Everyone wants a more productive team, but with Azure AD you can deliver a lot of time saving benefits without much additional cost or another server. You may not recognize Azure AD as something you use, but if you use Microsoft 365, you’re already in Azure and you’re already using Azure AD. Azure AD is Azure Active Directory, Microsoft’s user and group management tool. Microsoft 365 uses Azure AD as its backend. Even though you’re using it, you might not be fully involved and there are other benefits you can get from it you might not be using.
SSO – Single Sign On
Single Sign On or SSO is a way to link all your other cloud apps to Azure AD Single Sign On has been used for years, but the innovation of cloud computing makes it a brilliant way to save time and effort for your team. The dream of Single Sign On is that by being in one system, you’re automatically logged into other systems connected to the first system. In this case, the first system is Azure AD. By virtue of being in Azure AD, essentially logged into M365 or your PC, you’re also logged into any other SSO enabled cloud app you use for business. Way less passwords to remember and way more time spent doing the thing you set out to do in the first place!
Cloud PC Management
Azure AD manages PC much in the same way your server used to. By creating policies, you can make it so settings and policies are pushed out to your teams computers with the click of a button. This make take a little setting up on the front end, but it will pay off in dividends with every time you don’t have to install a printer, connect a file share, or limit access to a website. Azure AD connected PCs must be running Windows 10/11 Pro or Enterprise, but most business grade PCs come with that preinstalled.
Mobile Device Management – MDM
Mobile Device Management works from your Azure AD account to connect your iPhone, iPad or Android device to your work resources, without a VPN or having to do remote access. MDM sets a baseline which says, “only devices with the latest patches that are somewhat managed by the company can get to company resources.” And don’t worry employees, this doesn’t mean that your boss can see anything personal on your phone. Microsoft makes it super easy to see what the company manages and what the company doesn’t manage. Make your mobile device another productivity building machine, not a productivity killer, setup MDM with Azure AD!
Easy Employee Onboarding/Offboarding
Azure AD, connected to SSO and managing PCs from the cloud makes the dream of easy employee onboarding and offboarding a reality. If you’ve been following this far, you know that Azure AD has many more capabilities than you realized. Well, the big picture is, when you enable or create a new user account, you can simultaneously create users for every SSO app you’ve created. You can also link it to a PC and enable cloud PC management, which will save you a ton of time setting up the PC for the new employee. And of course, they’re going to stay forever and retire from the company, but if by some sad turn of events they leave, with the click of a button you can lock them out of every app and wipe their PC. Why aren’t you managing your employees PCs with Azure AD right now?
Tighter Security
Security isn’t the most attractive reason at first blush but locking down a computer from hackers is a necessity in today’s world. With Azure AD, you can implement Conditional Access, Multi Factor Authentication, and a whole host of other security features on both your SSO cloud apps and your cloud managed PCs. Don’t make security a second thought after a data breach, lock those data systems down on the front end and make sure nothing gets out without your permission. Secure your business with Azure AD cloud PCs.
So, as you can see, there are numerous ways to boost productivity, save time, and secure your employees using Azure AD. If you aren’t using this valuable tool, connect with us and let’s get started soon.