Microsoft to nudge more users toward Azure Active Directory

Love your Windows Update Compliance reports? Best learn to love Azure AD as well

Users of Microsoft's Update Compliance service have been warned that a move to Azure Active Directory will be required if they wish to continue using the service.

Update Compliance is a tool aimed at helping administrators keep track of security, quality, and feature updates in Windows 10 or 11 (Pro, Education, and Enterprise editions). Powered by the Windows diagnostic data processor, the service spits out a report of device and update issues related to compliance that need attention.

The service is hosted in Azure and is an Azure Marketplace application. It looks at devices on the General Availability Channel as well as the Long-Term Servicing Channel and will need at least Required diagnostic data and ideally Optional (for Windows 11) or Enhanced levels of data for Windows 10 to perform some of the queries of Update Compliance.

Azure Active Directory device join has also been a prerequisite. From October 15, 2022, this will be enforced.

It appears that the Windows diagnostic data processor configuration is behind the change, with an Azure AD prerequisite and the specter of the EU GDPR thrown in for good measure.

"The Windows diagnostic data processor configuration enables you to be the controller, as defined by the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), for the Windows diagnostic data collected from your Windows devices that meet the configuration requirements," explained the company.

The upshot of all this for administrators is that those who want to keep using Update Compliance will need to move to Azure AD in the coming months. Users will also need to ensure the CommercialID is configured.

The CommercialID, according to Microsoft, "is a globally unique identifier assigned to a specific Log Analytics workspace."

As part of the heads-up that organizations would need to make the move to Azure AD (if they were not there already), Microsoft warned that the CommercialID was set for retirement. It is due to be replaced by the Azure AD tenant ID in January 2023.

And if you're a Workplace Join user? Update Compliance will most definitely not be for you after October 15. Azure Active Directory beckons. ®