# Best-Practice Guide for SCA

This guide provides administrators with recommended practices for configuring and managing the Secure Contacts App (SCA) to ensure optimal performance and user experience.

### 1. Data Sources Hint

SCA can integrate contacts from multiple sources, each with different capabilities. Administrators should consider which sources are relevant for their organization.

**Available data sources include:**

* **Azure Active Directory (AAD)** – Primary source for company-wide contacts.
* **Global Address List / OrgContacts (GAL)** – External contacts integrated into the directory.
* **Personal Outlook Contacts (APC)** – User-managed personal contacts.
* **Dynamics 365 (D365)** – Contacts stored in Dynamics 365 entities.
* **Dataverse (DVRS)** – Contacts from apps built on Microsoft Dataverse.
* **Azure Blob Storage (ABS)** – Contacts exported via CSV/JSON from any app.
* **Shared Mailbox Contacts (SMC)** – Contacts from Exchange Online shared mailboxes.

**Tip:** Administrators can **rename, hide, or customize** any data source using App Config parameters. For details, see the [Data Sources documentation](/documentation/data-sources.md).

### 2. Phone Number Formatting

Ensure all phone numbers are stored in **international format** to enable accurate caller identification and cross-region compatibility.

#### Optional Configuration Parameters

SCA provides several optional configuration parameters to manage phone number handling:

* **`PhoneNumberParseCountryCode_Option`** → Automatically parse and add missing country codes.
* **`PhoneNumberIgnoreInvalid_Option`** → Filter out invalid phone numbers.
* **`PhoneNumberExtensionInfix_Option`** → Customize the extension marker to match your organization’s format.

For more details, see the [Valid Phone Numbers documentation](/documentation/valid-phone-numbers-for-sca.md).

### 3. Group-Based Assignment (Data Sources & Features)

Do you need to assign different data sources and SCA features to user groups?

* Use **multiple App Configuration Policies** and assign them to different Azure AD user groups.
* Each policy can provide **different SCA features and different data sources**, tailored to the needs of that group.

**Example:**

* The **Sales group** can be assigned Dynamics 365 contacts.
* The **Support group** can be assigned Shared Mailbox Contacts.
* The **Management group** can be assigned all available data sources and advanced features.

**Hint:** Group-based assignments let you control both **which data sources** and **which features** are available to each group, ensuring users only see what’s relevant to their role.

### 4. Customization and Branding

For Enterprise Edition users, customize the app’s appearance to align with corporate branding:

* [**Whitelabel / Customize the CI**](/documentation/app-configuration-policy-name-values-for-sca/sca-configuration-ci-customization.md) → Modify highlight/button colors and the flyout menu to match your corporate identity.

### 5. Service Menu Access

For security, [change the **default PIN**](/documentation/app-configuration-policy-name-values-for-sca/sca-configuration-seccontacts.defaults.md#service-menu-access) for accessing the hidden Service Menu.


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