Entra Group Source of Authority CONVERSION: Enabling Cloud-First Identity Management
As organizations modernize their identity infrastructure, Microsoft Entra’s Group Source of Authority (SOA) Conversion feature enables a granular migration of group management from on-premises AD to Microsoft Entra ID without disabling sync or rearchitecting the entire directory. What Is Group Source of Authority? Group SOA defines where a group object is mastered either in on-prem AD or in Entra ID. With SOA conversion, administrators can selectively convert AD-synced groups into cloud-native groups, making them editable and governable directly in Entra ID. Permissions Required To perform SOA conversion, the following Microsoft Entra roles and Graph API permissions are required: Hybrid Administrator: Required to call Microsoft Graph APIs to read and update SOA of groups. Application Administrator or Cloud Application Administrator: Required to grant user consent to the app or Graph Explorer. Graph API Permission Scope: Group-OnPremisesSyncBehavior.ReadWrite.All must be granted to the app calling the onPremisesSyncBehavior endpoint. Prerequisites Before initiating SOA conversion, ensure the following: Licensing Microsoft Entra Free or Basic license is sufficient. Sync Clients Microsoft Entra Connect Sync: Minimum version 2.5.76.0 Microsoft Entra Cloud Sync: Minimum version 1.1.1370.0 Group Eligibility Groups must not be mail-enabled or tied to Exchange on-premises (DLs or MESGs). If provisioning back to AD is planned, change group scope to Universal. How to Convert Group SOA from AD to Entra Here’s a simplified step-by-step guide: Identify Target Groups Use Entra Admin Center or Graph Explorer to list synced groups. Confirm they are not Exchange-dependent. Grant Permissions Use Graph Explorer or your app registration to grant Group-OnPremisesSyncBehavior.ReadWrite.All. Execute SOA Conversion If we see Group1, which is in scope of conversion is synchronized from on-prem. Execute the below from Graph Explorer to convert “Group1” to cloud managed PATCH https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/groups/{group-id}/OnPremisesSyncbehavior { "isCloudManaged": true } We can verify the change by executing below query on Graph API Explorer This marks the group as cloud-managed. AD sync will stop honoring changes to this group. Validate Conversion Confirm blockOnPremisesSync = true in the Entra Admin Center. Use audit logs to verify the change. Apply Governance Apply lifecycle policies, access reviews, and provisioning rules using Entra ID Governance. Use Cases: Migrating from On-Prem to Cloud Use Case 1: Retiring Legacy AD Groups Scenario: A customer has migrated all mailboxes to Exchange Online and no longer needs certain AD groups. Solution: Convert those groups to cloud-native Entra ID groups and delete them from AD, reducing footprint and simplifying governance. Use Case 2: Governing On-Prem Apps from the Cloud Scenario: A customer uses AD security groups to secure on-prem apps (e.g., Kerberos-based apps). Solution: Convert the group SOA to Entra ID, apply governance policies, and use Group Provision to AD to sync cloud-managed groups back to AD. Use Case 3: Migrating DLs and MESGs to Cloud Scenario: A customer wants to migrate all distribution lists and mail-enabled security groups to the cloud. Solution: Convert SOA to Entra ID, recreate mail-enabled groups in Exchange Online, and decommission AD-based mail groups. Use Case 4: Enabling Access Reviews Scenario: A federal customer wants to run access reviews on group memberships but the groups are AD-synced. Solution: Convert SOA to Entra ID, enabling full access review capabilities and lifecycle workflows. Use Case 5: Hybrid Identity Cleanup Scenario: A customer is migrating from Entra Connect Sync to Cloud Sync and wants to clean up group sprawl. Solution: Use SOA conversion to move group management to the cloud, then decommission legacy sync rules and OUs. Strategic Impact Group SOA Conversion is more than a technical enhancement, it’s a strategic enabler for identity modernization. It supports: AD DS minimization: Shrinking on-prem footprint. Cloud-first governance: Centralized access control and lifecycle management. Phased migration: Avoiding disruption while modernizing.
