What Azure Start-ups Need to Know About Microsoft Entra for SOC 2

When startups think about SOC 2, they often jump straight to logging, firewalls, or backup policies. But if your identity setup is flawed, everything else is a distraction.

Microsoft Entra is more than just Azure AD with a new name. For start-ups building on Azure, it is the control plane for access, privilege, and accountability the very things SOC 2 auditors prioritise.

In this post, we look at the identity governance features that matter most when preparing for an audit, and the common gaps that can delay your report.

What SOC 2 wants to see from your identity system

SOC 2 does not require a specific vendor. But it does require that you:

• Control who has access to what

• Justify elevated access (admin, contributor, etc)

• Remove access promptly when people leave

• Review permissions regularly

• Log and audit access attempts and changes

Microsoft Entra can do all of this if you set it up correctly.

Common gaps in start-up Entra configurations

1. Standing admin access

   • Users are assigned permanent Owner or Contributor roles

   • No elevation process, no approvals, no time limits

2. No use of Privileged Identity Management (PIM)

   • Access is not Just-in-Time

   • No approval workflows, notifications, or audit logs

3. Over-reliance on groups without scoping

   • Groups are used, but not linked to roles or RBAC scopes

   • Access review is manual or not performed at all

4. No regular access reviews

   • Users accumulate access over time

   • Offboarding is inconsistent or undocumented

5. Audit logs not enabled or retained

   • Entra logs are not sent to Log Analytics

   • Alerting is reactive or missing altogether

What good looks like

• Entra PIM is used for all admin-level access, with time-bound elevation and justification required

• Access requests go through approval workflows

• All roles and groups have defined owners

• Access reviews are configured on a quarterly basis and enforced

• Audit logs are exported to Log Analytics or Sentinel with retention set for at least one year

These steps are not about ticking boxes. They are about proving, with evidence, that you are in control of who can do what in your cloud environment.

Why this matters beyond the audit

Good identity governance:

• Limits blast radius when accounts are compromised

• Keeps your RBAC model simple and scalable

• Avoids cloud cost surprises from unused privileged roles

• Builds muscle for future frameworks like ISO 27001, HITRUST, or FedRAMP

And most of all, it shows customers and auditors that you are serious about security — not just running scripts.

How we help

Our Azure Compliance and Cost Audit includes:

• A review of your Microsoft Entra configuration

• Checks for PIM coverage, role usage, and audit readiness

• Clear remediation steps with minimum disruption to your team

• Optional walkthrough of changes with your engineer or DevOps lead

You do not need an enterprise license to get the basics right. You just need a process and someone who knows what matters to auditors.

Want to test your identity posture?

Download the SOC 2 Readiness Checklist. Includes a one-page Entra governance check you can run yourself.

Or book a 2-day Azure Compliance Audit. We’ll surface the risks before your auditor does.

Book a quick audit call or message me on LinkedIn or CTO.