Directory Service Integration

This question asks if your application can connect directly to a company's employee directory (like Microsoft Active Directory or LDAP) to automatically sync user accounts. Instead of manually creating accounts in your system, the application would automatically know about new employees, role changes, and departures by checking the company's central employee database. It's like having your app's user list automatically stay in sync with the company's official employee roster.

Directory integration eliminates the massive administrative burden of managing users in multiple systems. For a 1,000-person company, this can save 20+ hours per week in IT administration and reduce security risks from orphaned accounts by 90%. Without directory integration, employees who leave the company might retain access for weeks or months. This capability is often mandatory for enterprises with strict access control requirements and can enable automatic provisioning and deprovisioning that ensures immediate access for new hires and instant revocation for departures.

Teams often underestimate the complexity of directory integration, especially handling nested groups, recursive memberships, and attribute synchronization. Another common mistake is requiring direct network access to the directory server, which many enterprises won't allow for security reasons - modern solutions use agents or API-based synchronization. Many also forget to handle edge cases like disabled accounts, password expiry, and conflicting information between directory and local records.