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Summary
Microsoft Entra introduces cross-cloud synchronization in public preview, enabling automated user lifecycle management across Microsoft commercial, US Government, and China clouds. It is opt-in, requires specific licenses, admin enablement, and supports configuration via the Entra portal, PowerShell, and Microsoft Graph API. General availability is late September to mid-October 2025.
Details
Updated September 12, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.
Introduction
We’re introducing cross-cloud synchronization in Microsoft Entra to help organizations streamline user lifecycle management across Microsoft’s commercial, US Government, and China cloud environments. This feature automates creating, updating, and deleting users across supported cloud pairs and is currently in public preview. It is off by default and must be explicitly enabled by administrators.
When this will happen
General availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCCH, DoD): The capability is currently in public preview and will be rolled out to general availability between late September 2025 (previously early September) and mid-October 2025 (previously mid-September).
How this will affect your organization
There is no impact to your tenant unless you choose to enable this feature. Cross-cloud synchronization is opt-in and can be configured based on your organization’s needs. It provides a more efficient way to manage users across multiple Microsoft cloud environments.
Supported cloud pairs:
- Commercial (Commercial, GCC) → US Government (GCCH, DoD)
- US Government (GCCH, DoD) → Commercial (Commercial, GCC)
- Commercial → China
This feature is not visible to users. Administrators attempting to configure it in the Entra portal will receive a licensing warning if prerequisites are not met.
What you need to do to prepare
Organizations planning to use cross-cloud synchronization should be aware of the following:
- A Microsoft Entra ID Governance / Microsoft Entra Suite license is required for each user in the source tenant that is being synchronized across clouds. This license is an add-on to Entra ID P1 or P2.
- The feature must be enabled by an administrator in the Microsoft Entra admin center.
- Access to the feature can be managed through Entra ID group membership.
- New blades are introduced in the Entra portal to support configuration and management.
- The feature is accessible via PowerShell and the Microsoft Graph API.
- Provisioning logs and Audit logs in Microsoft Entra provide visibility into provisioning activity.
- The feature supports synchronization between two Microsoft Entra tenants.
- Setup guidance and prerequisites are available at: Configure cross-tenant synchronization - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn
- Ensure your environment meets the requirements for the cloud pairs you plan to synchronize.
- Known limitations and troubleshooting guidance: Known issues for provisioning in Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn
Compliance considerations
No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.