Azure AD Group Policy

Group Policy is an infrastructure used by admins to implement specific configurations for users and computers as a part of an organization’s security policies. Collectively, these policies are referred to as Group Policy Objects (GPOs). Group Policies help organizations protect computers against data breaches. While Microsoft equips Windows devices with fairly sophisticated security measures, GPOs add flexibility to organizations for enhancing security for their systems. GPOs are applied at different levels namely local policies, site policies, domain policies, and organizational unit policies. The Group Policy Management tools on Azure AD DS can be used by organizations to administer Group Policy in an Azure AD Domain Services managed domain.

Advantages of Implementing Azure AD Group Policy

Using Group Policy, organizations can significantly reduce their overall ownership cost by streamlining their IT security operations. Below are some of the advantages of implementing Azure AD Group Policy.

• Simplifies User Provisioning and Management

  Azure AD DS is equipped with pre-defined GPOs for Azure Active Directory Domain Controller (AADDC) Users and AADDC Computers containers. While these pre-existing GPOs help in standardizing environments for users and computers joining the directory, they can also be customized easily helping organizations save several hours wasted on configurations.

• Centralizes Administration

  While GPOs already simplify deployments of software, patches, and other updates from the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC), system admins can configure and implement Azure AD Group Policy for an Azure AD DS managed domain.

• Remote Configuration Management

  The Group Policy Management Editor tool allows admins to customize GPOs for policies and preferences involving the user and computer configurations.

What You Need for Implementing Azure AD Group Policy?

You will need appropriate resources and privileges before implementing the Azure AD Group Policy.

• You will need an active Azure AD subscription. You can purchase this from Apps4Rent if you don’t have one.
• An Azure Active Directory tenant linked to an on-premises directory or on the cloud-only directory.
• A VM with Windows Server joined to the Azure AD DS managed domain.
• A user account with Azure AD domain controller (AD DC) admin privileges for the Azure AD tenant.
• Group Policy Management tools installed on the virtual machine for creating and configuring Group Policy Object (GPOs).

Once you have an operational VM with the above requirements, enable the Group Policy Management feature on the Features page from the Server Manager window to create and configure Group Policy Object (GPOs).

Apps4Rent Can Help with Azure AD Group Policy

While Group Policies help organizations protect assets and manage resources better, their designs can be complex because of the range of policy settings and preferences and their interactions. As a Microsoft CSP, Apps4Rent can help you identify and implement the right Azure solutions for your organization with 24/7 support via phone, chat, and email. Contact us today to know more about Azure AD Group Policy and promotional prices on Azure plans.