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Manage user account synchronization

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Because user identities are provisioned through Microsoft Online Services, you have multiple options for managing user synchronization between your online and on-premises environments.

Decide on a user management approach

You can choose from three main identity models in Microsoft 365 when you set up and manage user accounts:

  1. Cloud identity. Manage your user accounts in Microsoft 365 only. No on-premises servers are required to manage users; it's all done in the cloud.

  2. Synchronized identity. Synchronize on-premises directory objects with Microsoft 365 and manage your users on-premises. You can also synchronize passwords so that the users have the same password on-premises and in the cloud, but they will have to sign in again to use Microsoft 365.

  3. Federated identity. Synchronize on-premises directory objects with Microsoft 365 and manage your users on-premises. The users have the same password on-premises and in the cloud, and they do not have to sign in again to use Microsoft 365. This is often referred to as single sign-on.

It’s important to carefully consider which identity model to use to get up and running. Think about time, existing complexity, and cost. These factors are different for every organization. Your choice is based largely on the size of your company and the depth and breadth of your IT resources.

Review the following resources to equip you to make the right decision for your company:

Tip for admins: provide a single sign-on organization URL for your users

If you’ve deployed synchronization with single sign-on (option 3 above), you can provide a URL to your users that takes advantage of your company’s Active Directory and simplifies the sign-in experience.

The URL follows this pattern:

https://<yourCRMOrganizationName>.crm.dynamics.com?whr=<yourFederationServiceIdentifier>

You can get the <yourCRMOrganizationName> by looking at the URL you use to access environments. For example, in https://contoso.crm.dynamics.com, contoso is <yourCRMOrganizationName>.

Important

The following URLs would be used for subscriptions hosted in these locations.

  • LATAM/SAM: https://<yourCRMorganizationname>.crm2.dynamics.com?whr=<yourFederationServiceIdentifier>
  • CAN: https://<yourCRMorganizationname>.crm3.dynamics.com?whr=<yourFederationServiceIdentifier>
  • EMEA: https://<yourCRMorganizationname>.crm4.dynamics.com?whr=<yourFederationServiceIdentifier>
  • APAC: https://<yourCRMorganizationname>.crm5.dynamics.com?whr=<yourFederationServiceIdentifier>
  • OCE: https://<yourCRMorganizationname>.crm6.dynamics.com?whr=<yourFederationServiceIdentifier>
  • JPN: https://<yourCRMorganizationname>.crm7.dynamics.com?whr=<yourFederationServiceIdentifier>
  • IND: https://<yourCRMorganizationname>.crm8.dynamics.com?whr=<yourFederationServiceIdentifier>
  • United States of America Government: https://< yourCRMorganizationname>.crm9.dynamics.com?whr=<yourFederationServiceIdentifier>
  • UK: https://<yourCRMorganizationname>.crm11.dynamics.com?whr=<yourFederationServiceIdentifier>
  • FRA: https://<yourCRMorganizationname>.crm12.dynamics.com?whr=<yourFederationServiceIdentifier>
  • UAE: https://<yourCRMorganizationname>.crm15.dynamics.com?whr=<yourFederationServiceIdentifier>
  • DEU: https://<yourCRMorganizationname>.crm.microsoftdynamics.de?whr=<yourFederationServiceIdentifier>

You can get the Federation Service identifier for your organization by using the following steps:

  1. On the server that is running AD FS 2.0, click or tap Start > Administrative Tools > AD FS 2.0 Management.

  2. In the console tree, right-click or tap AD FS 2.0, and then click or tap Edit Federation Service Properties.

  3. Select the General tab.

    Make note of your Federation Service identifier. For example: http://sts1.fabrikam.com/adfs/services/trust

    Your URL should look like: https://contoso.crm.dynamics.com?whr=<http://sts1.fabrikam.com/adfs/services/trust>

    Send this URL to your users and encourage them to bookmark it.