Microsoft Entra ID
The dominant enterprise IAM platform, bundled into Microsoft 365, with the deepest Active Directory integration and a market-leading Conditional Access engine
Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) is the default identity provider for any organisation already running Microsoft 365 or Azure. It ships with every M365 subscription, delivers the deepest Active Directory and hybrid-join integration on the market, and pairs a market-leading Conditional Access policy engine with Entra Permissions Management for multi-cloud entitlements. For UAE ministries and enterprises on E5 or G5 contracts, Entra ID is the lowest-friction, lowest-incremental-cost path to enterprise SSO, MFA, passwordless, conditional access and identity governance across the Microsoft estate.
Heritage
2014 Azure AD, bundled in Microsoft 365
Conditional Access
Best-in-class policy engine
Passwordless
Windows Hello + Passkeys native
Best for
Microsoft 365 / Azure estates on E5 / G5
Microsoft Entra ID Highlights
The default identity control plane for Microsoft-aligned UAE estates
Entra ID is most compelling when the estate is already standardised on M365, Teams, SharePoint and Azure, and when the buying team wants enterprise SSO, MFA and conditional access without procuring a separate identity vendor. For deeply heterogeneous multi-cloud estates, Okta is often the more neutral answer, and for serious privileged access, Entra PIM should be paired with CyberArk or BeyondTrust.
99.9%
of automated account-compromise attacks blocked by enforced MFA
#1
enterprise IAM by installed base, native to the M365 estate
0
incremental licence cost when Entra ID P1 / P2 is already on the E5 contract
Deepest integration with the Microsoft estate
Native to Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, Dynamics, Defender and Azure RBAC. SSO and provisioning sit closer to the source than any third-party IAM can, with the strongest Active Directory and hybrid-join story on the market.
Market-leading Conditional Access policy engine
Risk-based, signal-driven access policies that combine device health, location, user risk and session controls. The most mature conditional access engine of any IAM platform and the heart of a Microsoft Zero Trust rollout.
Windows Hello, Passkeys and phishing-resistant MFA
Authenticator, Windows Hello for Business and FIDO2 passkeys deliver phishing-resistant, passwordless sign-in across the workforce, with adaptive MFA backed by Identity Protection risk signals.
Entra Permissions Management for multi-cloud CIEM
Discovers and right-sizes excessive permissions across Azure, AWS and GCP from one console, closing the cloud-entitlement gap that other access-management tools leave open.
Native joiner / mover / leaver with Workday and SCIM
Entra Provisioning and Lifecycle Workflows trigger on HR attribute changes from Workday, SuccessFactors or SAP HCM and orchestrate provisioning and deprovisioning across connected SaaS via SCIM 2.0.
Entra ID Governance for access reviews and packages
Entitlement management, access packages and access reviews cover Azure roles, Entra groups and M365 membership, with Copilot-driven recommendations. Delivered as a separate SKU layered on Entra ID P2.
Who should put Microsoft Entra ID on the shortlist
UAE ministries and enterprises already on Microsoft 365 E5 or G5 contracts
Microsoft-centric estates (M365, Azure, Teams, Dynamics) with limited non-Microsoft SaaS scope
Organisations standardising enterprise SSO, MFA and conditional access on one stack
Buyers prioritising native Active Directory and hybrid-join lifecycle over multi-vendor neutrality
Estates rolling out passwordless and phishing-resistant authentication with Windows Hello and passkeys
Customers wanting multi-cloud CIEM (Azure, AWS, GCP) via Entra Permissions Management
NESA, PDPL and CBUAE-regulated bodies wanting identity controls inside their existing Microsoft tenancy
Product portfolio
Modules we deploy and manage
Picking the right SKU is as important as picking the right vendor. We size by identity count, application scope, audit obligations and operational capacity, not by brochure tier.
What to consider
The honest watch-outs
Every platform has trade-offs. We would rather raise these now than have you discover them three months into a deployment.
Complexity for non-Microsoft environments
Entra is at its best inside the Microsoft estate. For heterogeneous multi-cloud and multi-SaaS environments with deep non-Microsoft application coverage, Okta's connector breadth typically delivers faster, cleaner integration.
PAM and advanced governance are not bundled
Entra PIM provides basic just-in-time elevation but is not a full PAM, so CyberArk or BeyondTrust is the usual pairing. Advanced governance is a separate SKU (Entra ID Governance) layered on Entra ID P2.
Why Artiflex IT
Delivering Microsoft Entra ID across the UAE
Artiflex IT designs, deploys and manages Microsoft Entra ID across UAE government and enterprise estates already invested in M365 E5 and G5. Our team configures Conditional Access, passwordless rollouts with Windows Hello and passkeys, Entra Provisioning from Workday and SAP HCM, and Entra ID Governance access reviews aligned to NESA, PDPL and CBUAE control expectations. Vendor-neutral sizing is our default starting point: we will tell you when Okta, Ping or a dedicated PAM such as CyberArk is the stronger fit for part of your scope.
Frequently asked
Microsoft Entra ID questions we hear from UAE buyers
Is Microsoft Entra ID included in our Microsoft 365 licence?
A baseline of Entra ID is included in every Microsoft 365 subscription, and the premium controls (Conditional Access, Identity Protection, PIM) come with Entra ID P1 and P2, which are bundled inside Microsoft 365 E5 and G5. If you are on E3 or Business Premium, you step up to Entra ID P1 / P2 or the Entra Suite to unlock the full feature set.
Ready to evaluate Microsoft Entra ID?
Free IAM assessment, vendor-neutral sizing, and a written recommendation. We will tell you when another vendor is the better fit.