A decade of enterprise identity in the cloud with AWS Managed Microsoft AD
Brief
Ten years ago, we launched AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory , a fully managed Microsoft Active Directory in the AWS Cloud. In that original announcement, Jeff Barr described a straightforward promise: “You will spend less time administering and more time working on your applications and your business.”
A decade later, AWS Managed Microsoft AD has become the identity backbone for thousands of enterprises worldwide. What started as a way to run directory-aware workloads in the cloud now powers SQL Server authentication, Amazon WorkSpaces virtual desktops, and Amazon FSx for Windows File Server for thousands of enterprises worldwide.
The beginning: Solving a real customer problem
In 2015, customers migrating Windows workloads to Amazon Web Services (AWS) faced a familiar challenge.