Automating user account management: City of Roanoke's IT transformation with ADManager Plus

Business challenges

The City of Roanoke's main challenge revolved around the management of user accounts within its Active Directory and Office 365 environments. The process was largely manual, time-consuming, and fraught with opportunities for user errors, making it a significant bottleneck in the organization's workflow. The difficulties can be classified into the following key areas:

• Manual user account management: The management of user accounts was a manual process that required extensive time and effort from IT staff.
• Process halts: In the absence of the responsible individuals, the user account management process would grind to a halt, causing delays and disrupting the overall efficiency of operations.
• Inconsistent data entry: The manual nature of the user account management process often led to inconsistent data entry, with data occasionally being entered into incorrect fields, thereby compromising data integrity.
• Need for efficiency and standardization: The City of Roanoke recognized the need for a standardized process for user account management which could be universally followed across the organization. This was expected to not only enhance efficiency but also improve reliability and consistency in its procedures.

The Problem

The City of Roanoke, despite being a forward-looking organization, found it challenging to automate the creation of user accounts from its HR payroll system to its Active Directory and O365 environments. This was an imperative step to heighten efficiency and decrease the risk of human errors. However, its dependency on manual data entry led to several challenges.

The process's efficiency was tightly bound to the availability of its staff. If key personnel were absent, operations could be significantly delayed. Moreover, there were instances of inaccurate data entry or data being fed into wrong fields, jeopardizing the integrity of the data. Steven Greenway, the IT admin at the City of Roanoke, noted, "We had issues with data being either entered incorrectly or into the wrong fields previous to this." The manual processes not only consumed time but also lacked the standardization necessary for streamlined operations.

Greenway shared, "We wanted to solve our issues in a way that's both easy and standardized so that we can create a standardized process that anybody can follow, to get these accounts."

The outcome

The implementation of ADManager Plus was a game changer for the City of Roanoke. The tool automated the organization's manual processes, and more importantly, it enabled the City of Roanoke to generate user accounts with a significantly higher level of efficiency compared to its previous manual methods. Greenway remarked, "It's definitely, in order of magnitude, easier and quicker, more efficient to use ADManager Plus to create all of our user accounts rather than having to manually type those in different places. It's all done with the click of a button."

The City of Roanoke was effusive in its praise for the support it received from the ADManager Plus onboarding team. Greenway particularly pointed out that the "initial meeting where we went over everything in depth was probably the best thing to get kind of immersed into the software and know exactly how everything works before trying to start setting things up."

The tool's implementation allowed the organization to reformulate its internal processes accordingly, and Greenway described the onboarding services as "absolutely worth it." He applauded the support team's responsiveness and expertise, stating, "Every time I've asked a question about that, you guys were able to come back with a great solution for it."

When summarizing his experience with ADManager Plus, Greenway emphasized, "The promptness and the knowledge, and the ability to work with us to solve our issues in business cases were all excellent service." When prompted to rate the product on a scale of one to 10, he enthusiastically awarded it a top score.

About ADAudit Plus

ManageEngine ADManager Plus is a comprehensive, web-based solution dedicated to streamlining Windows Active Directory management and reporting. The platform assists Active Directory administrators and help desk technicians in performing their day-to-day tasks with ease and accuracy. It boasts an intuitive interface that simplifies the execution of complex tasks, such as Active Directory object backup and recovery, user account provisioning, and stale account management. Furthermore, it generates a broad spectrum of Active Directory reports, many of which are essential for compliance audit satisfaction. It also facilitates administrators' tasks by allowing them to manage and report on their Exchange Server, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Active Directory environments from a single, centralized console. For additional information about ADManager Plus, please visit manageengine.com/ad-manager.