Understanding Azure AD Premium (Microsoft Entra ID)

The landscape of digital identity management is continually evolving, and Microsoft's recent rebranding of Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Premium to Microsoft Entra marks a significant milestone in this journey. In this blog post, we will explore the nuances of Azure AD Premium, now known as Microsoft Entra, delving into its features, pricing, and how to choose between its different plans. As we navigate through this transition, we will refer to Azure AD Premium and Microsoft Entra interchangeably, acknowledging their shared lineage and continued evolution.

What is Azure AD Premium (Now Microsoft Entra?)

Azure AD Premium is a comprehensive cloud-based identity and access management (IAM) solution. The core concept of IAM is ensuring the right people have the right access to the right resources at the right times for the right reasons. With that in mind, think of Azure AD as a highly efficient digital gatekeeper that ensures all your employees have the keys to only those areas they need to access.

Azure AD integrates with not just Microsoft 365 productivity apps but virtually any other software platform to deliver IAM services. This helps balance accessibility with security, ensuring that productivity is not hindered by excessive barriers while also protecting against potential security breaches. Azure AD as an IAM solution offers advanced features for securing enterprise environments, managing user identities, and facilitating access to various applications and services.

When Did Microsoft Change Azure AD Premium to Entra?

In 2023, Microsoft rebranded Azure AD to Microsoft Entra, a move aimed at unifying its identity and access management solutions under a single umbrella. The changes to Azure AD Premium after the rebranding to Microsoft Entra include:

1. Unified identity and access management: Microsoft Entra is not just a new name but a consolidation of various identity and access management tools under one umbrella. This unification aims to provide a more cohesive and integrated experience for managing identities across different platforms and cloud environments.
2. Enhanced multi-cloud and multi-platform support: Recognizing the diverse and complex IT environments businesses operate in today, Microsoft Entra extends its capabilities beyond the Microsoft ecosystem. The rebranding signifies a commitment to supporting a broader range of platforms and cloud services, ensuring seamless integration and management of identities regardless of which platform they are hosted on.
3. Clearer differentiation from windows server active directory: The rebranding helps delineate the cloud-based services of Microsoft Entra from the on-premises Windows Server Active Directory. This distinction is crucial for businesses navigating between cloud and on-premises environments, ensuring clarity in the services and capabilities of each solution.
4. Expansion of features and services: Along with the rebranding, Microsoft introduced new features and enhancements to the existing Azure AD Premium offerings. These improvements are geared towards providing more robust security, better compliance tools, and advanced identity governance capabilities.
5. Emphasis on identity security and governance: Microsoft Entra ID strongly emphasizes identity security and governance. This includes advanced features like risk-based conditional access, identity protection, and privileged identity management, which are essential in today's landscape where identity-related breaches are increasingly common.
6. Continuity and compatibility: Despite the rebranding, Microsoft ensured continuity and compatibility for existing Azure AD Premium users. All the features, services, and integrations that businesses relied on with Azure AD Premium remains intact and operational, ensuring a smooth transition to Microsoft Entra.
7. Future-ready approach: The change to Microsoft Entra reflects Microsoft's forward-looking approach, preparing businesses for future identity management challenges. This includes adapting to emerging technologies, evolving security threats, and changing regulatory landscapes.

As you can tell, the rebranding of Azure AD was more than just a change of name-it represents a strategic realignment and expansion of services to better meet the evolving identity and access management needs of increasingly cloud-oriented and mobile-first businesses.

What Does Microsoft Entra Include?

Microsoft Entra encompasses a range of products and services designed to enhance identity management. The features and capabilities of Microsoft Entra include:

• Single Sign-On (SSO): Allows users to access multiple applications with a single set of credentials, enhancing convenience and reducing password fatigue.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Adds an extra layer of security by requiring two or more verification methods for user sign-ins.
• Conditional access policies: These policies assess the context of user sign-ins and apply appropriate access controls based on conditions like location, device compliance, and risk level.
• Identity protection: Utilizes advanced analytics to detect and respond to potential identity threats in real time.
• Privileged Identity Management (PIM): Manages, controls, and monitors access within your organization, especially for high-privilege roles, enabling just-in-time access.
• Identity governance: Ensures the right people have the right access to the right resources, enforcing policies for identity lifecycle management.
• Access reviews: Automates the review and certification of user access, crucial for compliance and maintaining least-privilege principles.

• Hybrid identity capabilities: Integrates on-premises identity infrastructure with cloud-based services, providing a seamless user experience across environments.
• Advanced group management: Includes dynamic groups, naming policies, and expiration settings for efficient user and resource grouping.
• Self-service password reset (SSPR): Allowsusers to reset their passwords without IT intervention, reducing administrative overhead.
• Application proxy: Provides secure remote access to on-premises web applications, extending their reach without compromising security.
• Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps integration: Offers insights and control over cloud applications, enhancing visibility and compliance.
• API access for custom development: Enables integration with existing systems and custom solutions through robust APIs.
• Audit logs and reporting: Provides detailed logs and reports for monitoring, auditing, and responding to identity-related activities.
• B2C and B2B identity services: Supports customer and partner access management, allowing secure and customizable experiences for external users.
• Device registration and management: Integrates with device management solutions like Microsoft Intune for comprehensive device-based access control.

Comparing Microsoft Azure AD Premium vs Free

Microsoft offers two separate tiers of Azure AD service: Azure AD Free and Azure AD Premium. Azure AD Azure AD Premium and Azure AD Free cater to different organizational requirements. Therefore, understanding the differences between the two is crucial for businesses to make informed decisions about their IAM solutions.

Azure AD Free is Microsoft's baseline offering in the realm of identity and access management. It provides fundamental features needed for managing user identities and controlling access to applications and services, primarily within the Microsoft ecosystem. Azure AD Free is available to any organization with a Microsoft account. It's automatically included when a business subscribes to any Microsoft online service, such as Office 365, Azure, or Dynamics 365. There's no separate sign-up or subscription required to start using Azure AD Free. Key features of Azure AD Free include:

• Basic identity and access management: It allows for the creation and management of user identities, group memberships, and basic security policies.
• SSO for azure services: Users can access Azure services and some Microsoft online services like Office 365 with a single set of credentials.
• Self-service password change for cloud users: Enables users to change their own passwords, reducing the administrative burden on IT staff.

While Azure AD Free provides basic identity services, the needs of modern businesses often extend beyond these fundamentals, especially in terms of security, scalability, and compliance. This is where Azure AD Premium comes into play. The rationale behind offering both versions includes:

1. Advanced security features: Azure AD Premium includes sophisticated security features like Conditional Access, Identity Protection, and Privileged Identity Management. These are essential for businesses looking to safeguard their data and resources against advanced threats and breaches.
2. Compliance and reporting: For organizations subject to regulatory compliance, Azure AD Premium offers advanced audit and reporting features, access reviews, and more detailed activity logs that are crucial for meeting compliance requirements.
3. Enhanced user experience and efficiency: Features like Self-Service Password Reset with write-back to on-premises directories, Group-based licensing, and Dynamic Groups in Azure AD Premium improve user experience and operational efficiency.
4. Scalability and enterprise-grade support: Azure AD Premium is designed to scale with the growing needs of businesses, offering enterprise-grade support, SLAs, and high availability, which are critical for large organizations.
5. Integration with external identities: Azure AD Premium extends its capabilities to manage and secure external identities (B2B collaboration) and customer identities (B2C), which is not available in the free version.
6. Customization and extensibility: Azure AD Premium provides more options for customization and extensibility, including API access for custom development and integration with third-party security and identity solutions.

So, while Azure AD Free offers basic identity services, an Azure AD Premium license extends these capabilities with more advanced features.

Table Comparing Azure AD Premium vs Azure AD Free

Microsoft Azure Premium P1 and P2: Similarities and Differences

An Azure AD Premium license is offered in two distinct tiers-Azure AD Premium plan 1 and Azure AD Premium plan 2, also referred to as P1 and P2. Each tier is designed to cater to different organizational needs and security requirements. Understanding why Microsoft offers these separate tiers can help businesses choose the right level of service for their specific circumstances.

For example, different organizations have varying requirements and constraints. So, by offering two Azure AD Premium service tiers, Microsoft can cater to a broader range of customers. The two-tier system for Azure AD Premium also empowers businesses to scale their identity and access management needs according to their growth. Organizations can start with P1 and upgrade to P2 as their requirements become more complex without needing to switch to a different provider.

Table Comparing Azure AD P1 vs Azure AD P2

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Microsoft Azure Premium P1 or P2: How to Determine Which is Right for You

It's an oversimplification to say choosing between Azure AD Premium P1 and P2 depends on your organization's specific needs. To make an informed decision, IT leaders should consider real-world applications of the features in P1 and P2 to determine how each tier would best align with an organization's desired business outcomes.

Security Considerations

When evaluating Azure AD Premium P1 and P2 from a security standpoint, consider these real-world scenarios:

• Security Needs for the SMB: Imagine a growing tech company with about 200 employees. They need efficient user and group management, SSO for various applications, and basic security features. Azure AD Premium P1, with its advanced group management, conditional access, and MFA, would be sufficient to meet these needs without overextending their budget.
• Large Corporation with Sensitive Data: A multinational corporation in the finance sector handling sensitive customer data would require the advanced security features of Azure AD Premium P2. The Identity Protection and Privileged Identity Management features are crucial for detecting potential identity threats in real time and managing high-risk admin roles, ensuring compliance with stringent financial regulations.

Obviously, for organizations requiring advanced identity protection and governance, P2 is the preferred choice. It offers comprehensive features like Identity Protection and Privileged Identity Management.

Azure AD Premium Pricing and Features Differences

The choice between P1 and P2 also hinges on the specific features required and the available budget. Here are examples illustrating this:

• Non-profit organization: A non-profit with a limited budget but needing more than the basic Azure AD Free might opt for Azure AD Premium P1. It offers a balance of enhanced capabilities like advanced group management and self-service password reset with write-back capabilities, which are essential for their volunteer and full-time staff, without the higher cost of P2.
• Healthcare provider with high compliance needs: A healthcare provider dealing with protected health information (PHI) would find Azure AD Premium P2 more aligned with their needs. The Access Reviews feature, for instance, ensures that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive patient data, a critical requirement for HIPAA compliance.

In summary, the decision between Azure AD Premium P1 and P2 should be based on a thorough assessment of your organization's size, industry, specific security requirements, and budget. P1 offers a robust set of features for businesses needing a step up from the basic offering, while P2 caters to organizations with more complex security and compliance needs.

Conclusion

As Microsoft Azure AD evolves into Microsoft Entra, it's crucial for organizations to understand the available options and select the right solution for their needs. Whether it's Azure AD Free, Premium P1, or P2, each offers unique features tailored to different security and management requirements.

For personalized guidance and to explore how Microsoft Entra can benefit your organization, contact Amaxra to schedule a consultation with our Microsoft Azure AD experts.

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