Using the Microsoft Azure and Google Workspace integrations to detect shadow IT

This article explains how you use an active Azure/Workspace integration that has discovered new Services, Users, or Groups.

Content in this article

New services, users, and groups discovered by the integration

Syncing Services, Users, and Groups

Ignoring Services, Users & Groups

Unignore Services, Users & Groups

Can I have multiple active Azure and Workspace integrations?

What happens if I deactivate an Azure or Workspace integration in Substly?

How often does Substly sync with our Azure/Workspace account? 


 

Introduction

Using Substly's Azure/Workspace integrations is one of the measures you should take to discover and proactively address shadow IT.

Once the integration with Azure/Workspace is activated, you'll get notified in Substly:

  • when an employee uses SSO to log into an application that is not in your Substly account.
  • when new Users are added in Azure/Workspace.
  • when new Groups are added in Azure/Workspace.

 

Read this article to learn how to set up your Azure/Workspace integration in Substly if you haven't done so yet.

New services, users, and groups discovered by the integration

On the main menu, a badge appears when new services, users, or groups have been discovered.


The number in the badges shows the number of new services, users, or groups the integration(s) discovered. Access the integration and decide if you want to sync or ignore the users or services to your Substly account.

Handling discovered Services, Users, and Groups

  1. Navigate to the Services, Users, or Groups pages depending on which you want to manage.
  2. Click on Google Workspace or Microsoft Azure.
  3. Choose if you want to Sync or Ignore the newly discovered Services, Users, or Groups.
  4. Click Next until you get to the preview page.
  5. Click Start Sync for newly added Groups, Users, or Services to be synced to your Substly account.

    Note! Ignored Groups, Users, and Services get updated immediately without any need to go through the whole workflow and click Start Sync at the end.

Syncing Services, Users, and Groups

Syncing Groups

Choose the Groups you want to sync by marking the checkboxes on the left-hand side. As you mark the checkboxes, the status updates from Not Synced to To be Synced. You can mark the groups individually or in bulk by clicking on the checkbox at the top of the list. 

Once you have marked the groups you want to sync, click Next.  

Tip! You can always return to this page and change which groups you want to sync.

Syncing Users

If you have chosen to sync any groups in the previous step, the users in those groups are already marked as To be Synced on this page. 

If you want to sync other Users than users from those groups, mark the checkboxes on the left-hand side. As you mark the checkboxes, the status updates from Not Synced to To be Synced. You can mark them one at a time or in bulk by clicking on the checkbox at the top of the list.


Tip! Filter the view on Organizational Units, Status, and/or Groups to simplify bulk-adding users. You can also return to this page and sync other users later.
 

Syncing Services

Substly can help you discover Services your employees' login into using SSO and sync them to your Substly account. Syncing services work like syncing groups and users explained above. After marking the services you want to sync, click Next



Tip! You can always return to this page and change which services you want to sync.


Preview and confirm your choices by clicking on Start Sync. Done!

 

Ignoring Services, Users & Groups

Ignore Services, Users, and Groups you don't want to sync to your Substly account to enable Substly to aid you in your shadow IT detection efforts.

Below is a step-by-step guide that shows you how to ignore Users.

Note! Ignoring Services and Groups works the same way.

Ignore Services, Users, and Groups one by one

  1. Click Ignore on the right-hand side on the users you want Substly to ignore syncing. As you click Ignore, the users get filtered out from the default list directly. Here's how you can see them again.

Bulk-ignore Services, Users, and Groups

  1. Use any of the filters to display only the users you want to bulk-ignore.


  2. Bulk-mark the users you want to ignore by clicking on the checkbox to the left, on the top of the list of users.

  3. Once the checkboxes of all the users you want to ignore are marked, click Ignore xx users to ignore them all at once. 


    Tip! As you ignore users, they get filtered out from the default view. If you want to see them again or Unignore them, simply change the filters in the middle of the screen.

 

Unignore Services, Users & Groups

Ignored users are not shown by default, but you can use filters to see them and unignore them.

  1. To see Ignored users, use the status filter and select Ignored.
  2. To unignore a user click Unignore. After clicking the Unignore button, the user can be synced again.

Tip! We would like to encourage you to sync/ignore all users and services since that makes the badge in the main menu disappear. That way, when it pops up again, you know there are new users or services to address.

Can I have multiple active Azure and Workspace integrations?

You can have both an active Azure and active Workspace at once.

If you want to sync groups, users, and services from multiple Azure accounts or Workspace accounts, you can sync one, deactivate that integration, and sync the other account afterward.

However, you can only have one Azure or Workspace integration activated each time, so you will not be notified of any changes in your AD unless that account is activated in Substly.

What happens if I deactivate an Azure or Workspace integration in Substly?

The Azure or Workspace account that you deactivate the integration for stops syncing, but no data is removed automatically from Substly. 

After deactivating the integration, you can remove Groups, off-board Users, and archive Services on their respective pages. 

If you activate a deactivated Azure/Workspace account, you'll be prompted to sync all groups, users, and services that have been removed from Substly but still exist in the Azure/Workspace account.

How often does Substly sync with our Azure/Workspace account? 

An activated Microsoft Azure & Google Workspace integration automatically syncs every 15 minutes. If you have made changes in your Azure or Workspace account and want the changes to be reflected in Substly immediately, you can navigate to the integrations page and click Re-run sync.