Ambitious is contagious » Microsoft Entra ID Tenant Protection

Protecting the Microsoft Entra ID Tenant is one of those tasks that everyone knows is critical, but many postpone until something goes wrong. And when a failure finally happens, it’s already too late to wonder “did we have a backup?”

To avoid any blackout or unexpected behaviour in my environment, I rely on two key components: EntraExporter and Veeam Backup & Replication. Together, they give me both configuration export and a real backup mechanism for Microsoft Entra ID.

Entra Exporter

I use the EntraExporter PowerShell module to export all configuration settings from my Microsoft Entra ID Tenant. It allows me to quickly create a full snapshot of the tenant’s configuration and store it locally as .json files.

What’s important:

The tool does not import data back in the same way it exports it.
But you still get a complete configuration archive, which is extremely helpful for replaying, restoring, or simply auditing settings.
It’s free and provided directly by Microsoft.

You can find the official documentation and source code here (Microsoft GitHub):

https://github.com/microsoft/EntraExporter

Veeam Backup and Replication

On top of configuration export, I also use Veeam Backup & Replication (VBR). Since version 12.3, Veeam has introduced a dedicated feature for Microsoft Entra ID Tenant backup.

This allows me to back up:

Users
Groups
Administrative Units
Roles
Applications

It doesn’t cover everything, but it protects the most critical objects — the ones that can break functionality across the entire tenant.

Connection Veeam to Entra ID

Before creating a backup job, Veeam needs to connect to a tenant. During the process, Veeam automatically creates an Enterprise Application in Entra ID. This application is responsible for secure communication between Veeam and a tenant.

Once the connection is established, you can create your backup job:

Run it manually, or
Configure a recurring schedule

After that, Veeam takes care of capturing changes and allowing restores when necessary — especially after unexpected events or configuration mistakes.

Conclusion

Protecting the Microsoft Entra ID Tenant is not optional. It’s a responsibility.

EntraExporter helps me archive all configuration settings.
Veeam Backup & Replication allows me to store critical identity objects and restore them when needed.

This combination provides strong coverage against misconfigurations, deletion, or accidental changes — and helps me sleep better at night.