{"id":6566,"date":"2023-08-03T09:36:16","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T13:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jumpcloud.com\/blog\/?p=6566"},"modified":"2024-11-14T17:51:19","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T22:51:19","slug":"google-cloud-identity-azure-active-directory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/blog\/google-cloud-identity-azure-active-directory","title":{"rendered":"Google Cloud Identity vs. Entra ID (formerly AAD)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Microsoft and Google have been locked in a battle for the heart of the IT community for years now. This technological arms race has brought about a number of cloud innovations, including in identity and access management (IAM)<\/a>. Microsoft is building software monoculture around Azure by controlling identities. Google\u2019s approach emphasizes optionality and customer choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one corner, we have Microsoft Entra ID<\/a> (formerly Azure Active Directory, or AAD), a cloud-based IAM solution for hybrid or cloud deployments. It\u2019s a gateway to other cloud services and extends MIcrosoft\u2019s foothold within enterprise IT infrastructures. In the other corner, we have Google Cloud Identity<\/a>, a cloud-based solution for managing user identities and access to IT resources with the option to select an identity provider (IdP) that\u2019s the best fit for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article compares Google Cloud Identity and Entra ID, before explaining why JumpCloud, which Google recommends<\/a> as the best fits for small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs), <\/em>may be <\/em>the optimal IAM solution. JumpCloud integrates identity and device management from a unified platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Google Cloud Identity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you have ever used Google Workspace, you\u2019re already familiar with Google Cloud Identity. The service enables users to connect to Google\u2019s catalog of SaaS services and single sign-on (SSO) applications. It has free and premium editions<\/a> with the latter including app management, device management, user provisioning, and several more advanced features<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customer Choice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many organizations would benefit from using Google Cloud Identity, but Google has made the determination that use cases are not all identical and that its customers should be able to choose which IdP is best for them. For example, Google recommends<\/a> JumpCloud for SMEs that are extending or migrating off of Active Directory (AD) and has other partners for the enterprise. The combination of Cloud Identity and partners supports most business use cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, we\u2019ll examine the capabilities of Microsoft\u2019s Entra ID and the role that it plays within Microsoft\u2019s ecosystem. This section is more extensive due to Microsoft\u2019s platform approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n \"JumpCloud\"\n <\/div>\n
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\n Securely connect to any resource using Google Workspace and JumpCloud. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n Learn More<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

What Is Microsoft Entra ID?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Entra ID is a cloud directory service that is the default IdP for Microsoft\u2019s cloud and productivity services. Its free<\/a> edition provides single sign-on (SSO) access to a variety of SaaS applications including Office 365 and third-party apps via web authentication protocols. Premium tiers, Premium 1<\/a> (P1) and Premium 2<\/a> (P2) extend what\u2019s possible with Entra ID. Undoubtedly, the Entra platform can accomplish a lot, but consider that many of its features were created to fulfill enterprise requirements. Enterprises have significant IT resources; whereas SMEs don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a brief list of Entra\u2019s Premium features:<\/p>\n\n\n\n