One Identity’s suite of IAM solutions includes Active Roles, an AD (Active Directory ) security and management tool designed to increase the security and efficiency of identity environments by consolidating all AD domains and Entra ID tenants onto a single console This ensures consistent enforcement of security policies through automation fine-grained delegation and permissions management, enables identity data to be synchronized across the entire network, and reduces the number of accounts which have been erroneously granted access privileges. The result is an improved security posture and reduced attack surface.
This blog focuses on user experiences and feedback, to give an inside view of the ways in which One Identity Active Roles impacts the AD Admins, Identity Security and SecOps teams specifically, and the organizations in general, by increasing efficiency and improving security posture. The quotes in this article are all taken from reviews which can be read in full at on the One Identity Active Roles product page on the PeerSpot, an enterprise technology buying intelligence platform.
Improved Security Posture
One Identity Active Roles enhances security posture by implementing strict access controls and automating user role assignments, ensuring that only authorized accounts have access to sensitive information. Additionally, it provides detailed auditing and compliance reporting, enabling organizations to monitor access and identify security risks.
Michiel Simon is the Technical Manager of Security at Liberty Global, and he values the high level of clarity which Active Roles offers, as it helps improve their security posture through risk mitigation: “It helps mitigate risks. With traditional, native Active Directory delegation, it can become really messy, really fast. You lose oversight on who has access where [...] The ROI is in the mitigation of risks: The risk of leaving unauthorized access behind, the risk of having Active Directory pollution. With that comes risks of people getting access they shouldn't have. There is the risk of having multiple accounts for the same thing; that's the biggest part.”
This user, a tech vendor Senior Cyber Security Architect, explains how security is improved through simple privilege management: “Active Roles helps my clients by reducing erroneous privileged accounts, often cutting them in half. It also reduces IT administrators' time spent on these tasks by 5 to 10 percent. The permission management feature is also excellent, clearly showing delegated permissions. It easily shows where all the permissions are delegated.”
A Senior Systems Engineer user notes his organization’s higher level of security posture and operational efficiency: “Active Roles improves our security posture by ensuring permissions are consistent and applied to the correct target every time. The solution improved our operational efficiency. Instead of manually applying permissions in Active Directory to thousands of OUs, we can do it in five minutes with a command in PowerShell.”
One Identity Active Roles enhances security by managing access and permissions more effectively which significantly boosts security and operational efficiency within organizations.
Increased Efficiency
One Identity Active Roles streamlines identity and access management by automating user provisioning and deprovisioning processes, reducing the time and effort required for administrative tasks. This increased efficiency allows IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives while ensuring security and compliance are maintained across the organization.
One Identity Active Roles also makes it simple to manage privileges by bringing everything together into a single view, as this user, a government Senior Systems Engineer states: “We use Active Roles to bring our decentralized environment into a single pane of glass. Our entire customer base is in a single directory, and they can manage their objects without interfering with other entities in our environment”
According to this user, a Senior Cyber Security Architect at a large tech vendor, automation is another key element in improving efficiency: “The best part of this Active Roles is the workflow engine. It features an industry-leading workflow automation feature. It's a visual PowerShell that allows task interruption.”
Finn Jacobsen, Architectural Specialist at HK/Midtvest, explains how the solution increases efficiency and productivity throughout his organization: “Active Roles improved the management of users, groups, and AD objects in the organization. It reduces the time we spend on password resets by 50 percent and speeds up other administrative tasks by providing a faster channel to do these things. We can use it everywhere in the organization [...] making everything more efficient. It makes us more productive because users don't need to submit a ticket to our service desk.”
One Identity Active Roles transforms identity and access management by automating administrative processes, unifying management into a single interface, and streamlining tasks like password resets, leading to increased productivity and a stronger security posture across the organization.
How One Identity Active Roles compares to other products
One Identity Active Roles stands out from other identity management products by offering robust automation capabilities for user provisioning and deprovisioning, significantly reducing administrative overhead. Its integration capabilities and comprehensive monitoring features contribute to providing a more streamlined and secure approach to identity management.
As a Senior Cyber Security Architect, this user has had experience with other AD solutions and is clear on what makes One Identity Active Roles a standout product for his team’s needs: “I have used Cayosoft and AD Access previously. Active Roles has PowerShell modules and a whole PowerShell backend that none of the other solutions do. That's where they lose the most. PowerShell makes a considerable difference compared to those other applications.”
This review from a Government Network Analyst details the benefits which Active Roles offers beyond other similar products: “There's no comparison between Active Roles and the native Microsoft tools. You can customize the interface so that you can create a user account much more quickly. Active Roles also gives you a really nice audit log of when a user account was created and of any changes that happen to that account after the fact, as long as you do those changes within Active Roles.”
In summary, One Identity Active Roles differentiates itself from other solutions with its powerful automation and integration capabilities, delivering a superior identity management experience that enhances efficiency and security.
Conclusion
One Identity Active Roles offers its users a solution with a solid ROI through increased efficiency and consistency and improved security, and reviewers agree. Users on PeerSpot report a significant reduction in erroneous privilege accounts, simpler access management, and a high level of risk mitigation. Also, its automation helps save time and the single pane view provides clarity and ease-of-use.
