MIM and Azure AD Connect: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Azure AD Connect (Microsoft Entra Connect) is just MIM (Microsoft Identity Manager) with a different hat on, isn’t it? No! Anyone who approaches Microsoft Entra Connect like this may well come undone.

Microsoft Entra Connect is based on MIM and looks a lot like MIM – and it would be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that they are the same. But they are not. Microsoft Entra Connect has been substantially re-engineered and it is vital to understand the differences to avoid sub-optimal implementations.

What are the differences between MIM and Microsoft Entra Connect? There are too many to list here – but, for example, MIM and Microsoft Entra Connect have different mechanisms for backup, restore, and disaster recovery, and the configuration of high availability is also different.

One of the most profound differences is the synchronization model. Not only does Microsoft Entra Connect have declarative rules, but it also has a different mechanism for joining, provisioning, and de-provisioning. So, if you want to synchronize objects that will be used to authenticate and authorize users of your cloud resources, you need to understand how Microsoft Entra Connect works.

View the MIM & Azure AD Connect Webinar recording.

Note: since the webinar was recorded, Microsoft has rebranded Azure AD Connect to Microsoft Entra Connect.

This does not mean that Microsoft Entra Connect is more complicated or inferior to MIM – quite the opposite. These differences are there to make it easier to support, and quicker to recover in the event of a disaster.

Andreas Kjellman – Hugh Simpson-Wells – Jimmy Andersson – James Cowling

In this webinar recording, the expert team who wrote the Microsoft Entra Connect Masterclass – Andreas Kjellman (formerly MIM and Azure AD Connect Program Manager for Microsoft), Jimmy Andersson (MVP Enterprise Mobility), Hugh Simpson-Wells (CEO, Oxford Computer Group) and James Cowling (CTO, Oxford Computer Group):

  • Discuss the differences between Azure AD Connect (Microsoft Entra Connect) and MIM: synchronization, configuration, automatic updates, reverse join, soft join, sticky join etc – and why they matter.
  • Answer general questions about Azure AD Connect (Microsoft Entra Connect).

If you’re interested in transferring your MIM skills to Microsoft Entra Connect, or if you want to learn more about how to optimize your Microsoft Entra Connect implementation, view the recording!