Glossary
Microsoft Entra ID
Also called: Azure Active Directory, Azure AD
In one sentence
Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) is Microsoft's cloud identity service — the system that holds your users' accounts and controls how they sign in to Microsoft 365 and other apps.
Every Microsoft 365 business already has Entra ID, even if nobody calls it that. It's the directory of your people and their accounts, groups and licenses, and it's what checks passwords and MFA when someone signs in to Outlook, Teams, SharePoint or any connected app. Microsoft renamed it from Azure Active Directory in 2023, so you'll still see the old name in older documentation.
Entra ID comes in tiers. The free tier is included with Microsoft 365. Entra ID P1 — included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium — adds Conditional Access, richer group management and more. P2 adds risk-based identity protection and privileged identity management. Entra ID also handles single sign-on to many third-party apps and lets Windows PCs “join” the cloud directory instead of an old on-site server.
Why it matters: in a cloud-first office, identity is the new front door. If an attacker gets a user's Entra ID sign-in, they get that user's email, files and apps. Getting Entra ID right — MFA for everyone, few global admins, prompt removal of leavers, sensible Conditional Access — protects more than any single device setting.
Example: when a medical assistant leaves a practice, the office manager disables her account in one place. Because the EHR portal, Microsoft 365 and the scheduling app all sign in through Entra ID, her access to all of them ends at once, and nobody has to remember a separate password list.
We set up and manage Entra ID as part of our Microsoft 365 & identity service.
Related terms
- Conditional AccessConditional Access is the Microsoft Entra ID feature that decides, at every sign-in, whether to allow, block or require extra checks based on who is signing in, from what device, and from where.
- MFA (multi-factor authentication)MFA means signing in with something you know (a password) plus something you have or are (a phone app, security key or fingerprint), so a stolen password alone isn't enough.
- SSO (single sign-on)Signing in once with one strong company account to reach many different apps, instead of a separate password for each.
- Microsoft IntuneMicrosoft Intune is Microsoft's cloud service for managing and securing company computers, phones and tablets — settings, apps, updates and encryption — from one place.
- Least privilegeLeast privilege means giving every person, account and program only the access it needs to do its job — nothing more, and for no longer than necessary.
- Zero trustZero trust is a security approach that never assumes a user or device is safe just because it's inside the office network — every access request is verified based on identity, device health and context.