Introducing Enhanced Confluent Access Management via Azure Portal for Streamlined User Authentication

At Confluent Cloud, we are thrilled to announce another milestone in our strategic alliance with Microsoft Azure. Our relentless efforts toward a seamless, integrated experience have led to the development of a feature that will revolutionize how users manage their Confluent Cloud accounts within the Azure portal. 

Background

In today's complex digital landscape, managing users and permissions across different platforms can be a challenge. Recognizing this pain point, we've collaborated closely with Azure to bridge the gap and simplify user management for our shared customers.

What is Confluent Access Management? 

Confluent Access Management is a powerful new feature that allows organization admins to add and manage users and user permissions post-organization creation via the Azure portal. This powerful functionality significantly streamlines the process from creating a Confluent organization to accessing actionable Apache Kafka® resources on Confluent. Unlocking advanced controls, Confluent now allows for easy management of user access and permissions through the Azure portal.

With this capability, the organization admin can add and manage both users as well as user permissions following the Confluent organization creation while continuing to stay in the Azure portal. Access Management is now available on the overview page in Microsoft Azure portal.

As of today, Access Management supports the following scenarios:

• Adding users into the Confluent organization 

• Viewing role permissions for a user 

• Adding role permissions for a user 

• Removing role permissions for a user 

A key component of Confluent Access Management is role-based access control (RBAC). With RBAC in Confluent Cloud, you can control access to your organization, environment, cluster, and granular Kafka resources, Schema Registry resources, and ksqlDB resources based on predefined roles and access permissions. This enables you to protect your Confluent Cloud resources and data by authorizing and restricting access to principals and delegating access authorization to your organization's appropriate business units and teams.

A major leap forward with Confluent Access Management in Azure 

We are excited to introduce a feature that allows our customers to manage Confluent Cloud users and permissions directly from the Azure portal with Confluent Access Management. This means no more toggling between platforms, providing a single unified view for all your management needs.

Why choose Confluent Access Management?

Simplify user management

Empower your team by enabling them to manage Confluent Cloud users and permissions without leaving the Azure environment. It's about simplicity, efficiency, and a more intuitive user experience.

Securely manage user access

By centralizing user management in the Azure portal, we're not just making things easier; we're enhancing security. Reduce the risk associated with multiple logins and ensure a more robust access control environment.

See the demo here:

Recap 

In summary, the new Confluent Access Management feature allows for streamlined user authentication and simplified user management for customers. It provides a unified view for managing users and permissions, enhancing security by centralizing user management in the Azure portal. Along with Azure, Confluent is committed to delivering innovations that matter to customers, and this new feature marks a significant step forward in providing a more cohesive and user-friendly experience.

Next steps

Ready to explore the future of user management? Dive into the integrated experience now. Try Confluent out on Azure Marketplace and share your feedback. 

To learn more about Confluent Access Management, check out our step-by-step guide and discover how you can enhance your workflow effortlessly.