Microsoft online directory services

The cloud emerged as a viable place to build your infrastructure. Web applications were competitive alternatives to on-prem applications. Google Apps now called G Suite became a runaway success displacing Microsoft Exchange, Office, and Windows server in many organizations. All of these changes and more placed a great deal of pressure on IT organizations. It was a significant challenge, and the trend was going away from AD, not towards it. Microsoft responded with the adjunct Azure Active Directory platform which is a user management system for Azure and Office Unfortunately, it only works in conjunction with AD, so you cannot eliminate Active Directory with Azure as this Spiceworks thread points out.

A replacement to Active Directory was needed. If you would like to learn more about online directory services, drop us a note. Alternatively, sign-up for a free account on our cloud directory platform. Let us know what you think. Please rate your experience Yes No. Any additional feedback? Submit and view feedback for This product This page. View all page feedback. In this article. Make sure you have installed the latest updates to Windows Server in the Control Panel.

Search for it on Microsoft Download Center. Net 4. A directory service, such as Active Directory Domain Services AD DS , provides the methods for storing directory data and making this data available to network users and administrators. For example, AD DS stores information about user accounts, such as names, passwords, phone numbers, and so on, and enables other authorized users on the same network to access this information.

Active Directory stores information about objects on the network and makes this information easy for administrators and users to find and use. Active Directory uses a structured data store as the basis for a logical, hierarchical organization of directory information. This data store, also known as the directory, contains information about Active Directory objects.

These objects typically include shared resources such as servers, volumes, printers, and the network user and computer accounts. For more information about the Active Directory data store, see Directory data store. Security is integrated with Active Directory through logon authentication and access control to objects in the directory. With a single network logon, administrators can manage directory data and organization throughout their network, and authorized network users can access resources anywhere on the network.

Policy-based administration eases the management of even the most complex network. For more information about Active Directory security, see Security overview.