Microsoft renames Azure AD with the Entra brand

Microsoft announced that it is renaming Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) as Microsoft Entra ID. Existing users can continue to use the service uninterrupted. All deployments and configurations will continue on unchanged, with the service accessible through Azure portal, Microsoft 365 admin center, and Microsoft Entra admin center, the company explained in its announcement.

Microsoft emphasized that along with configurations, licensing and service level agreements will also stay the same. Service plan names will switch on October 1. Together with Microsoft Entra ID Free, Microsoft Entra ID P1, and Microsoft Entra ID P2, Entra ID will continue to be included with Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5 licensing plans.

Despite this name change, many other familiar names remain unchanged such as Graph PowerShell, Authentication Library, or Windows Server Active Directory.

And Microsoft is advising teams in the channel and at customers to make related changes to their documentation and other materials.

“We encourage content creators, organizations with internal documentation for IT or identity security admins, developers of Azure AD-enabled apps, independent software vendors, or partners of Microsoft to stay current with the new naming guidance by updating copy by the end of 2023. We recommend changing the name in customer-facing experiences, prioritizing highly visible surfaces,” wrote a member of the Microsoft team.