Netwrix > Case Studies > Government Agency Automates AD Group Management and Spends 15 mins to Complete an HR Task with Netwrix GroupID

Government Agency Automates AD Group Management and Spends 15 mins to Complete an HR Task with Netwrix GroupID

Technology Category

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Public Cloud

Applicable Industries

Buildings
National Security & Defense

Applicable Functions

Human Resources
Maintenance

Use Cases

Inventory Management
Tamper Detection

About The Customer

The Pennsylvania (PA) Office of Attorney General is one of the oldest and most diverse offices of public trust in the United States, with a heritage spanning over three centuries of life in the Commonwealth. The office addresses crimes and crime prevention in various areas, including drugs, environmental law, fraud, organized crime, crimes against seniors and children, domestic abuse, financial, civil, and more. As a government agency, it has a significant responsibility to maintain strict security standards and efficiently manage a large number of accounts and groups.

The Challenge

The Pennsylvania (PA) Office of Attorney General was facing a significant challenge in managing more than 1,000 accounts and hundreds of groups manually. As the organization grew, the IT staff was overwhelmed with the increasing workload of account maintenance. The integration with various versions of MS Exchange was mandatory, with the office utilizing MS Exchange 2003 for approximately 90% of its systems and MS Exchange 2007 for the remainder. The new solution needed to maintain the strict security standards of the governmental entity and not overexpose personal information. The IT team, already busy with other tasks, required a solution that would not be time-consuming in terms of deployment and learning curve. Ideally, the solution would allow end users to self-service and update directory information on their own, relieving the IT team of this responsibility.

The Solution

The PA Office of the Attorney General implemented Netwrix GroupID to automate their group management tasks. This solution not only saved time but also allowed the experienced IT staff to focus on building new systems and optimizing existing ones. The organization can now easily manage accounts, groups, directories, and contact information with exceptional control. Netwrix GroupID dynamically maintains distribution lists based on rules applied to directory data, automatically updating the appropriate distribution lists and security groups when users’ directory information changes. It also provides a powerful web-based directory management solution that enables users to update their own directory information, search the global catalog, modify objects in different domains, and manage their own groups. This has significantly reduced the burden of directory management on IT, Human Resources, and other groups. Additionally, Netwrix GroupID allows the PA Office of Attorney General’s Information Technology Section to maintain as much control and security as required by the organization.

Operational Impact

The implementation of Netwrix GroupID has transformed the PA Office of the Attorney General into a world-class service organization. The IT department now operates much faster and can help other groups run more efficiently. They have the bandwidth to think creatively to stay ahead of the technology curve and maintain their status as a technology leader in Pennsylvania State Government. The solution has also increased control and security, allowing the Information Technology Section to maintain as much control and security as required by the organization. Furthermore, it has streamlined the provisioning and deprovisioning process, turning AD into an authoritative repository for identity information by synchronizing most databases and identity stores with AD.

Quantitative Benefit

Automated daily routine processes, reducing the time spent on manual account maintenance
Free up IT workforce for advanced projects, increasing productivity
Tighten security controls by timely deprovisioning of leavers, enhancing security