In a digital world where every user needs to be carefully vouched for, constantly monitored, and efficiently managed, it becomes essential for network and server administrators to stay on top of everyone accessing their resources
And in cases where businesses have many user accounts, it makes sense to leverage one of the seven best user provisioning tools we will be seeing.
Here is our list of the seven best user provisioning tools:
- SolarWinds Access Rights Manager (FREE TRIAL) Α lightweight AD user provisioning tool from one of the leading server and network monitoring tool makers; it is ideal for larger businesses. It standardizes user credentials using role-specific templates to manage accounts at scale securely.
- Oracle Identity Management Α highly flexible tool that can work equally efficiently in any architecture; it is a suite of tools that ensure the security of accounts from all angles.
- ManageEngine ADManager Plus Α tool created for the Windows environment that is easy to use, cost-effective, and completely web-based; this is a comprehensive tool that integrates well and allows for delegation of administrative tasks.
- Okta Α workforce and customer identity management solution offering frictionless logins and API integrations; other features include workflow integration with many systems and password-less access capabilities.
- PingIdentity PingOne Α cloud-based user provisioning tool that is mobile-friendly and offers authentication services to many third-party solutions; it is a simple but powerful tool that administrators will love using.
- SailPoint Identity Platform Αnother cloud-based user provisioning tool that leverages the latest technology, making it an advanced solution fit for securing any architecture; it is flexible and keeps adapting as the user accounts scale or transform.
- OneLogin Trusted Experience Platform Αn all-encompassing user provisioning tool that caters to internal and external accounts and all assets in a digital environment; it brings unique technologies to the table without negatively affecting endpoint performances.
What is user provisioning?
User account provisioning, or user provisioning, is a digital identity and access management process that ensures user accounts are created and assigned the proper roles or permissions to access an organization’s resources as per existing policies or regulations.
The process also involves changing, disabling, or deleting these accounts depending on the lifecycle or employment status of the users in an organization.
Automated user account provisioning is when these actions are performed using tools usually triggered when information is added, modified, or changed in other user control systems – like HR systems or Active Directory (AD) services.
The primary role of user provisioning tools in businesses
Managing user accounts for every employee – especially in a large enterprise – can quickly become a tedious, error-prone job. This becomes glaringly evident in companies where employee turnover and transfers are high.
As the number of accounts that need to be handled increases, it can affect the line. Users that needed to be on-boarded can find themselves idle for hours, if not days, while their accounts are created, assigned the correct roles, tested, and finally handed over to them. This leads to wasted man-hours.
Installing a user provisioning tool is the best solution.
Features of an exemplary user provisioning tool
Some features to look for in a good user provisioning tool include:
- It should have the ability to provide business partners with layers of single sign-on (SSO), and Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) access to apps through a portal functionally – similar to the ones available to their internal users.
- A user provisioning tool should handle both workforce and customer accounts with equal efficiency.
- It should allow customers who already have established their identities on social media or other popular platforms (Facebook and Google are good examples) to register by using one of these accounts and then access resources they have been authorized to.
- It should be able to cover the whole enterprise and cater to all users of all applications and software solutions on a network under the control of directory services like Microsoft AD and Novell eDirectory.
- It should be easy to install, configure, use, and administer; the administration team shouldn’t find it challenging to create and assign roles and privileges.
- Of course, it should also provide full workflow automation – functions like user reviews, provisioning, or compliance should be event-driven as they move along the approval chain – with no manual intervention required.
- It should also leverage analytics and allow administrators to apply privileges based on informed context and not guesses. Therefore, the tool should discover, aggregate, correlate, and standardize unrelated identities, access levels, and security models for better insight.
- A good user provisioning tool should be able to identify risky behavior in real-time; it should also send alerts about suspicious activities or security threats to help stop malicious attacks.
- Zero Trust security – the act of eliminating network authentication as a primary access model to safeguard and apply access control, regardless of where users log in from – would be a sign of a great user provisioning tool; this is the “modern” way of securing a network and limiting the damage that malicious users can cause.
- And finally, the price should be worth the investment – there is no need to pay exorbitant subscription fees when a similar tool can perform a better job for a lower price… or even for free.
The seven best user provisioning tools
Well, let’s move on to the seven best user provisioning tools.
1. SolarWinds Access Rights Manager (FREE TRIAL)
SolarWinds Access Rights Manager (ARM) is a lightweight Microsoft AD and Azure AD user provisioning tool. It is made by one of the most popular server and network monitoring and administration tool makers. An ARM can streamline user onboarding and helps with account administration, and remains necessary right until a final user deletion request is sent.
The number of accounts doesn’t matter as ARM standardizes user credentials using role-specific templates to manage accounts at scale securely. This makes it a good choice for any organization – big or small.
Looking at some more features:
- Administrators can create, delete or edit permissions from a single ARM console; they can also analyze, audit, manage, and monitor AD and Group Policy configurations with ease.
- The tool can be used to manage other Microsoft platforms like SharePoint, Exchange, and OneDrive.
- Data owners can take responsibility for organizational categories like folders or groups. They can also use self-service permissions portals to take over the assignment of access rights, thus easing the burden off administrators who might otherwise get the assignments wrong.
- Detailed reports with deep insights are only a few clicks away – ARM creates customizable reports that can be run on a schedule or on-demand; these reports can be consumed internally or be presented to auditors as proof of compliance.
- And then, there is the comprehensive log monitoring that traces any changes in programs, applications, and accounts, including mailboxes, calendars, or contacts; the logs can be sent to security information and event management (SIEM) solutions for more detailed analysis of any suspicious activities.
Try SolarWinds Access Rights Manager with a fully functional 30-day free trial.
2. Oracle Identity Management
Oracle Identity Management is a scalable user provisioning solution that allows organizations to manage the end-to-end lifecycle of user identities effectively. It integrates well with enterprise resources, both within and beyond the firewall and even in the cloud.
This tool also handles identity governance, access management, and directory services and allows businesses to leverage mobile access and social media platforms.
Oracle Identity Management is a member of the Oracle Fusion Middleware family of products. It is, in fact, a suite of tools that consists of Oracle Identity Manager, Oracle Identity Analytics, and Oracle Privileged Account Manager.
Delving into the features:
- It is flexible enough to automatically manage user access privileges within an enterprise’s IT resources – regardless of most business requirements and by integrating well into and dynamically adapting to their infrastructures, policies, and procedures that are already in place.
- Administrators can easily define and manage roles and automate critical identity-based controls; once the parts have been created and assigned, the tool continues to manage the identities – even as the user accounts carry on scaling.
- And then there is the Oracle Privileged Account Manager, which helps manage and secure passwords; it can create, assign, and control access to passwords for privileged accounts like the “root” for Linux or Unix-based systems and “sys” for Oracle databases. Quite understandably, these accounts are carefully audited.
- Oracle Identity Management is platform and server agnostic – it can be used in the cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments; it also offers highly customizable portals.
- Alternatively, users can opt for Oracle Identity Cloud Service – an innovative, fully integrated service that delivers all core identity and access management capabilities through a shared cloud platform.
Download and try Oracle Identity Management for FREE (you may need to refer to dependencies before installation).
3. ManageEngine ADManager Plus
ManageEngine ADManager Plus was explicitly built for the Microsoft ecosystem. It is an AD management and reporting solution for administrators and technicians who efficiently manage objects and generate instant, one-click reports.
It is an easy-to-use, completely web-based, and cost-effective AD management tool.
Looking at some of its features:
- Administrators can easily delegate routine account management tools to the help desk staff.
- They can do these delegations of management and reporting tasks without modifying any other permissions or roles that may already be assigned to the help desk technicians – this avoids confusion.
- Although created specifically for AD, it also serves as an integrated identity and access management tool for Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace, and Skype for Business Server.
- It also offers a separate access control for privileged accounts privy to business-critical data via extensive users’ group memberships and file server permissions management.
- The AD user and object reports generated by ADManager Plus are comprehensive and insightful.
- In fact, with this tool in place, businesses don’t have to worry about compliance to PCI, HIPAA, SOX, and GDPR requirements – they can keep track of their progress with the help of predefined, actionable reports.
- This is all locked in with the help of multi-level approval workflows to monitor and streamline management and reporting tasks – all to prevent unauthorized changes.
Try ManageEngine ADManager Plus FREE for 30 days.
4. Okta
With Okta, we also get a platform that acts as a workforce and customer identity management solution.
But, in this case, Okta can be further extended to cater to these users by offering frictionless logins and smooth API integrations. These features enhance the users’ login experiences and create seamless business process integrations and improve security on the whole.
More features include:
- Two essential features with Okta are its ability to help administrators avail password-less access via email-based magic links and security assurance via Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) using their Okta Verify – their in-house developed MFA factor and authenticator app.
- This tool has over 120 pre-integrated applications for user account lifecycles; it can be triggered to create or update roles and permissions on AD depending on users being added to an HR system like BambooHR.
- On the other hand, Okta also has a single sign-on solution that connects to, and syncs with, any number of ID stores, including the open-sourced Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), for example, and other third-party identity management solution providers.
- Finally, this tool’s audit reports make it easy to gain a complete overview of all users, which, in turn, makes it easy for administrators to make insightful decisions about their access policies; they can also make informed decisions on the way forward depending on their compliance and governance levels.
Try Okta for FREE.
5. PingIdentity PingOne
From PingIdentity, we get PingOne, a cloud platform from which administrators can cater to both their internal users and external customers and integrate well with a large number of security software solutions and the most common business and productivity applications in use today.
Administrators will love the PingOne Cloud Mobile Application, which allows them to offer the convenience of mobile SSO on the go from anywhere in the world using their Android or Apple devices.
Looking at its features:
- PingOne is one of the leading user provisioning tools offered as Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) and provides authentication for AD, Google Apps, and other third-party directories.
- Even when there are legacy authorization systems like Oracle, IBM, or CA Technologies, this tool offers both out-of-the-box migration tools, if it needs to take over their jobs entirely, and integration capabilities, if it needs to co-exist with them instead.
- Its mobile app makes it an ideal tool to connect users to apps and devices, primarily because it also uses adaptive authentication – which works by creating individual profiles for each user, and includes information such as their location, registered devices, roles, and more – allowing secure access from anywhere in the world.
- Administrators will find it a joy to work with this tool – it has a simple yet powerful management console that offers features like self-service admin APIs and administration delegation for a more distributed approach to user provisioning; this approach also allows business units to take control of their own users’ role and privilege assignments.
Try PingIdentity PingOne for FREE.
6. SailPoint Identity Platform
SailPoint Identity Platform is a cloud-based user provisioning tool built on big data and machine learning (ML) technologies that allow for an AI-driven approach to identity governance.
This leveraging of advanced technology makes it a powerful user provisioning tool with features like autonomous risk detection and mitigation, innovative process orchestration, and low or no-code extensibility that can be applied on any cloud architecture without draining local resources.
Looking at other features:
- This tool offers complete lifecycle management of user access that is continuously tracked in real-time and strictly enforced to ensure compliance at all times.
- It is a flexible tool that allows for cloud governance as it discovers and protects access to cloud resources while also ensuring the security of structured and unstructured data.
- It offers password management across the entire enterprise. It enforces a Zero Trust security model to ensure risks are minimized if not wholly eliminated using its Access Risk Management for predictive analysis – even when it comes to a business’ SaaS subscribed solutions.
- As if the built-in automation capabilities for role creation and privilege assignment weren’t enough, SailPoint Identity Platform uses its machine learning capabilities to study the host organization’s identity needs and caters to it by adapting accordingly.
- It also helps with day-to-day security by performing real-time analysis and then making recommendations based on the results. Then, there is its compliance reporting to ensure the business meets all its security certification requirements.
Try SailPoint Identity Platform by registering HERE.
7. OneLogin Trusted Experience Platform
OneLogin Trusted Experience Platform is the user provisioning platform for secure, scalable, and intelligent experiences that covers the in-house users, customers connecting from beyond the network, and the developers helping create a smoother digital environment.
With the help of this user provisioning tool, administrators can securely connect all of their applications and take quick actions as soon as they identify potential threats.
Here are some more of its features:
- This tool works on identity authentication, authorization, migration, and management without sacrificing user experience (UX), regardless of location, and with a developer-friendly approach.
- With this tool, administrators have the flexibility of taking complete control of all application access, a user on- and off-boarding, and managing day-to-day security administration activities of both on-premises and in the cloud located assets.
- It offers advanced security features like SSO, MFA, and SmartFactor Authentication – a unique approach to security enforcement using machine learning to analyze several inputs, like location, device type, and user activity, to arrive at a risk score which is then used to determine the most appropriate security action to take for each login attempt.
- It helps enforce local IT identity policies and can instantly block access for employees who have been off-boarded or moved to another group by removing them – in real-time – from the AD.
- And, it doesn’t only work with AD – OneLogin also supports other directory types and productivity platforms, including Google G Suite, Workday, and LDAP via SSL or OneLogin’s connector; administrators can stay on top of issues with even the most complicated infrastructure, using email notifications – which are also easy to configure.
- In case of doubt, administrators (and users) can use an extensive knowledge base that explains in detail the steps required to integrate various applications.
- Finally, OneLogin allows for creating custom fields while defining AD attributes, making it easier for businesses to fully adopt this user provisioning tool by modeling it to fit any unique structures they may have.
Try OneLogin Trusted Experience Platform FREE for 30 days.
Why do we need user provisioning tools?
Ok, we have just seen the seven best user provisioning tools. So let us close by reviewing how these tools can help businesses in their day-to-day activities and overall security.
Here are some reasons:
- AD is one of the most popular user administration platforms. HR departments will find that these tools make it easier to manage users’ logins, accounts, roles, and privileges quickly, accurately, and efficiently without relying on the IT department.
- Automating any task – user management included – saves time and money. This is especially true when it can all be done centrally from one console.
- The cost-saving also applies to software licenses where removing unnecessary accounts quickly means recuperation of subscription costs.
- In this case, it also means saving money – indeterminable amounts – by not letting hackers (incredibly disgruntled former employees with still-active accounts) run amok on a network.
- Enforcement of policies also becomes more accessible as actions can be taken based on reports and audits showing details like malicious attempts, inactivity, or privilege abuse.
- Then there is the fact that businesses today need to meet various requirements and compliance standards, and user provisioning tools make it much more manageable.
It is apparent now, we hope, that businesses that choose to invest in any of the seven best user provisioning tools we have seen would be at an advantage when it comes to effectively and securely managing their user and customer accounts.
We would like to know what you think – are there any tools you have tried ad feel should also be on this list? Let us know; leave us a comment.
L’article The 7 Best User Provisioning Tools for 2021 est apparu en premier sur Comparitech.
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