Reviewed by Aditya Kumar · Last reviewed 2026-03-24
**Why Managed Identities**: No passwords, keys, or secrets to manage. Azure AD-backed identity for Azure resources. Eliminates credential rotation and leakage. **Types**: System-assigned (tied to resource lifecycle) and User-assigned (reusable across resources). **Use cases**:...
Why Managed Identities: No passwords, keys, or secrets to manage. Azure AD-backed identity for Azure resources. Eliminates credential rotation and leakage. Types: System-assigned (tied to resource lifecycle) and User-assigned (reusable across resources). Use cases: ADF accessing Storage/Key Vault; Function App accessing SQL; VM accessing Blob. Use DefaultAzureCredential in code—tries Managed Identity first, then env vars. Scalability: User-assigned can be shared; system-assigned is per-resource. Cost: No cost. Best practice: Prefer managed identity over connection strings. Grant minimal RBAC (e.g., Storage Blob Data Contributor for specific container). Use Key Vault references in ADF with managed identity for secret retrieval.
Pro-Move: 'We use managed identity for all ADF linked services—zero connection strings in Key Vault for ADF; only for external systems.' Red Flag: Using connection strings when managed identity is available—unnecessary secret management.
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