We use Azure AD for sign-on security as well as for our customers' Microsoft 365 solutions. We help migrate our customers from the traditional Active Directory, and to use Exchange Online and Microsoft Teams. We use Azure AD to secure their login processes with multi-factor authentication. In some specific cases, where there are specific applications, databases, or Active Directory login information about users, we integrate Azure AD with those elements.
Infrastructure and Cloud Principle Specialist at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Integrates well with Microsoft products but configuring third-party solutions can be difficult
Pros and Cons
- "Multi-factor authentication really secures our environments and gives us the flexibility to use location-based policies. Azure AD also gives us a lot of flexibility in our scope of integration."
- "I would like it to be easier to integrate third-party applications."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
Multi-factor authentication really secures our environments and gives us the flexibility to use location-based policies. Azure AD also gives us a lot of flexibility in our scope of integration.
It's easy to configure Microsoft products with Azure AD. It is almost an instant integration. In hybrid installations it is a bit more complex to configure, but not that much. In short, it is good for most Microsoft customers and the products they use.
What needs improvement?
Some of the features related to authentication could be made clearer. In my last organization, I tried to integrate a third-party education solution with Azure AD, but it was a bit difficult to configure. I would like it to be easier to integrate third-party applications.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Azure AD for three or four years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable product. I haven't encountered any problems or bugs.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable.
How was the initial setup?
In general, there is no problem in configuring Azure AD. It's not hard. But, as I said, configuring third-party, open-source applications with it is a little bit difficult.
We usually set aside one day to configure Azure AD for new organizations. In general, it takes one person to maintain it, perhaps two in some cases.
What other advice do I have?
We have faced a few little problems in our customers' hybrid environments. Backing up the ADFS (Active Directory Federation Services) is very important, but some of our customers didn't do so and they lost their ADFS proxy servers. That is one of the important lessons I have learned. In those cases we had to reconfigure almost everything. It's simple to back up ADFS, so I would advise doing so.
But from the user's point of view, we've faced no problems. It works well.
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
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Secure, user-friendly, simple to install, and reliable
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of this solution is that is easy to use."
- "I believe it can also be integrated into other Microsoft products, as well as more integrations with other solutions."
What is our primary use case?
When we access the API, we use Microsoft Authenticator. Something with potential will be saved, and if the company has some use cases to connect to some database, I will use it as well, or something along those lines.
How has it helped my organization?
Normally, because a third party requires it.
It provides you with security. It provides the third party with some level of security.
But vendors like myself do not appreciate it.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of this solution is that is easy to use.
It is also automated.
What needs improvement?
I believe it can also be integrated into other Microsoft products, as well as more integrations with other solutions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Microsoft Authenticator for two years.
I am working with the most recent version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Authenticator is quite stable.
I would rate the stability of Microsoft Authenticator a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Authenticator is a scalable solution.
I would rate the scalability of Microsoft Authenticator an eight out of ten.
As far as I know, we have more than 30 users in our organization. Some are senior professionals and some are developers.
How are customer service and support?
I have never dealt with technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I use UiPath as well as Automation Anywhere.
I started with Authenticator and then moved on to the Namespace version or class that I can import from Microsoft.
How was the initial setup?
I would rate the initial setup a ten out of ten.
It was easy.
It only took a few hours to deploy.
It's an out-of-the-box deployment, but I am not the one who manages it.
What about the implementation team?
One person was involved in the deployment.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it. It is easy to use and it fits its purpose.
Because it is scalable and reliable, I would rate Microsoft Authenticator an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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IT Functional Analyst at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Scalable, reliable, and easy to use
Pros and Cons
- "Azure Active Directory has been very useful for our company, it is not difficult to use."
- "Azure Active Directory could improve the two-factor authentication."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Azure Active Directory in our company at a group level.
What is most valuable?
Azure Active Directory has been very useful for our company, it is not difficult to use.
What needs improvement?
Azure Active Directory could improve the two-factor authentication.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Azure Active Directory for approximately four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Azure Active Directory is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Azure Active Directory is scalable.
We have approximately 1,000 users using this solution. Not everyone is using Azure Active Directory but the ones involved in the cloud are.
How are customer service and support?
I have not used technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very easy for Azure Active Directory.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to others is if they're going to move to the Azure Cloud Platform, this could be a highly valuable add-on, in order to take care of authentication matters in general. It's a very useful tool and not difficult to use.
I rate Azure Active Directory an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Presales at Quest Software
The best solution you can implement for your identity protection
Pros and Cons
- "Don't delay implementing this solution, it's the best thing you can do for your identity protection."
- "It would be an improvement if Authenticator made it easier to recover the app if you reboot your cellphone and lose access."
What is our primary use case?
I use Authenticator across my company for controlling access to our platforms and data.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the prompt for a number so that you're sure what you're seeing is what you're agreeing to.
What needs improvement?
It would be an improvement if Authenticator made it easier to recover the app if you reboot your cellphone and lose access.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Authenticator is stable.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
Don't delay implementing this solution, it's the best thing you can do for your identity protection. I would rate Authenticator as nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
IT Security Manager at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Provides central authentication and allows us to manage user and computer objects with GPOs
Pros and Cons
- "The central authentication server is most valuable, and GPOs are useful for user and computer policies."
- "Its price should be improved. It is very expensive for Turkish people."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for authentication. We are using GPOs for user and computer policies.
What is most valuable?
The central authentication server is most valuable. GPOs are useful for user and computer policies.
What needs improvement?
Its price should be improved. It is very expensive for Turkish people.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Azure Active Directory for about six months. This is a new company, and we started to use new IT solutions. We bought a lot of IT solutions, equipment, and tools.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
At the end of the project, about 1,200 people will use this solution. We don't have any plans to increase its usage.
How are customer service and support?
We didn't use Microsoft's support. We have mostly Turkish or local solution partners for any help.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I didn't use any other solution.
How was the initial setup?
It was not easy. It was also not difficult. It took about a month.
What about the implementation team?
We used a solution partner for its deployment. For maintenance, we would have about 10 engineers for 1,200 people.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is very expensive. Its price should be lower. Price is the most important factor for Turkish people.
What other advice do I have?
This is the best solution for authorization. I would rate it a nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Infrastructure Manager at a consumer goods company with 51-200 employees
Improved stability and straightforward to set up but licensing is confusing
Pros and Cons
- "Azure is the leading market solution because of its history, features, and maturity."
- "The technical support can be confusing - if you're looking for something very specific, it can be hard to get the right answer or a solution."
What is our primary use case?
My main use is for directory services, including identity access, management policies, access control, authentication features, and endpoint management.
What needs improvement?
The licensing model makes it difficult to understand the real cost of the solution, especially because it changes all the time.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have fifteen years of experience with Active Directory.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability has improved from a couple of years ago. From time to time, there are service interruptions, but they're not a problem.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This solution is easily scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support can be confusing - if you're looking for something very specific, it can be hard to get the right answer or a solution. Google Workspace's support is stronger - it's fast and easy, and they go the extra mile without asking.
How was the initial setup?
Active Directory is straightforward to set up.
What other advice do I have?
Azure is the leading market solution because of its history, features, and maturity. I'd rate this solution seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Service Architect at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Adds a valuable extra layer to data security; very functional
Pros and Cons
- "The solution adds an extra layer of security."
- "I use this solution on a daily basis and it's a very functional app that adds an extra layer when it comes to securing the data owned by my company."
- "I'd like to see integration between applications and phones included in the solution."
What is our primary use case?
My primary use case is to access our company resources. I'm a solution architect and we are customers of Authenticator.
What is most valuable?
I use this solution on a daily basis and it's a very functional app. that adds an extra layer when it comes to securing the data owned by my company. It's quite easy to deploy.
What needs improvement?
I'd like to see integration between applications and phones included in the solution. It would also be helpful to have support for the kind of integration you see between Facebook and Google, support with protocols from one application on the internet or SaaS to another one. I've seen several kinds of applications in the area of risky behavior that are a little better in other solutions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution always works, it's stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable, we have around 40,000 users in our company.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have previously used other products but Authenticator is included in the Microsoft license suite package so the decision to go with it was commercial.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is connected with Intune in the cloud so implementation is very easy and took me less than five minutes. Everything is updated via Microsoft cloud delivery.
What other advice do I have?
I rate this solution eight out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Computer Chief Specialist Engineer at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cloud accessible, overall functions well, and simple deployment
Pros and Cons
- "Overall the solution functions very well, such as the ability to access it from the cloud."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is being used at Kuwait University for different things, such as email systems.
What is most valuable?
Overall the solution functions very well, such as the ability to access it from the cloud.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Azure Active Directory for approximately eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Azure Active Directory is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Azure Active Directory has been scalable.
How are customer service and support?
If we have any problems we contact the local reseller, and if we need to contact Microsoft, we do it directly.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were previously using Microsoft Active Directory which was not on the cloud. Having Azure Active Directory on the cloud is a benefit.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is simple. There is not a need to do any installation or configuration, you only make a subscription and you run it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a subscription model that is used for Azure Active Directory.
The subscription should be categorized by business size. For example, small companies should have a discounted price, this would help small companies and the organization to be automated.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution to others.
I rate Azure Active Directory a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Solutions Specialist at RV BYGGERI
Has good MDM and MI features
Pros and Cons
- "I like Intune's MDM and MI."
- "If the ecosystem is Microsoft, I recommend Intune because it's Microsoft's end-to-end solution."
- "I would like it if Intune could manage MacOS or iOS directly. Right now, we have to use a third-party solution."
What is most valuable?
I like Intune's MDM and MI.
What needs improvement?
I would like it if Intune could manage MacOS or iOS directly. Right now, we have to use a third-party solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with Intune for four years
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I think Intune is more stable compared to five years ago.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Intune's scalability is better now that it's on the cloud. We can deploy to all of our devices without performance suffering.
How are customer service and support?
Microsoft support is good.
How was the initial setup?
My customers usually do a pilot project. Then it goes to the IT department after that. If they are happy with the features and functionality, then they will deploy it to the users. We typically have no problems, but sometimes we face issues with older devices.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would like to see Microsoft offer discounts for larger Intune deployments.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Intune nine out of 10. If the user is working with a Microsoft device or license, Intune is really powerful because it has a bundled license. Still, if we need to manage another system, Intune is too expensive. If the ecosystem is Microsoft, I recommend Intune because it's Microsoft's end-to-end solution.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Technical Specialist
Flexible with good device management and helpful activity logs
Pros and Cons
- "It has made our work easier in that it’s simplified everything for us."
- "The solution has not saved costs. While we’ve eliminated some tools, there are some other features that we are dependent on as admin, which are not yet integrated with Azure AD."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution to take users into our AD. That's the basic purpose. We are using it in our whole organization so that our AD is synced.
What is most valuable?
Overall, the solution is quite good.
There are a few additional functionalities that are very compatible. For example, device management is there and creating a custom role, which reduces the task of restricting the user from AD, if the person is on the on-premise AD. If they're using on-premise, they have to create a distribution list, then apply Azure to that. It's simplified in Azure AD, making it easy to create roles and assign them to the users.
In fact, the device management and role assignments are great. These two features I found very compatible. For device management, if you are using an on-prem AD, you have to use some other software like Google admin to manage the devices. However, here, it is integrated into Azure AD. That's a positive aspect of the solution.
Regarding the role assignments, it's a very flexible way to restrict the user, or, if you want to customize access, that can be done as well.
The activity log, which is a way to see who made what changes, is quite useful.
Azure AD has features that helped improve our security posture. It is SSO - Single Sign-On. We can manage the users very easily and we can apply SSO and MFA to them.
I'll give it a score of four out of five for the security posture on offer.
For whatever company I'm working for, we cannot fully put the data on the cloud due to compliance. Rather, you have to keep some data on-premises. That’s why it’s great that we can use the hybrid approach with Microsoft.
Azure AD has not affected our end-user experience in any way. The transition is also quite smooth. If you're using an AD Connect to sync from your on-premises to your Azure AD, nothing has come up from the end-users in terms of issues or problems.
It has made our work easier in that it’s simplified everything for us. It has eliminated a few of the third-party tools, which we used to use. For example, we had a dependency on Google admin due to the fact that we could see where we could manage the devices of the user. That has been integrated directly to Azure AD.
What needs improvement?
The solution has not saved costs. While we’ve eliminated some tools, there are some other features that we are dependent on as admin, which is not yet integrated with Azure AD.
Other features have a broader scope and are covered under Azure. If, for example, I want to create a workflow, that cannot be done in Azure AD. That is something that is done in the Azure function or Azure logic app. Parts have to be covered in other functions.
Longer-term, there are some features which might be added, such as admin features similar to Google admin. If I'm an employee and I'm exiting the company, for example, I need to transfer that data from myself to my manager. For that, maybe they could include a feature where they can transfer the data from the user directly and we don't have to rely on any admins.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Azure AD for one and a half years. Before, we were on-premises.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is quite good. It has already been integrated with SSO or MFA. From a security perspective, it's quite stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is pretty fair. Azure is doing quite good work in the cloud. It's one of the top clouds. Scalability is not an issue, for Azure AD at least.
We have approximately 800 users overall, between our India and Phoenix offices.
We have ten administrators working with this tool in your organization. They are mostly assistant admins. There are two people who are working as global administrators. They do all the configurations.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't worked with Microsoft regarding this solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
My past experience is limited to Azure AD. We also work with Azure Monitor and Azure Logic.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty much a straightforward process. I've set up another AD Connect and the process was done in 15 minutes. If you have proper documentation, you can go through it very, very smoothly. That's what my understanding is.
The solution doesn't require any maintenance.
What was our ROI?
We've definitely seen an ROI. I can't speak to the pricing part, however, when I see it as an administrator, I definitely see the value for money for our organization. A lot of functionalities have been added, with still more plans to add a few more features. There clearly has been a value addition.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't have any insight on the pricing end as that is always managed by our team leader. They take care of all the pricing activities, et cetera. Any pricing-related information I don't have knowledge of.
What other advice do I have?
In terms of deployment, we are on a hybrid structure, where we are using an AD Connect to sync our on-prem users to Azure.
I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten.
A lot of functions have been included as compared to the on-premises deployment. Compared with competitors such as AWS and Google Cloud, it is in a different league. For example, AWS also has good features, however, this is more simplified and it's a Microsoft product, so you can rely on it for the long term.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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