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Step 1: Access the Microsoft Entra Admin Center

First, navigate to the Microsoft Entra admin center. You'll need an active Microsoft Entra ID or Azure subscription.

URL: https://entra.microsoft.com/

Sign in with an account that has sufficient privileges (e.g., Global Administrator, Privileged Role Administrator).

Step 2: Create a New Tenant (if necessary)

A tenant represents your organization in Microsoft Entra ID. If you don't have one, you can create it:

1. In the Entra admin center, go to Identity > Infrastructure > Tenants.
2. Click Create.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to configure your tenant's domain name and region.

Note: Creating a new tenant might incur costs depending on your subscription type.

Step 3: Add and Manage Users

Users are the individuals who will access your resources.

1. Navigate to Identity > Users > All users.
2. Click + New user.
3. Choose between creating a new user in your organization or inviting an external user.
4. Fill in the required user details (Name, User Principal Name, password, group memberships, etc.).

You can assign licenses to users to grant them access to specific Microsoft services.

Step 4: Create and Assign Roles

Roles define permissions for users, allowing you to implement the principle of least privilege.

1. Go to Identity > Roles & administrators.
2. Explore built-in roles or click + New custom role to create your own.
3. To assign a role to a user: navigate to the user's profile and select Assigned roles.

Common roles include User Administrator, Application Administrator, and Security Reader.

Step 5: Configure Application Integration

Integrate your applications with Entra ID for single sign-on (SSO) and secure access.

1. Navigate to Identity > Applications > Enterprise applications.
2. Click + New application.
3. Browse the gallery for pre-integrated applications or choose to create a non-gallery application.
4. Follow the setup wizard for the specific application, configuring SSO settings (SAML, OAuth 2.0), user assignment, and provisioning.

This often involves copying endpoint URLs and secret keys between Entra ID and the application.

Step 6: Secure Your Identity with Conditional Access

Conditional Access policies allow you to enforce access controls based on conditions like user location, device state, and sign-in risk.

1. Go to Identity > Protection > Conditional Access.
2. Click + Create new policy.
3. Define the Assignments (users, groups, apps) and Access controls (grant or block access, require MFA, etc.).

A common starting point is requiring Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all users accessing cloud apps.