Azure AD B2C vs Entra External ID Comparison

In today's digital landscape, businesses must expertly balance security with user convenience when managing customer accounts and access. Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) addresses this challenge by providing specialized tools and frameworks designed specifically for customer-facing applications. These systems excel at securing and managing millions of external user identities while ensuring smooth, frustration-free experiences across all digital interactions.

Enter Microsoft Entra External ID, a modern CIAM platform built with developers in mind. This solution seamlessly embeds into your customer applications, offering powerful identity management capabilities as part of the comprehensive Microsoft Entra family. Whether you need robust security measures, the ability to scale rapidly, or flexible customisation options to match your brand's unique needs, External ID delivers a sophisticated yet accessible approach to customer identity management.

What is CIAM and Why Does Your Business Need It?

Customer Identity and Access Management is more than just a login system -- it's a comprehensive solution for managing customer identities, securing their data, and creating smooth digital experiences. Think of it as your digital front door, welcoming customers while keeping their information safe.

Key Benefits of Azure CIAM:

1. Enhanced Security

   • Advanced threat protection
   • Multi-factor authentication options
   • Fraud detection capabilities
   • Secure storage of customer data

2. Seamless Customer Experience

   • Single sign-on across all your applications
   • Social media login integration
   • Self-service password reset
   • Progressive profiling

3. Scalability

   • Handles millions of users effortlessly
   • Automatic scaling during peak times
   • Global availability
   • High performance

4. Compliance Ready

   • GDPR compliance features
   • Data privacy controls
   • Consent management
   • Audit logging

External identity management capabilities provide powerful solutions for organisations looking to streamline their authentication and authorisation processes. By implementing dedicated customer and partner channels, organisations can effectively maintain distinct security boundaries between workforce employee identities and external collaboration tenants, enabling precise control over how partners and customers interact with applications. These platform empowers external users (customers or partners) to either establish identities with your organisation leveraging new credentials owned by you or seamlessly integrate existing ones from their own Microsoft Entra tenant, Google, or Facebook accounts.

Introducing Microsoft Entra External ID

Microsoft Entra External ID represents the next evolution in CIAM solutions from Microsoft. Released to general availability on May 15, 2024, it brings enterprise-grade identity management to customer-facing applications. A significant advantage of this system is its flexibility, allowing organisations to connect multiple customer tenants to a single workforce Entra ID tenant, effectively separating customers from partners or even segregating different customer streams. The platform's security infrastructure is built on industry-standard protocols including OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and SAML 2.0, ensuring secure communication for applications requiring authenticated users while supporting federation with various identity providers when users opt to use their existing credentials. In essence it provides standardised offering when compared to a normal workforce tenant while adding additional controls to secure user sign up process and manage the end user experience.

Why Choose Entra External ID?

Fundamentally, Entra External ID is the Azure AD B2C replacement and will be a required migration for all customers. It comes with some great new features and capabilities including:

1. Cost-Effective Pricing

   • Free for first 50,000 monthly active users
   • Only AUD 0.05 (USD 0.03) per additional monthly active user
   • Pay only for active users, not total accounts
   • Predictable pricing model

2. Developer-Friendly Features

   • Native authentication libraries
   • Microsoft Graph API integration
   • Visual Studio Code extension
   • Custom authentication extensions

3. Powerful customisation

   • Branded sign-up experiences
   • Custom user attributes
   • Flexible authentication flows
   • Pre and post-registration hooks

Entra External ID vs Azure B2C: What's Different?

Understanding the differences between Entra External Id vs Azure B2C is crucial for making the right choice for your business. It should start with understanding who you are trying to let into your business's applications. Having a fundamental understanding of who owns the risks of what interactions allows you to make an informed decision on the correct "door" to use to let this user in.

For new CIAM projects you should be looking at Entra External Id for your Identity Provider. Only when you need high customisable sign up flows should you be considering Azure AD B2C (Now unavailable for new customers). Here are the key differences between Entra External Id and Azure AD B2C:

Entra External ID

• Built on modern Entra ID infrastructure
• Seamless integration with Microsoft ecosystem
• Simplified API architecture
• Future-ready platform

Azure B2C

• Established CIAM solution
• Comprehensive feature set
• Separate API structure
• Currently supported but will be replaced

Entra External Id vs B2C

Migration Considerations

While there's no one-size-fits-all migration path from Azure B2C to Entra External ID, here's what you need to know:

1. Azure B2C Current Status

   • Azure B2C remains fully supported
   • Planned decommissioning for 2030
   • Some Migration tools exist for Just-In-Time Password migrations
   • Gradual transition recommended

2. Feature Gaps in Entra External ID to Consider

   • Apple SSO (coming soon)
   • Microsoft Personal Accounts integration
   • Native mobile SDKs
   • Custom policy frameworks

Best Practices for Implementation

To get the most out of Entra External ID:

1. Planning Phase

   • Know who your customer is
   • Know who owns the risk of these interactions
   • Map customer journeys
   • Define security requirements
   • Plan integration architecture

2. Implementation Phase

   • Start with pilot program
   • Implement progressive rollout
   • Monitor performance metrics
   • Gather user feedback

3. Maintenance Phase

   • Regular security reviews
   • Performance optimisation
   • Feature updates
   • User experience improvements

Technical Architecture

Entra External ID operates as a dedicated tenant that:

• Lives alongside your workforce tenant
• Maintains separate administration
• Links to workforce tenant billing
• Provides isolated customer data management

Future-Proofing Your Entra CIAM Strategy

Building a robust CIAM strategy requires careful planning and foresight. As customer expectations evolve and security threats become more sophisticated, your identity solution must be ready to adapt. Entra External ID provides a foundation for future growth, but organisations need to take proactive steps to ensure their implementation remains effective and secure over time. A well-planned CIAM strategy should address three critical areas: scalability for growth, enhanced security measures, and optimized user experience.

1. Consider Scalability

   • Plan for user growth
   • Account for peak usage
   • Monitor resource utilization
   • Implement caching strategies

2. Enhance Security

   • Enable adaptive authentication
   • Implement risk-based policies
   • Use conditional access
   • Regular security audits

3. Optimize User Experience

   • Minimize friction
   • Implement progressive profiling
   • Provide self-service options
   • Monitor user satisfaction

Ready to take the next step?

Our specialists are here and ready to help you with your customer identity and access management journey. Book a quick 30 minute chat with one of our specialists to see what we can do for you and see some first hand case studies.

Modern 42 as a certified Microsoft Cloud Solution Partner, we specialize in:

• Defining customer vs partner channels
• Entra CIAM implementation
• Azure B2C to Entra External ID transition planning
• Custom authentication flows
• Integration with existing systems

We are recognised as one of Australia's Only Sovereign Azure B2C to Entra External ID Migration partners by Microsoft.

Contact us for a free consultation to discuss your Entra CIAM needs and how we can help secure your customer identities while providing a seamless experience.

Reference

Azure B2C vs Entra External ID Modern 42 Azure B2C to Entra External ID Modern 42 Azure B2C Migration Readiness Microsoft Entra External ID Partners