Automating user lifecycle management has become a critical aspect of modern IT infrastructure, and Entra Automated Provisioning (formerly part of Azure AD) can enable better management of this shift. By streamlining processes like account creation, management, and deactivation, organizations can enhance security, reduce administrative overhead, and gain better visibility into their license management practices for portal-based license allocations.

Automatic provisioning refers to the automation of user account management in various publisher portals, significantly simplifying user lifecycle management. With Entra’s automated provisioning, the system can:

• Create user accounts automatically when they are added.
• Manage user accounts by synchronizing updates and changes to the portal.
• Deactivate user accounts when they are no longer needed, ensuring security and reducing risks.

This process removes the need for manual account management, reducing human error and increasing efficiency. Additionally, it ensures that users are immediately granted access to resources upon creation and removed from systems when no longer required.

Entra supports automated provisioning for various third-party applications through its integration with the Entra Enterprise Application Gallery. This gallery features a range of pre-integrated provisioning connectors that facilitate the connection between your Entra portal and external publisher portals.

Most integrations use the SCIM 2.0 Standard (System for Cross-domain Identity Management), which ensures consistency across different platforms and enables secure user provisioning. Entra also supports SaaS platforms that use SCIM 2.0 for user management, making it highly adaptable to various systems.

To successfully implement automatic provisioning in your organization, you must follow a series of setup steps. It is important to ensure that the following conditions are met and configurations are applied by appropriate roles within Entra:

1. Verify Availability: Confirm that automatic provisioning is available and supported for your target publisher.

2. Set Up Users and Groups for Access: Ensure users and groups are appropriately configured to access the platform.

3. Configure Automatic Provisioning: This process requires roles such as Global Admin, Cloud Application Administrator, or Application Administrator

Key steps include:
o Adding the application from the Entra Gallery.
o Inputting the Admin credentials for the SaaS platform into Entra.
o Configuring attribute mapping to sync relevant data.
o Selecting the users or groups that need to be synced.
o Enabling automatic provisioning to start syncing and managing users/groups.

4. Assign Licenses: Once syncing is completed, log into the portal and assign licenses to the relevant groups, for users to be granted access to the license.

Tips for Successful Setup:
• Read the Configuration Guides Thoroughly: Different SaaS platforms have unique requirements, so ensure you understand the specific configuration needed for each publisher.
• Validate Attribute Mapping: Double-check your attribute mappings to ensure all relevant data is configured to sync correctly.
• Consider Any Implications: For example, if the publisher’s portal requires email instead of UPN, you may need to register additional domains in the SaaS platform to ensure smooth provisioning.

While Entra supports both user and group-based provisioning, groups offer several advantages that can simplify administration:

• Greater Control: Group owners can manage the membership of users without needing additional administrative permissions, providing better control.

• Integration with Request Management: Groups can be configured with request management systems, allowing users to be automatically added to the groups and synced to the portal on request/approval.

• Enhanced Audit Capabilities: You can track when users are added or removed from groups, which is essential for auditing and compliance purposes.

• Additional Automation & Reporting: Groups make it easier to manage large numbers of users at once and provide more robust reporting capabilities.

• Transparent Group Naming: The group name you assign in Entra is synced with the portal, ensuring the naming is clear so the correct license is assigned in the portal.

• Special Groups for Admins and Unlicensed Users: Groups can be set up for users who need access to the portal but don’t require a license, as well as for admins who require elevated permissions.

Automation plays a key role in maintaining compliance and optimizing license allocation. With Microsoft Power Automate and Entra Automated Provisioning, you can implement several automated workflows for better license management:

• Daily Compliance Check: Set up workflows to automatically check compliance on a daily basis, ensuring all user accounts are in line with organizational policies.

• Notification of License Assignment: Automatically notify admins when licenses are assigned or updated, helping to streamline communication and avoid manual tracking.

• Check for Conflicting Licenses: Automatically identify and resolve conflicting or duplicate licenses for users, ensuring no overlap or gaps in access.

In addition to automation, reporting using products like Microsoft Power BI can provide valuable insights into how licenses are used across the organization:

• Trending Analysis: Track and analyze the license consumption against the entitlement to identify underutilized resources.

• Usage Analysis: Integrate with installation and usage datasets to identify usage patterns and opportunities for license reclamation.

• User Transparency: Provide visibility into license usage across departments, user types, or any other criteria important to your organization.

• Budget & Forecasting: Utilize trending analysis to predict future license needs and allocate budgets more effectively, ensuring that resources are optimally managed.

Entra Automated Provisioning provides a powerful and streamlined approach to managing user accounts and licenses across your organization. By automating user lifecycle management, integrating with external publishers, and leveraging advanced reporting and compliance features, you can enhance security, reduce administrative overhead, and gain greater visibility into your license usage.