How Identity Complexity Creeps In - And What It Costs You

As Microsoft 365 environments grow, so do the unintended consequences of flexibility. New apps, new users, new access - and with each layer, identity becomes harder to control.

What starts as convenience evolves into complexity.

What We Commonly Find

Even in mature environments, our Identity Health Checks surface:

• Overlapping Conditional Access policies with contradicting logic

• Privileged roles assigned “just in case”

• Guest accounts from 3 years ago still active

• Dynamic group misconfigurations

• Legacy authentication left open “temporarily”

Each of these adds friction, exposure - and operational drag.

Why Complexity Matters

Identity misconfigurations:

• Increase risk of breach through excessive permissions

• Confuse end users with inconsistent login behavior

• Undermine Conditional Access enforcement

• Make audits and compliance reviews a nightmare

And worst of all? They often go unnoticed because nothing is visibly broken.

You Can’t Simplify What You Don’t See

Cleaning up identity starts with visibility. But Microsoft portals only show parts of the picture. A strategic review maps:

• Structure to policy

• Role to necessity

• Configuration to enforcement

Only then can simplification begin.

Cornerstone’s Identity Health Check reveals where complexity lives -

and how to tame it.

The Identity Health Check delivers a structured review of your Microsoft Entra ID architecture, including authentication methods, access policies, and privileged roles. It enables organisations to reduce risk, enforce least privilege, and improve alignment with Microsoft security best practices.