How to Enable Entra Direct Access B2B for Shared Channels (Office Apps Only)

Why We Use Teams Shared Channels

Collaboration is critical. Instead of sending endless emails or creating separate Teams tenants, Teams shared channels provide a secure, integrated, and user-friendly way to share information.

Key Benefits:

• No Guest Accounts Needed: Customers use their own credentials—no extra accounts to manage.
• Seamless Experience: Shared channels appear directly in the customer’s Teams interface, alongside their existing teams and channels. There’s no need to switch tenants or sign in/out.
• Centralized Communication: All onboarding documents, tasks, and discussions stay in one place, reducing confusion and improving transparency.

What Customers See:

Once invited, the shared channel will show up in their Teams overview just like any other channel, making it easy to find and use without extra steps.

This guide explains how to configure Microsoft Entra ID to allow B2B Direct Connect for shared channels between your organization and CloudConnected (cloudconnected.nl). This setup ensures secure collaboration while restricting access to Office apps only.

✅ Prerequisites

• You must be an Entra ID Administrator.
• Ensure you have the domain name of the partner organization: cloudconnected.nl

Step 1: Sign in to Microsoft Entra Admin Center

1. Go to Microsoft Entra Admin Center via https://entra.microsoft.com/
2. Sign in with your Global Admin or Identity Admin credentials.

Step 2: Configure Cross-Tenant Access Settings

1. In the left navigation, select:

Entra ID → External Identities → Cross-tenant access settings.

2. Under Organizations, click + Add organization.
3. Enter the domain:

cloudconnected.nl

and click Add.

Step 3: Configure Inbound Access

1. After adding the organization, select next to CloudConnected Inherited from Default under the Inbound Access
2. Go to B2B direct connect tab.
3. Select Customize Settings

• • Under External users and groups
  • Change Access status → Allow access
  • Change Applies to → All users and groups
  • Under Applications
  • Change Access status → Allow access
  • Change Applies to → Select applications & choose Add Microsoft Applications

4. Click on Save
5. Select Trust Settings

• Select Customize settings
• Select Trust multifactor authentication from Microsoft Entra tenants
• Select Trust compliance devices

1. Click on Save

Step 4: Configure Outbound Access

1. Select next to CloudConnected Inherited from Default under the Outbound Access
2. Go to B2B direct connect tab.
3. Select Customize Settings

• • Under External users and groups
  • Change Access status → Allow access
  • Change Applies to → All users and groups
  • Under Applications
  • Change Access status → Allow access
  • Change Applies to → Select applications & choose Add Microsoft Applications

4. Select Trust Settings

• Select Automatically redeem invitations with the tenant CloudConnected

1. Click on Save

Step 4: Validate Settings

• Ensure both Inbound and Outbound show Configured for CloudConnected.

✅ Result

Your organization can now securely collaborate with CloudConnected using Teams shared channels, while limiting access to Office apps only.

Updated on: 13/10/2025