What does Azure Active Directory integration provide in Azure SQL Database?

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) integration with Azure SQL Database primarily provides authentication using Azure AD identities. This feature allows users to connect to the database using their Azure AD credentials, ensuring a centralized and secure authentication mechanism. Utilizing Azure AD for authentication improves security by avoiding the need for SQL authentication (where usernames and passwords are managed as separate credentials on the database). Instead, it leverages existing Azure AD identities, streamlining access management and enhancing security practices by integrating with various identity solutions.

Furthermore, Azure AD integration supports roles and permissions that can be managed centrally within Azure AD, simplifying user administration and improving compliance. This capability not only applies to individual users but also to groups, allowing for more flexible access control policies, thus making it a more scalable solution for enterprise environments.

Other choices, while relevant to security or access management, do not directly tie into the primary function of Azure AD integration with Azure SQL Database in the context of centralized authentication.