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IT Atlas

Vendor

Microsoft

Platforms provided by Microsoft that perform functions documented in IT Atlas, with the deployment models they support and the topics that explain them.

11 platformsCloudHybridOn-PremCommercial

Platforms

Directory Service

Active Directory Domain Services

On premises directory providing Kerberos authentication, LDAP queries and Group Policy.

On-Prem · Commercial · Identity & access

Productivity Suite

Microsoft 365

Integrated identity, productivity, collaboration, endpoint and security suite.

Cloud · Commercial

Cloud Platform

Microsoft Azure

Public cloud platform with deep Entra ID and Microsoft 365 integration.

Cloud · Commercial

Endpoint Management

Microsoft Configuration Manager

On premises endpoint management for imaging, application deployment and patching, often co managed with Intune.

On-Prem · Commercial · Endpoint management

EDR

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Endpoint detection and response integrated with the Microsoft security and identity stack.

Cloud · Commercial · Detection & response

Identity Provider

Microsoft Entra ID

Cloud identity provider and policy engine for Microsoft 365, Azure and federated SaaS.

Cloud · Commercial · Identity & access

Hypervisor

Microsoft Hyper V

Windows Server hypervisor with failover clustering and Storage Spaces Direct.

On-Prem · Commercial

MDM / UEM

Microsoft Intune

Cloud endpoint management for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Linux.

Cloud · Commercial · Endpoint management

Data Governance

Microsoft Purview

Classification, labelling, DLP, retention, audit and insider risk management.

Cloud · Commercial · Data protection

SIEM

Microsoft Sentinel

Cloud native SIEM built on Log Analytics with automation through playbooks.

Cloud · Commercial · Monitoring

Database

Microsoft SQL Server

Relational database with availability groups, encryption and extensive tooling.

Hybrid · Commercial

Topics that explain these platforms

The function comes first. Read the topic, then map the platform onto it.

Active Directory

Microsoft's on premises directory service, providing authentication, authorisation, policy and object management for Windows environments.

Microsoft 365

An integrated productivity, collaboration, identity, security and management suite delivered as a single tenant scoped cloud service.

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft's public cloud platform, tightly integrated with Entra ID and Microsoft 365, organised through management groups, subscriptions and resource groups.

Endpoint Management

Enrolling, configuring, securing, monitoring and retiring the devices people use, at scale and without touching them physically.

EDR

Endpoint Detection and Response continuously records endpoint behaviour, detects malicious activity, and enables remote investigation and containment.

Microsoft Entra ID

Microsoft's cloud identity and access management service, the identity control plane for Microsoft 365, Azure and thousands of federated applications.

Virtualization

Abstracting physical hardware so multiple isolated virtual machines share one host, with live migration, snapshots and dynamic resource allocation.

Microsoft Intune

Microsoft's cloud endpoint management service, delivering configuration, applications, updates and compliance policy across Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Linux.

Microsoft Purview

Microsoft's data governance and compliance platform: classification, labelling, DLP, retention, eDiscovery, audit and insider risk.

SIEM

Security Information and Event Management centralises telemetry from across the estate, correlates it into detections, and supports investigation and reporting.

Databases

Systems that store, protect and serve structured data with transactional guarantees, indexing and controlled concurrent access.

Conditional Access

Policy that evaluates signals about the user, device, application, location and risk at sign in, then grants, blocks or constrains access.

Windows

The dominant enterprise client and server operating system, with a deep security stack and a long history of compatibility requirements.

SharePoint Online & OneDrive

Microsoft 365's document and collaboration storage layer, underpinning Teams files, OneDrive and intranet sites.

Exchange Online

Microsoft's cloud email service, including transport rules, connectors, mailbox permissions and hybrid coexistence with on premises Exchange.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft 365's collaboration and communication hub, layered on Entra ID groups, SharePoint, Exchange and its own chat service.

Microsoft Defender

Microsoft's security product family spanning endpoint, identity, email, cloud apps and cloud workloads, correlated into unified incidents.

Power Platform

Low code application, automation and analytics tooling that requires governance because business users create production dependencies with it.

How to read this page

IT Atlas is vendor neutral. This page records what the supplier's platforms do and where those functions are documented. It carries no ranking, score, recommendation or sponsorship, and it is not a substitute for the supplier's own documentation.

In the knowledge graph

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