Revamping Active Directory Management: Essendant's Success Story with ADManager Plus

Business challenges

• Implementing an efficient Active Directory reporting system.
• Streamlining the user onboarding process.
• Eliminating manual processes in Active Directory management.
• Ensuring efficient task delegation within the organization.
• Optimizing the use of ADManager Plus features to automate processes.

The Problem

Essendant's journey towards effective Active Directory management was not without its challenges. Initially, the organization grappled with a host of IT-related issues that were impacting their operational efficiency. One of their primary hurdles was establishing efficient and accurate reporting on Active Directory (AD). Being a dynamic e-commerce solutions provider with a vast network of services and clients, the complexity of their AD environment demanded an agile, insightful reporting tool. Unfortunately, the absence of such a tool left Essendant struggling to comprehend their AD landscape fully, thus hindering their strategic decision-making processes.

Another significant issue revolved around user onboarding. The frequent influx of new users to their network necessitated an automated and streamlined process for adding these users to their AD. The lack of a robust system resulted in an inefficient onboarding process marred by delays, which led to unnecessary pressure on their IT department and potential productivity setbacks.

Jon Hecht, Systems Analyst at Essendant, encapsulated the situation, saying, "We were struggling with the complexity of reporting on Active Directory and streamlining our onboarding process." This statement underscored the dire need for a solution capable of effectively addressing these challenges.

Additionally, Essendant was burdened with a cumbersome and error-prone manual process for creating new users and managing mailboxes in their Active Directory. This process not only drained significant time and resources but also left room for human error, leading to potential inaccuracies like misconfigured accounts. This manual process stood as a glaring inefficiency in their operations.

Cumulatively, these challenges significantly impeded Essendant's productivity and efficiency, demonstrating a critical need for a comprehensive and robust solution.

The Outcome

The introduction of ADManager Plus marked a transformational shift in Essendant's Active Directory management, bringing about significant enhancements in efficiency. ADManager Plus provided rapid, accurate reports, circumventing the need for complex PowerShell scripts and allowing for more resource-efficient operations. Jon Hecht confirmed the positive impact, saying, "Instead of having to figure out PowerShell scripts, I am now able to quickly provide reports. We have also created New User templates that streamline our new user creation process."

ADManager Plus's reporting feature offered invaluable insights on Users, Group Policies, and Group Membership, prompting praise from Hecht, who noted, "The reports were extremely helpful. We have used them for Users, Group Policies, and Group Membership."

Moreover, in the context of task delegation, ADManager Plus empowered Essendant to transition away from the manual process of creating new users and mailboxes. By using new user templates, they streamlined the process, which led Hecht to observe, "ADManager Plus allowed us to get rid of the manual process of creating new users and mailboxes, streamlining the process using new user templates."

Essendant's experience was further enriched by the stellar customer support provided by the ADManager Plus team, praised for their responsiveness, knowledge, and helpfulness. In terms of the product's performance, Hecht expressed significant satisfaction, saying, "I have been very pleased with this product, and we are only utilizing a small percentage of what this tool can do. I will be attempting to use this tool to automate more of our processes."

Essendant's high regard for ADManager Plus, a key component within the ManageEngine AD360 suite, is evident in their maximum experience rating of 10 and a high propensity to recommend the product, thereby affirming its capabilities and potential.

About ADManager Plus

ADManager Plus is an identity governance and administration (IGA) solution that simplifies identity management, ensures security, and improves compliance. With ADManager Plus, manage the user life cycle from provisioning to deprovisioning, run access certification campaigns, orchestrate identity management across enterprise applications, and protect data on your enterprise platforms with regular backups. Use over 200 reports to gain valuable insights into identities and their access rights. Improve the efficiency of your IGA operations with workflows, automations, and role-based access control policies. ADManager Plus' Android and iOS applications help with on-the-go AD and Azure AD management. For more information about ADManager Plus, visit manageengine.com/products/ad-manager/.