{"id":12648,"date":"2023-10-25T11:33:33","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T15:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jumpcloud.com\/?p=12648"},"modified":"2024-11-14T17:43:03","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T22:43:03","slug":"better-alternative-active-directory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/blog\/better-alternative-active-directory","title":{"rendered":"Is There A Better Alternative to Active Directory?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Remote work, cloud, mobile devices, and countless security threats have completely changed the game for IT organizations, right down to the core components. As cybersecurity compliance, mandates, and architecture have evolved in response, modernizing (or replacing) Active Directory (AD) is no longer optional. As such, IT admins are now asking: Is there a better alternative to AD? The answer is yes. JumpCloud\u2019s open directory platform is better suited for today\u2019s workplace, and can be used to replace or modernize AD, containing its footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before we dive into AD modernization, let\u2019s take a step back to understand what IT organizations are looking for in an AD replacement or modernization project<\/a> and why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Active Directory\u2019s story begins in the 1980s and 90s. During this time frame, personal computers started to appear on every employee\u2019s desk \u2014 virtually all running Microsoft Windows; the internet and the World Wide Web had emerged; and productivity software (Microsoft Office) and email (Microsoft Exchange and Outlook) became common tools for completing everyday tasks. Microsoft was at the center of computing, literally and figuratively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the workplace transformed into the PC era, IT was at a loss for how to effectively and efficiently manage user access to these new resources. Then in 1999, Microsoft Active Directory was released<\/a>. Using LDAP, NTLM, and Kerberos, Active Directory provided IT with centralized user and system management over the Microsoft resources in their on-prem environment. The key words to pay attention to here are \u201cMicrosoft\u201d and \u201con-prem.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time, infrastructure only existed on-prem, and virtually every resource that dominated the office was from Microsoft: Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Exchange. As long as IT environments stuck to the Microsoft ecosystem, IT admins only had to leverage one solution to manage their company\u2019s identities and access to IT resources, which were Windows-based applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Rise of Active Directory <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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