Microsoft Entra deployment plans
Azure Active Directory is now Microsoft Entra ID, which can safeguard your organization with cloud identity and access management. The solution connects employees, customers, and partners to their apps, devices, and data.
Use this article's guidance to help build your plan to deploy Microsoft Entra ID. Learn about plan-building basics and then use the following sections for authentication deployment, apps and devices, hybrid scenarios, user identity, and more.
Stakeholders and roles
When beginning your deployment plans, include your key stakeholders. Identify and document stakeholders, affected roles, and the areas of ownership and responsibilities that enable an effective deployment. Titles and roles differ from one organization to another, however the ownership areas are similar. See the following table for common and influential roles that affect any deployment plan.
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | An enterprise senior leader with authority to approve or assign budget and resources. The sponsor is the connection between managers and the executive team. |
| End users | The people for whom the service is implemented. Users can participate in a pilot program. |
| IT Support Manager | Provides input on the supportability of proposed changes |
| Identity architect | Defines how the change aligns with identity management infrastructure |
| Application business owner | Owns the affected applications, which might include access management. Provides input on the user experience. |
| Security owner | Confirms the change plan meets security requirements |
| Compliance Manager | Ensures compliance with corporate, industry, or governmental requirements |
RACI
Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed (responsible/accountable/consulted/informed (RACI)) is a model for the participation by various roles to complete tasks or deliverables for a project or business process. Use this model to help ensure the roles in your organization understand deployment responsibilities.
- Responsible - The people accountable for the correct completion of the task.
- There is at least one Responsible role, although you can delegate others to help deliver the work.
- Accountable - The one ultimately answerable for the correctness and completion of the deliverable or task. The Accountable role ensures task prerequisites are met and delegates work to responsible roles. The Accountable role approves work that Responsible provides. Assign one Accountable for each task or deliverable.
- Consulted - The Consulted role provides guidance, typically a subject matter expert (SME).
- Informed - The people kept up to date on progress, generally upon completion of a task or deliverable.
Authentication deployment
Use the following list to plan for authentication deployment.
Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication (MFA) - Using admin-approved authentication methods, multifactor authentication helps safeguard access to your data and applications while meeting the demand for easy sign-in:
Conditional Access - Implement automated access-control decisions for users to access cloud apps, based on conditions:
Microsoft Entra self-service password reset (SSPR) - Help users reset a password without administrator intervention:
Applications and devices
Use the following list to help deploy applications and devices.
- My Apps portal - Discover and access applications. Enable user productivity with self-service, for instance request access to groups, or manage access to resources on behalf of others.
- Devices - Evaluate device integration methods with Microsoft Entra ID, choose the implementation plan, and more.
Hybrid scenarios
The following list describes features and services in hybrid scenarios.
- Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) - Migrate user authentication from federation to cloud with password hash sync:
Users
- User identities - Learn about automation to create, maintain, and remove user identities in cloud apps, such as Dropbox, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and more.
- Microsoft Entra ID Governance - Create identity governance and enhance business processes that rely on identity data. With HR products, such as Workday or Successfactors, manage employee and contingent-staff identity lifecycle with rules. These rules map Joiner-Mover-Leaver (JLM) processes, such as New Hire, Terminate, Transfer, to IT actions such as Create, Enable, Disable. See the following section for more.
- Microsoft Entra B2B collaboration - Improve external-user collaboration with secure access to applications:
Identity Governance and reporting
Microsoft Entra ID Governance enables organizations to improve productivity, strengthen security and more easily meet compliance and regulatory requirements. Use Microsoft Entra ID Governance to ensure the right people have the right access to the right resources. Improve identity and access process automation, delegation to business groups, and increased visibility. Use the following list to learn about identity governance and reporting.
Learn more:
Privileged Identity Management (PIM) - Manage privileged administrative roles across Microsoft Entra ID, Azure resources, and other Microsoft online services. Use it for just-in-time (JIT) access (JIT), request approval workflows, and integrated access reviews to help prevent malicious activities:
Reporting and monitoring - The Microsoft Entra reporting and monitoring solution design has dependencies and constraints: legal, security, operations, environment, and processes.
Access reviews - Understand and manage access to resources:
Best practices for a pilot
Before making a change for larger groups, or everyone, use pilots to test with a small group. Ensure each use case in your organization is tested.
Pilot: Phase 1
In your first phase, target IT, usability, and other users who can test and provide feedback. Use this feedback to gain insights on potential issues for support staff, and to develop communications and instructions you send to all users.
Pilot: Phase 2
Widen the pilot to larger groups of users by using dynamic membership, or by manually adding users to the targeted groups.
Learn more: Dynamic membership rules for groups in Microsoft Entra ID