Simplify multi-tenant licensing with a single Microsoft Entra ID license

Create a multi-tenant environment is a structure in which multiple separate groups, known as tenants, share a common IT infrastructure. Each tenant typically represents a separate department or unit within a company (such as subsidiaries, regional offices, or recently acquired companies) or even entirely separate companies that need to work together. Although each tenant operates independently in terms of data, settings, and user management, they all benefit from shared resources and services. This model offers flexibility, security, and scalability, but traditional per-tenant licensing can quickly become complex and expensive.

To simplify this, Microsoft recently introduced multi-tenant organization (MTO)-options via Microsoft Access IDThis innovative approach enables organizations to license multiple tenants under a single license per employee, simplifying management and significantly reducing licensing costs.

Key Benefits of Microsoft Entra ID Licensing in Multi-Tenant Environments

With multi-tenant functionality, a single Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1 License to give every employee access to all tenants within an organization. Here is how this simplified licensing model supports organizations:

  1. One license per employee: Organizations no longer need to purchase separate licenses for each tenant. As long as an employee is covered by a Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1 License, he or she can access and collaborate with all tenants within the organization.
  2. Viva Suite and Employee Communications SL for Viva Engage: For organizations that Long live Engage use for communication and community building between tenants, is a Employee Communications & Communities User SL or a Viva Suite License required to unlock MTO capabilities. This enables employees to participate in cross-tenant events, discussions and campaigns, simplifying internal communication across tenant boundaries.
  3. Cross-tenant security and collaboration rights: The multi-tenant licensing structure offers more than just basic collaboration, with comprehensive security and cross-tenant management via Microsoft Defender XDR en Microsoft TeamsThis enables organizations to manage incidents, investigate threats, and facilitate team communications seamlessly without additional licenses.
  4. Efficiency for administrators: Administrators who need to manage multiple tenants can do so under a single license, allowing them to safely switch between tenants without having to purchase multiple administrative licenses. This setup is useful for global administrators with multiple accounts for different tasks, as they can efficiently manage and operate across all tenants.

Important details about license scope and usage rights

De Entra ID Plan 1 and Plan 2-licenses, as well as governance features within Entra ID, are essential for MTO use. While some specific functionalities related to Teams and Viva Engage are not yet fully included in Microsoft’s official product terms, Microsoft has confirmed their availability in recent releases and blogs, making them accessible to eligible MTOs.

Examples of scenarios using MTO licenses

  1. Organizational mergers: When one organization acquires another, one Entra ID Plan 1 license per employee covers all tenants, allowing employees from both companies to collaborate without additional licenses for each tenant.
  2. Access to systems in different companies: Employees who need access to systems within subsidiaries or other organizational units can do so securely with multi-tenant rights, without duplicate licensing for each access point.
  3. Centralized security monitoring: Microsoft Defender XDR enables security administrators to manage incidents and provide oversight across all tenants, consolidating security under a single license per administrator without requiring tenant-specific security licenses.

Implementing your multi-tenant licensing structure

To get started with Microsoft Entra multi-tenant licensing capabilities, follow these steps:

  1. Set up your multi-tenant organization: Go into the Admin centerto Organization Settings → Multi-tenant Collaboration and invite relevant external users to form a unified organization.
  2. Enable cross-tenant synchronization: Use it Entra Admin Center . Microsoft 365 Admin Center to scale user provisioning across all tenants so that all licensed employees have synchronized access.
  3. Meet licensing requirements: Ensure the necessary Teams client and cross-tenant settings are enabled for all employees under the Entra ID Plan 1 license, enabling seamless cross-tenant functionality.

Unlock cross-tenant efficiency with a single license

By leveraging Microsoft Entra ID’s multi-tenant licensing capabilities, organizations can reduce costs and administrative complexity while improving collaboration across tenants. With just one Entra ID Plan 1 license per employee, plus optional Viva licenses for Viva Engage, companies can achieve a cohesive, secure, and streamlined multi-tenant environment.