Microsoft Entra ID, formerly Azure Active Directory, is not a direct replacement for on-premises Active Directory due to feature gaps and alternative ways to perform similar identity and access management tasks.
For some organizations, a move to Microsoft Entra ID makes sense.
Even though replacing an Active Directory environment is not a good option for every organization, there are several benefits to migrating to Microsoft Entra ID. For example, numerous cloud services use Microsoft Entra ID as an identity management provider.
Microsoft Entra ID acts as a centralized identity management provider to streamline access to a variety of cloud-based resources.
Microsoft Entra ID scales more easily than an on-premises Active Directory environment.
Scaling Active Directory usually means adding more domain controllers, which increases the management and maintenance overhead. As a serverless, managed service, Microsoft Entra ID automatically scales so the organization does not need to deal with the hassles of deploying domain controllers.
Microsoft Entra ID is generally more secure than the Active Directory.
Microsoft Entra ID was created with security at the forefront of the design process.
During the planning stage, you might discover your organization cannot rely solely on Microsoft Entra ID for identity and access control.
There are other options, such as a hybrid environment that uses Microsoft Entra Connect to synchronize your Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID. Another option is to create parallel environments, using Microsoft Entra ID for cloud-based services but maintaining Active Directory for resources with a dependency that cannot use Microsoft Entra ID. Every migration to Microsoft Entra ID is different because each environment has its own dependencies and requirements.
There are other object types that will likely become irrelevant or that might even be unsupported in Microsoft Entra ID. For example, you won't need site objects in a Microsoft Entra ID environment.
As you plan for the Microsoft Entra ID migration, consider how you will handle DNS services.
If you decide to maintain on-premises DNS servers, then check whether your migration to Microsoft Entra ID will require changing or removing certain DNS records.
Microsoft offers guidance for migrating applications that can help with your planning process.
Part of this process might involve updating domain controllers, raising functional levels and ensuring the Active Directory adheres to Microsoft's best practices.
Most organizations also establish a hybrid Active Directory environment, which involves using Microsoft Entra Connect to synchronize the Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID. Verify that the sync rules are configured properly based on your organization's requirements.
Once you have synchronized your Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID, it's important to verify that the synchronization is working as intended.
After a successful synchronization, configure your applications to use Microsoft Entra ID for authentication and access control.
With the migration complete, you can start the process to shut down the Active Directory environment.
Brien Posey is a 15-time Microsoft MVP with two decades of IT experience.
This Cyber News was published on www.techtarget.com. Publication date: Wed, 27 Dec 2023 15:13:07 +0000