{"id":100673,"date":"2023-11-03T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/?p=100673"},"modified":"2024-11-08T16:32:57","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T21:32:57","slug":"active-directory-modernization-is-mandatory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/blog\/active-directory-modernization-is-mandatory","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft\u2019s Imminent Active Directory Modernization"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Active Directory (AD) modernization should be on your radar. It\u2019s no longer elective and only for cloud migrations, it\u2019s an actuality that every organization using AD is facing. Microsoft has revised its reference architecture and access models into a hybrid cloud solution; on-premise products that provide privileged access and secure AD from threats are being phased out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investment into new features to modernize, secure, and protect AD has shifted into Microsoft\u2019s cloud ecosystem. The end result is a vertically integrated suite of services and tools that\u2019s one-size-fits-all. This is a prescribed path for every size business that uses AD and can expand Microsoft\u2019s footprint into nearly every facet of your IT stack by virtue of its product bundling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many IT admins tuned out Microsoft\u2019s declarations about a cloud future over the past decade and went about their business as usual, but its vision has become prescriptive and productized, and change is imminent. Controlling user identities is a key element. However, its architecture may not work well for every organization, either technically or in real-world IT operations. Fortunately, options such as JumpCloud\u2019s open directory platform exist to modernize AD, which adhere to the same principles for Zero Trust<\/a> security that Microsoft \u2018s architecture follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Active Directory as a Legacy Product<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AD has been designated as a legacy product in Microsoft\u2019s publications<\/a> and in communications from its team members (it\u2019s impolite to call anyone out, but check out their LinkedIn posts). These things don\u2019t happen in isolation; believe what it is saying. It\u2019s well known that foundational elements of the Windows Server stack have long been cloud bound: Exchange, aka Exchange Online, and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), which is now Configuration Manager. Configuration Manager is optimized for cloud co-management<\/a>, which \u201cunlocks\u201d features such as conditional access<\/a> that Microsoft says are essential to protect users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Note:<\/strong> Microsoft\u2019s tools for AD security and compliance are limited without its cloud services. Extended support for fully featured on-premise products won\u2019t last forever.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, mainstream support has ended<\/a> for Advanced Threat Analytics (ATA). Defender for Identity is its cloud replacement, which is just one part of a broader cloud-based security model. Microsoft Identity Manager, which manages privileged access for AD, is also marked for a gradual phase out<\/a> over the next few years with Entra ID\u2019s most premium SKUs as its designated replacement. These changes are occurring as part of a major shift in how AD is managed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revised reference models and modernization plans include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n