Technologies explained

Plain-language overviews of 67 products IT professionals work with every day: what each one is, its key features, and where to learn more.

Microsoft Entra ID

Microsoft, Identity & Zero Trust

Cloud identity and access management for Microsoft 365, Azure and thousands of SaaS apps.

Conditional Access policies
MFA, passkeys and passwordless sign-in
Identity Protection risk-based policies
Privileged Identity Management
Single sign-on for SaaS apps
Entra Connect / Cloud Sync for hybrid identity

Best for: Securing every sign-in with Zero Trust controls.

Guides and scripts Official docs

Microsoft Entra Connect & Cloud Sync

Microsoft, Identity & Zero Trust

Synchronises users, groups and passwords from on-premises Active Directory to Entra ID.

Password hash sync and pass-through authentication
Seamless single sign-on
Filtering by OU and attribute
Cloud Sync lightweight agents
Group writeback options

Best for: Running hybrid identity reliably.

Guides and scripts Official docs

Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS)

Microsoft, Identity & Zero Trust

On-premises federation for single sign-on to cloud and web apps.

SAML and WS-Federation trusts
Claims rules
Web Application Proxy for external access
Migration path to Entra ID authentication

Best for: Maintaining legacy SSO and planning its retirement.

Guides and scripts Official docs

Windows Hello for Business

Microsoft, Identity & Zero Trust

Phishing-resistant, passwordless sign-in for Windows using biometrics or PIN backed by the TPM.

Cloud Kerberos Trust for hybrid environments
Key trust and certificate trust models
Policy through Intune or Group Policy
Counts as MFA for Conditional Access

Best for: Moving staff to passwordless sign-in.

Guides and scripts Official docs

Product names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here for identification only. ITwithTariq isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by these vendors.