Entra ID (Azure AD) rename confusion: a practical guide for admins
Microsoft renamed Azure Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID in July 2023. A year on, the confusion is still real. Here's the practical guide to navigating the rebrand.
In July 2023, Microsoft renamed Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) to Microsoft Entra ID. Fourteen months later, the confusion has not gone away. Documentation mixes old and new names. Customers ask which "Azure AD" features are now in "Entra." Some products still say "Azure AD" in the UI. And new people joining the industry are learning "Entra ID" without the context of what came before.
Let me write the post I wish had existed when this happened.
What actually changed (and what didn't)
What changed: The product name. "Azure Active Directory" is now "Microsoft Entra ID." The licensing tier names also changed: Azure AD Free, P1, and P2 became Microsoft Entra ID Free, P1, and P2.
What didn't change: The functionality. The technology is the same. The PowerShell modules work the same (mostly). The APIs work the same. The features are the same. No features were added or removed as part of the rename.
This is a pure rebrand, not a product change. The reason for the confusion is that Microsoft had been building out the "Entra" family of identity products (Entra ID, Entra External ID, Entra Permissions Management, Entra Verified ID) and wanted Azure AD to sit within that family rather than alongside it.
The documentation problem
Microsoft's documentation has been updated to use "Entra ID" in most places, but not all. If you're following a guide written before July 2023, you'll see "Azure AD" throughout. If you're following a guide written after, you'll see "Microsoft Entra ID." The content is often the same; the names are different.
Practical approach: When searching for documentation on Microsoft Learn, both terms will find relevant content. "Azure AD Conditional Access" and "Entra ID Conditional Access" both work. Don't let the naming difference stop you from finding what you need.
The admin centre transition
The Azure AD admin centre (aad.portal.azure.com) now redirects to the Microsoft Entra admin centre (entra.microsoft.com). They're the same thing. Some functionality that was previously only in the Azure portal is gradually being consolidated into the Entra admin centre, which is the long-term home for identity management.
The Microsoft Entra admin centre is cleaner and more coherent than the Azure portal's Azure AD section ever was. If you're spending significant time in Azure AD administration, getting comfortable with the Entra admin centre is worth the small adjustment cost.
PowerShell and the module situation
This is where things get genuinely complicated. Microsoft has multiple PowerShell modules for Azure AD / Entra ID management:
- MSOnline (MSOL): the oldest module, being deprecated
- AzureAD module: also being deprecated, replaced by Microsoft.Graph
- Microsoft.Graph: the current direction
The rename didn't resolve the module deprecation situation; it predates the rename and is an independent problem. The "Azure AD" PowerShell module (AzureAD) is being deprecated regardless of what the product is called, and you should be migrating scripts to the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK.
Talking to customers
The most immediate practical question: what do you call it in customer conversations?
My approach: use "Entra ID" in new documentation and proposals. In conversations with customers who know it as "Azure AD," say "Microsoft Entra ID (the new name for Azure AD)" the first time, then use whichever term they're comfortable with. The goal is clarity, not terminology policing.
The rename will take years to fully propagate through industry vocabulary. Don't let it create unnecessary confusion in customer interactions.
