I manage an organization with around 70 Entra ID users and am reviewing our policies ahead of our first SOC 2 audit using Sprinto. I'm trying to decide whether a dedicated Entra ID backup solution is worthwhile. Although the user count is small, we rely heavily on Entra for detailed Conditional Access policies, about 40 enterprise applications, dynamic groups, and attribute-based access controls. If the tenant were damaged or a large-scale deletion occurred, I would currently be responsible for rebuilding everything myself. Is dedicated Entra ID backup something we should prioritize, or would documenting recovery procedures be sufficient?
3 Answers
A useful way to evaluate this is to ask how badly a rogue deletion or widespread configuration change would affect the business, and how long you could operate without the tenant. Entra does not provide the same kind of straightforward backup and failover model that traditional domain controllers had. If your SSO integrations and access controls are all tied to it, losing the configuration could disrupt a lot more than the directory itself. At minimum, maintain exported configuration, recovery documentation, and regular change tracking; a backup product becomes easier to justify when the recovery impact is high.
The number of users is only part of the equation. If Entra is mainly being used as a basic identity directory, manually recreating 70 accounts might be acceptable. In your case, though, the Conditional Access policies, enterprise apps, dynamic groups, and attribute-driven access make the configuration much more valuable—and much harder to rebuild accurately. If you already use Microsoft 365 backup, check whether the provider also protects Entra configuration. Otherwise, a dedicated tenant-configuration backup tool may be reasonable. Documenting your recovery process and testing it would also help with the SOC 2 discussion.
We use Entra much more deeply than just user sign-in. Rebuilding all those policies and integrations alone would be a major problem, and I’m currently the only person who would have to handle it.
There are products that back up tenant configuration and can show what changed over time. CoreView is one option, and providers such as Veeam, Cohesity, and Druva may offer Entra coverage as part of a broader Microsoft 365 backup service. Compare exactly what each product protects and restores—users, groups, Conditional Access, enterprise applications, role assignments, and related settings are not necessarily all included. Some tools also provide security benchmark reporting and change attestation, which could make them useful supporting evidence for a SOC 2 audit, but they should not replace documented controls and recovery testing.
If the tenant configuration were seriously damaged, we would be in a very difficult position. I need to look at protecting Conditional Access, groups, applications, and the other configuration rather than just backing up user data.