Does your 2017 IT “To Do List” include a Microsoft Office 365 migration? If you’re preparing for a move to the cloud, you’ve probably realized that most Office 365 deployments feature synchronization between an on-premises Active Directory environment with Azure Active Directory, particularly if moving from a traditional Microsoft platform. A hybrid Active Directory environment is extremely common and synchronization is seamless with Microsoft’s Azure AD Connect. But as is often the case in life and at work, there’s a catch.
Azure AD will essentially be a copy of your current Active Directory user account database that enables single-sign on for Office 365 resources. But, if your current AD environment is messy, issues and vulnerabilities will persist in Office 365.
This winter, spend some time optimizing AD for a hybrid Active Directory environment. Consider three steps to make your big 2017 migration project run more smoothly:
- Normalize AD: Reduce forests, domains and security boundaries
- Clean AD Structure: Focus on delegation, which will enable you to audit changes in your hybrid AD environment
- Consolidate AD: Best case scenario, all AD objects can be arranged under a single OU or a nested OU structure
Is your Active Directory Environment Ready for Hybrid Prime Time? Download the Quest eBook: “Surviving Migration to Office 365,” for Tips and Best Practices to Optimize AD for Office 365.
Have you read my previous post on Office 365 migrations and the importance of assessments, here? As might have been discovered during a pre-migration assessment, the process of optimizing Active Directory can uncover all sorts of Active Directory horror stories. We’ve seen it all – accounts for users who have left companies years previously, horribly weak passwords, an over-reliance on default settings and more. Again similar to assessments, while it will take time to organize on-premises AD, the benefit of clean synchronization to Azure AD and a more secure hybrid Active Directory environment post migration will be worth it.
For more tips on optimizing Active Directory for a cloud migration, download our new eBook, “Surviving Migration to Office 365,” today.