Federation with Azure AD is a feature that allows organizations to extend their on-premises identity infrastructure to the cloud. It enables organizations to provide single sign-on (SSO) and access control for cloud-based applications using their existing on-premises credentials.
Federation works by establishing a trust relationship between Azure AD and an organization’s on-premises identity infrastructure, such as Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) or another third-party identity provider. Once this trust is established, users can sign in to cloud-based applications using their on-premises credentials, and the organization can enforce access policies and security controls for those applications.
Federation with Azure AD provides several benefits, including:
- SSO for cloud-based applications: With federation, users can sign in once to access multiple cloud-based applications without having to enter their credentials repeatedly.
- Improved security: Federation allows organizations to enforce access controls and security policies for cloud-based applications, helping to reduce the risk of data breaches and other security incidents.
- Reduced administrative overhead: Federation can help reduce the administrative overhead associated with managing user accounts and credentials for cloud-based applications.
- Flexibility: Federation allows organizations to choose the identity provider that best meets their needs, whether it’s on-premises AD FS or another third-party provider.
Overall, federation with Azure AD is a powerful tool for organizations that want to extend their on-premises identity infrastructure to the cloud, providing users with seamless access to cloud-based applications while maintaining security and control over access to those applications.
