Note
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Access to this page requires authorization. You can try changing directories.
The objective of this article is to show the steps you need to perform in Box and Microsoft Entra ID to automatically provision and de-provision user accounts from Microsoft Entra ID to Box.
Note
This article describes a connector built on top of the Microsoft Entra user Provisioning Service. For important details on what this service does, how it works, and frequently asked questions, see Automate user provisioning and deprovisioning to SaaS applications with Microsoft Entra ID.
Prerequisites
To configure Microsoft Entra integration with Box, you need the following items:
- A Microsoft Entra tenant
- A Box Business plan or better
Note
When you test the steps in this article, we recommend that you do not use a production environment.
Note
Apps need to be enabled in the Box application first.
Note
This integration is also available to use from Microsoft Entra US Government Cloud environment. You can find this application in the Microsoft Entra US Government Cloud Application Gallery and configure it in the same way as you do from public cloud.
To test the steps in this article, follow these recommendations:
- don't use your production environment, unless it's necessary.
- If you don't have a Microsoft Entra trial environment, you can get a one-month trial.
Assigning users to Box
Microsoft Entra ID uses a concept called "assignments" to determine which users should receive access to selected apps. In the context of automatic user account provisioning, only the users and groups that have been "assigned" to an application in Microsoft Entra ID is synchronized.
Before configuring and enabling the provisioning service, you need to decide what users and/or groups in Microsoft Entra ID represent the users who need access to your Box app. Once decided, you can assign these users to your Box app by following the instructions here:
Assign a user or group to an enterprise app
Assign users and groups
The Box > Users and Groups tab in the Azure portal allows you to specify which users and groups should be granted access to Box. Assignment of a user or group causes the following things to occur:
Microsoft Entra ID permits the assigned user (either by direct assignment or group membership) to authenticate to Box. If a user isn't assigned, then Microsoft Entra ID doesn't permit them to sign in to Box and returns an error on the Microsoft Entra sign-in page.
An app tile for Box is added to the user's application launcher.
If automatic provisioning is enabled, then the assigned users and/or groups are added to the provisioning queue to be automatically provisioned.
- If only user objects were configured to be provisioned, then all directly assigned users are placed in the provisioning queue, and all users that are members of any assigned groups are placed in the provisioning queue.
- If group objects were configured to be provisioned, then all assigned group objects are provisioned to Box, and all users that are members of those groups. The group and user memberships are preserved upon being written to Box.
You can use the Attributes > Single Sign-On tab to configure which user attributes (or claims) are presented to Box during SAML-based authentication, and the Attributes > Provisioning tab to configure how user and group attributes flow from Microsoft Entra ID to Box during provisioning operations.
Important tips for assigning users to Box
It's recommended that a single Microsoft Entra user assigned to Box to test the provisioning configuration. Additional users and/or groups may be assigned later.
When assigning a user to box, you must select a valid user role. The "Default Access" role doesn't work for provisioning.
Enable Automated User Provisioning
This section guides through connecting your Microsoft Entra ID to Box's user account provisioning API, and configuring the provisioning service to create, update, and disable assigned user accounts in Box based on user and group assignment in Microsoft Entra ID.
If automatic provisioning is enabled, then the assigned users and/or groups are added to the provisioning queue to be automatically provisioned.
If only user objects are configured to be provisioned, then directly assigned users are placed in the provisioning queue, and all users that are members of any assigned groups are placed in the provisioning queue.
If group objects were configured to be provisioned, then all assigned group objects are provisioned to Box, and all users that are members of those groups. The group and user memberships are preserved upon being written to Box.
Tip
You may also choose to enabled SAML-based Single Sign-On for Box, following the instructions provided in the Azure portal. Single sign-on can be configured independently of automatic provisioning, though these two features complement each other.
To configure automatic user account provisioning:
The objective of this section is to outline how to enable provisioning of Active Directory user accounts to Box.
Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least a Cloud Application Administrator.
Browse to Entra ID > Enterprise apps.
If you have already configured Box for single sign-on, search for your instance of Box using the search field. Otherwise, select Add and search for Box in the application gallery. Select Box from the search results, and add it to your list of applications.
Select your instance of Box, then select the Provisioning tab.
Set + New configuration.
Under the Admin Credentials section, select Authorize to open a Box login dialog in a new browser window.
On the Login to grant access to Box page, provide the required credentials, and then select Authorize.
Select Grant access to Box to authorize this operation and to return to the Azure portal.
Select Test Connection to ensure Microsoft Entra ID can connect to your Box app. If the connection fails, ensure your Box account has Team Admin permissions and try the "Authorize" step again.
Select Create to create your configuration.
Select Properties in the Overview page.
Select the pencil to edit the properties. Enable notification emails and provide an email to receive quarantine emails. Enable accidental deletions prevention. Select Apply to save the changes.
Select Attribute Mapping in the left panel and select users.
In the Attribute Mappings section, review the user attributes that are synchronized from Microsoft Entra ID to Box. The attributes selected as Matching properties are used to match the user accounts in Box for update operations. Select the Save button to commit any changes.
To configure scoping filters, refer to the following instructions provided in the Scoping filter article.
Use on-demand provisioning to validate sync with a small number of users before deploying more broadly in your organization.
When you're ready to provision, select Start Provisioning from the Overview page.
For more information on how to read the Microsoft Entra provisioning logs, see Reporting on automatic user account provisioning.
In your Box tenant, synchronized users are listed under Managed Users in the Admin Console.
