How to Choose Between Azure B2B and B2C for Your Collaboration Strategy

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) helps you work with others in two main ways: B2B (Business-to-Business) and B2C (Business-to-Consumer). Each one is good for different situations.

Azure AD B2B :-

Purpose: Great for working with outside partners, suppliers, or other businesses.

Features: Guest Access: Let outside users access your resources with their own login details.

Single Sign-On (SSO): Outside users can use one login to access multiple apps. Lifecycle Management: You control the guest accounts.

Security: Works with your existing security rules.

User Case: Imagine you’re a company working with a marketing agency. With Azure AD B2B, you can give the agency access to your internal project management tools without creating new accounts for them. They use their own logins, and you control what they can see and do.

Azure AD B2C

Purpose: Perfect for apps that deal with customers, helping you manage customer logins.

Features: Customizable User Journeys: Customize how users sign up, sign in, and manage their profiles.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Adds extra security by requiring more than one verification step.

Scalability: Can handle millions of customer logins and works with other login providers like Google and Facebook.

Separation from Internal Directory: Keeps customer accounts separate from your employee accounts.

Use Case: Suppose you run an online store. With Azure AD B2C, you can let customers sign up and log in using their Google or Facebook accounts. You can also add extra security steps, like sending a code to their phone. All customer accounts are kept separate from your employee accounts.

Which One to Choose?

Use Azure AD B2B if you need to work with other businesses and give them access to your internal resources. For example, collaborating with a supplier on a shared inventory system.

Use Azure AD B2C if you are managing customer logins for your apps and services. For instance, allowing users to sign up and log in to your e-commerce site or mobile app.