve certainly been seeing ‘Microsoft Entra ID‘ more often. What is this? Is there a difference between Entra ID vs Azure AD? It’s actually very simple. Read on to find out more!

Entra ID vs Azure AD

So, what is Microsoft Entra ID? Well, it’s very simple – it’s the new name for Azure AD!

As you can see, it is the new name for Azure AD. That is it. There are no functional changes in any portal websites, there are no backend or updated PowerShell commands directly related to this change. It is simply the new name – Microsoft Entra ID.

But what is Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD)?

Microsoft Entra ID, previously Azure Active Directory (AAD), is Microsoft’s cloud-based Identity and Access Management (IAM) solution. It allows organizations to manage and secure identities across users, groups, devices, and other applications.

Here are some key features Microsoft Entra ID offers organizations of almost any size:

1. Single Sign-On (SSO): This allows users to sign in once with their Entra ID credentials and access a multitude of applications without needing to keep signing in.
2. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): This is a crucial layer of security every company should be using – when signing in, users enter their passwords and then utilize an additional factor or token (push notification, etc.) to verify they are who they say they are.
3. Conditional Access: This very welcome feature allows IT Pros and Admins to create policies to enforce things like MFA. Offering many granular options, this enforces important security and compliance protocols but also eases the end-user experience. For example, a company may choose to make an exception in their policy to NOT force users to use MFA if they are using a device directly on the corporate LAN.
4. Privileged Identity Management: This is a special case to manage the most sought-after accounts by hackers and threat actors to gain access to a network. This adds additional security measures to lock these accounts down.