Unit 1: Introduction

Transitioning workloads to the cloud isn’t just about migrating data and servers — it’s about managing identities and access to protect organizational resources. When workloads are in the cloud, administrators must ensure:

• Only authorized users can access specific resources.
• Users have only the permissions they need (principle of least privilege).
• Access is centrally controlled and audited.

Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) plays a crucial role by providing:

• End-to-end identity management.
• Single Sign-On (SSO) across apps and services.
• Multifactor Authentication (MFA) for enhanced security.

In this module, we explore:

• Creating, configuring, and managing users and groups.
• Assigning and managing licenses.
• Using custom attributes and automation to simplify identity lifecycle management.

Example: At Contoso Ltd., as workloads move to Azure and Microsoft 365, the IT team uses Microsoft Entra ID to ensure each employee has a verified account, secure login (via MFA), and access only to the apps relevant to their department.