Provisioning Mailbox directly into Azure Active directory (Entra ID)

Hi Sailors,

We have requirement where we need to provision mailbox directly into Azure and sync back to Active directory.
We found this article and 3rd approach is suitable for our case. Hybrid Provisioning with Active Directory and Azure Active Directory - Compass We want to understand even if we will utilize Azure connector,
Do we still need to use mailbox creation script along with After creation rule on IQservice server or that is not require?

Thank You,
Shweta

Hi @Shweta23jan can you clarify:

  1. Are you in hybrid identity environment? If so, how do you sync between Entra and AD
  2. Are you in hybrid Exchange mode?
  3. What do you mean by ‘sync back to AD’?

Hi Jeremy,

yes, we have hybird environment and sync between Entra ID and AD.
Yes, we have hybrid exchange mode, but we want to move and create mailbox directly in cloud only and writeback/Sync “email address” in active directory (on-prem).

Hi @Shweta23jan - Apologies for the questions, but it’s best to get a full understanding of your requirements before making a recommendation.

Are you using Entra Connect (Azure AD Connect) to sync AD users from AD to Entra?

When you say you “want to move”, does this mean you are intending to migrate from Hybrid Exchange to Cloud Native Exchange and you need a solution for after the migration?

Hi Jeremy,

Yes, we are using Entra connect to sync AD users from AD to Entra.

Initial plan was to create mailbox on prem than sync with Entra, but now client want to create mailbox directly in Entra.
We referred this SailPoint blog Hybrid Provisioning with Active Directory and Azure Active Directory - Compass

option no 3 is suitable as per our requirement " Provision Active Directory Account and Create Cloud-Only Mailboxes in Azure Active Directory".

Migration hybird to cloud not at this movement, but due to some infra limitation they decide to create mailbox directly in cloud

Hi @Shweta23jan

Ok. Here’s some pointers:

  • As you are still in Hybrid Exchange mode I would recommend that you create a “Remote Mailbox”. Creating a Cloud Native mailbox may create some unforeseen issues.
  • Email address is a mandatory attribute for creating a mailbox so will need to be generated by ISC
  • As you are in Hybrid Identity mode the email address attribute will need to be generated on the AD account prior to Entra Connect sync and prior to creating the mailbox
  • The document that you link to, IMHO, is not good at explaining the scenarios and can be confusing - for instance, there is no concept of creating an on-prem mailbox and “replicating” to the cloud
  • If you haven’t implemented an Entra connector, there is no need for this scenario. That has been included in Scenario 3 simply to assign the M365 license, which can be done via a sync-ed on-prem group
  • Specifically, yes, you will need to run the enable-remoteMailbox powershell
  • See Exchange Mailbox Provisioning - #5 by j_place for more details
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Hi @Shweta23jan - If this has answered your question, can you please mark the solution as resolved to assist others in the future?