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reviewer1941183 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Connects with other SaaS solutions, and SSOs with MFA make authentication much easier
Pros and Cons
  • "It's multi-tenant, residing in multiple locations. The authentication happens quickly. Irrespective of whether I'm in Australia, the US, India, or Africa, I don't see any latency. Those are the good features that I rely on."
  • "One area where it can improve is connectivity with other systems. Not all systems are connected and you have to do coding to establish a point of connectivity. It supports certain vendors and it supports certain protocols. It is limited in many other aspects at the attribute level."

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are

  • authentication
  • authorization
  • two-factor authentication
  • I have never had a failure.

It's multi-tenant, residing in multiple locations. Authentication happens quickly. Irrespective of whether I'm in Australia, the US, India, or Africa, I don't see any latency. Those are the good features that I rely on.

It also has a variable extension, which is an added value because in Active Directory, if you have to do a schema, you have to make changes on multiple Active Directory instances. But here, as the extension attribute can be done from the application level, it helps you provide the provisioning. 

Another good reason for using Azure AD is that it can connect with other SaaS services. It also has SSOs, which, along with the MFA, makes authentication much easier.

What needs improvement?

One area where it can improve is connectivity with other systems. Not all systems are connected and you have to do coding to establish a point of connectivity. It supports certain vendors and it supports certain protocols. It is limited in many other aspects at the attribute level.

Also, some of the provisioning filters are not capable enough. You cannot do a date filter on the provisioning.

Perhaps they could also have easy protocols to create the accounts. Instead of just a file upload, they should have an easy connector to do the provisioning part.

For how long have I used the solution?

I work in a service-based company and I've been using Azure Active Directory for my customers for around 10 years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

From 2020 to 2022, there have not been more than two or three outages, and none was more than three to four hours long. And those outages may not have occurred the whole time in the entire environment, they may only have been in certain places.

When there is an outage, the end-user experience is affected, but that happens in AWS and in Azure. It happens with any SaaS product. Overall, it has not affected the end-user experience, but when there is an outage in Azure, it will have an impact on our environment.

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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable, but if you need more than one region, you have to pay for it. You have to think about how you want the service to be available.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is good.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy and straightforward. Setting up Azure AD doesn't require you to do anything. You buy the product from Microsoft and Microsoft sets it up for you. You just establish the connectivity to it. It does not take more than a week or two to complete the setup.

The number of employees you require for deployment and maintenance of the solution depends on how you have set up your provisioning platform. If it is automated, you can have one resource. If you're still in manual, then it depends on the volume of the workload.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Licenses are based on the usage. There is no cap. It's based on the number of users we provision.

A SaaS solution is the best product. You get it at a better price and you have many Windows-based services that are included for free.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely recommend using Azure AD. Many companies are moving from other vendors to Azure because every company uses Office 365 anyway for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. As soon as you use that, by default, you get an Azure AD account. If you have an Azure AD account, you definitely have features to use. Why would you want to go for another product?

Overall, I haven't seen any major issues with the product.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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Michael Collins - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Technology Service Operations at Macmillan Cancer Support
Real User
Enables us to authenticate users and syncs with Active Directory on-prem
Pros and Cons
  • "It's a very scalable solution."
  • "The ability to manage and authenticate against on-premises solutions would be beneficial."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for authentication. Where we have cloud services, it syncs with Active Directory on-prem. We have about 1,800 people using it.

What is most valuable?

It's a very scalable solution.

What needs improvement?

The ability to manage and authenticate against on-premises solutions would be beneficial.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Azure Active Directory for about four years.

How are customer service and support?

We have had very little requirement for technical support. It's a cloud solution.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We didn't use a different solution. We brought this in when we went into what was called Microsoft 365 in those days.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was pretty straightforward. In terms of maintaining it, we have a team of six infrastructure engineers, and Azure AD is just one of the systems that they manage.

What about the implementation team?

We did it in-house.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's included within a wider bundle of Microsoft 365 products.

What other advice do I have?

You need to make sure you've thought through how you're going to deal with your on-prem applications because having a hybrid solution like ours brings some challenges.

Ultimately, we will move completely into Azure AD, but we have a lot of on-prem applications and you can't use Azure Active Directory with them. Until we remove those applications and make things cloud-only, we will still need a hybrid solution.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Joao Carraca - PeerSpot reviewer
Responsible Systems at Fnac
Real User
Easy to install, quick to deploy, and secure
Pros and Cons
  • "It offers good Microsoft integration capabilities."
  • "The pricing is okay, however, it could always be better in the future."

What is our primary use case?

Microsoft Authenticator is the tool provided to assure that we are using the Microsoft product in the correct way, from the Microsoft point of view.

What is most valuable?

It's two-factor authentication. I personally use several of them, from Google to Microsoft Authenticator to others. It's a solution that works.

The solution is stable. 

The product is easy to install and quick to deploy.

The solution is secure.

It offers good Microsoft integration capabilities. 

What needs improvement?

For the moment, I don't have any complaints. 

The pricing is okay, however, it could always be better in the future.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable, reliable product. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In terms of scalability, we don't have complaints about this from the users of this kind of solution.

Several people in our company use the product. I am unsure of the exact number. 

How are customer service and support?

When we have problems, we don't go to Microsoft; we complain internally to a group that is responsible for keeping this working. I can't speak to how Microsoft's support is. I've never directly interacted with them.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I also use Google Authenticator.

I need to use different services to log on. Microsoft promotes its own solutions. For my bank, for instance, I have a solution imposed by my bank. For Google, I have Google Authenticator. For Microsoft Plus. I have Microsoft Authenticator. For our VPN, we use FortiGate, the authenticator.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is easy. You can do the installation on mobile phones and it can be installed on the web. It's not a problem.

The deployment is fast and only takes about two minutes. It's supposed to be done by the end-user.

What about the implementation team?

I have done the implementation myself. I did not need the assistance of any integrators or consultants.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don't pay a separate licensing fee. It's already included in the service we buy from Microsoft.

I'd rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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VamsiMohan - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at Huber
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Excellent technical support, easy to use, and has a wide range of features
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of this solution are definitely the authorization and authentication, and the rule-based user validation."
  • "Definitely, the price could be lower. When we moved from AWS to Azure, we started paying more."

What is our primary use case?

We use Azure Active Directory for the user rules, identity management, user rule validation, authorization, and authentication.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of this solution are definitely the authorization and authentication, and the rule-based user validation.

Azure Active Directory is quite easy to use.

We are quite happy with the Azure Active Directory services we are utilizing.

What needs improvement?

Definitely, the price could be lower. When we moved from AWS to Azure, we started paying more. The licensing fees were more expensive.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Azure Active Directory for the last 10 to 15 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Azure Active Directory is quite stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Azure Active Directory is a scalable solution.

We have approximately 100 users in our company.

We have plans to increase our usage.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is quite good, they are awesome.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously, we were using an open-source solution, but we are happy with the Azure Active Directory solution.

How was the initial setup?

We received the migrations as a direct value add because we are a part of Microsoft MSP.

The Azure Active Directory migration took ten days to complete.

This solution is maintained by a team of three to four people.

What about the implementation team?

We had assistance from a consultant.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We pay an annual subscription fee.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others who are considering using it.

I would rate Azure Active Directory a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Anders Johansson - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Specialist at Tieto Estonia
Real User
User-friendly, easy to understand, and offers good documentation
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution scales well."
  • "Something that can be improved is their user interface"

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution with our customers that use it.

We're using the solution for a lot of all different things. We have used it to support. We have something called BankID here in Sweden, where you identify yourself to your internet bank and lots of other areas and we have based our connection to BankID using Active Directory. 

What is most valuable?

It's user-friendly and easy to understand. It's doing work great so far.

We're mainly using templates and using the APIs rather than using the GUI. That's the easiest way to do things.

The initial setup is pretty easy.

The solution scales well.

It's a stable product for the most part.

What needs improvement?

Something that can be improved is their user interface. It needs to be better.

It's always a good idea to have some kind of expert GUI that you can turn on/off. There are a lot of settings to work through. If you are not that experienced, then maybe you might not want to use them. 

There should be an easier way to set up the regular things and then switch to a more expert kind of wizard to set things up.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've used the product for many, many years at this point. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. There aren't issues with bugs or glitches. it doesn't crash or freeze. Its performance is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We can scale the solution if we need to.

How are customer service and support?

It is my understanding that support is not as good as Cloudflare, however, I haven't been using the support that much for Azure. There is lots of information out there on the internet. If you search, you don't need to contact support often.

How was the initial setup?

The solution has been straightforward to set up. It's simple. It's not overly complex. 

We have a handful of people involved in the initial setup. You don't need very many. They are mostly specialists and technicians. 

What was our ROI?

While I don't directly deal with tracking ROI, our customers are satisfied with the way we are billing them when we're setting things up. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing seems to be fine for our clients.

What other advice do I have?

We are an integrator. We are using the latest versions of the product.

New users should know that it's quite easy to set up a sandbox environment and a free account in order to play with it. It's fairly easy to kind of set up the proof of concept.

I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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Manager, Technology Delivery at a educational organization with 11-50 employees
Real User
Useful cloud services, helpful support, and reliable
Pros and Cons
  • "Having access to Azure Active Directory on the cloud gives us speed and use of the latest technology. The application services are very good, such as GitHub."
  • "Azure Active Directory could be made easier to use. We have large amounts of data and storage. We are looking for video files and media content for applications, we will think about options, such as cloud storage or a CDN."

What is our primary use case?

I have been working with a medication company and we are building an LMS system. We have an older version and we've decided to develop a new version of it. We are building the entire system on the cloud and using new technology.  We started the process on Azure cloud, but we have later plans to try AWS, but for now, we are using Azure Active Directory.

What is most valuable?

Having access to Azure Active Directory on the cloud gives us speed and use of the latest technology. The application services are very good, such as GitHub.

What needs improvement?

Azure Active Directory could be made easier to use. We have large amounts of data and storage. We are looking for video files and media content for applications, we will think about options, such as cloud storage or a CDN.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Azure Active Directory for approximately three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have not found any problems with the stability of Azure Active Directory.

How are customer service and support?

The support for Microsoft is good. We do have a developer support package with them. We create a ticket, they respond back, then there is some back and forth communication. They will have a call with you you and ask for a screenshot of the issue. If you have any issues, they help you. They will follow up with you, the service is not bad. There are times you have to keep following up with them but we were satisfied.

How was the initial setup?

The process of implementing Azure Active Directory is not straightforward. We are currently still setting it up because we are adding more services, setting up the pipelines, and many other things behind the scenes. It's not as simple, it is tough to implement.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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. 

The prices we pay for the solution can vary because we are adding more services a lot of the time, the price keeps going up and down. The price has been one thousand before but we are still adding more services. The price depends on what services you are using.

We are paying for support to use this solution which is an additional cost.

What other advice do I have?

People have personal preferences in respect to choosing a cloud provider because there are many out there. In terms of support, you have to know exactly what you're looking for and get the pricing figured out. It is important to come up with a proper plan for the implementation.

I rate Azure Active Directory an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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reviewer1373838 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr.Piping Engineer Construction at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
On-premise version comes with group policies and features like password writeback and MDM technology
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features in Active Directory are the password writeback product and the MDM technology."
  • "In terms of connecting the web application, there is technology for single sign-on. When we use it, the solution opens very slowly. It might be a bandwidth issue, and some content will not work on that portal."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is deployed on a public cloud. We are using Microsoft Azure.

How has it helped my organization?

There is on-premises AD and cloud AD. We are able to sync the solution and use the load technology and password management features.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features in Active Directory are the password writeback product and the MDM technology.

What needs improvement?

The on-premises AD comes with a lot of options and group policies. With the group policies, we are using screen saver a lot, and it is messing up Azure AD and isn't working effectively. We are also using MDM technology through Azure. For Android the MDM technology is okay, but it doesn't work properly on iPhones.

When we do a screen share and screenshots, it doesn't work on the iPhone. For Android, it will only work for Outlook, which is provided in the company portal.

I would like to see the group policies on the same platform on cloud.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for almost two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable and everything is working. In terms of connecting the web application, there is technology for single sign-on. When we use it, the solution opens very slowly. It might be a bandwidth issue, and some content will not work on that portal.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. We haven't had any issues.

We have 500 people using this solution in our company. We have increased usage, and we have plans to increase more. 

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is very good. They work quickly to resolve any issues.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We are using an earlier non-premises AD, but we want to move to the cloud setup, which is easier for end users and everyone else due to the pandemic situation.

How was the initial setup?

Setup was straightforward. Implementation took three months.

For the deployment process, we had a technical team of two people who did everything. They are engineers.

What about the implementation team?

We used a consultant for deployment. I think we used a Microsoft partner.

It was a good experience and not very complicated. I think I realized that they are not seeing many implementations. There's a tool in Microsoft Azure called an endpoint security tool, and they don't know how to implement it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We have a yearly license.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution 9 out of 10.

This product is very nice. It's a legacy application, so the people using it are very familiar with it.

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.
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reviewer1225143 - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration Manager at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Affordable, easy to set up, and offers very good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "Technical support has been great."
  • "The synchronization between my AD and Azure AD needs improvement."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the product for the authentication for all of Office 365. It is also my single sign-on solution.

What is most valuable?

The solution is stable.

It's a very easy product to set up.

The product can scale well.

Technical support has been great.

It's an affordable solution.

What needs improvement?

The synchronization with my AD is not the best. The synchronization between my AD and Azure AD needs improvement. For example, for reports, et cetera, due to the fact that now I have two different ADs - one for local AD and another for Azure AD, the types of fields in the local AD do not sync with Azure AD. It's completely different.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for four or five years at this point. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable. The performance is good. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is great. You can expand it as needed. We have about 2,000 users on the product right now. 

How are customer service and support?

We've used technical support in the past. They have always been excellent. We're quite happy with its capabilities. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously, I used Okta. I switched to Azure AD due to the fact that it's part of Office 365. It does not have a cost. It's not exactly free; it's part of the Microsoft bundle.

How was the initial setup?

We found the implementation process to be quite straightforward and simple. It's not overly complex or difficult. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's pretty inexpensive to use the product, as it comes with the general Mircosoft bundle. Its costs are baked into using Microsoft in general. It makes it pretty affordable. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm an end-user of the product.

We're always on the latest version of the product. Being on the cloud ensures we are always up-to-date on versions. 

I'd rate the product at 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 does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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