Microsoft Entra as the identity platform
Microsoft Entra (formerly Azure Active Directory) is the identity backbone for most Microsoft-centric enterprises — which is most of the Fortune 500. The platform covers workforce identity, customer identity (Entra External ID), privileged access management (PIM), and conditional access — the full identity-and-access-management surface under one commercial and governance model.
How Thoughtwave integrates Entra
Our Entra engagements cover:
- Single sign-on for every application in the client's stack — SaaS applications via Entra's app gallery and custom applications via SAML, OIDC, or OAuth integration.
- Conditional access for zero-trust enforcement — identity + device posture + risk signals evaluated per session.
- Privileged Identity Management (PIM) for just-in-time elevation on sensitive operations, with approval workflows and audit.
- App registrations for our AI accelerators — scoped application permissions aligned to the principle of least privilege.
- Entra External ID for client-facing identity where the workflow involves external customers or partners.
- Identity governance — access reviews, entitlement management, and lifecycle workflows.
For clients building zero-trust programs, Entra is the foundation every downstream control depends on. Our zero-trust consulting engagements typically start with an Entra maturity assessment.
Authentication and governance
Entra is itself the authentication platform. Our engagements use scoped application registrations with certificate-based authentication for service-to-service integration. Admin consent flows route through the client's IT governance process. For regulated clients we align Conditional Access policies to the specific compliance regime (HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOX).
When Entra is the right identity backbone
For enterprises committed to the Microsoft stack, Entra is the default and the right choice — the integration depth, the governance story, and the commercial consolidation all favor it. For multi-cloud or vendor-neutral enterprises, Entra often coexists with Okta or Ping in a federated model; our engagements design the federation pattern so the right identity platform serves the right workload.