# Microsoft Entra ID

Microsoft Entra ID is a cloud-based identity and access management platform that is commonly used by companies to access external resources, such as Microsoft 365, or internal resources, such as on-prem applications.

Entra ID can manage:

<table><thead><tr><th width="277">Capability</th><th>Purpose</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>User Accounts</td><td>Employee and guest identities</td></tr><tr><td>Authentication</td><td>User login and verification</td></tr><tr><td>Single Sign-On</td><td>Single login for multiple applications</td></tr><tr><td>Conditional Access</td><td>Establish rules for logins</td></tr><tr><td>Device Identity</td><td>Enrolling/Managing corporate devices</td></tr><tr><td>Role-Based Access Control</td><td>Assigning Permissions</td></tr></tbody></table>

#### Entra ID vs On-Prem Active Directory

The biggest difference between Entra ID and On-Prem AD are domain controllers. While both Entra ID and On-Prem AD allow for identity and access management, Entra ID does not require domain controllers to function.

However, if you do want to leverage domain controllers as a service, Azure Active Directory Domain Services is what you're looking for.