Active Directory Management Tool

Active Directory management comprises all systems, tools, and processes to manage the access rights for user groups and accounts related to company assets (systems, files, and data). Everyday AD management tasks include:

• Creating and managing user accounts
• Managing group memberships
• Setting up and enforcing security policies
• Ensuring users have access to the appropriate systems, applications, files, and data within the network

Effective Active Directory user management ensures users can securely access the resources they need while protecting sensitive information and maintaining compliance with organizational policies. It involves closely monitoring and regularly reporting user activities and maintaining the health and performance of AD servers.

Automation is critical for organizations looking to streamline operations and reduce administrative overhead. For example, automating routine, tedious tasks, such as user provisioning and de-provisioning with Active Directory user management tools, spares admins the hassle of doing everything manually, saving them time and energy so they can concentrate on more critical tasks.

Microsoft Active Directory is an essential service administrators use to manage network security, users, assets, computers, and devices across networks. As cybersecurity threats grow, admins must be extra vigilant about keeping data secure, regulating user access, and mitigating potential cybersecurity threats by managing Active Directory.

However, staying current on compliance requirements and setting authorizations can take time to achieve using Active Directory alone. Using AD with a specialized Active Directory management tool can make it easier for admins to understand and manage permissions levels across the organization and easily demonstrate compliance with regulatory and legal requirements related to access rights.     

Tools for Active Directory management are third-party software, which integrates with and optimizes AD. These tools can simplify activity reporting so you know who can access systems, data, and files.

A comprehensive, agile, and scalable AD manager solution reduces manual de-provisioning, as it offers:

• Increased administrative control: Admins can manage user permissions and control them from a single interface and gain critical insight into their network’s operations.
• Simplified regulatory compliance: The best Active Directory management tools can automatically generate management and compliance reports, so you’ll always be ready for an audit.
• Easier credential management: Active Directory management makes setting and changing passwords easy, which is handy when changing all user passwords.
• Improved internal and external security: Active Directory management reigns in external credential theft and internal unauthorized user access.
• Reduced overhead costs: With one functional AD management tool, you won’t have to spend much money on disparate technologies to build an effective Active Directory manager. You can also scale up or down as you go.

Active Directory management tools provide a centralized platform from which admins can manage user access rights and user provisioning processes and comply with audits. Active Directory tools should include procedures for adding users to groups, changing password options in bulk, and deactivating user accounts.

Have you been searching for a way to manage all user authorizations from one place? Do you need help with getting compliance reports ready in time for auditors? Have you neglected your cybersecurity best practices and want a tool to help automate security protocols? Active Directory management tools can help.

With SolarWinds^® Access Rights Manager, these core processes can be quick and easy.

SolarWinds^® Access Rights Manager (ARM) is a powerful and scalable Active Directory management tool, streamlining user management, simplifying user provisioning and de-provisioning, improving regulatory compliance, and managing user rights. Many Active Directory management tools can be costly and complicated, but ARM is an affordable solution offering everything you need to master Active Directory.

With ARM, you can:

• Quickly demonstrate compliance for auditors with auto-generated reports
• Automatically provision and de-provision users
• Gain critical visibility into user access rights across your entire environment
• Mitigate cybersecurity risks by cracking down on unauthorized user access and potential data breaches
• Free up time to spend on more complex management tasks and more

ARM comes in two varieties: the audit edition and the full version. With the audit edition, you can effectively analyze, monitor, and audit AD, SharePoint, Exchange, and File Share. However, you’ll miss unique features, such as ARM’s self-service permissions portal and access rights delegation. Try the full version of Access Rights Manager for 30 days and unlock Active Directory's true potential for free.

SolarWinds ARM was created with the user in mind. Hence, creating groups, adding new users, changing passwords in bulk, and deactivating user accounts is simple.

How to create a group and add users

1. Open ARM, click “Start,” and select “Create new user or group.”
2. ARM will offer you four standard templates, but you can add as many customized templates as you want. Pick a group template and click “Select.”
3. Set the group’s name, description, scope, and type.
4. Add users to the group on the same screen.
5. Set credentials for adding the new group in AD.
6. Enter a “comment” to explain why the account was created and what it’s being used for.
7. Save your work.

How to change passwords in bulk

1. Open ARM, click “Analysis” on the right side of the screen, and select “AD users” under “Categories.”
2. Select "All AD user accounts."
3. Set scenario options and click “Start calculations for your scenario.”
4. Narrow your selection using the sorting, filtering, grouping, and column features. Select the entries you want.
5. Click on “change password options” and then change the password for the group.
6. Set the new password options.
7. Enter a comment and click on “Execute Action.”

After the action is executed, it will appear on the ARM server, and SysAdmins can track its progress.

How to deactivate user accounts in bulk

1. Open ARM, click “Analysis” on the right side of the screen, and select “AD users” under “Categories.”
2. Select "All AD user accounts."
3. Set scenario options and click “Start calculations for your scenario.”
4. Narrow your selection using the sorting, filtering, grouping, and column features. Select the entries you want.
5. Click on “Deactivate user.”
6. Enter a comment and hit “Execute action.”

Using AD management software in bulk to perform routine aspects of Active Directory management saves administrators valuable time and makes securing their networks easier.

Related features

• Active Directory Reporting Tool
• Active Directory Auditing Tool
• Active Directory Groups Management
• Active Directory Permissions Reporting
• Active Directory Folder Permissions
• OneDrive Permissions Monitoring
• SharePoint Permissions Management
• SharePoint Audit Tool
• Simplify NTFS Permissions Management
• Exchange Auditing Software
• Exchange Management Tool
• File Server Auditing
• Automated User Provisioning Software

Related tools

• Security Event Manager
• Patch Manager
• Hybrid Cloud Observability and Security Observability

Related IT glossaries

• What Is Active Directory?
• What Are Active Directory Groups?
• What Is Cybersecurity?
• What Is an Access Control List?
• What Is Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)? RBAC Guide