Google Identity Services is a replacement for windows active directory

[samsam]

Hi expert,

Suddenly, i heard from someone that Google is having a replacement for Windows active directory.

It is interesting for me to know more about this service and how can i manage the users and computer via it.

Thank you

[jaspreetnarang]

Google Cloud Identity can manage all the users, applications, and devices at one location, similar to how Microsoft Active Directory does. You can use Google Cloud Identity as a backbone for the organization wherein all the user identities are managed centrally, post which you can also onboard all your apps to use Google Identity (using SAML or Secure LDAP) for authentication - this can also include Wifi, VPN etc. With GCI you can manage Windows 10 devices using MDM framework instead of GPO, so you do not need any VPN for managing devices or pushing new policies etc. Admins can also leverage Context Aware Access which builds the foundation of Zero Trust Access and can be complemented with Beyond Corp Enteprise (BCE) which can totally remove any need for VPN.

I've worked with several customers who have started this journey. My suggestion is to first look at the usecases wherein you see a dependency on AD and evaluate if GCI can be a replacement. It is a journey which might require some re-thinking, some rationalisation, some architectural changes, but at the end, it is very satisfying to see everything being managed from cloud instead of depending on on-premise Active Directory.