A Strategic Approach to Active Directory Consolidation

The Challenge: When Growth Creates Complexity

For decades, Active Directory has served as the backbone of identity and access management (IAM) for enterprise organizations. While a small number of organizations have successfully transitioned to cloud-native identity solutions, the vast majority remain deeply dependent on their on-premises Active Directory infrastructure due to the complexity and business-critical nature of existing integrations.

This dependency becomes particularly challenging during mergers and acquisitions, when organizations suddenly find themselves managing multiple Active Directory domains. While technical solutions like trusts, hierarchies, and forests can provide interim connectivity, many organizations recognize the strategic value of consolidating these domains into a unified structure.

A Real-World Case Study: Seven Domains, Countless Dependencies

As the lead SailPoint architect at a large enterprise organization, I encountered this challenge firsthand. Our environment consisted of seven Active Directory domains supporting over 1,000 applications, with more than 40,000 AD groups and 10,000+ service accounts scattered across the infrastructure.

The consolidation project had been underway for three years with limited progress. The primary obstacle wasn't technical complexity, it was visibility. Nobody had a clear understanding of which service accounts supported which applications, or how the tens of thousands of Active Directory groups were actually being used.

For business leaders, this represents a critical risk: without proper visibility into identity dependencies, any migration effort could potentially disrupt business-critical applications and services.

The Strategic Solution: Data-Driven Discovery

Working closely with the AD consolidation architect, we recognized that our first priority had to be comprehensive discovery. We needed to answer fundamental questions:

• How do users authenticate to each application?
• Which service accounts support each business process?
• What Active Directory groups provide access to critical resources?
• What would be the business impact of disrupting each dependency?

Building Executive Commitment for Success

Given the strategic importance of this initiative, we secured commitment from both the CIO and CISO to conduct a comprehensive data collection effort. This executive sponsorship proved crucial for several reasons:

1. Resource Allocation: Application owners needed time to complete detailed questionnaires about their systems
2. Cross-Functional Coordination: We required collaboration between application teams, infrastructure teams, and security teams
3. Strategic Prioritization: The initiative needed to be positioned as business-critical, not just another IT project

Implementation: Structured Discovery Process

We partnered with our ServiceNow team to develop a comprehensive three-page questionnaire for each application in our CMDB. This questionnaire captured critical metadata including:

• Authentication mechanisms and dependencies
• Service account utilization
• Active Directory group memberships and purposes
• Migration timelines and cloud strategy alignment

To ensure success, we scheduled weekly open sessions over 2-3 months where application owners could receive direct support from both the SailPoint and Active Directory architects. This approach transformed what could have been a bureaucratic exercise into meaningful strategic discussions.

Strategic Insights from the Discovery Process

These sessions revealed valuable strategic insights that shaped our overall approach:

• Cloud Migration Alignment: Applications with planned cloud migrations required different migration strategies and timelines
• Risk-Based Prioritization: We could categorize applications based on their criticality and complexity of AD dependencies
• Resource Optimization: Simple applications with minimal dependencies could be migrated with reduced oversight

Business Value Delivered

The discovery initiative delivered value on multiple levels:

For the AD Consolidation Project

• Clear Migration Roadmap: We had the data needed to sequence migrations based on dependencies and business risk
• Risk Mitigation: Understanding service account and group dependencies enabled proactive planning to prevent service disruptions
• Resource Planning: We could accurately estimate effort and timeline for each phase of the consolidation

For the SailPoint Program

• Program Expansion Opportunities: Detailed application metadata enabled strategic growth of our identity governance capabilities
• Improved Automation: Better understanding of authentication patterns enabled more sophisticated provisioning workflows
• Enhanced Compliance: Comprehensive visibility into access patterns supported audit and compliance requirements

Key Takeaways for Identity Leaders

1. Discovery Before Migration: Never attempt complex identity migrations without comprehensive dependency mapping
2. Executive Sponsorship: Secure C-level commitment for cross-functional initiatives that require broad organizational participation
3. Collaborative Approach: Structure discovery processes as partnership opportunities rather than compliance exercises
4. Strategic Alignment: Align identity consolidation efforts with broader digital transformation initiatives

Lessons Learned

While this discovery phase didn't provide a "click-and-migrate" solution, it delivered something more valuable: the strategic visibility needed to execute a complex, business-critical migration with confidence. For identity leaders facing similar challenges, remember that the most sophisticated technical tools are only as effective as the data and strategy that drive them.

The investment in comprehensive discovery not only enabled successful Active Directory consolidation but also positioned our identity governance and administration (IGA) program for strategic growth and enhanced business value delivery.