Auto-Import Entra ID (Active Directory) Contacts to Digital Business Cards

This article will guide you how to import contacts from your Microsoft Entra ID (Active Directory) and to create Digital Business Cards for them in bulk.

This post contains technical details for your IT department managing Microsoft Azure Entra ID (Active Directory). Please get in touch with an IT expert on your end to help you in setting up everything. Please make sure that the person who is doing the configuration on Microsoft Azure has the necessary Administrator permissions.

You can quickly and easily share your Digital Business Card with a QR
Code from your Apple or Google Wallet, so current and future business partners may directly save contacts on their devices.

To integrate your Microsoft Azure Active Directory/Entra ID with our QR Code Platform we use a connector to exchange information between your system and our system. We just need a couple of access credentials to be able to retrieve the needed data from your Entra ID.

In order to set up your Active Directory/Entra ID you need to do 2 steps. First, create an Enterprise Application and second Grant API Permissions for that Enterprise Application. Lets start with the first step.

To connect our QR Code Platform to your Active Directory/Entra ID you need to create a so-called Enterprise Application. This Enterprise Application is a representation of our QR Code Platform in your Microsoft Azure Account.

First, make sure that you are logged into your Microsoft Azure Account. You can reach the Microsoft Azure Portal via portal.azure.com.

Next, open the Entra ID Service. You can find the Service with a search in the search bar by typing "Microsoft Entra ID".

In the Microsoft Entra ID service click on the menu Enterprise Applications in the section Manage (on the left side).

To create a new Enterprise Application click on New application.

Click on Create your own application.

Enter a name (we will use QR Code Platform in our example) for the application and choose option 3 (Non-gallery). Then click on Create.

Now we have to go into the App Overview. In order to get there we have to enter into the Entra ID Service once again.

Click in the top right of the screen either on Home or on Microsoft Azure - both should work. You will land on the Azure Homepage.

Now open the Entra ID service again. You can find the Service with a search in the search bar by typing "Microsoft Entra ID".

In the left menu of Entra ID open the submenu Manage and then choose App registrations. Then click above the list on All applications and then choose in the list the App that you just created - in our case thats QR Code Platform.

On the Overview area of the new application copy both Application (client) and Directory (tenant) ID; paste them into a word document and note which is which. Then, click Add Client credentials.

Click on New client secret.

Enter a Description for the client secret like Digital Business Card and click on the Add button. Choose the expiration date of the secret depending on if and when you want to use the Auto-Import feature again in the future - default is 180 days. If you just need it today you can choose a shorter time-frame.

Copy the code from the Value column (NOT the Secret ID column) into a word document and write Client Secret Value next to it so you know later which value it is. We will need them later.

Now its time to grant API permissions to our just created app. On the left menu sidebar click on the menu API permissions and then on Add a permission.

Then choose Microsoft Graph with type Application permissions and on the screen search and add the following permissions: User.Read.All and Directory.Read.All. Make sure that the permission is checked in the list.

Now its necessary that a user with admin privileges grants his consent via clicking on the button Grant admin consent for Your Company.

Now Entra ID is ready for the data to be fetched.

Now its time to switch over to the QR Code Platform to import the contacts and automatically generate Digital Business Cards for them. Head to our website and login to your QR Code Platform.

Once logged in go to Import and choose Import Contacts.

On the next screen choose Entra ID Import.

Then its time to enter the Client ID and Client Secret. Use the copied values from before. For the Client ID use the value from "Application (client) ID" and for the Client Secret use the value from the "Value" column from before that you saved into your word document as Client Secret Value. At last, fill in the "Directory (tenant) ID" from before. 

Before you click on Connect you have to decide how you want to import the contacts from Entra ID.

Select the folder you want the contacts to be imported to. Then specify if you want to import the contacts as a Mobile Business Card or a vCard. 

Last but not least you can also specify a Template that should be used for the new cards. If you specify a template then the design and logo from the template is going to be used for the created business card.

Then click on the Connect button to start the processing.

The system will first check if the provided credentials are working and then load the contacts into a list where you can decide which of them you want to actually import.

On the following screen you see the available contacts. Use the last column Import? and check the checkbox next to the contacts you want to import and click on the button Import.

Next you will see a success message at the top of the screen with a status of how many got created, updated or needed to be skipped.

You will now find the imported entries in the selected folder. Congratulations, you've successfully auto-imported contacts from Entra ID!