Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) B2C and B2B are both identity management services provided by Azure AD, but they are designed for different use cases.
Azure AD B2C (Business-to-Consumer) is a cloud-based identity management service that enables organizations to authenticate and authorize customers, such as external users, using their existing social or enterprise identity. This service is commonly used for consumer-facing applications, such as e-commerce or gaming platforms, where users need to create an account and sign in to access the application.
Azure AD B2B (Business-to-Business) is a feature that allows an organization to invite external users, such as partners or customers, to access its resources, such as applications or SharePoint sites, without the need for them to create a new account. This service is commonly used for collaboration within an organization, such as sharing documents or granting access to specific resources.
In summary, Azure AD B2C is for managing external users, while Azure AD B2B is for managing external collaboration.
Azure B2C Benefits
Benefits of using Azure B2C include:
- Easy integration: Azure B2C can easily integrate with a wide range of identity providers, including social media accounts, such as Facebook and Google, as well as enterprise directories, such as Active Directory.
- Scalability: Azure B2C can handle large numbers of users, making it suitable for high-traffic websites and mobile applications.
- Customizable user experiences: Azure B2C allows developers to create custom user experiences, such as custom registration and sign-in pages, that can be tailored to the needs of their specific application or business.
- Security: Azure B2C provides built-in security features, such as multi-factor authentication, to help protect against identity-related threats.
- Compliance: Azure B2C is compliant with industry standards and regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA and SOC2.
Azure B2C Benefits
Benefits of using Azure B2B include:
- Secure collaboration: Azure B2B allows external users to access resources within a business’s Azure AD tenant, without requiring the business to share their own credentials or create new accounts for external users.
- Flexibility: Azure B2B can be used with different types of external identities, such as personal Microsoft accounts, Google accounts, or even non-Microsoft identities like LinkedIn, Facebook and more.
- Multi-factor Authentication: Azure B2B provides built-in security features like Multi-factor Authentication to help protect against identity-related threats.
- Compliance: Azure B2B is compliant with industry standards and regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA and SOC2.
- Easy integration: Azure B2B can easily integrate with a wide range of identity providers, including social media accounts, such as Facebook and Google, as well as enterprise directories, such as Active Directory.
- Control and Governance: Azure B2B allows you to control and govern access to resources, set policies and enforce compliance regulations.