The World According to Mitch

There was a time, years ago, when I maintained my own Active Directory infrastructure.  I was living with my family in Canada, I had server racks in the basement, and my company required my having AD that I could use and often demo.  Those days are long gone.  I now live in an apartment in California, and aside from not having the infrastructure I would need, I also do not feel it as important as I once did.  I do, however, like to have some of the centralized management capabilities that I once did.  The solution?  For me, it is Azure Active Directory (AAD).

Joining my computer to AAD is as simple as joining an Active Directory infrastructure.  The following steps are all it takes:

1. Click on the Start Menu and type the word Azure.  The option to Access work or school will appear in the list.  Click it.
2. In the Access work or school window, click + Connect.
3. In the Set up a work or school account window that pops up, look at the bottom… click the option Join this device to Azure Active Directory.
4. In the window Let’s get you signed in, you should enter the e-mail address of the account you use to access Azure and Microsoft 365 services, then click Next.
5. On the next screen, you will be prompted to enter your password.  Go ahead, and then click Sign in.
6. If your organization account is configured for Multi-Factor Authentication, you will be asked to authenticate… usually on your smart phone.
7. The next screen will ask you to confirm your organization.  Verify that you are joining the right one (although the chances of this being the wrong organization are slim), and then click Join.
8. That’s it!  After a few seconds of configuring things in the background, the next screen will say You’re all set!

You will see that you are now free to switch your account, or simply log off and log on using your Microsoft 365 (AzureAD) credentials.  When you log on with that account, you will have the permissions your organization has given you.  As you see in mine, I am an Administrator… but you might be a Standard User, depending on your role.

Good luck and have a great week!