FontAgent® CloudServer, the world’s most advanced cloud-based font server, includes Microsoft Azure Active Directory integration. The result is a simple, seamless solution for single sign-on and directory permissions for managing cloud-based font distribution across the enterprise.

What is Azure Active Directory?

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is a multi-tenant, cloud-based directory and identity management service from Microsoft that provides:

  • An affordable single sign‐on (SSO) solution for cloud SaaS applications
  • A world-class identity-management solution that includes a full suite of authentication and self-service tools
  • Application security, monitoring and alerting tools

Customer directory data resides in geographically dispersed Azure AD data centers with automatic failover, making it a highly reliable, high performance solution for authentication, directory and SSO services.

FontAgent CloudServer: An Industry First

Font servers have been on-premise resources on internal networks for over a decade. But when Insider introduced FontAgent CloudServer in 2012, enterprise font service expanded outside the firewall and into the Cloud for the very first time.

FontAgent CloudServer frees organizations from acquiring, configuring and maintaining font-server hardware and software, and provides a low, predictable cost for standardizing and controlling the distribution of fonts across the enterprise.

Graphic of using FontAgent CloudServer to control the distribution of fonts to users around the globe

Living on Both Sides of the Firewall

With most progress there is also a measure of pain, and when font service moved outside the firewall, it lost its connection to enterprise directory services. While this wasn’t an issue for small organizations, those with established Active Directory services were left with less-than-optimal options:

  • Reject the Cloud and keep their font server inside the firewall
  • Open ports in their firewall to allow font and enterprise servers to connect with each other
  • Replicate directory changes to the Cloud

The good news? FontAgent CloudServer’s support for Azure AD provides a simple, secure way to move font management services to the Cloud.

How Azure AD Integration Works

The integration between Azure AD and FontAgent CloudServer is an elegant implementation that:

  • Establishes a trusted connection between the directory and font servers
  • Employs Azure SSO services to eliminate sending user login credentials to CloudServer
  • Uses AD services to define user- and group-based permissions for distributing and recalling fonts from users
  • Employs highly secure SSL connections between servers and clients

Advantages of Azure-FontAgent Integration

So what does this all mean for you? By using FontAgent CloudServer with Azure Active Directory, you can:

  • Make all directory and font-distribution permission changes in Active Directory
  • Take full advantage of your existing Azure AD data
  • Deliver simple single sign-on convenience to your users
  • Allow permissioned users to download FontAgent software and updates to their desktops
  • Allows users to sign on once to your network and gain secure access to font services

Cloud Solution for Any Enterprise

With its Azure AD integration, FontAgent CloudServer is a comprehensive, cost-effective, cloud-based solution for controlling the distribution of fonts in any size organization.