

One Identity Active Roles and Microsoft Active Directory compete in the identity and access management space. One Identity Active Roles appears to have an edge due to its advanced automation, delegation features, and granular control that enhance security and efficiency beyond what Microsoft Active Directory offers.
Features: One Identity Active Roles provides robust automation, delegation through role-based access control, and centralized management capabilities. It enables seamless integration with on-premises and hybrid identity environments, ensuring streamlined user provisioning and de-provisioning processes. On the other hand, Microsoft Active Directory offers fundamental identity and access management with strong integration within the Microsoft ecosystem, facilitating large-scale user and policy management.
Room for Improvement: One Identity Active Roles could improve its user interface, simplify initial setup, and enhance cloud integrations to better serve hybrid environments. Microsoft Active Directory may benefit from advancing its multi-factor authentication and integration with non-Windows systems to increase flexibility and security.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: One Identity Active Roles offers flexible deployment options, including on-premises and hybrid cloud setups, but requires careful planning for initial configuration. Its customer service is well-regarded for handling complex Active Directory environments. Meanwhile, Microsoft Active Directory is extensively used for both on-premises and hybrid deployments and benefits from a strong support community, though complex hybrid implementations may need additional Microsoft services like Azure AD.
Pricing and ROI: One Identity Active Roles is typically positioned as an enterprise solution with higher licensing costs, justified by the ROI gained through significant time savings and automation of administrative tasks. Microsoft Active Directory incurs costs within the broader Microsoft ecosystem but offers considerable ROI as a bundled solution, providing foundational services without the need for extra dedicated identity management tools.
One Identity Active Roles provides excellent reporting and auditing functionality, allowing administrators to track permissions, actions, and responsibilities effectively.
Automation has really reduced the time spent on user provisioning, access management, or access changes by around 40 to 60 percent, which has significantly improved team productivity.
User onboarding time reduced by around seventy to eighty percent, from thirty to forty-five minutes to under ten minutes.
The solution is really time-saving since I don't need to create users in each server or system manually, and user access control is streamlined.
They are ready to provide support at any time.
The support team is knowledgeable about the product and AD environments.
Support is usually responsive for critical issues and provides solid practical guidance for AD workflow problems.
Support documents are available on the internet in every language.
If you purchase retail, the support will be more difficult because they will assess the priority or rating from the customer.
Sometimes support takes long to engage and resolve, extending over weeks or even months.
One Identity Active Roles works well in hybrid environments, handling both on-premises and cloud identities from a single platform.
It is commonly used in medium to large organizations managing complex Microsoft Active Directory and hybrid identity environments.
The platform can scale without needing a complete redesign.
Microsoft Active Directory scales effectively; I don't foresee any issues with that at all.
Overall, One Identity Active Roles has proven to be a stable, reliable, and well-suited solution for managing Active Directory at scale.
Overall, I consider One Identity Active Roles to be a stable solution, suitable for enterprise-grade environments.
Consistently performing for daily operations like automation and user management without major downtime reported.
If you meet the installation requirements from Microsoft, it will be very stable.
With multiple domain controllers, stability is ensured.
I've been working with Microsoft Active Directory for over 3 years, and we've had no problems.
The current REST API feels like an afterthought, and my developers want the ability to operate through CI/CD pipelines instead of logging into the GUI.
Improving documentation and providing more guided implementation resources would help organizations accelerate deployment and reduce dependency on external support.
Stronger, more seamless integration with cloud and hybrid environments like Azure AD, along with enhanced real-time reporting dashboards and easier troubleshooting tools, would help in faster issue resolution and a better overall administration experience.
Exporting and verifying group memberships require command line scripts, which isn't simple.
There are some features that need improvements in terms of ease of use and frequency of updates.
Sometimes, it can be overly complicated, and when you apply Group Policy in an Active Directory environment, sometimes those settings apply and sometimes they don't.
It is quite expensive, costing more than 50 euros per identity.
I think our total was in the seven-figure range for a couple of years of service.
The initial investment includes licensing, infrastructure setup, and implementation effort, with licensing typically based on the number of managed users or accounts, which can increase costs in large environments.
For the cloud solution in our region, the pricing of Microsoft Active Directory is very high.
I consider Microsoft Active Directory expensive because if you buy this thing bundled with the Windows Directory Server, you get five user licenses for about a thousand euros, or a little bit less than this.
The pricing, setup cost, and licensing with Microsoft Active Directory is straightforward; you just buy the server and then have to buy the user CALs.
It's improved our security posture. It has limited access to our crown jewels, where all our identities lie within Active Directory.
It helps in removing custom Active Directory delegation, which enhances security by eliminating unnecessary privileges, addressing identity-based breaches by reducing the number of Active Directory delegations.
Dynamic groups are also one of the best features, eliminating the need to add or manage members manually.
To assess the impact of Microsoft Active Directory's centralized domain management on security protocols and access permissions, Microsoft Active Directory itself has constraints with security because when we have a solution such as SSO or Single Sign-On, which makes it easier for users to log in, some parts have security openings.
One valuable feature is the centralized creation of IDs.
I can control all the devices in my domain by just changing the group policies in one place.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| One Identity Active Roles | 12.3% |
| Microsoft Active Directory | 6.5% |
| Other | 81.2% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 96 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 14 |
| Large Enterprise | 44 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 21 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 7 |
| Large Enterprise | 20 |
One Identity Active Roles enhances Active Directory management by automating essential tasks and improving security through efficient delegation and role-based access control.
One Identity Active Roles offers advanced features for managing Active Directory environments, aiding in automating user provisioning, group management, and de-provisioning. It integrates seamlessly with Microsoft environments and provides centralized management for both on-premises and cloud identities. By improving operational efficiency and reducing manual errors, it enforces robust governance across organizations. Active Roles includes auditing and reporting tools that strengthen compliance and security monitoring. Companies find the setup could be simplified with better documentation, more customization options in reporting, and expanded cloud integration, particularly with Azure. Improved workflows and deeper native connectors are needed for seamless automation. Price adjustments and user-friendly analytics with intuitive dashboards are recommended for better usability.
What are the key features of One Identity Active Roles?
What benefits and ROI should users evaluate?
Many industries deploy One Identity Active Roles for automating user lifecycle management, especially in Active Directory environments. It significantly eases operations by automating onboarding for new hires, managing role changes, and modifying access. The platform efficiently handles tasks like password resets and compliance audits while empowering teams to securely manage user access without requiring full administrative rights.
Microsoft Active Directory enables centralized management of user identities and permissions, integrating seamlessly with cloud services via Azure AD Connect. Its support for hybrid environments makes it essential for businesses looking to manage authentication, authorization, and access control efficiently.
Active Directory offers a robust framework for network and identity management, focusing on scalability and ease of use. Its integration with Single Sign-On enhances user convenience by synchronizing login credentials across cloud and on-premises applications. While it efficiently manages security protocols, scalability, and third-party application integration, users note areas for improvement like better reporting capabilities, a modernized interface, improved synchronization between on-prem and cloud setups, and streamlined configurations.
What are the essential features of Microsoft Active Directory?In industries like finance and healthcare, Active Directory is implemented to manage sensitive data access and user authentication across complex networks. Retailers rely on its scalability for managing vast customer and product datasets, while educational institutions utilize its centralized management features to efficiently administer student and faculty permissions across multiple applications and platforms.
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