There are a lot of sound reasons for why Microsoft Active Directory (AD) is the default choice for corporate directory services for most organizations over the last decade. With the ease of access, security, and IT controls, it’s easy to see why AD is still used so widely today. It’s reliable, scalable, and maintains the Windows-based environment many organizations prefer.
Yes, like any other software, Active Directory isn’t without its own challenges. Whether you’re working with AD for the first time or you’re considering an upgrade, here are the top seven challenges associated with Active Directory as well as some ideas for solving them.
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1. Security
In this day and age, security is one of the biggest concerns for any organization. A single breach of custom, client, or employee information can lead your business reputation in the gutter. One of the challenges of AD is a lack of any inherent security features built in other than password protection.
This lack of security is a holdover from a time when security features were taken far less seriously than they are today. The nature of AD assumes you’ll be using your own security tools to build your own security. Luckily, there are security best practices that will make a big difference, and Microsoft has taken a proactive approach to including more security features.
2. Window’s Dependency
While the Windows-based platform is comfortable for many organizations, this isn’t always the best choice. Many times extensions, enhancements, and other software aren’t supported by Active Directory or Windows. This can be limiting if you aren’t careful, and it’s something to keep in mind when choosing additional tools.
Screenshot via Microsoft Azure
3. Email Infrastructure
Thanks to the rise of cloud apps and services like Google Apps, there’s less of a reliance on Microsoft Exchange servers. Instead, cloud-based corporate email through Google is the norm, and this means less infrastructure for IT admins. This is a new directory structure since Google Apps use it’s own mini directory service. The best way to connect these apps is through Active Directory or with a single sign-on solution.
4. Maintenance Costs
While Active Directory is adding more versions under the new Azure system, you’ll need to pay to maintain your edition. There are free and basic versions, but they come with limited usage and management features. For organizations who need more flexibility, they might look into other options like Open LDAP or ApacheDS which also have free versions.
5. Management Capabilities
One of the features of Microsoft AD is its user and computer and group policy management console which are both built to help organizations manage their own data and their policies. While these tools do have some functionality, they’re also very limited. many organizations end up splitting their domains in order to control admin access. A better solution is using the active directory permissions reporting tool by SolarWinds to manage this more successfully.
Screenshot via Microsoft Azure
6. No Self-Service Portal
Another challenge is with Active Directory, there is no self-service portal for those end users who sometimes need to perform actions themselves. For minor problems, it’s an inconvenience for IT or other professionals to resolve things on a daily basis. It’s a strain on the helpdesk, and it’s a strain on the budget. The only way around this is third-party solutions, but that again will add to the overall budget.
7. Challenging Logging
Logging is an essential part of the monitoring process. Being able to stay on top of any existing or new errors is necessary for modern security. With AD, these logs are very technical and hard to understand without advanced tech skills.
These reports also are captured at a large size which sometimes means you’ll have to overwrite other logs, thus losing important data. Using an auditing solution is the only way to solve this problem.
While AD does have it’s challenging, it’s also evolving rapidly. In the past few years, there have already been huge strides that address these concerns above. While third-party tools are still required in many situations, hopefully, that won’t be the case in the near future.
