IDENTITY & ACCESS MANAGEMENT
Microsoft Entra ID identity management for businesses
IT Systems designs and deploys Microsoft Entra ID so businesses can centrally manage accounts, groups, roles, applications and access rights. The goal is to grant the right access at the right time and revoke it in a controlled way when employees change roles or leave.
The scope is defined by your tenant, licensing, identity model, applications, devices and compliance requirements.
What business problems does Microsoft Entra ID solve?
Microsoft 365, Azure and many SaaS applications rely on identity for authentication and authorization. Without consistent account, role and application governance, common risks include stale accounts, excessive privileges and incomplete offboarding.
One identity, multiple applications
Centralized sign-in, SSO and access control for Microsoft 365 and business applications.
Role-based access
Organize users, groups, administrative roles and application assignments according to least privilege.
Monitoring and traceability
Use sign-in, audit and permission-change data for investigation and operational improvement.
The identity management scope must be clearly designed
Tenant and domain
- Review the existing tenant.
- Custom domains and DNS.
Users and groups
- Account structure.
- Dynamic or assigned groups.
Authentication
- MFA and authentication methods.
- SSPR and registration.
Application access
- SSO and enterprise applications.
- Consent and app assignments.
Administrative roles
- Least-privilege administration.
- Separate administrator accounts.
Monitoring
- Sign-in and audit logs.
- Alerts, reports and runbooks.
IDENTITY LIFECYCLE
Manage identity throughout the employee lifecycle
Identity should be governed from onboarding and role changes through offboarding. Each stage needs an owner, defined inputs, a processing deadline and evidence of completion.
- Onboarding: create the user, groups, licenses and application access.
- Role change: review existing access before granting new permissions.
- Offboarding: block sign-in and revoke sessions, licenses and app access.
- Periodic review: identify inactive accounts and privileged access.
Microsoft Entra ID deployment process
1. Assessment
Review the tenant, domains, users, groups, applications, licensing and HR processes.
2. Design
Define the identity model, naming, groups, roles, authentication and logging.
3. Pilot
Test with representative users and measure sign-in, application and support issues.
4. Handover
Deliver runbooks, the access matrix, emergency accounts and reports.
Deployment scope and deliverables
Workstream
Core activities
Deliverable
Current state
Inventory the tenant, domains, users, groups, administrators, applications and authentication methods.
Current-state report and prioritized risks.
Design
Standardize naming, groups, roles, authentication, SSO and logging.
Target design and access matrix.
Configuration
Implement the approved scope with emergency access and rollback controls.
Configuration evidence and change log.
Pilot
Test sign-in, MFA, applications, devices and user-support scenarios.
Pilot report and issue register.
Handover
Deliver operational documentation, ownership, review schedules and change procedures.
Runbook and acceptance record.
Related solutions
Frequently asked questions about Microsoft Entra ID
Is Microsoft Entra ID the same as Azure AD?
Azure Active Directory was renamed Microsoft Entra ID. It is Microsoft’s cloud identity and access management service.
Does a Microsoft 365 tenant include Entra ID?
Yes. Every Microsoft 365 tenant uses a Microsoft Entra tenant for identity management and authentication.
Does Entra ID replace on-premises Active Directory?
Not in every scenario. Applications, devices, Group Policy, LDAP or Kerberos dependencies and the hybrid model should be assessed first.
Do we need a P1 or P2 license?
It depends on the features. Conditional Access generally requires Entra ID P1, while some advanced risk and governance capabilities require P2 or another eligible license.
Should administrators share one account?
No. Use named administrator accounts, least-privilege roles, strong MFA, logging and controlled emergency-access accounts.
Can IT Systems operate Entra ID after deployment?
Yes. Operations can be handed over to internal IT, or IT Systems can support identity lifecycle, roles, app access, logging and policy changes within the agreed scope.
Need to standardize Microsoft 365 identity and access?
IT Systems reviews your tenant, users, applications, roles, authentication methods and HR processes, then proposes a deployment plan with a controlled pilot and clear handover.
Assessment • Design • Pilot • Handover