Scheduled automation use cases

Scheduled automation runs management tasks automatically at a time and interval you set, against a set of objects taken from a report, from a CSV file, or from both. Tasks can span Active Directory, Microsoft 365, and Google Workspace, along with folder access permissions, orchestration templates, and webhooks, so a single scheduled automation can also complete the corresponding actions in your integrated enterprise applications.Instead of an administrator running the same task by hand each day, week, or month, the automation carries it out unattended and repeats on the cadence you choose. The use cases below cover common scenarios suited to scheduled automation, and the configuration that makes each one specific.

Use case 1 - Clean up inactive accounts in stages

Accounts belonging to people who have left or stopped using them accumulate continuously, and each dormant account is both a security liability and a drain on licenses. Deleting them outright is risky, however, because an account that merely appears inactive may still be needed, and an immediate deletion is difficult to reverse. A safer approach is to retire accounts in stages: move them out of their normal location first, hold them for a defined period in case they are still required, and delete them only if no one has reclaimed them in the meantime. Because this is a repeating, multi-step process, it is well suited to a scheduled automation built on an automation policy.

Configuration:

• Category: User Automation.
• Task/Policy: An automation policy with an instant task of Move Users to a holding OU, and a successive task of Delete Users after a set period, such as 150 days.
• Data source: The Inactive Users report.
• Schedule: Monthly, for example the 1st at 8:00 am.

Note that once an account is moved by the instant task, the same set of accounts is carried through to the successive task regardless of any activity in between, so choose the holding period accordingly.

Use case 2 - Reclaim licenses from disabled or inactive accounts

Paid licenses, particularly Microsoft 365 licenses, are frequently left assigned to accounts long after the user has been disabled or has stopped using them, which means the organization continues to pay for access no one uses. Reclaiming them manually depends on someone remembering to check regularly and to act on each account. A scheduled automation removes the licenses automatically from the accounts a report identifies, so the reclamation happens on a reliable cadence with no manual effort.

Configuration:

• Category: User Automation (Microsoft 365).
• Task/Policy: Remove Microsoft 365 License.
• Data source: A report of disabled or inactive accounts, such as the Inactive Users report, refined with Add Conditions if required.
• Schedule: Weekly or monthly.
• Tip: Enable Exclude objects modified by the previous execution of this automation so the same account is not processed on every run.