Updated: May 31, 2023 (February 27, 2021)

  Analyst Report

AAD B2B Can Help Link Organizations

My Atlas / Analyst Reports

1,839 wordsTime to read: 10 min
Wes Miller by
Wes Miller

Wes Miller analyzes and writes about Microsoft’s security, identity management, and systems management technologies. Before joining Directions on Microsoft, Wes... more

  • ​Azure Active Directory Business to Business lets a host organization permit guests from other organizations to access the host’s applications, such as Office 365 services.
  • The service could be useful for collaborating with contractors, business partners, and vendors.
  • It requires less effort than other solutions for the same problem, such as Active Directory Federation Services.
  • Licensing can become prohibitively expensive for large organizations using AAD Premium P2.

Azure Active Directory (AAD) Business to Business (B2B) allows external guest users to use their own credentials to sign in and work with applications and systems as if they were members of the host organization. It can be used with Office 365, Power BI, and other supported applications that use AAD-based authentication.

What Is AAD B2B?

AAD B2B enables a host organization to add references for external users (referred to as guests) alongside regular users (referred to as members) in its AAD tenancy.

AAD B2B is meant to enable access for guests from partner organizations or other external collaborators. For example, it might enable a copy editor to work with a marketing team on content in Office 365 or a contract analyst to work alongside employees in Power BI. An organization’s own employees do not qualify as guests and must be licensed using the standard AAD Premium+ licensing model.

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