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Centrify Endpoint Services [EOL] vs Microsoft Entra ID comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Centrify Endpoint Services ...
Average Rating
7.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Entra ID
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
266
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), Authentication Systems (1st), Identity Management (IM) (2nd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (1st), Access Management (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)
 

Featured Reviews

OM
Solutions Architect at ECM Business Services
Has system multi-factor authentication abilities but is lacking connection between on-premise and cloud-based solutions
What can be improved is the integration between the on-premise environment, specifically for Linux environments with the cloud infrastructure, such as Microsoft as it was during my time as a solution architect. My customers were looking to authenticate from the on-premise environment directly to Centrify LDAP and authenticate with the Microsoft Azure Active Direct for workloads that are sitting in Microsoft's cloud platform. The central sites are kind of limited in providing this capability. I'd like to see enhancement of the integration between the on-premise environment, both Linux and Windows-based workloads from on-premise integration into the cloud environment integration. The cloud environment needs improvement, specifically the Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google cloud platform environments. If this platform can provide the capability to act as an integration, or API, between an on-premise and cloud-based identity and access management solution, then I see this as a complete solution for identity and access management and solutions.
JP
Senior Information Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Implementing seamless integration boosts secure access and supports Zero Trust
What I appreciate the most about Microsoft Entra ID is that it integrates seamlessly with all the Defender products and is easy to use. Microsoft Entra ID's integration capabilities influence our Zero Trust model by allowing us to enforce our Zero Trust model. Conditional access policies allow us to leverage Microsoft Entra ID to verify that devices signing in to our cloud services are coming from registered devices, and that people are passing all the other requirements we have in order to complete sign-on or conditional access policies. Since implementing Microsoft Entra ID, I've observed changes in the frequency and nature of identity-related security incidents. The organization already had it implemented when I arrived, and I've been working to enhance it. Better configuration of Microsoft Entra ID has allowed us to better protect our organization from threats. Having it alone isn't a solution, but ensuring proper configuration goes a long way in preventing future compromises. My company's approach to defending against token theft and nation-state attacks has evolved since implementing Microsoft Entra ID. We haven't experienced any known compromises from nation-state attacks, and implementing newer features gives me more confidence in our protection. Regarding device-bound passkeys in Microsoft Authenticator and our approach to phishing-resistant authentication, we are currently implementing Microsoft Entra ID certificate-based authentication. Adding a strong form of MFA is important as we found it to be the most cost-effective way. While other solutions might be equally or more secure, they are significantly more expensive. Having worked as an IT consultant mainly with the Microsoft stack across various industries, I have experience with different identity management solutions. Microsoft Entra ID remains the best option. The major advantages when comparing it to Okta include integration with Defender products, Defender for Identities' integration with conditional access policies, and insider threat management integration for blocking sign-ins based on risk factors. The enhancement of Microsoft Entra ID's implementation is relatively straightforward. My main concern is the occasional lack of documentation and the frequency of changes, which can make feature location challenging.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature in Centrify is the ability to authenticate in a Linux environment, because this is what my customers were looking for. They are coming from a Linux environment, so they appreciate the identity and access management for allowing Linux workloads to authenticate securely."
"The two-step authentication is the most valuable."
"Delegated permissions and federated credentials are valuable features of Entra ID."
"We have about 80 users in the Azure Active Directory right now, however, we know that if it was necessary to scale it for hundreds or thousands of users, it wouldn't be a problem."
"The single sign-on of the solution is the most valuable aspect."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to authenticate users using Microsoft Entra ID."
"Delegated permissions and federated credentials are valuable features of Entra ID. We aim for a more secure environment by pushing for minimal use of static secrets. By utilizing delegated permissions, workflows can manage access, and federated credentials allow integration with platforms like GitHub and AWS. Entra ID drives our login and security perimeter, helping with multifactor authentication, despite the legacy systems."
"The implementation of Microsoft Entra ID has impacted my secure access to apps or resources in my environment because it made it easier."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Entra ID are the login and the conditional access pieces."
 

Cons

"What can be improved in Centrify is the integration between the on-premise environment, specifically for Linux environments with the cloud infrastructure, such as Microsoft as it was during my time as a solution architect."
"Initially, we wanted to exclude specific users from MSA. So, we had a condition policy, which forces MSA for all the users. So we wanted to exclude users who are using an NPS extension. So it was not listed, as a NPS extension was not listed outside an application, in actual, so, we go back and were not able to exclude users using NPS extension from MSA. So that was one limitation that we found and we had to work around that."
"My understanding is, in the future, they will be able to bring everything into one single platform and they are not there yet."
"There should be a clearer separation between objects held in Entra and Azure, so we don't need to approach the Entra ID team to create rules, policies, and app registrations."
"I rate Microsoft support five out of 10. It's just okay."
"In the compliance area, the granulation of access to storage accounts or Kubernetes could be improved."
"I think Microsoft Entra ID could be improved by assigning permissions to nested groups in the next release."
"Microsoft plans to move away from SMS authentication for Multi-Factor Authentication and only implement application-based authenticator, which will be challenging for retail outlets reliant on Microsoft Active Directory."
"You can manage the users from the Office 365 administration center, and you can manage them from Azure Active Directory. Those are two different environments, but they do the same things. They can gather the features in one place, and it might be better if that place were Azure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The cost of Azure AD is one of the biggest benefits, as it is available for use free of charge when you start with Office 365."
"Be sure: You know your userbase, e.g., how many users you have. You choose the right license and model that suit your business requirements."
"We pay a yearly license. Licenses are very expensive."
"It's relatively inexpensive in comparison with third-party solutions. It's highly available and supported by Microsoft Azure in our enterprise agreements. With the addition of their B2C tenants, it's hard to beat from a cost perspective now."
"We have a yearly license."
"The price of Azure Active Directory and Amazon AWS, are almost the same, but most people prefer Amazon AWS because they find it's a little cheaper to some extent and an easier platform to use."
"If you have a different IDP today, I would take a close look at what your licensing looks like, then reevaluate the licensing that you have with Microsoft 365, and see if you're covered for some of this other stuff. Folks sometimes don't realize that, "Oh, I'm licensed for that service in Azure." This becomes one of those situations where you have the "aha" moment, "Oh, I didn't know we can do that. Alright, let's go down this road." Then, they start to have conversations with Microsoft to see what they can gain. I would recommend that they work closely with their TAM, just to make sure that they are getting the right level of service. They may just not be aware of what is available to them."
"Licensing costs for Microsoft Entra ID remain a concern, especially with the price increases in 2023."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business85
Midsize Enterprise38
Large Enterprise155
 

Questions from the Community

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How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?
We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?
My experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Entra ID is that it is decent.
What needs improvement with Azure Active Directory?
I think Microsoft Entra ID could be improved by assigning permissions to nested groups in the next release.
 

Also Known As

Centrify Identity Service
Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Apttus
Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.
Find out what your peers are saying about SailPoint, Microsoft, One Identity and others in Identity Management (IM). Updated: January 2026.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.