This week I've been asked what I think about the rebranding of Azure AD to Microsoft Entra ID. Is it something which I would consider significant? Is it something I think occurred because, for example, some marketers in Redmond have nothing better to do? Let's consider that a moment. In recent years, Microsoft has executed multiple large-scale rebrands. Office 365 to Microsoft 365. Azure to Microsoft Azure. The Security stack aligned under Defender, whilst Compliance is amalgamated under Purview. So my thinking goes that the rebranding of Azure AD was only ever a matter of time; that it was only ever going to go one way given how Microsoft Entra became the brand for Microsoft's Identity services. If one thing, all these cases illustrate that Microsoft is not beholden to names or brands whether these are historical or popular, or where they've become embedded in the day-to-day language of the very organisations and communities that use them. And this was demonstrated again last week - with not so much fanfare - when they also announced that it was ditching it's default Calibri font in favour of the newly developed Aptos. But then Microsoft is a technology business after all. It's mantra is that change and innovation is constant. This leads onto point two. There are things that drive change and innovations other than technology. We as technologists can lose sight that Microsoft is first and foremost - when everything is stripped away - a sales-led techonology business. Sometimes we don't perceive or appreciate the value of changing it up, because it's not our role to give these products fresh impetus, or drive astronomical numbers in a given area, or reduce a products value and everything it does to a singlular name. I think the rebrand makes absolute sense given Microsoft's plans are for Security, Compliance and Identity. Consistency across the range. An easier conversation for commercial. A broader and more robust terminology which allows the addition of more products such as what we saw given the Security Service Edge (SSE). It may just be me but it feels more unified yet clear cut and distinct from other parts. I also think it's a savvy move to take Azure - the platform - out the name. But don't get me wrong here. Many of us are going to have to swallow pain, especially we who create or maintain content or teach. And yes - it's sad too in that it feels like an instituion is ending. But let's look forward with gusto. It's not the last one of these we'll be doing. Change is constant. This blog is on the new Restricted Management Administrative Units capability now in preview in Microsoft Entra ID. You can now designate specific users, security groups, or devices in your Microsoft Entra ID tenant that you want to protect from modification by tenant-level administrators. Obviously this has benefits in certain scenarios - typically larger orgs, where administration is based on geos. And we need to understand that at this preview stage this is based on Microsoft Entra ID actions such as modifying users and licences, not management of the services themselves. In Teams world, I am going to apply a use case of managing users with Teams Premium Licencing