Make Azure AD Identity Governance work for you!

As organizations around the world make the shift from remote to hybrid work, one thing is clear: the people who went home to work in 2020 are not the same people returning to the office in 2022. These two years have also set a higher bar for what employees expect from their digital workspaces. All the while, security threats have been on the rise, amplified at times by the rise in remote work. As we head into this new normal of hybrid work, we must rebalance security with productivity, yet again!  

The hybrid work setup is helpful for both employees and employers. It provides flexibility to balance personal and professional lives, all while allowing companies to remain competitive in today’s digital landscape. The mix of remote and in-office employees means data needs to be protected more than ever before. Users should be able to securely and seamlessly access resources and third-party apps just as easily as they would within a corporate network. As a result, governing these users’ access has become a pivotal point of discussion. 

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Identity Governance provides a way for customers to simultaneously meet the need for security and preserve employee productivity. Organizations can govern identities and access lifecycles, along with securing privileged access for administration across services and applications. Customers can achieve all of this on-premises, in Azure, and across multiple clouds. Identity Governance intends to help organizations address these four key questions:  

• Which users should have access to what resources?  
• What are users doing with that access?  
• Are there effective organizational controls for managing access?  
• Can auditors verify the controls are working?  

 
Azure AD Identity Governance ensures that the right people have the right access to the right resources, at the right time. Microsoft’s Identity Governance also helps mitigate access risk by protecting, monitoring, and auditing access to critical assets, all while ensuring employee and business partner productivity.  

I’m excited to announce that the Identity Advocacy team is closely collaborating with many teams across Microsoft this month to focus on a series of activities with topics geared toward answering these questions. The goal is to help you adopt Azure AD Identity Governance within your organization. Listed below are the scheduled activities:   

Try it out for yourself! Start today by following this link to get started and quickly configure Identity Governance.

Your opportunity to be part of something cool  

As part of our Identity Governance Swarm, you also have a unique opportunity to complete the free SC-300 Microsoft Learn Path and learn the different components of Identity Governance and how to implement it on your tenant. After you complete the Learn path, please fill out the following questionnaire. In addition, if you complete this learning path by Friday, May 13^th you’ll be eligible for our limited swag and prize giveaways!

Join us for the activities that work best for you! Participate live on the Microsoft 425Show Twitch channel or watch on demand on the 425Show YouTube channel to learn from Microsoft and community experts. Finally, make sure to check our website for more news and updates. 

Learn more about Microsoft identity: 

• Related Articles: Identity Governance Overview, Microsoft Learn SC-300 Path 
• Return to the Azure Active Directory Identity blog home 
• Join the conversation on Twitter and LinkedIn 
• Share product suggestions on the Azure Feedback Forum