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Entra ID Overview

Microsoft Entra ID is a comprehensive identity and access management (IAM) solution that enables organizations to secure access to applications, protect against cyber threats, and manage users and their permissions. It is the cloud-based identity and access management service that bridges the gap between on-premises environments and the cloud, while providing a rich set of capabilities for identity governance.

What is Microsoft Entra ID?

Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) is a cloud-based identity and access management service. It provides capabilities to:

• Manage User Identities: Create, manage, and secure user identities for employees, partners, and customers.
• Control Access to Applications: Securely connect users to thousands of SaaS applications (like Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and more), custom applications, and on-premises applications.
• Enforce Authentication Policies: Implement robust authentication methods, including password-based authentication, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and passwordless authentication.
• Monitor and Protect Against Threats: Utilize identity protection features to detect and respond to suspicious activities and potential threats in real-time.
• Enable Single Sign-On (SSO): Allow users to access multiple applications with a single set of credentials, improving productivity and user experience.
• Facilitate Collaboration: Securely invite external users to collaborate on resources and applications.

Core Components and Features

Entra ID offers a wide array of features designed to meet diverse identity management needs:

• User and Group Management: Tools for creating, organizing, and managing user accounts and groups.
• Application Integration: Support for integrating with a vast library of pre-integrated applications and custom application development.
• Conditional Access: A policy engine that allows administrators to enforce access controls based on conditions such as user, location, device, and application.
• Identity Protection: Advanced features for detecting and remediating identity-based risks, including sign-in risk policies and user risk policies.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Enhances security by requiring users to provide multiple forms of verification to access resources.
• Single Sign-On (SSO): Streamlines user access to applications.
• Device Management: Integrate with device management solutions like Microsoft Intune for comprehensive device and application management.
• B2B Collaboration: Enables secure external collaboration with partners, vendors, and customers.

Use Cases

Entra ID is instrumental in various scenarios, including:

• Securing access to Microsoft 365 and Azure resources.
• Providing SSO to SaaS and custom applications.
• Implementing Zero Trust security principles.
• Managing identities for remote and hybrid workforces.
• Enabling secure collaboration with external organizations.

To learn more about specific Entra ID capabilities, explore the detailed documentation linked in the sidebar.

// Example of a basic PowerShell command to list users in Entra ID
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "User.Read.All"
Get-MgUser -All