Within the same organization, identity information can be stored in many different data systems, such as directories, databases, or formatted dump files. Managing identity information and synchronizing it between these data systems can take a lot of time and effort for administrators. In addition, performing data synchronization manually is error-prone and can lead to duplicate information or incompatible data formats.

With Synchronization Service, a component of Active Roles, you can completely automate the process of identity data synchronization between the data systems used in your enterprise environment.

Synchronization Service increases data management efficiency by automating the creation, deprovision and update operations between your data systems. For example, if an employee joins or leaves the organization, Synchronization Service can automatically update the related information in all data systems, reducing your administrative workload and getting new users up and running faster.

The use of scripting capabilities provides a flexible way to:

• Automate day-to-day administration tasks.

• Integrate the administration of managed data systems with other business processes.

To start synchronizing identity data, you must connect Synchronization Service to your data systems with so-called "connectors". Connectors allow Synchronization Service to access specific data systems, then read and synchronize data in that system according to your settings.

Synchronization Service includes several built-in connectors that do not require any license file. For the list of these connectors and more information on configuring them, see External data systems supported with built-in connectors.