Understanding Microsoft Entra ID Groups: A Deep Dive

As organizations move deeper into the cloud ecosystem, identity and access management (IAM) becomes a cornerstone of digital security and efficiency. Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory or Azure AD) is Microsoft’s cloud-based IAM service, and groups within Entra ID play a pivotal role in organizing users and managing access to resources efficiently and securely.

In this blog, we’ll explore Entra ID groups in detail—what they are, why they matter, their types, common use cases, best practices, and how they integrate with other Microsoft 365 and Azure services.

What Are Entra ID Groups?

Entra ID groups are collections of users (and sometimes devices or other groups) that allow administrators to assign permissions, roles, or access policies to multiple members simultaneously. Instead of assigning access on an individual basis, groups streamline identity and access control, reducing administrative overhead and improving security.

Key Benefits of Using Groups

• Simplified Access Management: Grant permissions to a group instead of individuals.
• Consistency: Ensure users with similar roles have identical access.
• Scalability: Easily onboard or offboard users by adding/removing them from groups.
• Automation: We can add multiple rules to manage group membership automatically.

Types of Entra ID Groups

Microsoft Entra ID supports several types of groups, each tailored for specific scenarios.

1. Security Groups

These type of groups are used to manage access to Azure resources.

They can be assigned to:

• Azure roles
• Microsoft 365 applications
• Azure resources
• On-premises resources (via hybrid AD)

Example: Create a security group named “Python developers” and grant it access to python applications.

2. Microsoft 365 Groups (formerly Office 365 Groups)

Microsoft 365 Groups are designed for collaboration. Such as

• Shared mailbox (Exchange)
• Shared calendar
• SharePoint site
• Planner board
• Teams workspace (if created via Teams)

Example: A “Marketing Team or sales team” group can collaborate using Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint with shared resources.

3. Dynamic Groups

Dynamic groups can add or remove members based on user attributes dynamically. This eliminates the need for manual updates. You can create dynamic user groups or dynamic device groups.

Example:

All users in the HR department: (user.department -eq “HR”)

All devices running Windows 11: (device.deviceOSType -eq “Windows”) and (device.deviceOSVersion -startsWith “10.0.2”)

Group Membership Types

Entra ID supports two types of membership:

1. Assigned

• Users or devices are manually added.
• Ideal for small or stable teams.

2. Dynamic

• Membership is rule-based.
• Great for large or frequently changing organizations.

Step-by-Step: Create a Dynamic Group in Entra ID

1. Sign in to Microsoft Entra Admin Center using required role account (Ex. Global administrator)

URL: https://entra.microsoft.com

2. Navigate to Groups

• In the left-hand menu, go to “Groups”.
• Click “All groups” to view and manage existing groups.

3. Create a New Group

• Click “+ New group” at the top.
• Under Group type, choose:
• Security (for access control) or
• Microsoft 365 (if you want to provide collaboration tools like Teams or SharePoint)

4. Configure Group Settings

• Group name: Enter a name (e.g., “All Marketing Users”).
• Group description: Add a description (optional).
• Membership type: Choose Dynamic User or Dynamic Device.

5. Add Dynamic Membership Rule

• Click “Add dynamic query”.

Common Use Cases for Entra ID Groups

1. Access Management

Assigning access permissions via groups helps you manage who can access applications, files, and services.

• Grant Azure RBAC roles to security groups.
• Assign licenses in bulk to Microsoft 365 groups.
• Control app access with Conditional Access policies based on group membership.

2. Application Assignment

Entra ID groups can be used to assign applications from the Enterprise Applications blade.

Add a group to an application. All members get access with single sign-on (SSO).

3. Device Management

Use device groups in Intune for targeted deployment:

• Assign configuration profiles.
• Distribute software updates.
• Enforce compliance policies.

4. Conditional Access

Conditional Access policies can be scoped to specific groups.

Example: Require MFA for users in the “Finance Admins” group, but not for general staff.

5. License Assignment

Automate the assignment of Microsoft 365 or Azure licenses using group-based licensing.

• Assign a license to a group.
• Members automatically inherit it.
• Useful for managing large user populations.

Best Practices for Managing Entra ID Groups

• Use Naming Conventions: Prefix group names (e.g., SG_, M365_) to indicate purpose and type.
• Limit Privileged Groups: Secure high-impact groups (e.g., Global Admins) with Conditional Access and MFA.
• Leverage Dynamic Groups: Use them wherever possible for scalability and automation.
• Document Purpose: Include descriptions and owners for each group to avoid confusion.

Monitor Group Changes

• Use Entra ID audit logs to track changes to group memberships.
• Set up alerts for sensitive groups.
• Leverage Group Nesting Cautiously
• Azure AD does not support transitive group membership for access to all resources (especially in application assignments).

Integration with Other Services

1. Microsoft Teams

When a team is created in Microsoft Teams, a Microsoft 365 Group is created automatically. Teams membership maps directly to this group.

2. SharePoint Online

SharePoint permissions can be granted to Entra ID groups for site-level or document-level access.

3. Intune

Entra ID groups are used to scope device configurations, application deployments, and compliance policies.

4. Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Security groups can be assigned to roles at the subscription, resource group, or resource level.

5. Hybrid Identity

In a hybrid environment, Entra ID groups can sync with on-premises AD groups using Azure AD Connect. This ensures consistent access policies across cloud and on-prem resources.

New Features and Evolving Capabilities

With the introduction of Microsoft Entra, the broader identity platform now includes capabilities like:

• Identity Governance: Manage group lifecycle with access reviews and entitlement management.
• Entra Workload Identities: Secure non-human identities (e.g., applications or scripts) using group-based permissions.
• Privileged Identity Management (PIM): Elevate access to groups temporarily, reducing the risk of privilege misuse.

These capabilities make groups not just containers for permissions, but active players in identity security and governance.

Conclusion

Microsoft Entra ID groups are a foundational element in managing access, enhancing security, and enabling collaboration within Azure and Microsoft 365 environments. Whether you’re an IT admin looking to streamline access control or a security engineer enforcing zero-trust policies, groups offer the flexibility, automation, and control needed to manage identities at scale.

By using groups strategically—especially with dynamic rules, group-based licensing, and integration into other Microsoft services—you can reduce administrative complexity while boosting security and compliance.

About CloudThat

CloudThat is a leading provider of Cloud Training and Consulting services with a global presence in India, the USA, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Specializing in AWS, Microsoft Azure, GCP, VMware, Databricks, and more, the company serves mid-market and enterprise clients, offering comprehensive expertise in Cloud Migration, Data Platforms, DevOps, IoT, AI/ML, and more.

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