Active Directory is a bear to manage through ADUC.  It is clumsy and all-encompassing and the ability to manage granulary is exceptionally complex.  Delegating and instituting fine grained permissions requires deep and arcane knowledge of Active Directory.  In short, Active Directory management is difficult with ADUC and it doesn't have to be that way.

EmpowerID is a full IAM suite that has the ability to specifically manage Active Directory exactly the way you need, either through delegation or automation.  The actual changes are made in the EmpowerID metadirectory with a very well established and powerful connector to Active Directory.  So, you manage with EmpowerID's RBAC structure and then send those changes to AD.

One benefit of this structure is that you can manage multiple domains and forests from a single instance of EmpowerID.  Your helpdesk in Forest A can manage users in Forest B.  GAL synch is a breeze.

Another advantage is the full auditing controls of EmpowerID.  The ability to institute attestation and lifecycle on any AD object.  Full reporting and audit grids are available for business users and auditors.  Separation of duties can be applied from groups, OUs, roles and managed even cross forest if necessary.

Self service Active Directory management can be rolled out based on the user's roles, giving everybody the exact access to change identity attributes or group memberships that their roles allow.  Approval workflows are easy to configure using EmpowerID's proprietary Rights Based Approval Routing (RBAR).

Dynamic memberships in roles and groups are managed easily and efficiently in EmpowerID.  Group membership is always up to date with the ability to read identity attributes not only from Active Directory but any other identity store.

Everything can have a lifecycle, giving a 360 degree view of attestation and the ability to certify and approve lifecycle attestation from within emails.  Delegation and auditing of attestation should be a given.

Break glass permission workflows are available for temporary privileged access.  So, if an admin needs emergency access to a server, they can run the workflow, be granted temporary access, and have that access completely auditable and reported to the CISO.

If changes are made natively in ADUC, you can have a workflow to roll them back, report on those native changes, or send them for further approval.  Most importantly, with EmpowerID, you can completely shut off native ADUC access.  Many of our customers do this, having all changes made from within EmpowerID.

Active Directory management can be a lot better than ADUC will ever allow.  Read our whitepaper on replacing ADUC and improve your AD management with fewer resources.