Azure Plan - Purchasing additional Azure subscription

Introduction

The platform offers features to manage Azure subscriptions, including creating, assigning and inviting users or updating the details of subscriptions.
Here, you can learn about creating Azure subscriptions, manage users, status changes, subscription renaming, email notifications, and limits.

In this article:

To use this feature, you need the following:

  • An access to the platform.
  • An active Azure Plan.
  • Verified tenant for creating subscriptions.
  • GDAP permissions needed for assigning owners of subscriptions.
  • Consent to access Azure environment (access to use Management and Graph APIs) needs to be provided to the platform provider.
     

Subscription creation

To start creating an Azure subscription, you need to enter the required details such as the subscription name and tenant name (the selected tenant needs to have a valid Azure plan).

The subscription name is a mandatory field that you need to fill in. Make sure that the name is in line with the internal requirements of your organization.

Also, make sure that the customer for whom you're creating a subscription has sufficient permissions to become a subscription owner.

Every Azure subscription is the root node in the hierarchy under Azure Plan and has:

• A unique Subscription ID
• Assigned the start date as the provisioning date.
• The end date is set in a way that ensures no early expiration of the subscription.

 

To create an Azure subscription, follow these steps:

1. Go to the AppXite platform and log in using your credentials.

2. Go to the Catalog tab.

3. Make sure you have an active Azure Plan.

 NOTE! It's required that you have an active Azure Plan before you can place an order for 'Azure Subscription under Azure Plan' offer which, in result, will create the subscription under chosen Microsoft tenant with Azure Plan. You can also place an order for an Azure Plan on the AppXite platform by selecting Azure Plan as the product and Azure Plan as an offer.

 

4. Check the available Azure plan subscription offers.

view-azure-offers-2.png

 

5. Click on the Buy now button.

6. If you have existing Azure subscriptions, you will need to confirm the fact that you want to buy another subscription.

confirm-buying-azure.png

7. Select the desired tenant domain (1) or create a new domain (2). Note that if you choose creating a new domain, you will need to provide the URL for that domain in the pop-up window that opens.

 

tenant-domain.png

 NOTE! If new tenant is created, new Azure Plan offer needs to be ordered before ordering 'Azure Subscription under Azure Plan'.

 

8. Next, you need to name the Azure subscription.

azur-subscription-name.png

 NOTE! You can choose to assign existing members from the directory, invite new users, or leave the owner field empty when creating a subscription. Note that even if you do not assign the owner, the subscription is created (you can assign the owner later on).

9. Navigate to Azure Subscription Owner configuration section.

10. Click on Validate delegated admin permissions. If you receive Permission granted that indicates that GDAP permissions has been granted and you can proceed with next step. 

11. Select the owner of the subscription.

validate-and-select-owner.png

If you select the existing user:

  • The platform automatically assigns the selected user as the owner of the subscription.
  • Permissions for the selected owner are checked (GDAP permissions).

12. If the user who should be the owner is not on the list in the drop-down menu, use the Provide an Email of a User field to invite a new user.

13. Enter the email address of the user you want to invite (the validation process will take place).
When you enter the email address, the user is invited to join the subscription:

  • If the user is new to the directory, they are added as a member and assigned the owner role.
  •  If the email address belongs to an existing user, they are automatically given the owner role.

enter-email-address.png

14. Click on the Add to cart button.

azure-add-to-cart.png

15. After verifying your order, click on the Place order button to finalize your purchase.

azure-place-order.png

16. Accept the terms and conditions.

terms-conditions.png

13. After you have agreed to the terms and conditions, your subscription is purchased.

azure-order-confirmation.png

 

Subscription creation errors

You may experience errors when the following issues take place:

Azure plan is missing - if a tenant does not have a valid Azure plan, the platform stops the process and shows an error message:



Azure plan is inactive - if the plan is inactive, the customer can see a message asking them to reactivate the plan.
API failure - if there's an internal API or Microsoft API failure during the creation process, for example, token generation, the platform shows an error message on the orders page with details that allow to target and fix API-related issues.

 

Visibility of subscriptions and changes in Azure Portal

When it comes to Azure subscription management, the platform offers synchronization between your AppXite activities and Azure Portal. Changes that you make to Azure subscriptions on AppXite, including subscription creation, updating or status changes, are automatically shown in the Azure Portal.

When you create a subscription on the AppXite platform, the subscription gets a unique Subscription ID, name, start and end dates. Those details are immediately synchronized with Azure Portal so that your subscription appears in the Azure Portal with the same configuration details.

Updates like renaming a subscription within a subscription form, are also show in the Azure Portal. For example, when you change the name of a subscription on AppXite within subscription form, the platform sends the updated name to Azure API so that Azure Portal changes the name of your subscription too. In the same way, when you assign a new owner of a subscription, their permissions undergo validation and the role of the owner is reflected in Azure Portal.

Warning! Subscription name within the form is not currently added into original subscription name, so for good visibility in the subscriptions tab, subscription name can be updated (by selecting: Edit-> Now) with the same value as in the form or any other way to better identify from platform visibility.

Status changes like suspending or reactivation of a subscription are processed on the vendor side through AppXite and then reflected in Azure Portal.

Thanks to this synchronization process, you can be sure that changes you make on our platform also take place in your Azure environment.


Permissions

The platform checks permissions before assigning an owner to the subscription. It means that GDAP validation takes place to make sure that the customer has the needed permissions for assigning an owner.
The user selection section contains a drop-down list populated with available users and groups which makes assigning an owner from the directory quick and easy.

You can also enter a new email address for the subscription owner if a user is not in the directory. After validating email address, the new owner gets instructions allowing them to access and manage the Azure subscription.

 

To assign the owner of an Azure subscription, follow these steps:

1. Go to the AppXite platform and log in using your credentials.

2. Go to the Subscriptions tab.

subscriptions-tab.png

2. Select a specific Azure subscription.

select-azure-sub.png

3. Select Azure Subscription Owner configuration tab.

Owner-config-Azure.png

4. Click on Edit.

edit-subscription.png

5. Decide when you want the changes to apply.

when-to-apply-changes.png

6. Click on Validate delegated admin permissions. If you receive Permission granted that indicates that GDAP permissions has been granted, and you can proceed with next step. 

7. Select the owner of the subscription.

validate-and-select-owner.png

If you select the existing user:

  • The platform automatically assigns the selected user as the owner of the subscription.
  • Permissions for the selected owner are checked (GDAP permissions).

8. If the user who should be the owner is not on the list in the drop-down menu, use the Provide an Email of a User field to invite a new user.

9. Enter the email address of the user you want to invite (the validation process will take place).
When you enter the email address, the user is invited to join the subscription:

  • If the user is new to the directory, they are added as a member and assigned the owner role.
  •  If the email address belongs to an existing user, they are automatically given the owner role.

enter-email-address.png

10. Save the changes.

saving-owner.png

 

11. The user you invited is going to receive a confirmation email with a link to accept the role of a subscription owner. 

 

Status change

The platform allows for full control of suspension and reactivation of Azure subscriptions. Users can change the subscription status by unchecking or checking the status change box.

  • To suspend a subscription, the user needs to uncheck the status change checkbox.
  • To reactivate a subscription, the user needs to check the status change checkbox.

Note that if there is a problem on the vendor's side with suspension or reactivation of a subscription, the platform shows error message with the details of the issue.

 

In order to change the status of your subscription, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the platform using your credentials.

2. Go to the Subscriptions tab.

3. Select the desired subscription to go to its detailed view.

azure-subscription-selection2.png

4. Click on the Edit button located in the bottom-right corner of the page.

edit.png

5. Decide when you want to apply the changes (1) and then click on Continue (2).

azure-when-to-apply.png

6. Change the status of the subscription from suspended to reactivated or from activated to suspended by selecting the Status checkbox located in the upper-right corner of the Details tab.

status-change-button.png

Subscription renaming

The users can easily update the name of an existing Azure Subscription in the subscription form if they need to do so. When the name is updated in the form, its automatically synchronized with the Azure Subscription on the vendor side so that the subscription's name remains consistent in all places.

During the renaming process, the drop-down menu in the owner assignment section updates automatically to display existing users, groups or assigned users if assigning them anew is needed.

 

To rename your Azure subscription, follow these steps:

1. Log in to AppXite using your credentials.

2. Go to the Subscriptions tab.

3. Select a desired plan to change its name.

azure-subscription-selection2.png

4. Click on the Edit button located in the bottom-right corner of the Details page.

edit.png

5. Choose when to apply the change (now or at a specific time)(1) and click on the Continue button (2).

azure-when-to-apply.png

6. Change the name of your subscription in the Please provide Azure Subscription name field.

change-name-of-subscription.png

7. Click on Save to complete renaming of the subscription.

cancel-save.png

 

Warning! Renaming the Azure subscription will not rename the Appxite subscription name for good visibility in the subscriptions tab. To align on these two sources, the name needs to be updated in two places:


 

Email notifications

The platform sends automated email notifications to owners and administrators. For example, when an owner is assigned to an Azure Subscription, they receive instructions in an email message explaining how to access and use the Azure subscriptions.

  • Some notifications sent in emails are partner-specific and have been created for the internal workflows of the partners and are specific to new purchases and subscription updates when has succeed or has failed
  • Global administrators of customer tenants get notifications about subscription details, including name and ID.
  • Also, if there are any errors related to subscriptions, for example, API failures, the platform sends email notifications.

azure-email-notification.png

 

Limitations

  • The integration between Appxite and Microsoft Azure Management Portal is from one direction only, eg. changes made in the Azure Management Portal (renaming, status changes) will not get synchronized to Appxite, however all changes made to the subscriptions ordered and edited in Appxite platform will get synchronized to Microsoft immediately.
  • Subscription name within the form is not currently added into original subscription name, so for good visibility in the subscriptions tab, subscription name can be updated (by selecting: Edit-> Now) with the same value as in the form or any other way to better identify from platform visibility.
  • The markups configured specifically for 'Azure Subscription under Azure Plan' will not be reflected on the invoices, since these subscriptions will not be showing on the invoices.

Summary

The platform provides options to easily manage Azure Subscriptions under Azure Plans. Customers can create subscriptions by providing details like the subscription name and tenant name. Subscription management includes the possibility to rename subscriptions and changing their status to suspended or active.

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