Microsoft is integrating Azure Active Directory Premium with Office 365 – with the new Microsoft 365 Business Premium license.

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) provides identity management, both locally and over the cloud, to assist with secure access to applications for secure working at office, home, or on the go. Microsoft has security features already embedded and ready to use, such as Conditional Access, self-service password reset, and Multi-Factor Authentication. The full Azure AD license includes:

Cloud App Discovery
Allows you to discover cloud applications that are used by other employees, and with this, view reports, measure usage, view traffic, and identify users that are using an application. Data can also be exported for additional offline analysis.

Application Proxy
Enables access to your on-premises applications, without opening broad access to your network. This is more secure than options such as a VPN, which is a welcome addition with so many currently working from home. Apps can be accessed by signing into Azure AD. Users can access both cloud and on-premises applications through an external URL or an internal application portal.

Dynamic groups
This feature can automatically add and remove users from security groups, based on their attributes. Attributes, for example “Finance”, can be created and members added automatically. Permissions for applications can then be set for each dynamic group, reducing the administrative overhead.

Passwordless authentication
Multi-factor authentication is necessary to keep applications and data secure. Microsoft offers three passwordless authentication options – Windows Hello for Business, Microsoft Authenticator app and FIDO2 security keys. Windows Hello uses a mix of biometric information and a PIN; Microsoft Authenticator app sends a code; and FIDO2 (Fast Identity Online2) enables users to log in using an external security key or a platform key embedded in a device.

For more information see Microsoft’s announcement regarding Azure Active with Business Premium licenses.