Transcribed
Microsoft Entra External ID - Simply Explained
Jul 20, 2026 ·
14m 55s
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Microsoft Entra External ID - Simply Explained
Description
Building sign-up, sign-in and security for customer-facing apps is hard, and Azure AD B2C is no longer where Microsoft invests. This episode helps identity admins and developers understand Microsoft Entra...
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Building sign-up, sign-in and security for customer-facing apps is hard, and Azure AD B2C is no longer where Microsoft invests. This episode helps identity admins and developers understand Microsoft Entra External ID, pick the right tenant model, secure external users and plan the move away from B2C.
In this episode
Key takeaways
Worth quoting
“Here's the simplest definition. It's a cloud identity service for external users, customers, partners and guests. Not employees.” – Mirko Peters (02:02)
“If you're building a customer facing app with thousands of users, you don't want those customers living in the same directory as your employees. That's a security risk.” – Mirko Peters (05:54)
Explore more on M365.FM
Follow and rate M365.FM in your podcast app, and join the free M365 community at m365con.net.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/m365-fm-microsoft-365-azure-cloud-power-platform-ai--6704921/support.
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In this episode
- 00:00 – Intro: why customer identity is hard
- 00:39 – The old way: identity silos and Azure AD B2C
- 01:58 – What Entra External ID actually is
- 03:03 – Three use cases: B2C, B2B and M2M
- 05:11 – Workforce tenant vs. external tenant
- 07:34 – Security, MFA and Conditional Access
- 09:14 – Branding and user experience
- 10:41 – Migration from B2C and developer experience
Key takeaways
- Microsoft Entra External ID is Microsoft's CIAM service for customers, partners and guests and replaces Azure AD B2C, swapping XML custom policies for user flows and custom authentication extensions.
- It covers customer sign-up (B2C), partner collaboration (B2B) and machine-to-machine scenarios, and customer-facing apps should usually run in a separate external tenant rather than the workforce tenant.
- B2C stays supported until at least 2030 but gets no new features, so new projects should start on External ID and existing B2C tenants should plan a step-by-step migration.
Worth quoting
“Here's the simplest definition. It's a cloud identity service for external users, customers, partners and guests. Not employees.” – Mirko Peters (02:02)
“If you're building a customer facing app with thousands of users, you don't want those customers living in the same directory as your employees. That's a security risk.” – Mirko Peters (05:54)
Explore more on M365.FM
- Episode page: the full episode with chapters, key quotes and a migration FAQ
- Microsoft Entra – the identity family that External ID belongs to, built for customers instead of employees
- Multifactor authentication (MFA) – email and SMS one-time passcodes for customers, plus step-up authentication for sensitive app areas
- Conditional Access – risk-based rules such as requiring MFA on medium sign-in risk or blocking certain countries
- Related episode: Entra Workload Identities - Simply Explained
Follow and rate M365.FM in your podcast app, and join the free M365 community at m365con.net.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/m365-fm-microsoft-365-azure-cloud-power-platform-ai--6704921/support.
Information
| Author | Mirko Peters M365, Azure & AI |
| Organization | m365 FM |
| Website | www.m365.fm |
| Tags |
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