{"id":98770,"date":"2023-09-21T14:15:23","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T18:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/?p=98770"},"modified":"2024-08-15T17:44:38","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T21:44:38","slug":"modernizing-ad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/blog\/modernizing-ad","title":{"rendered":"Modernizing AD Is Possible."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
For many IT admins, Microsoft Active Directory<\/a> is simply a fact of life. As part of the monolith that is Microsoft, it\u2019s become the de facto solution for just about any business for managing their users and devices. But AD\u2019s grip is slipping: it\u2019s prescriptive, complex, and it strongly prefers Microsoft. Not to mention that its foundation is still on-premises. This conflicts with the modern business\u2019s needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Businesses today \u2014 especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) \u2014 need flexible, straightforward, and cloud-friendly tools that can accommodate growth and change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For some SMEs, now is the time to switch to a more modern alternative. For others, migrating off of AD just isn\u2019t realistic \u2014 at least for right now \u2014 but they still need more than AD can offer. Fortunately, there\u2019s a way to modernize Active Directory<\/a> whether you get rid of it or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the next few months, JumpCloud will be diving into the whys and hows of modernizing your AD instance. Keep an eye out for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To kick things off, this blog post will jump into the problems with AD and how we bridge the gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AD was introduced over 20 years ago (first released in 2000). It was designed to support the typical 2000s-era environment: centralized, on-premises, and Microsoft-centric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it\u2019s not 2000 anymore, and businesses aren\u2019t set up like they were 20 years ago. Some critical things \u2014 like the rise of cloud computing, remote work, and heterogeneous IT stacks \u2014 reshaped the modern business. These new environments clash with AD, which retains the same on-premises, Microsoft-centric foundation it was conceived with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In short, the modern business has changed so much that AD can no longer meet its needs. Let\u2019s explore those changes, and then look at where AD falls short in accommodating them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Why Isn\u2019t AD a Good Fit for Modern Businesses?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n