While the Azure portal is fine for simple user and group management in Azure Active Directory, PowerShell is the optimal choice when you need to make large-scale changes. But there are caveats to consider before you can reap the automation benefits.

The Azure portal provides a GUI to manage users and groups in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), but it's not the most efficient method, especially when you have a task that involves hundreds or thousands of users. PowerShell's automation capabilities are ideal for Azure AD bulk operations, such as adding or removing a significant number of users from a group. It requires some effort to understand the best method, because different PowerShell versions will require different modules. This tutorial will explain how to perform bulk operations with two PowerShell modules: the AzureAD module and the Azure Az module.

This article is hosted over at the TechTarget website and is a thorough deep-dive comparison of the AzureAD and AZ modules for making bulk changes. Head on over to the website by visiting this link.

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