Cloud App Discovery, a module of Azure Active Directory Premium is generally available and accessible via the Microsoft Azure portal. It can provide your IT department with visibility into all your organization’s business and consumer cloud apps. That makes it easier than ever to discover shadow IT in your organization, including details on usage patterns and any users accessing your cloud applications.

1. An insight into Azure AD Cloud App Discovery
Mi rosoft’s Azure A ti e Dire tory is rapidly e o i g heavily utilized in
large enterprises. Offered along with an Office 365 subscription, Azure
Active Directory gives you access to thousands of SaaS applications like
Salesforce.com or Box with a single sign-on.
What is Cloud App Discovery ?
We already know the free version of Azure AD makes life easier and
cuts costs from both users and providers. However, there is much more
you can do with it than just that if you’re illi g to ough up so e
more pocket change. After upgrading to either the basic or premium
version of Azure AD, you gain access to the cloud discovery function.

2. Microsoft created this function to alleviate one central problem the
majority of companies today are facing - the inability to integrate their
corporate identity with the cloud service they are currently using. Cloud
app discovery does this by allowing the corporations to directly
manage the cloud services with their internal IT team.
As the first step, companies must first know everything about the cloud
ser i es they’re urre tly usi g, he e the discovery label. Azure AD
cloud app discovery outputs a dashboard for the user that includes
information on what services are being used, how much is being used,
ho’s usi g this, a d ho’s a agi g it all. This i for atio is usually
hard to get in a reliable fashion, if you can get it at all.
Once you get inside the AD cloud app discovery dashboard you can do
quite a few things:
1. Export the data into your favorite data analysis tool
2. “et o trols to hat you’d like to olle t data o
3. Sort data to prioritize what you want to view
4. “et a spe ifi app u der your tea ’s IT o trol
Well, this sounds like a dream come true for IT staff handling cloud
security. But speaki g of se urity…
How secure is Azure AD Cloud App Discovery?

3. According to Microsoft, much more secure than traditional methods of
managing cloud services. This is because Microsoft removes the risk of
having a high-value target hacked, like an admin with complete
permissions.
To accomplish this, Microsoft automatically tracks who has the access
codes and monitors their activity constantly while restricting the time
they have to access the dashboard. So no more undetected intruders,
and no more unlimited access for one-time intruder.
Microsoft is moving the world of cloud hosing and security forward
with new services like these, and we proudly move along with
Mi rosoft’s i o ati e approa h.
Do ’t struggle ith loud hosti g or loud se urity a y ore. We
ha dle it re otely ith Mi rosoft’s ser i es. Read ore a out hat
we do here.
Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/sunset-sky-sun-cloud-twilight-476465/