Import and manage your organizational data with a .csv file

You can import employee information from non-Microsoft systems into Microsoft 365 for use across Microsoft 365 and Viva.

Note

Organizational data must be imported by the Organizational Data Source Administrator. Any pre-existing app-specific admin roles aren't automatically converted to the organizational data source admin role. You need to assign the role. Learn more about the organizational data admin role.

To import your data, you populate a .csv template with the attributes (or information) about your users that you want to include and then upload the file through the Microsoft 365 admin center. Here are the steps to get started:

Update current data

Choose this to update current organizational data. For retroactive Viva Insights updates, see Import historical data. Below is the summary of the steps to get started:

Primary role Coordinate with Action Resources Estimated time
Microsoft 365 Global/Organizational Data Source Administrator App administrators, such as Viva Glint Administrator or Insights Administrator Choose which apps / services receive the data:

1. Go to Microsoft 365 Organizational Data Service > Data connections > New import > csv import

2. Apps and services include Viva Insights including Copilot Dashboard, Viva Glint, People Skills and Microsoft 365 Profile

3. Public Microsoft 365 attributes are automatically shared with all eligible Microsoft 365 and Viva apps and services
  • Choose apps and services to share data
  • Video above
    		•  5 minutes
    Microsoft 365 Global/Organizational Data Source Administrator Human Resources Information System (HRIS) owner Prepare the .csv data file and upload the file.

    1. Decide which attributes to include (reserved and custom attributes).

    2. Download the .csv template and add data to the file.

    3. Use reserved names with the "Microsoft_" prefix, such as Microsoft_PersonEmail, to automatically map columns and skip manual mapping.

    4. Only if you want to test first: Turn on data staging.
  • Upload file
  • .csv template
    		•  0.5 to 1 day
    Microsoft 365 Global/Organizational Data Source Administrator Mapping: Map your source columns to reserved attributes. Any imported attributes that you don't match to reserved attributes are used as custom attributes. Mapping 10 minutes
    Microsoft 365 Global/Organizational Data Source Administrator App administrators such Viva Glint Administrator or Insights Administrator Choose attribute access:

    1. Decide which attributes are shared with which destinations or apps.

    2. Public Microsoft 365 attributes are automatically shared with all eligible Microsoft 365 and Viva apps and services.    		 Attribute access and sharing 5 minutes
    Microsoft 365 Global/Organizational Data Source Administrator (optional) Only if you want to test first: Turn on data staging to review the validation details before sharing the data with downstream apps. Export the ingested data file to confirm it looks right. After reviewing, you need to approve data sharing within 48 hours, after which the ingestion is no longer available. Validate in staging 1 hour
    Microsoft 365 Global/Organizational Data Source Administrator Validate and publish. Allow up to 24 hours to process (first upload can take up to 72 hours). 5 minutes
    Microsoft 365 Global/ Organizational Data Source Administrator HRIS data owner Troubleshoot common errors and how to fix them.
  • Validation errors and warnings
  • Viva Glint errors
    		•  1 hour

    Import the data into Microsoft 365

    1. Start the import from Microsoft 365 Organizational Data Service > Data Connections. Learn how to access Microsoft 365 Organizational Data Service.

    2. Select Get started (if this is the first time you're importing data) or New import (if you haven't yet imported data).

    3. On the Select connection type page, select Start CSV import. Select Update current data and then select Continue.

    4. Select the apps and services with which to share data. By default, all public reserved attributes are shared across Microsoft 365 and Viva apps and services. Use this page to select apps with which to share application-specific and custom attributes then select Next. You can change your selections at any time within Settings.

      • Under each app, select View app specific attributes to see a list of attributes that can be accepted by that app. You'll set attribute-specific access later.

    5. On the Setup CSV import details page, choose between "Import from SharePoint" and "Import locally."

      • Import from SharePoint (recommended): Enter the SharePoint location where you saved your .csv file. If you copied the location at the end of the upload step, paste it here. Learn how to import from SharePoint.

      • Import locally (from your device or cloud storage): After you create the .csv file with your data, you can upload it directly from your local files on your computer. You can upload a file up to 2 GB in size.

      • Select Prepare your organizational data. Then select Download template. Here's a sample data file which must be saved as .csv file before upload. For more information about attributes, see Attribute reference. Upload your file, then select Next to move forward.

    6. If you're sharing data with Viva Glint and you'd like to use this connector to update the entire dataset for Viva Glint, under Run full import for Viva Glint, select Update the entire Viva Glint dataset. Include all users in the import file. Any users not included in the uploaded file are marked as "Inactive" in Viva Glint, including active users from other connectors that aren't included in this file. Turn off if other connectors provide additional active users.

    7. On the Set up CSV import settings page, if you'd like to review the details about the quality of your ingested data before making it available to downstream apps, select Turn on data staging. Learn more.

    8. Select Next.

    9. Map attributes from your imported file to the corresponding attributes for the apps with which you're sharing data. Any imported attributes that you don't match to reserved attributes are used as custom attributes and can't be renamed.

      • Reserved attributes are the list of the reserved attributes for the app(s) you selected. Attribute from file is the corresponding attribute pulled from your imported file.

        1. AI analyzes the column names in the uploaded file, mappings from previous uploads, and the closest match to reserved attribute names to suggest recommended mappings per attribute.

        2. To automatically map columns and skip manual mapping, use reserved attribute names with the "Microsoft_" prefix, such as Microsoft_PersonEmail, in your .csv data file. See the complete list of reserved attribute names.

        3. For each reserved attribute, review and select the appropriate matching imported attribute. When you're done, select Next.

      • Review your custom attributes (if any): If you've imported any custom attributes, review them on this page. These can't be renamed and you can't change their data type. To make changes to the names, update your .csv file and import the data again. Then select Next.

    10. Choose attribute access for apps, then select Next.

    11. Review your connection details, then select Begin Validation.

    Your organizational data is validated against the requirements for use with Viva and Microsoft 365 services. Validation takes a few hours; however, it can take up to three days for your complete data upload to be available in the profile store. You can check the validation status on the Data connections page in the Microsoft 365 admin center. When the validation is complete, you see a message that your data is in use and managed by Viva and Microsoft 365.

    Import from SharePoint

    First, upload the file from your local computer to a secure SharePoint location. Then, import the data. Use the following steps to upload your data to SharePoint. You can upload a file up to 2 GB in size.

    1. Be the owner of a SharePoint site. If you're not an owner, you must have member access to a SharePoint site. Don't use custom domain or on-prem SharePoint sites.

    2. Upload the organization data file to a folder you can access. You are listed as the file owner.

      Note

      The admin who uploads the data must be the user who uploaded the file to the SharePoint site.

    3. Copy the file url as described in the instructions in the section that follows.

    SharePoint instructions

    1. Open the SharePoint site library.

    2. Select Upload, and then select Files.

      A screenshot shows the Upload menu in SharePoint.

    3. Navigate to the location where you saved the .csv file, and then select Open.

      You can also use drag and drop to upload the file.

    4. Select the ellipses (...) next to the file and then select Share or Copy link.

      A screenshot shows the ellipses option next to a file in a SharePoint library.

    Update or make other changes to your data with subsequent uploads

    The Organizational Data Source Administrator can update organizational data.

    To update an end user's organizational data, create and upload a new .csv file containing only the users whose data you want to update. Follow the on-screen prompts to make your changes, using the same process for the first upload described in the preceding section.

    To update a value, include all of the attributes that you want to update. If you include an attribute but leave the value blank or empty, the previously uploaded value will be used and the existing value won't be updated. New uploads merge with previous data and don't overwrite that data.

    • To delete string values for a user, enter three single quotes (''') in Excel or two ('') in the .csv file.
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