“Identity is no longer just a technical concern, it’s a business enabler. When you lead with identity, you accelerate transformation.”
- Luke Elston, Microsoft Practice Lead, CyberOne
For too long, identity has been treated as an IT utility, something that runs in the background. That mindset is no longer sustainable. Identity now directly influences deal velocity, regulatory readiness and customer trust.
Microsoft Entra is a unified identity and access platform built for today’s hybrid, multi-cloud world. It includes Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), Conditional Access, Identity Governance, Verified ID and other tools that empower organisations to manage secure, seamless access at scale.
Entra does more than modernise identity, it repositions it as a strategic advantage. When identity is treated as a business accelerator, everything changes.
Enables a mesh of trusted identities, Microsoft Entra connects over 95% of the Fortune 500 and countless public, healthcare and financial sector organisations. Direct federation and B2B collaboration enable your partners, vendors and customers to engage without friction. Passwords can become obsolete, replaced by secure, passwordless authentication such as biometrics or device-based sign-ins.
Being able to say “we’re already federated” doesn’t just win technical points, it wins deals. It signals maturity, Trust and agility.
Passwords are outdated, vulnerable and costly. They account for the vast majority of identity breaches. Microsoft Entra paves the way to a passwordless future through built-in support for biometric sign-in, FIDO2 keys and smart Conditional Access policies that adapt to risk in real-time.
Fewer passwords = fewer attacks, happier users and faster access.
A CEO needs concrete ROI data for board presentations. Microsoft Entra delivers measurable business outcomes across five key areas.
1. Operational Efficiency: Microsoft Entra delivers tangible time and cost savings through automation and self-service capabilities.
Organisations can save thousands of hours annually by automating identity lifecycle tasks such as onboarding, role changes, and offboarding. According to Forrester’s Microsoft Entra TEI Report, a typical mid-sized enterprise saves 1,825 hours annually by using Entra’s lifecycle workflows, reducing manual provisioning and deprovisioning efforts for the IT team.
Self-service password reset (SSPR) further drives efficiency, cutting down around 500 helpdesk tickets per year, equivalent to 167 hours of IT time saved annually (Source: Forrester). This reduces user downtime and support load while enhancing user experience.
Combined, these identity efficiency gains translate into over £95,000 in annual labour cost savings (Source: Forrester) before even considering the opportunity cost of refocusing IT time on innovation.
“When identity is automated, secure and aligned to roles, the impact isn’t just technical; it’s financial. You free up people and unlock scale.”
- Luke Elston, Microsoft Practice Lead, CyberOne
2. Risk Reduction: Identity remains the most targeted attack vector in cybercrime. Microsoft Entra’s layered identity controls—including Conditional Access, Identity Protection and Permissions Management-help reduce this risk with precision.
According to Forrester’s Entra TEI study:
With fewer excessive permissions, phishing-resistant credentials, and smarter access decisions, Entra reduces both risk exposure and the likelihood of credential compromise.
3. Faster Partner Onboarding: Secure collaboration shouldn’t slow down your business. Microsoft Entra enables faster onboarding of external partners and internal users alike.
4. License Optimisation: Using Entitlement Management and Access Reviews identifies dormant accounts and overprovisioned licenses. Organisations typically reclaim 10–15% of SaaS license spend while reducing audit preparation costs.
5. User Experience Improvements: Boost productivity metrics across employee and customer touchpoints. Frictionless access increases time-to-productivity and customer satisfaction scores, particularly valuable in professional services and fintech sectors.
According to Forrester’s Entra Total Economic Impact study, organisations experience a 240% ROI with payback periods of under six months. The composite organisation studied achieved a net present value of £8.57 million over three years.
Zero Trust can sound complex to leaders; however, Microsoft Entra makes it achievable without requiring an enterprise-scale security team.
Entra answers three questions at every login:
All without requiring a massive security team. Microsoft’s 65 trillion signals daily (Microsoft Digital Defence Report 2024) help you act on real threats fast.
Entra provides these answers through turnkey features designed for organisations without dedicated IAM administrators.
Explicit Verification through Entra ID and Identity Protection automatically enforces multi-factor authentication and risk-based conditional access. Microsoft’s 65 trillion daily signals provide threat intelligence that smaller organisations cannot collect independently.
Least Privilege Access via role-based controls and Privileged Identity Management grants time-bound permissions only when needed. Automated access reviews prevent permission creep without manual overhead.
Breach Assumption through Conditional Access and device compliance policies blocks access from unmanaged devices and suspicious contexts. Credentials alone never grant access.
Organisations with less identity debt have implementation advantages. With fewer legacy systems and manual processes, deploying modern identity controls, such as Zero Trust, can happen in weeks, not years.
Microsoft Entra’s pre-built templates, persona-based configurations and compliance dashboards make enterprise-grade security accessible to teams without extensive security expertise.
“Successful Entra rollouts don’t start with features. They start with business outcomes. That’s where the momentum comes from.”
- Luke Elston, Microsoft Practice Lead, CyberOne
Technology rollouts often promise quick wins and deliver chaos. Entra implementations succeed through performance-led phased execution that prioritises business outcomes over technical features.
The approach starts with business objectives, not tool capabilities. Are you accelerating partner onboarding? Preparing for compliance audits? Reducing IT workload for resource reallocation?
This shapes targeted deployment roadmaps. Rather than comprehensive rollouts, modular phases deliver value in 30–90 day cycles.
Phase 1: Stabilise & Secure: Through MFA enforcement, Conditional Access baselines and self-service password reset. These changes unlock immediate ROI milestones within 30 days.
Phase 2 Automate & Simplify: Via role-based access control, lifecycle workflows and B2B federation. Partner onboarding acceleration becomes measurable.
Phase 3 Optimise & Govern: Entitlement Management, Access Reviews and Cross-Cloud Permissions Management, resulting in long-term operational efficiency gains that compound.
Pre-built templates and compliance mappings minimise disruption. Standard workflows for employee, vendor and contractor personas avoid reinventing processes.
Success metrics are directly tied to business KPIs. Password reset ticket reduction, onboarding time improvements and access review completion rates become visible wins that build stakeholder support.
When evaluating security investments, CEOs often consider SIEM platforms, endpoint protection or additional security personnel. Identity should be your foundation investment.
Every security control depends on knowing who is accessing what resources. Without strong identity management, other security tools operate with incomplete information.
Identity-first security strategy provides the authentication and authorisation foundation that makes other security investments more effective. Your SIEM gets better data. Your endpoint protection has verified user context. Your security team operates with complete visibility.
The alternative is building security on uncertain foundations of identity. Every other investment becomes less effective when you cannot reliably verify user authenticity and access appropriateness.
Microsoft Entra transforms identity from a background IT function to a competitive differentiator. Organisations that embrace this shift gain velocity, resilience and a measurable business advantage.
Your identity system determines whether you win or lose deals. Choose accordingly.
Access Granted: The Identity Security Gap Exposing Modern Workplaces
Discover how to reduce risk, improve compliance and secure your business without adding friction for users. Register Now.