At Joinly, we regularly encounter the same questions: Should we continue using Active Directory in a hybrid environment, or is it time to fully transition to Microsoft Entra ID? And when is the right moment for this transition?

The shift to cloud-first working is prompting organisations to revisit their identity architecture. In this blog, we explain how AD and Entra ID relate to each other, their role in modern IT environments, and how Joinly makes the transition simple.

Active Directory: the trusted foundation

Active Directory has been the standard for managing identities within organisations for years. It is designed for a world where employees work from the office on devices that are part of the corporate network.
Think of domain controllers, group policies, network printers, and applications that can only run locally. In that landscape, Active Directory is still powerful and reliable.

For organisations that are heavily reliant on on-premise systems or traditional Windows workplaces, AD remains an indispensable foundation.

Microsoft Entra ID: identity for a cloud-first world

While Active Directory mostly operates within the corporate network, Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) is built for a borderless digital environment. Employees work remotely, hybrid, from various devices and need access to countless cloud applications.

Entra ID makes this secure and manageable, with functionalities such as Conditional Access, Multi-Factor Authentication, risk-based access, and identity governance. It is designed around modern security principles such as Zero Trust, where identity takes centre stage rather than the network.

For organisations working cloud-first or wishing to take this step, Entra ID is increasingly becoming the heart of their identity strategy.

Hybrid identity management: today's reality

Although AD and Entra ID have different starting points, many organisations operate in practice with a hybrid model. Classic on-premise applications and workplaces continue to run on Active Directory, while access to Microsoft 365 and other SaaS applications goes through Entra ID.

What many organisations appreciate is that a hybrid environment doesn't have to be a barrier to future choices. With Joinly, you can easily grow: when you decide to fully phase out AD and transition fully to Entra ID, it's just a setting in the platform within Joinly. You seamlessly switch from AD-provisioning to Entra-ID-provisioning without needing to restructure the process.
This flexibility makes Joinly an ideal solution for organisations that wish to develop step by step towards a modern cloud identity.

When do you stay with AD, and when do you switch to Entra ID?

There is no universal answer, as it depends on the environment, application landscape, and security needs. But we clearly see several trends:

Organisations with many legacy applications often remain dependent on AD for longer, while cloud-driven organisations quickly opt for Entra ID as their primary identity provider. In transitioning organisations, Entra ID generally grows step by step, while AD maintains a supporting role until all on-premise elements are phased out.

Thus, the transition is less about "either AD or Entra ID", and more about a route in which both systems temporarily retain their own role.

The future: identity central, not the network

IAM is evolving towards a model where the user's identity is more important than the location of the device or the network it is connected to. This aligns seamlessly with Entra ID's architecture. Features such as passwordless login, Just-in-Time privileges, and automated governance confirm this direction.

Active Directory will not disappear immediately, but for many organisations, it will gradually play a smaller role as modern cloud services are embraced.

How Joinly supports organisations in transitioning from AD to Entra ID

At Joinly, we help organisations run IAM processes smoothly, whether they are working with AD, Entra ID, or a hybrid combination. Our solution automates the entire identity lifecycle from onboarding and changes to offboarding.

And since Joinly supports both AD and Entra-ID provisioning, you can always switch between the two effortlessly. Transitioning from AD to Entra ID? You don’t need to rebuild your provisioning process, set up new integrations, or conduct complex migrations. You simply adjust the configuration, and Joinly takes care of the rest. This makes our platform particularly suitable for organisations that want to undergo their cloud transition in phases.

Conclusion

Active Directory and Entra ID are complementary systems that each play their own role. Most organisations find themselves in a hybrid situation, gradually phasing out towards Entra ID.
With Joinly, you can make this transition safely, flexibly, and without technical complexity, ensuring your IAM is always ready for the future.