Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Atlassian Crowd VS Microsoft Active Directory

Compare Atlassian Crowd VS Microsoft Active Directory and see what are their differences

Atlassian Crowd logo Atlassian Crowd

Crowd is a single sign-on and user identity solution.

Microsoft Active Directory logo Microsoft Active Directory

Active Directory is a special-purpose database \ 8212; it is not a registry replacement.
  • Atlassian Crowd Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-06
  • Microsoft Active Directory Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-09

Atlassian Crowd features and specs

  • Centralized User Management
    Crowd allows you to consolidate user directories and manage users from a single location, simplifying administration.
  • Single Sign-On (SSO)
    Crowd provides SSO capabilities, allowing users to log in once and gain access to multiple Atlassian and other connected applications.
  • Integration
    Crowd integrates seamlessly with other Atlassian products like Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket, as well as other third-party applications.
  • Scalability
    Designed to handle thousands of users and concurrent sessions, Crowd can grow with your organization's needs.
  • Customizability
    Offers various options for customization and supports different authentication methods, including LDAP, Active Directory, and OAuth.
  • Security
    Provides robust security features, including user session management, password policies, and IP-based restrictions.
  • Audit Logs
    Maintains detailed audit logs for better tracking and compliance management.

Possible disadvantages of Atlassian Crowd

  • Complex Setup
    The initial setup can be complex and may require specialized knowledge, particularly when integrating with multiple directories and applications.
  • Cost
    License costs can be high, especially for large organizations, impacting the overall budget.
  • Performance Issues
    May experience performance issues with large user bases or complex directory integrations.
  • Learning Curve
    Administrators and users may face a steep learning curve, requiring time and training to become proficient.
  • Limited Non-Atlassian Integration
    While it integrates well with Atlassian products, integration with non-Atlassian applications may require additional configuration and support.
  • Support
    Some users report that support is not always responsive or helpful, which can delay resolution of issues.
  • Dependency
    Creates a single point of failure; if Crowd goes down, all connected applications can be affected.

Microsoft Active Directory features and specs

  • Centralized Management
    Active Directory allows for centralized management of user accounts, groups, and devices, making it easier to manage permissions and enforce policies across the enterprise.
  • Security
    AD offers robust security features, including support for multifactor authentication, Kerberos-based authentication, and fine-grained access controls to protect sensitive data.
  • Scalability
    Active Directory is highly scalable and can handle a large number of users and devices, making it suitable for both small and large organizations.
  • Integration
    AD integrates seamlessly with various Microsoft products and services, such as Exchange Server, SharePoint, and other third-party applications, providing a cohesive ecosystem.
  • Group Policy
    The Group Policy feature in AD allows administrators to enforce specific configurations and settings across all computers and users in the network, ensuring uniformity and compliance.
  • Replicated Data Store
    Active Directory uses a replicated data store, ensuring that domain information is consistent and up-to-date across all domain controllers.

Possible disadvantages of Microsoft Active Directory

  • Complexity
    Setting up and managing Active Directory can be complex, particularly for administrators who are not well-versed in Windows Server technologies.
  • Cost
    Implementing Active Directory can be expensive due to licensing, hardware requirements, and the need for skilled IT staff to manage it.
  • Single Point of Failure
    If not properly configured with redundancy, AD can become a single point of failure, leading to significant downtime if domain controllers go down.
  • Maintenance
    Regular maintenance tasks, such as updates, patches, and backups, are required to keep the AD environment secure and operational, which can be time-consuming.
  • Compatibility
    Some non-Windows operating systems and applications may not integrate seamlessly with Active Directory, requiring additional configuration or third-party solutions.
  • Cloud Adoption
    With the shift towards cloud-based identity and access management solutions, organizations may find traditional AD less aligned with modern, cloud-first strategies.

Atlassian Crowd videos

Atlassian Crowd Login Two-Factor Authentication with SecSign ID

Microsoft Active Directory videos

No Microsoft Active Directory videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Atlassian Crowd and Microsoft Active Directory)
Identity And Access Management
Identity Provider
62 62%
38% 38
SSO
65 65%
35% 35
Password Management
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Atlassian Crowd and Microsoft Active Directory, you can also consider the following products

Okta - Enterprise-grade identity management for all your apps, users & devices

Auth0 - Auth0 is a program for people to get authentication and authorization services for their own business use.

OneLogin - On-demand SSO, directory integration, user provisioning and more

Google Cloud IAM - Google Cloud Identity & Access Management (IAM) lets administrators authorize who can take action on specific resources, giving you full control and visibility to manage cloud resources centrally.

Amazon Cognito - Amazon Cognito lets you add user sign-up, sign-in, and access control to your web and mobile apps quickly and easily. It scales to millions of users and supports sign-in with social identity providers and enterprise identity providers via SAML 2.0.

Ping Identity - Ping Identity provides cloud-based, single sign-on and identity management solutions with their SAML SSO.