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Microsoft Active Directory pros and cons

Vendor: Microsoft

4.3 out of 5

43 reviews
97% willing to recommend

110 followers

Pros & Cons summary

Microsoft Active Directory offers seamless integration with Azure AD Connect, enhancing cloud compatibility through robust single sign-on capabilities. Its effective group policy management and scalability accommodate growing user and device numbers. Despite being reliable, it faces scalability challenges, often needing additional software for network monitoring. Integration difficulties arise with hybrid single sign-on scenarios. Multifactor authentication and enhanced security features are necessary, and premium support services are pricey with slow response times.

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Microsoft Active Directory is user-friendly, making it easy to manage user and group policies, authentication, authorization, and auditing processes.

It is highly scalable and can integrate seamlessly with cloud operations via Azure AD Connect and Microsoft Office 365, supporting both on-premise and cloud environments.

The initial setup is straightforward, ensuring a quick and easy installation process with technical support readily available.

The platform is highly stable and proves to be reliable for managing user policies, files, emails, and internet access across domains and devices.

Authentication and credential management are key features, aiding in the enforcement of security protocols, including password policies and centralized ID creation.

CONS

Integration with Mac and iOS products could be improved, and better integration with other solutions is needed.

Scalability needs improvement as additional software solutions are required to monitor the network along with Active Directory.

Assigning permissions is complex and lacks user-friendly options for granular-level assignments.

Multi-factor authentication is absent, which should be included in future releases to enhance security.

Migration to the cloud presents both technical and cost-related challenges that need to be addressed.

Microsoft Active Directory Pros review quotes

Rajitha Abhisheka

Senior Systems Engineer at Virtual IT Group - Australia

Sep 29, 2022

The Solution's most important feature is that it can merge with a cloud-based active directory via Azure AD Connect.

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Shivaram Venkatesh

Cloud advisor at Digital Cognitive

Aug 10, 2023

One noteworthy aspect we discovered is the ability to exercise tight control over systems, specifically Windows PCs. This pertains to the management of policies, usage patterns, and user access on these devices, particularly within the framework of Active Directory which is extremely well thought. This actually works better with on-premises solutions. However, as the global trend shifts towards cloud and hybrid environments, Active Directory and its use is diminishing. Yet, it hasn't entirely lost its relevance and remains a presence that cannot be entirely disregarded.

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Technical Analyst at Hexaware Technologies Limited

Mar 10, 2023

The scalability of the solution is high...The initial setup of the solution is easy, and I would rate it an eight or nine out of ten on a scale of one to ten, where one being difficult and ten being easy.

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Microsoft Active Directory

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IT Enterprise System Administrator at Nafeza

Dec 13, 2022

We can also have separate domain controllers in different Active Directory sites based on their location.

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MM

Security Manager at Yarix S.r.l.

Aug 10, 2023

Active Directory plays a focal point in security management, encompassing aspects like credential management, lifecycle, dynamic provisioning, and the network infrastructure of customers.

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CT

Chris Tailowright

Network Security Administrator at a retailer with 51-200 employees

Jun 17, 2025

I've been working with Microsoft Active Directory for over 3 years, and we've had no problems.

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MR

Mohammad Roshanshak

IT Engineer at United Nations

Aug 3, 2023

It is easy to handle, and it gives a hundred percent results with the group policies.

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SHUBHAM BHINGARDE

Project Engineer at CDAC

Feb 8, 2024

The user interface of the product is very easy to use.

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SS

SrikanthSubramanian

senior consutant at HCLSoftware

Jan 9, 2025

One valuable feature is the centralized creation of IDs.

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CW

Charles White Jr

Lead Desktop Support Technician at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

Jan 19, 2023

The most valuable feature of Microsoft Active Directory is the ability to search for computers and users. While I do not have administrative privileges to reset passwords, I can view user information such as department, and communicate with someone who can make the changes.

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Show 10 more reviews (out of 43)

Microsoft Active Directory Cons review quotes

Rajitha Abhisheka

Senior Systems Engineer at Virtual IT Group - Australia

Sep 29, 2022

The interface for logs should be user-friendly and allow for enhanced filtering to drill down to incidents.

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Shivaram Venkatesh

Cloud advisor at Digital Cognitive

Aug 10, 2023

Typically, it depends on the customer's situation. If the customer operates in smaller locations where most PCs are in a common location, we usually aim to consolidate the directory infrastructure for easier maintenance. However, for distributed setups spanning multiple countries, configuring multiple sites becomes necessary and more intricate to handle. Our objective is to minimize the number of sites, simplifying operations for IT administrators and reducing errors. Mistakes in Active Directory can be costly for organizations, as disruptions can occur rapidly. Moreover, when it comes to hybrid single sign-on across various applications, Microsoft hasn't put forth significant effort. Single sign-on has become a challenge for many customers who utilize diverse solutions beyond Microsoft products. While implementing single sign-on is relatively straightforward in the Azure cloud, it's considerably more complex when dealing with the local Active Directory. This presents a big challenge for many of our customers.

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Technical Analyst at Hexaware Technologies Limited

Mar 10, 2023

In the solution, assigning permissions is complex, making it difficult to grant them at a granular level or to multiple users without templates or alternative tools.

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Microsoft Active Directory

Free Report: Microsoft Active Directory Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Active Directory. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.

860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.

IT Enterprise System Administrator at Nafeza

Dec 13, 2022

If Microsoft is going to add anything to the on-prem solution, it should be an updated GUI.

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MM

Security Manager at Yarix S.r.l.

Aug 10, 2023

I would like to see more integration with cloud-based applications. This would make it easier to manage users and devices across multiple platforms.

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CT

Chris Tailowright

Network Security Administrator at a retailer with 51-200 employees

Jun 17, 2025

Sometimes, it can be overly complicated, and when you apply Group Policy in an Active Directory environment, sometimes those settings apply and sometimes they don't.

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MR

Mohammad Roshanshak

IT Engineer at United Nations

Aug 3, 2023

If you are using the Active Directory, the main concern is that the policy is restricted to the specific local area network.

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SHUBHAM BHINGARDE

Project Engineer at CDAC

Feb 8, 2024

Microsoft Active Directory restricts most of the features our company's employees want to use since they are involved in research and development activities.

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SS

SrikanthSubramanian

senior consutant at HCLSoftware

Jan 9, 2025

Even better group management would be beneficial.

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CW

Charles White Jr

Lead Desktop Support Technician at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

Jan 19, 2023

There has been a change in the layout of the user information. Previously, I had to go to properties to view the information, but now it is displayed directly below the search results. It takes some time to get used to.

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Show 10 more reviews (out of 42)

Product Categories

Product Categories

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Active Directory Management

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Product Categories

Product Categories

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Active Directory Management

Popular Comparisons

Popular Comparisons

Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Active Directory

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Microsoft Active Directory

Ping Identity Platform vs Microsoft Active Directory

Auth0 vs Microsoft Active Directory

CyberArk Identity vs Microsoft Active Directory

JumpCloud vs Microsoft Active Directory

ManageEngine ADManager Plus vs Microsoft Active Directory

IBM Security Verify Access vs Microsoft Active Directory

Tenable Identity Exposure vs Microsoft Active Directory

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See all alternatives

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