Full IGA with Active Directory management

Here’s how IGA and AD come together to make a Full IGA solution that enforces policy and keeps identity data aligned with business rules.

1. Provisioning: Creating and updating identities in ADM

This is the process where IGA systems automatically create, modify or remove user accounts in AD based on defined rules and events.

• New joiners are automatically assigned accounts and group memberships based on their role or department.
• Changes in HR systems trigger updates such as title changes or department transfers.
• Leavers are quickly deactivated to prevent unauthorized access.

2. Access management workflows mapped to AD groups

This ensures that access requests and approvals in the IGA platform directly control group memberships in AD.

• Users request access through a self-service portal tied to business roles.
• Managers or application owners review and approve requests based on policy.
• Approved access is automatically reflected in the correct AD security groups.
• Periodic access reviews validate whether group memberships are still appropriate.

3. Authentication and sign-on dependencies with AD

This covers how authentication processes depend on Active Directory as the core identity store.

• Many applications rely on AD for validating user credentials.
• Group memberships in AD determine what resources users can access after login.
• Account lockout policies and password rules are enforced through AD settings.

A full, AD-focused IGA solution should be capable of the following:

• Role-based access control at scale: Define business roles that map cleanly to AD entitlements, so access is granted based on job function.
• Advanced access certification and attestation: Run structured access reviews across thousands of AD accounts, with clear reporting for auditors and compliance teams.
• Separation of duties enforcement: Detect and prevent conflicting access combinations within AD that could lead to fraud or policy violations.
• Privileged access governance: Identify and monitor highly privileged AD accounts such as domain administrators and apply tighter review cycles for elevated access.
• Delegated administration with guardrails: Allow limited administrative rights within AD while maintaining centralized oversight and audit visibility.
• Comprehensive audit trails and reporting: Maintain detailed logs of who requested, approved, changed or reviewed access tied to AD objects.
• Scalability across hybrid identity environments: Support both on-premises AD and connected cloud directories in large, distributed enterprise setups.

Next, we will look at how combining IGA with AD supports different industries with specific security and compliance needs.

Healthcare

Identity governance is critical for the security of healthcare institutions and organizations. The following solutions depict how Full IGA secures identities in the healthcare sector.

• Controls access to electronic health record systems, such as EPIC, based on job role and department
• Supports compliance with regulations such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) by maintaining clear access records
• Removes access quickly when medical staff change roles or leave the organization
• Limits privileged access to sensitive patient data stored in AD-integrated systems

Discover how One Identity transformed Epic access by automating user provisioning, reducing onboarding delays and eliminating access interruptions — all while strengthening governance and compliance through centralized identity controls.

Finance

Full identity governance is ideal for the finance sector. The following solutions depict how Full IGA secures identities in the finance sector.

• Enforces strict access policies to meet regulatory requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley Act
• Reduces the risk of fraud by monitoring high-risk AD group memberships
• Supports structured access reviews for trading platforms and core banking systems
• Tracks privileged administrative actions for audit investigations
• Validates proper access and identity using certification and attestation 

SaaS

• Automates onboarding and offboarding across fast-growing teams
• Connects AD identities to multiple cloud applications through centralized governance
• Ensures that developers and support staff only have access to environments relevant to their work
• Provides visibility into access across hybrid infrastructure and customer-facing systems

One Identity Manager, one of the best Full IGA tools, can act as the governance layer that connects AD operations to broader identity and access management (IAM) programs. While AD handles directory services and group structures, One Identity Manager adds policy control, automation and oversight on top of it.

As part of a wider identity and access management strategy, One Identity Manager links AD to HR systems and compliance workflows. It centralizes access requests, approval chains, certification campaigns and audit reporting in one place.

This means that AD management becomes policy-driven and fully traceable, supporting enterprise security requirements while reducing manual administrative effort.

A Full IGA solution, one that incorporates AD management, can help organizations maintain tight control over user access while keeping directory operations aligned with business policy. It brings structure to how accounts are created, how access is approved, how resources are managed and how permissions are reviewed across the enterprise.

A few recommendations to end with:

• Align your IGA policies with business roles first, then map those roles carefully to AD groups.
• Integrate HR systems , like Workday, as the primary source of truth for identity lifecycle events.