In a recent release, HYCU announced a significant enhancement to its data protection capabilities for Microsoft Entra ID. HYCU now fully supports the backup and restoration of federated users synchronized from external identity providers, such as Active Directory (AD). This update ensures that the identities synchronized on Entra ID remain protected and quickly recoverable without the need to re-run the entire synchronization with the external identity provider.
What are Federated Users?
Federated users are individuals whose identity is managed by an external identity provider (IdP) rather than directly within Microsoft Entra ID. Organizations often use federation to streamline access management across different environments, enabling users to authenticate once and gain access to multiple resources managed by other IAM solutions.
This approach is especially beneficial for organizations with existing on-premises identity infrastructure, such as Active Directory (AD), as it allows for seamless access to cloud-based services and resources managed by Microsoft Entra ID.
For example, consider an organization with on-premises AD managing user identities and access policies for internal on-prem applications, servers, databases, etc. By federating these users with Entra ID, the organization can extend access to cloud applications without duplicating identity data or requiring users to manage separate credentials for AD and Entra ID. Instead, users can authenticate using their AD credentials, with Entra ID trusting the authentication results from AD and providing access to the requested resources.
Why Organizations Opt for Federation
Federation offers a seamless way for organizations to integrate their existing identity systems with other identity systems to extend access to a wider array of resources. Some of the key reasons to choose federation are:
- Enhanced Security: By using a reliable and robust IdP like AD, organizations can leverage existing security policies and infrastructure to secure access to cloud resources.
- Improved User Experience: Federation simplifies the user experience and improves productivity by reducing the need for multiple passwords and going through multiple login walls.
- Easy Access to Cloud Resources: Federation enables organizations to use their existing on-premises credentials for accessing cloud resources, without the need for complex setups or additional identity management systems.
Federated Users Support on HYCU
With the new support for Entra ID federated users on HYCU R-Cloud™, HYCU extends its data protection capabilities to include these crucial identities. So, if all the users or even a single user gets accidentally deleted from Entra ID, HYCU can restore them back to Entra ID, whether they’re managed directly on Entra ID or federated through an external identity provider. This feature is particularly vital for organizations operating in hybrid environments, where both on-premises and cloud resources are essential. The key benefits of this update are:
- Extended Entra ID Protection: HYCU can now back up and restore federated user data synchronized from external IdPs like Active Directory. For example, if Entra ID has 1000 users which are created and managed directly on Entra ID, and has 400 federated users managed on AD, HYCU will be able to back up and restore all the 1400 users on Entra ID.
- Increased Resilience: By protecting federated user data, organizations can quickly restore all their users on Entra ID to maintain operational continuity and minimize disruption, even when facing unforeseen incidents.
This new feature is a significant milestone in HYCU’s commitment to providing comprehensive IAM data protection for all businesses.
Get Hands-On: Try HYCU’s Microsoft Entra ID Protection – Free for 14 Days!
Additional Resources
- Reliable backup & recovery for Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD)
- HYCU Unveils Groundbreaking Data Protection for Microsoft Entra ID
- Video: HYCU for Microsoft Entra ID Demo
- Solution Sheet | HYCU for Entra ID (formerly Azure AD)
Get the newest insights and updates
