Ubuntu Desktop Exploring Microsoft Azure AD Integration

Since Ubuntu 20.10 there has been Active Directory integration in the Ubiquity installer while now it looks like the latest effort by Canonical on enhancing the Ubuntu desktop for the enterprise is around Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) integration.

Azure AD (AAD) is Microsoft's Azure powered identity management solution as an alternative to on-premise Active Directory for those looking at "Identity as a Service" with single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and various cyber-security safeguards. Ubuntu is exploring Azure Active Directory integration presumably in hopes of making their Linux desktop more compelling for enterprise use and better integration into corporate environments.

With last month's Ubuntu 22.04 is their first LTS release with the Active Directory installer integration and shipping ADsys as their new Active Directory client. But now looking ahead Azure AD is their next frontier. Next week's Ubuntu Desktop team updates show multiple Canonical engineers on the Ubuntu desktop team now working on this Azure AD support.

Azure AD seems to be the latest topic of interest for Canonical's Ubuntu Desktop Team.

Much of the Active Directory integration work by Canonical is through their ADsys project on GitHub. We'll see what comes of Microsoft Azure AD integration for the Ubuntu 22.10 cycle.

While there is a free trial, Microsoft charges $6~9 USD per user per month for their Azure AD depending upon the desired Azure Premium tier or can also be included into Microsoft 365 subscriptions.