Table of Contents
Prologue
Mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations can create a tangled web of user accounts. Imagine acquiring a company where some employees collaborate with your team using external guest accounts. Integrating them fully requires converting them to internal users – a process that can be disruptive and time-consuming if done incorrectly.
The Solution: External User Conversion
External user conversion offers a seamless approach to integrating external collaborators into your organization’s internal user base. Here’s how it empowers a smooth transition:
- Simplified User Management: No need to delete and recreate user accounts. Conversion leverages existing user objects, minimizing administrative burden and potential errors.
- Uninterrupted Access: Users retain their existing accounts and access levels, avoiding disruptions to ongoing work.
- Preserved History: Conversion seamlessly integrates a user’s activity history, ensuring a complete record of their contributions.
- Enhanced Collaboration: Converted users become full-fledged internal members, fostering deeper collaboration and knowledge sharing across the newly combined teams.
External User Conversion Guide
Understanding User Types
| Term | Description | Impact on Conversion |
|---|---|---|
| Internal User | Authenticates with the local tenant’s credentials. | Not eligible for conversion (already internal). |
| External User | Authenticates with a method not managed by your organization (e.g., another company’s Entra ID, Google federation). | Eligible for conversion if configured as member or guest. |
| User Type (Member vs Guest) | Defines permission level within your tenant. | Does not affect conversion eligibility, only permissions after conversion. |
Converting users
Open your user from Entra ID portal from here https://entra.microsoft.com/#view/Microsoft_AAD_UsersAndTenants/UserManagementMenuBlade/~/AllUsers/menuId/ and choose B2B collaboration and Convert to Internal
When you are choosing the new username, the local part of a User Principal Name must be between 1 and 64 characters.
Conversion Process Breakdown
| User Type | Conversion Steps | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud User | Specify Username (UPN) and set Password | User can authenticate directly with your tenant after conversion. |
| Synced User (On-Premises Managed) | Conversion only (no UPN or password options) | User authentication remains on-premises (no change). |
| Synced User (Federated Authentication) | PHS Enabled Conversion only (no password option). No PHS Administrators have the option to set a password. | Password cannot be changed during conversion due to PHS. User authentication remains federated. |
| Managed Tenant User | Specify Password | User can authenticate directly with your tenant after conversion. |
Important Considerations
- Use test accounts to avoid impacting production users during conversion testing.
- Only users with the User Administrator role can convert external users.
- Users must be configured with an external authentication method to be eligible for conversion.
Additional Resources
Microsoft documentation for details on specific conversion methods (Entra ID Portal or MS Graph API) can be found through relevant Microsoft support channels.
And there is also other enhancements made, these include:
- Preloaded scrolling so that you no longer have to select ‘Load more’ to view more users
- More user properties can be added as columns including city, country/region, employee ID, employee type, and external user state
- More user properties can be filtered on including custom security attributes, on-premises extension attributes, and manager
- More ways to customize your view, like using drag-and-drop to reorder columns
- Copy and share your customized All Users view with others
- An enhanced User Profile experience that gives you quick insights about a user and lets you view and edit more properties
Note! they aren’t available to B2C tenants
See more from Learn
Closure
Small feature but big difference for organizations which External user conversion goes beyond streamlining administrative tasks. It fosters a sense of inclusion for newly integrated employees. They retain their familiar login credentials and access history, reducing friction during the onboarding process. This fosters a smoother transition and a more positive experience for your new team members.
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