What is our primary use case?
I use Microsoft Entra ID Governance for identity and access management as well as access recertification.
The workflows such as joiner, mover, and leaver work in Microsoft Entra ID Governance. Entitlement Management is a bundle of resources where Microsoft Entra ID applications, groups, and SharePoint sites are packaged into a single package so that users can request it. This is one of the great features for Microsoft Entra ID Governance. Another feature is Access Review, which allows an automated schedule to be managed for the manager or resource owner so that they can verify whether people still need access. Privileged Identity Management is another feature for governance that provides just-in-time (JIT) access for administrative roles. For example, instead of being a permanent or global admin, which is a major security risk, an IT professional is eligible for the role and must request four hours of access only when they need to perform a specific task.
There is a feature called access package. If any user wants particular application access, they can request this application via Microsoft Entra ID Governance access package. Whenever an end user makes a request, the access goes to one application manager and their current line manager. If they approve it, then they get the application access. This is a very good feature for user-centric purposes.
Microsoft Entra ID Governance includes securing AI agent identity. As a company uses more AI generation such as Copilots or custom bots, those bots need their own identity just as employees do. Microsoft Entra now provides a way to assign unique identities to AI agents so you can control what data they can access. Microsoft Entra ID Governance protection now looks for risky behavior in AI agents. If a bot suddenly tries to download an unusual amount of data or unconscious data, it can detect this as a risk detection factor. Security Copilot allows Entra administrators to manage identity with natural language.
Microsoft Entra ID Governance has protection and authentication features. Smart risk detection protects and analyzes to detect threats such as impossible travel. If a person is logging in from many different locations, it detects this as a risk factor. A user cannot use an unauthenticated password or log in from an incompatible device. These AI features are used in conditional access management in Microsoft Entra ID Governance.
Automation is used for user onboarding, user offboarding, and user update processes through user lifecycle management. If an organization uses Workday as an HR application where new users join and fill in their details, all these details get reflected into Workday and then reflected into Active Directory as well as Microsoft Entra ID Governance. This automation helps to manage the day-to-day user onboarding process, user offboarding process, and user update process. Microsoft Entra ID Governance automation also helps with password-related tasks, access recertification, and reporting.
What is most valuable?
The workflows such as joiner, mover, and leaver work in Microsoft Entra ID Governance. Entitlement Management is a bundle of resources where Microsoft Entra ID applications, groups, and SharePoint sites are packaged into a single package so that users can request it. This is one of the great features for Microsoft Entra ID Governance. Another feature is Access Review, which allows an automated schedule to be managed for the manager or resource owner so that they can verify whether people still need access. Privileged Identity Management is another feature for governance that provides just-in-time (JIT) access for administrative roles. For example, instead of being a permanent or global admin, which is a major security risk, an IT professional is eligible for the role and must request four hours of access only when they need to perform a specific task.
There is a feature called access package. If any user wants particular application access, they can request this application via Microsoft Entra ID Governance access package. Whenever an end user makes a request, the access goes to one application manager and their current line manager. If they approve it, then they get the application access. This is a very good feature for user-centric purposes.
Microsoft Entra ID Governance includes securing AI agent identity. As a company uses more AI generation such as Copilots or custom bots, those bots need their own identity just as employees do. Microsoft Entra now provides a way to assign unique identities to AI agents so you can control what data they can access. Microsoft Entra ID Governance protection now looks for risky behavior in AI agents. If a bot suddenly tries to download an unusual amount of data or unconscious data, it can detect this as a risk detection factor. Security Copilot allows Entra administrators to manage identity with natural language.
Microsoft Entra ID Governance has protection and authentication features. Smart risk detection protects and analyzes to detect threats such as impossible travel. If a person is logging in from many different locations, it detects this as a risk factor. A user cannot use an unauthenticated password or log in from an incompatible device. These AI features are used in conditional access management in Microsoft Entra ID Governance.
Automation is used for user onboarding, user offboarding, and user update processes through user lifecycle management. If an organization uses Workday as an HR application where new users join and fill in their details, all these details get reflected into Workday and then reflected into Active Directory as well as Microsoft Entra ID Governance. This automation helps to manage the day-to-day user onboarding process, user offboarding process, and user update process. Microsoft Entra ID Governance automation also helps with password-related tasks, access recertification, and reporting.
What needs improvement?
There is one feature that I do not prefer. If a manager approves access for a particular user and wants to change their decision about whether the user should retain access or not, once they approve, they cannot change their decision. Microsoft needs to work on this. If a manager could change their decision and approve or deny access again for the same privileged user, it would be beneficial. However, this feature is not provided by Microsoft Entra ID Governance. This is a minor issue, but the rest of the features are very good.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Entra ID Governance for the last two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate stability at eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have not faced any scalability issues, so I can give a full ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate customer service at three out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup took almost one week for requirement gathering, one week for testing, and one week for deployment, totaling almost three weeks including requirement gathering, testing, and deployment.
It is easy to construct, but it depends on the requirement. If it is a complex scenario, it would take time for testing, requirement gathering, and then the build. However, for deployment, once all these steps are successful, deployment would take around one week. It depends on the complexity of the project.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost is moderate, not so cheap and not so over-expensive.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
When comparing with Okta, Microsoft Entra ID Governance has very deep integration related to the Microsoft ecosystem, including Office 365, Microsoft Azure, and Windows. However, when compared to Okta, it works seamlessly across diverse multiple cloud environments. Microsoft Entra ID Governance has almost 3,500 pre-integrated applications for SSO integration based on OAuth, OIDC, and SAML. However, Okta has around 7,000 plus pre-built integrations. The cost is very less when compared to Okta. Because with Okta, you need to buy a separate subscription and it can be more expensive as a stand-alone tool. However, when compared to Microsoft, it is often free or bundled with existing M365 licenses. If an organization has an E3 or E5 license, then they can use multiple Microsoft applications. Regarding admin experience, both are almost the same, but Okta is more user-friendly. Regarding the policy engine, in Microsoft Entra ID Governance, conditional access applies broad or organization-wide rules. However, in Okta, it has granular sign-on policies which can be easily customized for individual applications. This is the difference, but it depends on which the organization wants to prefer. However, most organizations prefer Microsoft Entra ID Governance because it provides various Microsoft applications including Office 365, where they can use Outlook and Teams, and also Microsoft Azure and Windows licenses. So it would be good if in one license they have all this package. Therefore, most organizations prefer Microsoft Entra ID Governance over Okta.
I would recommend Microsoft Entra ID Governance for organizations that are using the Microsoft ecosystem including Office 365, Outlook, Teams, Azure, and Windows, and also want something cheaper compared to other options. Organizations that can afford the cost-related aspects and want around 7,000 pre-built integrations as well as a user-friendly UI should consider Okta.
What other advice do I have?
The best features are Access Review and Entitlement Management.
Recertification can be run on-demand as and when any recertification slip occurs. There is also time-based recertification, which we run every quarter. During this time, all privileged users get certified by their managers regarding whether they want access or not. All three features can be used in Microsoft Entra ID Governance.
There is a feature called access package. If any user wants particular application access, they can request this application via Microsoft Entra ID Governance access package. Whenever an end user makes a request, the access goes to one application manager and their current line manager. If they approve it, then they get the application access. This is a very good feature for user-centric purposes.
The organization has almost 7,000 users.
I do not have any experience with machine learning related to Microsoft Entra ID Governance.
My overall rating for Microsoft Entra ID Governance is nine out of ten.
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