Pearson Modernizes Identity with Microsoft Entra
About This Project
Pearson
Client
1844
Established in
London, UK
Location
Partner Technologies Used
Microsoft Entra, Entra Identity Governance, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Cloud
Project Highlight
Pearson modernized its Identity and Access Management with Microsoft Entra, automating joiner-mover-leaver workflows, reducing support tickets, strengthening audit readiness, enabling passwordless authentication, and empowering managers with self-service tools.
Overview
Pearson is the world’s lifelong learning company. Its purpose is simple: to help people realize the life they imagine through learning. Their 18,000 core employees are committed to creating vibrant and enriching learning experiences designed for real-life impact. They serve customers in nearly 200 countries with digital content, assessments, qualifications, and data.
As Tim Brantner, Senior Director of Identity and Access Management, puts it, “We’re transitioning into a digital software company in a very short amount of time, but we can’t do that without a strong foundation of identity and access.” To facilitate its mission, Pearson partnered with eGroup Enabling Technologies to implement advanced features of Microsoft Entra, the comprehensive Identity and Access Management solution.
“We’re transitioning into a digital software company in a very short amount of time, but we can’t do that without a strong foundation of identity and access.”
Tim Brantner (Senior Director of IAM, Pearson)
The Need for Advanced Identity and Access Management
To manage its growing digital software estate, Pearson recognized the imperative to modernize its Identity and Access Management (IAM) capabilities. With upwards of 60,000 identities throughout the year, including employees, contractors, seasonal scorers, and machine identities, Pearson needed a secure, scalable, and agile IAM solution to support its global operations and innovation goals.
Challenges
Complexity, Tech Debt, and Change
Pearson’s legacy IAM system was a heavily customized .NET application with many modifications over the years. “It was a personalized masterpiece, but tough to modernize,” explained Branter. While robust, it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain, and lacked the agility needed for modern demands.
The company sought to address a range of issues:
- Tech debt that hindered innovation.
- Manual processes that slowed down onboarding and offboarding.
- Diverse user types with varying access needs.
- Legacy systems that couldn’t meet modern security standards.
“We had to modernize,” Brantner emphasized. “We wanted to be in a situation where we could surprise and delight our employees!”
The Solution
Microsoft Entra and Identity Governance
Pearson selected Microsoft Entra as the foundation for its modern IAM strategy. The decision was driven by a need for agility, cloud-first capabilities, and integration with existing infrastructure.
“We’re trying to balance user experience and security, to provide a foundation that gives us the ability to deliver on innovation,” explained Brantner. “Entra was the vehicle to get us there.”
Working with eGroup Enabling Technologies, Pearson focused on deploying Entra’s Identity Governance features, including:
- Joiner-Mover-Leaver (JML) workflows to automate identity management lifecycle.
- Dynamic groups (and over time, access reviews) to properly assign and control access.
- Self-service capabilities to reduce support tickets and improve user experience.
- Integration with legacy HR systems to ensure continuity with the source of truth.
“Innovation preparedness is part of our success criteria. How prepared are we to deliver on new initiatives?”
Tim Brantner (Senior Director of IAM, Pearson)
The Partnership with eGroup
Pearson’s Entra journey began with the help of eGroup Enabling Technologies. The collaboration was rooted in honesty, experience, and a mutual commitment to success.
Tim highlighted the value of this partnership: “eGroup’s experience, and honesty, with Entra jumped out to us early on,” Brantner noted.
“You were clear about what it can do, and what it can’t do. That made a difference in how we built our roadmap.”
The Process
Educators Like Being Educated, Too
In addition to the typical process that eGroup Enabling Technologies brings to all projects, a few unique aspects ensured success for Pearson.
First, fittingly, was educating the Person team. “I wanted to use this initiative in order to drive our in-house skillsets,” cited Brantner.
“The only detractor to us choosing Entra was finding Entra skill. eGroup demonstrated the competency and honesty that we trusted.”
Secondly, agile techniques allowed Pearson to gain experience and quick wins through proofs of concept (POCs). Brantner believed eGroup’s approach to show what the solutions could do (and couldn’t) helped overcome skepticism and build confidence in Entra. “Building quick POCs on low-impact use cases was key to understanding and optimizing,” recalled Brantner. Pearson’s engineers shadowed eGroup’s for a period of time before taking the baton and operationalizing.
Thirdly, looking for areas to improve processes along the way removed unnecessary steps and complexity. “We have a mantra within our organization to ask why and simplify,” riffed Brantner.
“We're doing a lot of that as part of this Entra project. As we've run across situations where we had dependency chains that may or may not make sense, we're stopping to ask why and simplify.”
The (Silent) Sound of Success
The transition of workflows and self-service to Entra has had minimal user impact. “Our goal is to be a ghost,” Brantner explained. “We don’t want you to notice us. If you do, it’s probably because there’s a problem.”
By leveraging Entra’s capabilities, Pearson was able to enhance the employee experience, improve security measures, and streamline operations.
They’re already seeing measurable benefits:
- Reduced support tickets and increased Net Promoter Scores (NPS).
- Improved audit readiness.
- Enhanced visibility for troubleshooting through Entra logs.
- Empowered managers through delegated access control and self-service tools.
- Security maturity with capabilities like passwordless authentication.
Future Vision
Identity as a Platform for Innovation
Looking ahead, Pearson’s got big ideas for IAM. Brantner envisions:
- Zero-touch employee and new hire experiences with passwordless access.
- Integration with agentic AI to enable intelligent automation.
- Decentralized identity for employees and learners, enabling secure, portable credentials across sectors.
“If you’re ever a Pearson employee, I want you to have a modern experience,” Brantner said. “Your digital wallet should let you prove your education, certifications, and skills—selectively and securely.”
Streamlined joiner-mover-leaver workflows for 60,000+ users
Introduced passwordless authentication and audit readiness.
Reduced support tickets with self-service access tools.
Lessons Learned
In addition to ensuring success through a tried-and-true process, Brantner offered advice to others. “Bring eGroup in earlier. We stumbled a bit at the beginning. But the partnership helped us accelerate, learn, and ultimately own the solution.”
“Bring eGroup in earlier. We stumbled a bit at the beginning. But the partnership helped us accelerate, learn, and ultimately own the solution.”
Conclusion
By implementing Entra with eGroup Enabling Technologies, Pearson has strengthened its IAM foundation and is well-positioned to support its mission of bringing lifelong learning for individuals around the world. As Pearson continues to innovate and expand its services, Entra’s advanced IAM capabilities play a vital role in supporting the company’s mission and vision for the future.
“If we had to do it all over again, we would have brought eGroup in earlier to speed us up.”
Tim Brantner (Senior Director of IAM, Pearson)
How eGroup Can Help You Too
Just as eGroup partnered with Pearson to modernize identity with Microsoft Entra, we can help your organization strengthen security, streamline operations, and deliver a better user experience.
Whether you’re tackling complex IAM challenges, reducing tech debt, or preparing for future innovation, our experts ensure you build the right foundation.
Let’s design an identity strategy that empowers your people and protects your business.
