Limit Global Administrators to 2-4 for Professional Services & Consulting
How professional services & consulting organizations should implement PA-01 for Microsoft 365 security and compliance.
Professional Services & Consulting organizations face unique security challenges when managing Microsoft 365 environments. The PA-01 control (Limit Global Administrators to 2-4) is particularly important for this sector due to soc2 and iso27001 requirements.
Why Professional Services & Consulting Organizations Need This Control
Professional Services & Consulting organizations face specific regulatory requirements including soc2, iso27001, cis. The PA-01 control helps address these requirements by:
- Between 2 and 4 principals have the Global Administrator role
- No single point of failure (minimum 2)
- Attack surface is minimized (maximum 4)
- No service principals have Global Administrator (use least-privilege)
- No groups have Global Administrator (hidden privilege escalation risk)
Global Administrators have unrestricted access to your entire tenant. Too many increases your attack surface; too few risks lockout. Service principals and groups with Global Admin are especially dangerous - service principals can be compromised via app credentials, and groups hide who actually has the role. Microsoft recommends 2-4 permanent Global Admins for most organizations.
Industry-Specific Considerations
When implementing PA-01 in a professional services & consulting environment, consider:
- **Regulatory requirements**: soc2, iso27001, cis may mandate specific configurations
- **Risk tolerance**: Professional Services & Consulting organizations typically have moderate to low risk tolerance
- **Audit frequency**: Plan for regular compliance reviews
- **Documentation**: Maintain detailed records for regulatory inspections
Implementation Steps
To implement PA-01 in your Microsoft 365 environment:
- Between 2 and 4 principals have the Global Administrator role
- No single point of failure (minimum 2)
- Attack surface is minimized (maximum 4)
- No service principals have Global Administrator (use least-privilege)
- No groups have Global Administrator (hidden privilege escalation risk)
This control requires manual implementation through the Entra admin center.
Professional Services Compliance Requirements
Professional Services organizations must comply with these frameworks, all of which address limit global administrators to 2-4:
Why This Control Matters for Professional Services
Global Administrators have unrestricted access to your entire tenant. Too many increases your attack surface; too few risks lockout. Service principals and groups with Global Admin are especially dangerous - service principals can be compromised via app credentials, and groups hide who actually has the role. Microsoft recommends 2-4 permanent Global Admins for most organizations.
Common threats in professional services & consulting:
- • Client data breaches
- • Insider threats from departing consultants
- • Business email compromise
For professional services & consulting organizations, PA-01 is a key component of a compliant Microsoft 365 security posture. TrueConfig helps you implement and maintain this control while meeting industry-specific requirements.
Ready to secure your professional services Microsoft 365 environment?
TrueConfig continuously monitors your tenant against professional services best practices, including this control and 6+ others.