Starting May 1, 2025, Microsoft Azure AD External Identities is no longer available for new customers. While there are no service or billing impacts for existing customers, net new customers will no longer be able to create B2C tenants. This means that new customers will no longer be able to purchase Azure AD External Identities P1 and P2. However, existing customers of Azure AD Business to Consumer (B2C) can continue using the product and create new tenants as usual.
FAQ
What is Azure Active Directory (AD) B2C?
Azure Active Directory (AD) B2C is a customer identity and access management (CIAM) solution that allows businesses to provide identity as a service for their customers. It supports various authentication protocols and enables customers to use their preferred social, enterprise, or local account identities to access applications and APIs. Azure AD B2C remains a separate service within the Microsoft Entra family.
What is Azure Active Directory (AD) External Identities?
Azure AD External Identities is part of Microsoft Entra and allows external users (partners, customers, citizens, etc.) to securely access an organization’s apps and resources. It supports both B2B collaboration and CIAM scenarios, enabling external users to bring their own identities from corporate, government-issued accounts, or social identity providers like Google or Facebook. Looking forward, it will be replaced by Microsoft Entra External ID.
What is Microsoft Entra External ID?
Microsoft Entra External ID is a flexible solution within the Microsoft Entra portfolio that simplifies external identity management. It supports both B2B collaboration and CIAM scenarios, and is the replacement for Azure Active Directory (AD) External Identities.
It allows organizations to securely collaborate with external users and manage customer identities, providing robust security features like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and conditional access policies.
Next Steps
For new customers seeking a CIAM solution, we recommend Microsoft Entra External ID.
Existing customers interested in migrating to Entra External ID can follow this guide: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/external-id/customers/how-to-migrate-users.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact our Microsoft licensing experts at SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT. We are here to help you navigate these changes and ensure a smooth transition for your identity management needs.