How to Remove Admin Relationships Granted to Partners

Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Reading time: 7 minutes

In today’s dynamic business environment, managing your admin relationships efficiently is key to maintaining security and operational fluidity. If you’ve granted admin rights to partners and need to remove them, either to update permissions or for strategic reasons, here’s a straightforward guide to help you reclaim control and optimize your processes. In the example below I have granted “Global Admin” permission to a company, and now I want to remove the specific GDAP permission. (GDAP = Granular Delegated Admin Privileges)

GDAP is a great way for Dynamics partners to manage and administer their customer systems without requiring a license to do so… If we did not have the GDAP access, the only other way a partner would be able to access the customer’s system is by creating a user, and purchasing a license for that user, whcih may turn out to be costly for smaller customers.

Why Removing Admin Relationships Matters

Admin relationships often involve sensitive data, access to organizational settings, and the ability to make critical changes. While trusted partnerships are essential, there may come a time when reviewing or revoking admin permissions becomes necessary due to:

Removing admin relationships ensures your organization remains agile and secure, while aligning permissions with current business needs.

Steps to Remove Admin Relationships

Follow these steps to efficiently remove admin relationships granted to partners:

Step 1: Identify Current Admin Relationships

Start by reviewing your system to identify all existing admin relationships by logging on to Microsoft 365 admin center.

Step 2: Communicate Changes

Transparency is critical. Inform the affected partners ahead of time about the changes and explain the rationale. This strengthens professional trust and avoids misunderstanding.

Step 3: Revoke Admin Access

From the window where you logged onto the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, click on the relationship that you would like to modify:

Details of the relationship will be displayed, now click on the Roles tab to open details about the Roles that has been granted.

Once you can see the details about the Roles, you can click on the Remove Roles button to remove roles that you no longer want to grant to the partner.

A screen will pop up to confirm that you would like to remove access, to confirm, simply click on “Remove Roles” again.

Once again you will be asked to confirm the removal of the GDAP access, as this is not a reversable change, and your partner will no longer be able to administer your system after the change.

You should lastly see a confirmation screen that the admin roles have been removed. After which you should no longer see the admin relationship in the list of GDAP partner access.

Best Practices for Future Admin Management

To prevent unnecessary complications down the line, consider adopting these best practices:

Regularly audit admin access to ensure permissions align with current needs.
Clearly define roles and responsibilities for admin users.
Leverage tools to manage access securely and efficiently.
Do not grant Global Admin rights to partners. Instead, consider granting specific roles that do not give them access to your entire system.

Conclusion

Removing admin relationships granted to partners is more than a technical task—it’s an opportunity to refine your organizational security and foster trust. By following a clear process and adhering to best practices, you create a foundation for stronger, more secure collaborations.

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Berny Düring

Microsoft MVP, Dynamics 365 Business Central Partner Technology Strategist
Meet Berny Düring, our Partner Technology Strategist for Business Central at Companial. With over 27 years of experience as a Microsoft Certified Trainer, he brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge to his role. Starting as a Product Manager at Navision South Africa and subsequently at Microsoft, he later established his own successful partner. Joining Companial as a franchisee in the Middle East-African market, Berny once again played a crucial role in guiding partners to grow and develop their Business Central practices through mentoring and training. He holds qualifications in Business Management, Taxation, Law, Supply Chain Management, and Computer Sciences.
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