Which method helps minimize administrative effort when deploying additional virtual machines that will require access to Azure services?

Utilizing managed identities for Azure resources significantly reduces administrative effort when deploying additional virtual machines that require access to Azure services. Managed identities enable Azure resources to authenticate to various Azure services without the need for explicit credentials. This simplifies the process of accessing Azure resources since developers and administrators do not need to manage and rotate credentials, which are typically prone to security vulnerabilities and require ongoing maintenance.

When a virtual machine is assigned a managed identity, it can automatically obtain tokens for Azure services such as Key Vault, Azure SQL Database, and Azure Storage, streamlining the security and access management process. As a result, this allows for rapid deployment of new virtual machines without the overhead of managing identities and credentials, thereby enhancing overall operational efficiency.

While the other methods presented can contribute to security and access management, they do not directly address the reduction in administrative tasks associated with providing access to Azure services for newly deployed resources as effectively as managed identities do.