Navigating the Retirement of Microsoft Entra: Transition to Delinea's PCCE for Enhanced Cloud Securi

In an era where cloud security is more complex and critical than ever, proponents in the IT industry are preparing for seismic shifts in identity management. Microsoft is set to retire its Entra Permissions Management solution on October 1, 2025, a move that has prompted enterprise IT teams to reassess their cloud infrastructure entitlement management strategies. In response, Delinea—an established leader in securing both human and machine identities—has partnered with Microsoft to ensure a smooth transition for customers seeking next-generation Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) capabilities. This collaboration, detailed in recent iTWire coverage , signals a proactive strategy to safeguard multi-cloud environments in an increasingly complex threat landscape.

Understanding the Transition from Microsoft Entra Permissions Management​

Microsoft Entra Permissions Management has long served as a cornerstone for organizations managing identity and access control in cloud environments. However, as digital ecosystems evolve, even long-standing solutions must adapt or retire. Scheduled for discontinuation in October 2025, Entra Permissions Management’s retirement necessitates that enterprises adopt modern alternatives that can better manage the explosion of both human and machine identities.
Key points include:

• The upcoming retirement creates an imperative for businesses to migrate to solutions that provide robust CIEM capabilities.
• This shift reflects broader trends in cloud security, including the need for continuous identity discovery and dynamic access control.
• Microsoft’s strategic decision underscores the rapid evolution and complexity of public cloud environments, particularly in environments driving digital transformation initiatives.

For many organizations, this retirement is not just a change in technology—it’s a call to adopt more innovative, scalable, and secure approaches to managing identity across platforms such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

Delinea’s PCCE: A New Era of Cloud Entitlement Security​

In response to the impending discontinuation, Delinea has introduced its Privilege Control for Cloud Entitlements (PCCE) solution. Designed as a direct successor to Microsoft Entra Permissions Management, PCCE offers an array of features that caters specifically to modern CIEM needs.

Key Features of Delinea’s PCCE:​

• Continuous Discovery: Automatically identifies and monitors both human and machine identities across multi-cloud environments.
• AI-Enabled Analytics: Utilizes artificial intelligence to detect anomalous behavior, ensuring rapid response to any deviations from normal access patterns.
• Least Privilege Enforcement: Proactively refines access rights to minimize overprivileging, thus reducing potential attack surfaces.
• Comprehensive Visibility: Provides IT administrators with in-depth insights into access patterns and privilege usage, facilitating advanced risk management and compliance monitoring.

With these features, PCCE not only fills the void left by Entra Permissions Management but also exceeds previous capabilities. It places a significant emphasis on proactive security and continuous monitoring—attributes that are essential in today’s cybersecurity landscape.

A Comparative Look​

Below is a simplified comparison that highlights how Delinea’s PCCE measures up against the legacy Microsoft solution:

Feature	Microsoft Entra Permissions Management	Delinea PCCE
Retirement Timeline	Discontinued on October 1, 2025	Actively supported and continuously updated
Continuous Discovery	Basic identity discovery	AI-enhanced, real-time identity discovery
Multi-Cloud Support	Primarily Azure-focused	Comprehensive support for Azure, AWS, and GCP
Access Management	Standard entitlement management	Advanced CIEM with least privilege enforcement
Transition Assistance	Being phased out	Dedicated teams ensuring a seamless transition

This table encapsulates how organizations can leverage PCCE to not only maintain but also enhance their security posture in a multi-cloud landscape.

Navigating Cloud Identity Security in the AI Era​

Technological advances, particularly in artificial intelligence, have triggered an unprecedented increase in the number of identities—both human and machine. Art Gilliland, CEO at Delinea, notes that the AI revolution has significantly compounded the complexity of managing identities. When coupled with the rapid growth of public cloud environments, traditional approaches to identity management fall short.

Addressing Modern Security Challenges:​

• Explosion of Identities: With AI-driven services proliferating across enterprises, the sheer volume of identities can create vulnerabilities if not managed properly.
• Complex Cloud Environments: As businesses increasingly adopt multi-cloud strategies, the task of securing access across disparate platforms becomes challenging.
• Evolving Threat Landscape: Cybersecurity threats evolve rapidly. Legacy systems, which lack real-time monitoring and advanced analytics, risk becoming ineffective against modern threats.
• Regulatory Expectations: With governments and regulatory bodies mandating stringent data-protection measures, enterprises must implement CIEM solutions that satisfy compliance while ensuring optimal security.

The integration of Delinea’s PCCE solution represents a timely response to these challenges, consolidating advanced AI-driven analytics with continuous identity discovery and proactive risk management.

Collaborative Transition: Microsoft and Delinea at Work​

A defining aspect of this transition lies in the partnership between Microsoft and Delinea. Both companies bring decades of expertise to the table, ensuring that existing customers face minimal operational disruption during the migration.

Commitment to a Seamless Transition:​

• Dedicated Transition Teams: Both Microsoft and Delinea have established groups focused on guiding enterprises through the migration process. This hands-on support is designed to ensure that customers can exploit the full capabilities of PCCE without missing a beat.
• Expert Guidance on CIEM: Transitioning to a new CIEM solution isn’t a plug-and-play operation. Instead, it demands a tailored strategy rooted in thorough analysis of existing identity management structures. Microsoft’s commitment, as highlighted by VP Product Management Joseph Dadzie, underscores that every customer will receive the necessary support to ensure a smooth transition.
• Innovation and Scalability: Delinea’s solution is not just a replacement; it represents a forward-thinking approach that is designed to scale in tandem with evolving cyber threats and growing cloud infrastructures.

This collaborative approach ensures that organizations can continue to rely on secure, agile, and future-proof identity management solutions, anchoring their security strategies firmly in a multi-cloud reality.

Implications for IT Administrators and Enterprise Security​

For IT administrators, the transition from Microsoft Entra Permissions Management to Delinea’s PCCE is more than a change in toolset—it’s an evolution in how identities and access privileges are managed across the organization. Enterprises must be proactive in assessing current systems, planning migrations, and educating teams on new security protocols.

Actionable Steps for a Successful Transition:​

• Assessment and Inventory: Begin by conducting a thorough audit of current identity and access management processes. Map out all user and machine identities across your Azure, AWS, and GCP environments.
• Pilot Testing: Deploy a test environment to evaluate the performance and capabilities of PCCE, ensuring that it integrates seamlessly with existing IT infrastructure.
• Training and Education: Provide training sessions for IT staff and end users to familiarize them with the new system. Emphasize best practices for continuous monitoring and least privilege enforcement.
• Process Integration: Update policy frameworks and integrate new CIEM practices into daily IT operations, aligning them with broader cybersecurity measures such as Windows 11 updates and Microsoft security patches.
• Regular Audits: Establish regular review cycles to monitor the effectiveness of the new system, using AI-enabled analytics to detect and remediate identity-related anomalies promptly.

These steps not only facilitate an orderly transition but also bolster organizational resilience against emerging cyber threats.

Integration with Windows Infrastructure and Broader IT Security Trends​

While the immediate focus of this transition is on cloud entitlement management, the ripple effects extend to all facets of enterprise IT security. For businesses reliant on Windows environments, particularly those leveraging the latest Windows 11 updates and integrated Microsoft security patches, this transition represents a significant enhancement of overall security posture.

How It Impacts Windows-Centric Organizations:​

• Enhanced Endpoint Security: As enterprise security frameworks become more integrated, CIEM solutions like PCCE provide endpoint security teams with actionable insights that complement Windows security measures.
• Streamlined Compliance: Windows environments often serve as the backbone for many organizations’ IT infrastructure. Integrating advanced identity management with existing security patches helps maintain compliance with evolving regulatory standards.
• Unified Security Operations: The integration of CIEM with Windows and other platforms leads to a more unified security strategy, one that seamlessly covers endpoint protection, network security, and cloud identity management.
• Resilient IT Ecosystems: Frequent Windows 11 updates and Microsoft security patches already play a critical role in safeguarding systems. Adding advanced CIEM processes ensures that no aspect of the IT ecosystem is left vulnerable.

By aligning the transition with broader IT security trends, organizations can achieve a high level of operational synergy that enhances protection across all layers of their infrastructure.

Strategic Insights and Future-Forward Perspectives​

The partnership between Microsoft and Delinea underscores a broader industry trend: the relentless march toward proactive and integrated cybersecurity. With the retirement of legacy solutions like Microsoft Entra Permissions Management, the industry is witnessing an evolution toward systems that are not only reactive but also anticipatory in their approach to identity security.

Navigating the Modern Cyber Threat Landscape:​

• Proactive Detection: AI-driven analytics in solutions such as PCCE are crucial for early threat detection. By analyzing behavior patterns, these tools can flag anomalies before they escalate into full-blown security breaches.
• Scalability and Flexibility: The dynamic nature of modern cloud environments demands systems that can scale without compromising performance. Delinea’s PCCE is built with scalability in mind—catering to small businesses as well as large enterprises.
• Cybersecurity Advisories and Best Practices: Frequent cybersecurity advisories and updates—akin to the best practices integrated into Windows 11 updates—are part of a broader strategy to keep organizations informed and prepared. By leveraging these continuously evolving best practices, organizations can significantly lower their risk profile.
• Rhetorical Query: Are your organization's identity management practices resilient enough to handle the dynamic challenges of a modern multi-cloud environment? This partnership invites IT leaders to reexamine existing policies and upgrade their security frameworks in line with contemporary demands.

The strategic insights drawn from this collaboration not only provide a roadmap for mitigating current risks but also offer a glimpse into the future trajectory of identity security—one that promises greater integration, automation, and resilience.

Conclusion: Embracing a Proactive Security Future​

As Microsoft phases out Entra Permissions Management, the collaborative efforts with Delinea highlight an important shift in enterprise cybersecurity. The introduction of Delinea’s PCCE solution is an invitation for organizations to transition smoothly while embracing advanced identity security measures. With continuous discovery, AI-enabled analytics, and proactive risk management at its core, PCCE is set to become a critical asset in the evolving world of cloud security.
For IT administrators and decision-makers, the following key takeaways are essential:

• Recognize the imminent retirement of Microsoft Entra Permissions Management and initiate proactive planning.
• Leverage Delinea’s PCCE to enhance the security of multi-cloud environments by incorporating continuous monitoring and AI-driven insights.
• Integrate new identity security measures with existing Windows 11 updates and Microsoft security patches to achieve a unified, resilient security posture.
• Engage with dedicated transition teams offered by Microsoft and Delinea to ensure a seamless migration process with minimal disruption.

This strategic realignment not only prepares enterprises for the immediate future but also sets the foundation for robust, forward-looking security operations. As we transition into a future marked by the proliferation of digital identities and increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, the integration of advanced CIEM solutions is more than a necessity—it is an investment in the long-term security and operational excellence of modern organizations.
In summary, the Microsoft-Delinea collaboration exemplifies proactive leadership in the face of change. By embracing innovative solutions like Delinea’s PCCE, enterprises can secure their cloud environments against emerging threats, ensuring that their multi-cloud infrastructures remain fortified in a digital world where security and compliance are paramount. With strategic planning, continuous monitoring, and expert support, this transition is set to reinforce trust in identity management systems — a critical step forward for every organization navigating the complex realms of IT security.

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Source: iTWire iTWire - Delinea Partners with Microsoft to Ensure Seamless Transition and Continued Security as Microsoft Entra Permissions Management Retires