To unify the Microsoft Entra product family, reflect the progression to modern multicloud identity security, and simplify secure access experiences for all, we’re renaming Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) to Microsoft Entra ID.
No action is required from you
If you’re using Azure AD today or are currently deploying Azure AD in your organizations, you can continue to use the service without interruption. All existing deployments, configurations, and integrations will continue to function as they do today without any action from you.
You can continue to use familiar Azure AD capabilities that you can access through the Azure portal, Microsoft 365 admin center, and the Microsoft Entra admin center.
Only the name is changing
All features and capabilities are still available in the product. Licensing, terms, service-level agreements, product certifications, support and pricing remain the same.
Service plan display names will change on October 1, 2023. Microsoft Entra ID Free, Microsoft Entra ID P1, and Microsoft Entra ID P2 will be the new names of standalone offers, and all capabilities included in the current Azure AD plans remain the same. Microsoft Entra ID – currently known as Azure AD – will continue to be included in Microsoft 365 licensing plans, including Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5. Details on pricing and what’s included are available on the pricing and free trials page.
During 2023, you may see both the current Azure AD name and the new Microsoft Entra ID name in support area paths. For self-service support, look for the topic path of “Microsoft Entra” or “Azure Active Directory/Microsoft Entra ID.”
Identity developer and devops experiences aren’t impacted by the rename
To make the transition seamless, all existing login URLs, APIs, PowerShell cmdlets, and Microsoft Authentication Libraries (MSAL) stay the same, as do developer experiences and tooling.
Microsoft identity platform encompasses all our identity and access developer assets. It will continue to provide the resources to help you build applications that your users and customers can sign in to using their Microsoft identities or social accounts.
Naming is also not changing for:
- Microsoft Authentication Library (MSAL) – Use to acquire security tokens from the Microsoft identity platform to authenticate users and access secured web APIs to provide secure access to Microsoft Graph, other Microsoft APIs, third-party web APIs, or your own web API.
- Microsoft Graph – Get programmatic access to organizations, user, and application data stored in Microsoft Entra ID.
- Microsoft Graph PowerShell – Acts as an API wrapper for the Microsoft Graph APIs and helps administer every Microsoft Entra ID feature that has an API in Microsoft Graph.
- Windows Server Active Directory, commonly known as “Active Directory,” and all related Windows Server identity services associated with Active Directory.
- Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) nor Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) nor the product name “Active Directory” or any corresponding features.
- Azure Active Directory B2C will continue to be available as an Azure service.
- Any deprecated or retired functionality, feature, or service of Azure AD.
Frequently asked questions
When is the name change happening?
The name change will start appearing across Microsoft experiences after a 30-day notification period, which started July 11, 2023. Display names for SKUs and service plans will change on October 1, 2023. We expect most naming text string changes in Microsoft experiences to be completed by the end of 2023.
Why is the name being changed?
As part of our ongoing commitment to simplify secure access experiences for everyone, the renaming of Azure AD to Microsoft Entra ID is designed to make it easier to use and navigate the unified and expanded Microsoft Entra product family.
What is Microsoft Entra?
Microsoft Entra helps you protect all identities and secure network access everywhere. The expanded product family includes:
| Identity and access management | New identity categories | Network access |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Entra ID (currently known as Azure AD) | Microsoft Entra Verified ID | Microsoft Entra Internet Access |
| Microsoft Entra ID Governance | Microsoft Entra Permissions Management | Microsoft Entra Private Access |
| Microsoft Entra External ID | Microsoft Entra Workload ID |
Source: https://www.microsoft.com/