Syncing Members from Azure Active Directory
Sync Members from Azure Active Directory (Microsoft) to Popl Teams and utilize auto syncs.
At Popl, we understand that time is valuable in the enterprise world, and our focus is to provide efficient and seamless digital business card solutions to help organizations thrive. Our mission is to simplify the process of creating, distributing, and sharing digital cards for both team leaders and members.
To accelerate the digital business card creation process, we have developed an integration called Instant Sync™ with Azure Active Directory (Microsoft). This integration allows for quick and automated synchronization with your existing database of team member data, resulting in instant creation of Popl digital cards for your team. With Instant Sync™, your team can seamlessly integrate Popl into your existing systems, eliminating the need for manual input of data and reducing errors.
To ensure a smooth and hassle-free experience, we have prepared a comprehensive step-by-step guide on how to set up and use Instant Sync™ through your Popl Teams dashboard. This integration empowers organizations to effortlessly manage their digital business card solution and focus on building their professional network.
Setting up and Authenticating the Sync
Connecting your Microsoft Account
1. First, click into the "Members" tab and then in the top right click "Add Members". In the dropdown, choose "Sync with Microsoft AD".
2. On the next page you will see an Active Directory pane as shown below. Click on "Configure" next.
3. Next, click on "Connect" in the top right corner of our authenticator popup to login to your Microsoft account. This will give Popl permission to sync member info from your Microsoft account to Popl Teams. This connection only needs to be made once.
For more information on permissions required for the integration, please see our Permissions Documentation.
4. Once you have authenticated into your Microsoft account successfully, click "Start Setup" in the Microsoft Active Directory pane from step 2 and you will see the AD sync page below.
On this page there are various different configuration options and features.
Choosing Groups to Sync
In the first section, there is a search bar that will allow you to choose which Active Directory groups you'd like to sync to Popl Teams. You can either scroll through groups by clicking the search bar or groups can be searched.
Once groups are selected and members are synced, the integration will automatically add those members to subteams on Popl with the same name as their respective AD group. For example, if you have a synced AD group called "popl_users" with 200 members, when those 200 members are synced to Popl, they will automatically be added to a subteam named "popl_users". This helps bring the directory organization from AD over to Popl Teams.
Auto Sync Frequency
In the section, you can choose an auto sync cadence that will automatically create or remove digital business cards as employees join or leave your company.
Available Auto Sync cadences include:
Daily (Recommended)
Weekly
Monthly
Quarterly
We recommend choosing the daily sync here as it ensures the most up-to-date business info and member allocation is kept synced at all times.
This auto sync frequency can be changed by an admin at any time, and when an auto sync occurs, all Popl Team admins will be notified of any member additions and deletions via email ensuring data cleanliness and visibility.
Select Fields To Sync
In this section, default fields like name, email, and more can be set up and configured. By default, these fields shown are what are synced to Popl digital business cards out of the box. The email and phone number fields will be used to create email and phone tappable links on each digital card, and a user's Microsoft UPN will be used as the account email for logging in.
The default synced fields are mapped as below:
Popl Field | Azure Field |
Name | Display Name |
Email (fallback: User principal name) | |
Job Title | Job title |
Company | Company name |
Phone Number | Mobile phone (mobilePhone) with fallback as Business phone (businessPhone) |
Location | Street address, City, State/Province, ZIP or postal code, Country or region |
Profile Picture | Profile Picture |
Sync Toggles
When a field has the toggle for "Sync" turned on, this means that when the integration finds a new member in one of the synced AD groups to create on Popl, it will create that member with this field added. The default is to keep all sync toggles turned on.
Overwrite Toggles
When a field has a the toggle for "Overwrite" turned on, this means when the integration finds a member in one of the synced AD groups that already exists on Popl, it will overwrite new data from AD on future syncs. For example, if John Smith has the title "Director of Sales" and gets a promotion to "VP of Sales", when the auto sync sees John's title has changed on the AD side, if the overwrite toggle for Job title is turned on, the next auto sync will see this update on the AD side and update John's job title on his Popl digital business card. If this toggle is turned off, any changes on the Popl side for John's job title will not be overwritten by future AD syncs.
Mapping Custom Fields
Our Azure AD sync integration is very robust and can be set up with any number of custom mappings from AD to Popl. If you'd like to map custom fields from AD to each member's Popl digital cards, send us an email to teams@popl.co and we will get it done within 1-2 days.
Deleting Members Upon Removal
When this toggle is turned on, the integration will fully delete members from Popl when they are removed from your synced Active Directory groups. These deletions will be permanent and cannot be reversed, so please consider carefully before enabling this feature.
The goal of this toggle is to provide our customers with data cleanliness. By default (when this option is turned off), removing members means just removing them from the Popl Team and deactivating their teams subscription. If this option is toggled on, not only will members be removed, but they will also be fully deleted from our database to ensure complete data hygiene.
Send Email Invites
With this toggle, you can choose whether to send email invites to new members or not. When this option is toggled on, any auto sync or manual sync will send new members an invite email to join the team and claim their digital business card. If this is toggled off, no email will be sent on member creation. If no invite is sent, always remember to send the invites later!
We recommend turning this option on so that members can claim and start sharing as soon as they are added to the team!
Use Admin Rules
Toggle on this option if you’d like us to consider admin roles from your Active Directory. If this is toggled on, we will set Azure Global Administrators as Full Team Admins and Groups Administrators as Subteam Admins automatically. This ensures admin and roles are kept consistent across both platforms.
Running a Manual Sync
Once all configuration is set up, click "Save Configuration" in the bottom right. This will save all updated configuration and apply it for the next manual or auto sync. If this button is greyed out, that means, all info has been saved. To run a manual sync at any time, simply click "Sync Now" in the bottom right.
Logic for the Initial Sync
During the initial sync, Popl Teams will create digital business cards for each member with the attribute mappings listed above.
If a member's email from the sync is already attached to a Popl digital business card, we will simply invite the existing member instead of creating a duplicate member. This AD sync will never create duplicate members. The existing Popl user will get an email invite to join your team on Popl Teams unless you have "Send Email Invites" toggled off.
If a member has a template applied, values from AD such as email and phone number will be added to template links/content instead of duplicate links being created.
Logic for all Future Syncs
As your company grows, names, titles, departments, and other member info can change. With any sync after your initial one, auto syncs will automatically update Popl digital cards to correct, up-to-date info without any manual entry required.
For example, let's say that Jessica Swift gets a promotion and her title changes from Marketing Manager to Director of Marketing. After a successful daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly auto sync, this title change will instantly reflect on Jessica's digital business card. Syncs can also be run manually by clicking the "Edit Setup" button at any time from the add members page or the integrations tab.
If an existing member has a template applied, values from AD such as email and phone number will be added to the existing template links/content instead of duplicate links being created. For example, if a template is applied to John Smith and that template contains a unique email link as shown below, the AD sync will update this unique email link with it's email value instead of creating a duplicate email link.
Check out Popl Teams to instantly set your company up with digital business cards using our robust Microsoft Active Directory integration.
If any issues or questions, please contact us at teams@popl.co, we are available nearly 24/7 and will get back to you within 6-8 hours or less.
With 🤍 from Popl.
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