How do you authenticate to Azure from a .NET app?

Short answer: Use Azure Identity library: supports Managed Identity, Service Principal, and Interactive Login. Example using DefaultAzureCredential: using Azure.Identity;

Example code

using Azure.Storage.Blobs;
var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential();
var blobServiceClient = new BlobServiceClient(new Uri(" credential);

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest on Azure typically uses App Service + SQL Database + Blob Storage + Application Insights for monitoring.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.