Glossary
Azure AD
By Emil Björk · Microsoft ecosystem consultant, Gothenburg
The former name for Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft's cloud identity service.
Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is the former name for Microsoft's cloud identity service. In 2023 Microsoft renamed it to Microsoft Entra ID; the product is unchanged but the branding shifted, and a handful of related tool names changed too (for example, "Azure AD Connect" became "Microsoft Entra Connect"). You'll still see "Azure AD" widely in older docs, in API endpoint hostnames like login.microsoftonline.com, and on the on-premises connector. Azure AD is also distinct from on-premises Active Directory Domain Services; the two share concepts but are different products with different protocols.
Worked example
A PowerShell script written a few years ago calls the AzureAD module to list group memberships. It still runs, because Microsoft kept the old module name and the login.microsoftonline.com endpoints working for compatibility — but any admin maintaining that script today is better off migrating to the current Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK, since the legacy AzureAD and MSOnline modules are on a deprecation path and won't receive new features. The underlying directory the script is querying is the same Entra ID tenant either way; only the tool name and API surface differ.
Common pitfalls
Searching current Microsoft Learn documentation for "Azure AD" and getting confused when results all say "Entra ID" is a routine friction point for anyone who learned the product under its old name — the rename is thorough, and most current guidance simply doesn't use the old term anymore. Assuming a script, connector, or third-party integration referencing "Azure AD" is broken or outdated is often wrong — many hostnames, module names, and API paths (login.microsoftonline.com, the AzureAD PowerShell module, graph.windows.net) were deliberately left unchanged specifically so existing automation wouldn't break. And treating "Azure AD" and "on-premises Active Directory" as the same product because both have "Active Directory" in the name is a persistent point of confusion for anyone new to hybrid identity — they interoperate, but they're separate products with separate management tools.