# Best User Provisioning and Governance Tools - Page 12 ## How Many User Provisioning and Governance Tools Products Does G2 Track? **Total Products under this Category:** 191 ### Category Stats (Jul 2026) - **Average Rating:** 4.49/5 (↑0.01 vs Jun 2026) The average rating of products in this category, based on all submitted ratings - **Top Trending Product:** miniOrange Identity & Access Management (+0.77%) - Among all products in this category, miniOrange Identity & Access Management recorded the largest rating increase compared to last month _Last updated: July 26, 2026_ ## How Does G2 Rank User Provisioning and Governance Tools Products? **Why You Can Trust G2's Software Rankings:** - 30 Analysts and Data Experts - 14,600+ Authentic Reviews - 191+ Products - Unbiased Rankings G2's software rankings are built on verified user reviews, rigorous moderation, and a consistent research methodology maintained by a team of analysts and data experts. Each product is measured using the same transparent criteria, with no paid placement or vendor influence. While reviews reflect real user experiences, which can be subjective, they offer valuable insight into how software performs in the hands of professionals. Together, these inputs power the G2 Score, a standardized way to compare tools within every category. ## G2 Grid® for User Provisioning and Governance Tools ![G2 Grid® for User Provisioning and Governance Tools plotting products by satisfaction and market presence](https://www.g2.com/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools/grids.png?focus%5B%5D=633&focus%5B%5D=36316&focus%5B%5D=3899&focus%5B%5D=1640029&focus%5B%5D=4533&focus%5B%5D=4206&focus%5B%5D=5689&focus%5B%5D=22264) Highlighted products: Okta, JumpCloud, Microsoft Entra ID, Rippling IT, 1Password, SailPoint, ManageEngine ADManager Plus, and Auth0. Underlying data: [Grid® JSON](https://www.g2.com/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools/grids.json?focus%5B%5D=okta&focus%5B%5D=jumpcloud&focus%5B%5D=microsoft-entra-id&focus%5B%5D=rippling-it&focus%5B%5D=1password&focus%5B%5D=sailpoint&focus%5B%5D=manageengine-admanager-plus&focus%5B%5D=auth0) **Sponsored** ### Hire2Retire RoboMQ’s Hire2Retire is an Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) solution designed to manage the complete workforce lifecycle, encompassing joiners, movers, and leavers (JML) events such as hiring, role changes, department transfers, terminations, and long-term leaves. This solution effectively bridges the gap between HR systems and IT infrastructure by synchronizing identity data with platforms like Active Directory (AD), Entra ID, Okta, and Google Workspace. By ensuring that user access and privileges are consistently aligned with their roles within the organization, Hire2Retire enhances overall operational efficiency. Targeted primarily at mid to large, fast-growing organizations, Hire2Retire addresses the challenges associated with manual and fragmented lifecycle management processes. Traditional methods of onboarding and offboarding can be slow, error-prone, and resource-intensive, often leading to security vulnerabilities, compliance risks, and diminished employee experiences. By automating these processes, Hire2Retire not only streamlines operations but also significantly reduces operational overhead, allowing organizations to focus on more strategic initiatives. One of the standout features of Hire2Retire is its extensive integration capabilities. With connections to 27 HR and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), major identity providers, and over 10 leading service management platforms such as ServiceNow, Salesforce, SolarWinds, and FreshService, the solution enables seamless identity orchestration. Its robust library of connectors allows for the automatic provisioning and deprovisioning of access to third-party applications based on profile-driven entitlements, making it a scalable and flexible IGA solution that adapts to the needs of modern enterprises. From a governance and security standpoint, Hire2Retire enforces role-based access control and continuously aligns user privileges with their job functions. This ensures that employees have the right level of access at all times, reducing the risk of over-provisioning. Additionally, timely deprovisioning during terminations or role changes helps prevent unauthorized access, protecting the organization from potential security breaches and reputational risks. Hire2Retire supports organizational compliance with key regulatory frameworks and standards including SOX, HIPAA, ISO 27001, and GDPR, providing complete audit trails for every identity lifecycle event. [Visit website](https://www.g2.com/external_clickthroughs/record?secure%5Bad_program%5D=paid_promo&secure%5Bad_slot%5D=category_product_list&secure%5Bcategory_id%5D=255&secure%5Bchosen_at%5D=2026-07-27T22%3A07%3A09Z&secure%5Bmedium%5D=sponsored&secure%5Bprioritized%5D=false&secure%5Bproduct_id%5D=168476&secure%5Bresource_id%5D=255&secure%5Bresource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bsource_type%5D=category_page&secure%5Bsource_url%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.g2.com%2Fcategories%2Fuser-provisioning-and-governance-tools%3Fpage%3D12&secure%5Btoken%5D=de6b4ee6bda4c3085fc6cb8f5f0a2a95694949fe3c0d9a45547e3da531c594b9&secure%5Burl%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.robomq.io%2Fproducts%2Fhire2retire%2F&secure%5Burl_type%5D=paid_promos) ### [NTFS Permission Tool](https://www.g2.com/products/ntfs-permission-tool/reviews) NTFS permission tool to get effective security of data on system through permissions for files and folders. #### Who Is the Company Behind NTFS Permission Tool? - **Seller:** [G-TAC Software](https://www.g2.com/sellers/g-tac-software) - **Year Founded:** 2009 - **HQ Location:** Katzweiler, DE - **Twitter:** @gtac\_software (670 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** http://www.linkedin.com/company/g-tac (2 employees on LinkedIn®) ### [Oleria](https://www.g2.com/products/oleria/reviews) Strengthen your security posture with enhanced identity visibility, insights, and action. Oleria Identity Security provides access visibility, including access usage insights at an individual resource level, so CISOs can finally and confidently answer the critical questions: (1) Who has access to what? (2) How did they get it? (3) What are they doing with it? (4) Should they even have it? A single source of fine-grained truth Oleria Identity Security gives you a composite view of identity and access across users and applications, including non-human identities, delivering fine-grained access usage visibility at the individual resource level. Fast deployment and least-privilege access control. Oleria Identity Security integrates with your identity systems, cloud architecture, on-prem, and SaaS applications in minutes, systematically mapping each application's identity and access schema onto your organizational identity model to enable centralized, streamlined access management. Enterprise-grade security Oleria's Trustfusion Platform is built to meet enterprise security requirements (including SOC 2 Type 2 compliance and ISO 9001) a layered security architecture, and granular controls, to keep your data safe. Strengthen MFA Posture: Eliminate manual and tedious monitoring with centralized visibility of MFA coverage. Monitor App Configuration Risks: Quickly identify and remediate configuration gaps across your applications to strengthen your security posture. Manage External Sharing: Get granular visibility into what's being shared outside your organization. Accelerate Incident Investigations: Immediately answer essential questions around who has access, how they got, and what they did with it. Identify Non-SSO Accounts: Get comprehensive visibility into decentralized identities to close security gaps and enforce consistent protections. Remove Dormant Account Risks: Discover, monitor, and remediate dormant accounts to enforce least-privilege principles. Clean Up Group Permissions: Get clear visibility into group and role permissions with usage insights to minimize your attack surface. #### Who Is the Company Behind Oleria? - **Seller:** [Oleria](https://www.g2.com/sellers/oleria) - **Year Founded:** 2022 - **HQ Location:** Bellevue, WA - **Twitter:** @OleriaSecurity (69 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** http://www.linkedin.com/company/oleriasecurity (77 employees on LinkedIn®) ### [Omega Core Audit](https://www.g2.com/products/omega-core-audit/reviews) Omega Core Audit is an out-of-box, software-only security solution for the security compliance of Oracle database. It features Access Control, Continuous Audit Monitoring and Real-Time Protection, thus enforcing duty separation, control of privileged accounts and meeting compliance requirements. #### Who Is the Company Behind Omega Core Audit? - **Seller:** [DATAPLUS](https://www.g2.com/sellers/dataplus) - **HQ Location:** N/A - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/No-Linkedin-Presence-Added-Intentionally-By-DataOps (1 employees on LinkedIn®) ### [OpenText Data Access Governance (NetIQ)](https://www.g2.com/products/opentext-data-access-governance-netiq/reviews) OpenText Data Access Governance (DAG) is a comprehensive solution designed to identify, secure, and protect an organization's sensitive and high-value unstructured data from unauthorized access. This includes not only personally identifiable information (PII) but also critical intellectual property such as sales forecasts, legal documents, and financial data. By automating the identification of where sensitive files are stored and who has access to them, DAG ensures that unstructured data is secure, optimized, and compliant. Key Features and Functionality: - Comprehensive Reporting: Utilizes OpenText File Reporter to provide detailed analysis of user access to data stored on network file systems and Microsoft 365 cloud environments. - Automated Access Control and Remediation: Employs OpenText File Dynamics to establish access controls and remediate improper access permissions, ensuring that only authorized users have access to sensitive files. - Flexible Reporting and Analytics: Offers built-in reports, custom queries, and graphical analytics to provide insights into data storage and access patterns. - Data Migration and Cleanup: Automates data migration, cleanup, and archiving processes based on predefined policies, enhancing data management efficiency. - Integration with Identity and Access Management (IAM) Systems: Seamlessly integrates with IAM systems to enforce least privilege access and support identity-centric security approaches. Primary Value and Problem Solved: OpenText Data Access Governance addresses the critical need for organizations to secure unstructured data, which often comprises a significant portion of their information assets. By providing visibility into data storage locations and access permissions, DAG enables organizations to identify and mitigate risks associated with unauthorized access. The solution's automation capabilities streamline the enforcement of security policies, reduce the potential for human error, and ensure compliance with data protection regulations. Ultimately, DAG empowers organizations to protect their sensitive information, maintain regulatory compliance, and enhance overall data security posture. #### Who Is the Company Behind OpenText Data Access Governance (NetIQ)? - **Seller:** [OpenText](https://www.g2.com/sellers/opentext) - **Year Founded:** 1991 - **HQ Location:** Waterloo, ON - **Twitter:** @OpenText (21,565 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/2709/ (23,048 employees on LinkedIn®) - **Ownership:** NASDAQ:OTEX ### [Orchestration Engine](https://www.g2.com/products/orchestration-engine/reviews) Provisioning Engine to Multiple Cloud Applications for easy Identity Management. #### Who Is the Company Behind Orchestration Engine? - **Seller:** [Iron Cove Solutions](https://www.g2.com/sellers/iron-cove-solutions) - **Year Founded:** 2005 - **HQ Location:** Playa del Rey, US - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/iron-cove-solutions (9 employees on LinkedIn®) ### [PeoplePlatform](https://www.g2.com/products/peopleplatform/reviews) PeoplePlatform helps create, update, and deprovision users and other objects in any directory. #### Who Is the Company Behind PeoplePlatform? - **Seller:** [Web Active Directory](https://www.g2.com/sellers/web-active-directory) - **Year Founded:** 2002 - **HQ Location:** Frisco, US - **Twitter:** @webactivedirect (411 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/web-active-directory-llc/ (1 employees on LinkedIn®) ### [Permeasyon](https://www.g2.com/products/permeasyon/reviews) Permeasyon is a turnkey solution that reduces the time needed to set up permissions, using an easy, fast and secure system to add, remove and relocate users and resources of all the applications in your organization. Permeasyon will help you increase efficiency by reducing the time spent on user provisioning and the risk associated with improper deprovisioning. - Full user access lifecycle management: provisioning, relocation and deprovisioning - Easy and self-service role-based access control (RBAC): hierarchical delegation without duplication of access rights - Fine grained permissions: access to individual resources in applications - Access recertification: ensure that access needs are up to date - Least-privilege approach: only grant access to what users need - Monitoring: control over user access rights at any time - Audit log: detect accidental or malicious changes in users and permissions #### Who Is the Company Behind Permeasyon? - **Seller:** [Anduseit](https://www.g2.com/sellers/anduseit) - **HQ Location:** Madrid, ES - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/anduseit (1 employees on LinkedIn®) ### [permit.io](https://www.g2.com/products/permit-io/reviews) Full Stack Permissions as a Service. Permit.io empowers developers to bake in permissions and access-control into any product in minutes and takes away the pain of constantly rebuilding them. #### Who Is the Company Behind permit.io? - **Seller:** [Permit.io](https://www.g2.com/sellers/permit-io) - **Year Founded:** 2020 - **HQ Location:** N/A - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/permitio/ (27 employees on LinkedIn®) ### [Phonism](https://www.g2.com/products/phonism/reviews) Phonism is a cloud solution that provides easy to use tools to manage VoIP phones before, during and after deployment. #### Who Is the Company Behind Phonism? - **Seller:** [Phonism](https://www.g2.com/sellers/phonism) - **Year Founded:** 2012 - **HQ Location:** Tampa, US - **Twitter:** @Phonism (1,193 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/phonismbyinlayer/ (14 employees on LinkedIn®) ### [PingOne DaVinci](https://www.g2.com/products/pingone-davinci/reviews) PingOne DaVinci is a no-code identity orchestration solution that enables organizations to design and implement seamless, secure user experiences across multiple identity systems. By providing a visual interface, DaVinci allows users to create and manage complex identity workflows without the need for extensive coding knowledge. Key Features and Functionality: - No-Code Orchestration: Utilize a visual interface to design and manage identity workflows, reducing the need for coding expertise. - Seamless Integration: Connect and coordinate multiple identity systems to ensure a unified user experience. - Enhanced Security: Implement secure authentication and authorization processes to protect user data. - Flexibility: Adapt to various use cases and business requirements with customizable workflows. Primary Value and User Solutions: PingOne DaVinci addresses the challenge of integrating multiple identity systems by providing a no-code solution that simplifies the creation of secure and seamless user experiences. This empowers organizations to enhance their digital experiences, improve security, and reduce the time and resources required for identity management. #### Who Is the Company Behind PingOne DaVinci? - **Seller:** [Ping Identity](https://www.g2.com/sellers/ping-identity) - **Year Founded:** 2002 - **HQ Location:** Denver, CO - **Twitter:** @pingidentity (42,053 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/21870/ (2,378 employees on LinkedIn®) - **Phone:** 1.303.468.2900 ### [ProfileTailor GRC](https://www.g2.com/products/appsian-security-profiletailor-grc/reviews) As an advanced behavior-based monitoring and analysis solution, Appsian Security enables organizations to easily organize, understand, and control employee authorizations across multiple ERP systems. It delivers unprecedented visibility of real-time authorization usage, performs ongoing monitoring of each and every user, and sends alerts of any unusual or suspicious activity. #### Who Is the Company Behind ProfileTailor GRC? - **Seller:** [Pathlock](https://www.g2.com/sellers/pathlock) - **Year Founded:** 2004 - **HQ Location:** Dallas, US - **Twitter:** @pathlock (309 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/pathlock (604 employees on LinkedIn®) ### [Pyla](https://www.g2.com/products/pyla/reviews) Pyla is a SaaS platform designed for CIOs and IT teams in SMBs and mid-market companies. What do our clients have in common? Regular employee movements, numerous internal resources to manage, IT teams that are often overwhelmed during every staff transition, oversights, mistakes, and a lack of visibility to ensure 100% secure offboarding. What does our solution offer? Pyla organizes and simplifies the management of hardware and software resources during the onboarding, internal mobility, and offboarding of employees and contractors. How does it work? Connected to the HRIS, Pyla coordinates HR, business departments, IT, and Facilities Management to determine which resources need to be prepared or retrieved: IT equipment, phones, software access and licenses, badges, vehicles, etc. Pyla then distributes the tasks to each resource administrator and enables precise tracking of allocations throughout the entire “life cycle” of a company employee or contractor. Who do we work with? Pyla supports 50+ organizations such as Advens, Nutriset, Groupe LaMaisonBleue, iBanFirst, Shippeo, Studio TF1, CTN France, Carcassonne Agglo, and CFDT. Want to learn more or get a demo? Visit getpyla.com #### Who Is the Company Behind Pyla? - **Seller:** [Pyla](https://www.g2.com/sellers/pyla) - **HQ Location:** Paris, FR - **LinkedIn® Page:** http://www.linkedin.com/company/pylaparis (7 employees on LinkedIn®) ### [Quest Active Administrator](https://www.g2.com/products/quest-active-administrator/reviews) Active Administrator is a complete and integrated Microsoft Active Directory (AD) management software solution that fills the administration gaps native tools leave behind. With Active Administrator, it's easier and faster than native tools to meet auditing requirements and security needs while also maintaining business continuity and increasing IT efficiency. #### Who Is the Company Behind Quest Active Administrator? - **Seller:** [Quest Software](https://www.g2.com/sellers/quest-software) - **Year Founded:** 1987 - **HQ Location:** Austin, TX - **Twitter:** @Quest (17,109 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/2880/ (3,569 employees on LinkedIn®) - **Ownership:** NYSE: DGX ### [RAC/M Identity](https://www.g2.com/products/rac-m-identity/reviews) OKIOK has been developping and delivering world class cybersecurity solutions and services since 1981. RAC/M Identity stands out as an advanced SaaS Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) solution, employing a no-code/low-code approach to rapidly enhance and automate Identity and Access Management (IAM) processes. Tailored for organizations of any size, it effectively reduces risks, elevates productivity, and improves user experiences. The platform delivers deep visibility and robust analytics, enabling the detection and mitigation of risks, while automating life cycle processes and empowering users through a dynamic self-service portal. RAC/M Identity enforces strong IAM governance with business rules and access reviews, ensuring regulatory compliance and providing a flexible yet sturdy foundation for effective identity and access management. Experience the transformative efficiency of RAC/M Identity, simplifying IAM processes and achieving seamless compliance. #### Who Is the Company Behind RAC/M Identity? - **Seller:** [Okiok](https://www.g2.com/sellers/okiok) - **Year Founded:** 1973 - **HQ Location:** Laval, CA - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/119436 (56 employees on LinkedIn®) ### [SAASPASS](https://www.g2.com/products/saaspass/reviews) SAASPASS is your key to the world. By providing a comprehensive and frictionless solution fully-secured with dynamic passcodes and multi-factor authentication, SAASPASS is the only identity and access management tool you need to secure your corporate network or your own personal data. Whether logging into your work emails and company apps, accessing your personal online bank account, making purchases at online retailers, browsing social media, or even unlocking the door of your car, home, or hotel room, SAASPASS allows you to use your mobile or other enabled device to manage all your digital and physical access needs securely and conveniently SAASPASS allows you to do with one product what it currently takes a combination of 4 to 5 other products to do. **Average Rating:** 2.8/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 2 #### How Do G2 Users Rate SAASPASS? - **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 3.3/10 (Category avg: 9.0/10) #### Who Is the Company Behind SAASPASS? - **Seller:** [SAASPASS](https://www.g2.com/sellers/saaspass) - **Year Founded:** 2013 - **HQ Location:** San Francisco, US - **Twitter:** @saaspass (512 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/saaspass/about/ (10 employees on LinkedIn®) #### Who Uses This Product? - **Company Size:** 67% Small, 33% Medium #### What Are Recent G2 Reviews of SAASPASS? **["A real passwordless solution, resilient and more than ready to be discovered"](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/saaspass-review-3295673)** **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars _— Deodat L._ [Read full review](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/saaspass-review-3295673) **["2FA done well"](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/saaspass-review-876809)** **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars _— Verified User in Information Technology and Services_ [Read full review](https://www.g2.com/survey_responses/saaspass-review-876809) - [‹ Prev‹ Prev](/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools?order=g2_score&page=11#product-list) - [1](/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools?order=g2_score#product-list) - [2](/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools?order=g2_score&page=2#product-list) - … - [8](/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools?order=g2_score&page=8#product-list) - [9](/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools?order=g2_score&page=9#product-list) - [10](/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools?order=g2_score&page=10#product-list) - [11](/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools?order=g2_score&page=11#product-list) - 12 - [13](/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools?order=g2_score&page=13#product-list) - [Next ›Next ›](/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools?order=g2_score&page=13#product-list) Spotlight Categories [Knowledge Base Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/knowledge-base-software) [Identity Verification Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/identity-verification) [Professional Services Automation Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/professional-services-automation) [Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)](https://www.g2.com/categories/applicant-tracking-systems-ats) [Online Reputation Management Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/online-reputation-management) Similar Categories - [Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)](/categories/multi-factor-authentication-mfa) - [Biometric Authentication](/categories/biometric-authentication) - [Cloud Directory Services](/categories/cloud-directory-services) - [Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)](/categories/customer-identity-and-access-management-ciam) - [Decentralized Identity](/categories/decentralized-identity) - [Identity and Access Management (IAM)](/categories/identity-and-access-management-iam) - [Passwordless Authentication](/categories/passwordless-authentication) - [Password Managers](/categories/password-managers) - [Password Policy Enforcement](/categories/password-policy-enforcement) - [Privileged Access Management (PAM)](/categories/privileged-access-management-pam) - [Risk-Based Authentication (RBA)](/categories/risk-based-authentication-rba) - [Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) Tools](/categories/self-service-password-reset-sspr-tools) - [Single Sign-On (SSO)](/categories/single-sign-on-sso) [Browse User Provisioning and Governance Tools Themes](/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools/themes) ![Brandon Summers-Miller](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Brandon Summers-Miller") BS Researched and written by [Brandon Summers-Miller](https://research.g2.com/insights/author/brandon-summers-miller) Updated October 29, 2024 User provisioning and governance tools gives a single point of maintenance to manage user access to IT applications. Companies need identity governance and administration (IGA) programs to maintain organized records of user information such as personal information, account histories, or application credentials. These confidential records can be used by employees and administrators to retain information and regulations. IT managers and administrators use the information in these systems to automate tasks such as account creation, editing, or deleting, which can help facilitate employee lifecycle changes like onboarding, promotions, or termination. Human resource workers may utilize the databases as well to aggregate information about employees and monitor access requests. There is significant overlap between user provisioning software and cloud identity and access management. Many products function on a hybrid on­-premise and cloud level, but user provisioning and governance software solutions may not be able to provide remote access. These products will also often integrate with or provide SSO/federation or [password management](https://www.g2.com/categories/password-manager) capabilities. To qualify as user provisioning and governance solution, a product must: - Possess infrastructure to store and access identity information - Provide administrator tools to create access requirements - Automate processes related to identity administration - Provide security or authentication features to protect sensitive information Show More * * * ## How Do You Choose the Right User Provisioning and Governance Tools? ### What You Should Know About User Provisioning and Governance Tools ### What are user provisioning and governance tools and software? User provisioning and governance tools help companies automate the process of creating, permissioning, managing, and deactivating user accounts on corporate systems and applications across the enterprise. Typical use cases include user lifecycle stages such as setting up accounts for newly hired employees during onboarding and providing them access to the tools they need, changing user groups and permissions when employees are promoted or move within departments, and removing user accounts after an employee leaves the company. User provisioning and governance tools software automate user account creation by connecting information in user identity stores such as HR systems and/or user directories like Active Directory or G Suite to enterprise applications to systems that employees use such as email systems, databases, CRM systems, communication systems, employee productivity software, file storage systems, ERP applications, subscriptions, custom company applications, and more. There is considerable overlap between user provisioning and governance tools and [identity and access management (IAM) software](https://www.g2.com/categories/identity-and-access-management-iam) functionality, as both offer user provisioning and govern user access. User provisioning and governance solutions focus more specifically on user lifecycle and group management. At the same time, IAM software includes additional benefits, such as centralized identity functions for both on-premises and cloud accounts and providing user authentication before granting user access to corporate systems. ### **Key benefits of user provisioning and governance software solutions** - Automate user account lifecycle from provisioning during onboarding through de-provisioning after leaving the company - Grant access to applications and systems based on user type through role or group management functions - Reduce the time helpdesk team members need to spend manually creating users - Improve end-user experience by offering self-service tools and integrations with [single sign-on solutions](https://www.g2.com/categories/single-sign-on-sso) and [password management tools](https://www.g2.com/categories/password-managers) ### Why use user provisioning and governance systems? Using automated tools to manage user lifecycles, companies can eliminate manual user provisioning and de-provisioning tasks, which can ultimately reduce the burden on IT help desk teams and free up staff time for more high-level work. Deploying user provisioning and governance solutions reduces human error when creating accounts while reducing the threat of “permission creep" when accounts are not properly changed after promotions, demotions, or terminations. Using this software enables companies to manage large numbers of users at once by applying role or group policies across users in a standard fashion. **Setting up new hires —** Companies use user provisioning and governance tools to ensure new hires receive access to the accounts they need as quickly as possible during onboarding. If IT staff manually created user accounts, the process could take days, weeks, or even months and be prone to human error. **Removing access for terminated employees—** It is important to remove access for terminated employees as quickly as possible to prevent security risks, either from the terminated employees themselves or from hackers accessing abandoned user accounts. Using user provisioning and governance tools, companies can automatically de-provision user accounts when an employee is removed from an HR system or other identity store. **Enforcing role or group-based policies —** When managing hundreds (if not thousands) of user accounts, taking actions, such as providing access to new applications based on the users’ role or group types, can save a lot of time and get these users up and running quickly. For example, suppose all sales representatives should have access to a particular sales-related application. In that case, those user accounts can automatically be provisioned with access if they belong to the sales group. On the other hand, employees in the legal department may not need access to that sales application, so they would not be provisioned with an account for that specific sales software. **Security — ** Insider threats can occur when user accounts are given too much access for their job type, and employees use the information they shouldn’t have access to. For example, an intern-employee likely shouldn’t be given the same access to the company’s accounts, like an accounting system, as the chief operating officer has. Using role- and group-based policies, IT administrators can easily remove permissions no longer needed by a type or group of employees and prevent permission creep. **Reducing costs—** Labor ** ** is typically one of the highest expenses companies have. Using user provisioning and governance tools frees up time for IT help desk team members to do other higher-value work. Many user provisioning and governance tools solutions allow end-user self-service to make changes like name changes directly. ### Who uses user provisioning and governance software tools? Most companies would benefit from using identity governance software solutions to manage employee user account provisioning, management, and de-provisioning. In particular, companies with many employees and user accounts to manage, such as enterprise-level companies, would benefit from using identity governance platforms, as manual account creation is difficult, laborious, and prone to error. IT administrators and help desk teams typically manage user provisioning and governance tools within a company’s corporate structure. With automated lifecycle management, however, multiple stakeholders across the enterprise can work in tandem to ensure users are set up correctly and have the proper access. For example, HR representatives can change new hires or people who have left the company in the HR system. This information can be pulled by the user provisioning and governance tools system to automatically take actions on a user’s associated accounts. End users can use self-service tools to make changes to their user profile, like name or title changes. ### Features of user provisioning and governance tools At their core, user provisioning/governance software must, at minimum, provide tools to automatically provision and de-provision user accounts based on user identities and grant permissions based on governance rules for users to access specific enterprise applications. Many user provisioning/governance software offers additional features to further automate user account lifecycles and provide a better end-user experience. These features may include: **Automatic user provisioning and de-provisioning —** User provisioning/governance software pulls data from identity stores like [HR systems](https://www.g2.com/categories/core-hr) to provision new accounts. Specific access to accounts can be automated based on roles or group membership. When an employee leaves or is terminated or when a contractor’s contract date expires, the software can automatically terminate accounts to prevent abandoned accounts from living on in systems. **Lifecycle management —** The software takes user account actions throughout employee lifecycle changes from onboarding and promotions to termination. **Integrations —** A main tenet of user provisioning/governance software is integrating with other software applications such as HR systems, user directories, [ERP applications](https://www.g2.com/categories/erp-systems), [email systems](https://www.g2.com/categories/email), [databases](https://www.g2.com/categories/database-software), [CRM systems](https://www.g2.com/categories/crm), communication systems, employee productivity software, and [file storage systems](https://www.g2.com/categories/cloud-file-storage). **Identity synchronization —** User provisioning/governance software can synchronize identity information changes across multiple applications. For example, if a user changes their personal information, such as a phone number or title, in one system, those changes are pushed to their other applications in corporate systems. **Access governance, role/group management, and policy enforcement —** Governing who has access to what applications or systems is determined by a user’s role and group membership. Using role-based or group membership factors to determine what access a user should be granted ensures that access to a company application is granted uniformly and adheres to company policies. **Delegated access authorization—** When business managers need to give their subordinates access to company accounts or change their permissions, they can approve access using delegation workflows. **Access verification workflow —** User provisioning/governance software can regularly query managers to confirm their subordinates' access and whether changes need to be made. **Reports and audits—** User provisioning/governance software can conduct audits and provide reports on account usage, including account creation and deactivation. This may be a necessary feature for companies in highly regulated industries that need to periodically audit users. **User self-service and improved user experience —** Providing users with self-service functionality, such as allowing employees to change their names and titles directly in the system or being able to request access to specific applications for manager approval, can further remove manual processes off IT helpdesk staff and improve employee productivity. **Password management and single sign-on—** Many user provisioning and governance tools offer additional end-user benefits, such as password management and single sign-on functionality. Other Features of User Provisioning and Governance Tools: [Bi-directional identity synchronization](https://www.g2.com/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools/f/bi-directional-identity-synchronization), [Identifies and alerts for threats](https://www.g2.com/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools/f/identifies-and-alerts-for-threats), [Mobile app](https://www.g2.com/categories/user-provisioning-and-governance-tools/f/mobile-app) ### Emerging trends in user provisioning and governance Historically speaking, Microsoft’s product, Active Directory (AD), has been one of the most widely used directory services since its introduction in 1999. Because of AD’s large market share, it is worth mentioning that many other user provisioning and governance tools vendors generally offer both identity and user governance tools that integrate with AD or, conversely, offer entirely separate solutions that utilize their own directory service. Active Directory manages IT resources, stores information about users, groups, applications, and networks, and provides access to computers, applications, and servers. AD was initially designed for on-premises use cases. Still, given the shift to cloud computing and storage in the digital transformation, Microsoft introduced Azure AD, which extends an on-premises instance of AD to the cloud and synchronizes identities with cloud-based applications. Other user provisioning and governance tools offer cloud solutions tying into on-site AD instances. Many providers provide cloud-native solutions and robust [identity and access management (IAM)](https://www.g2.com/categories/identity-and-access-management-iam) tools. ### Software and services related to user provisioning and governance solutions User provisioning and governance tools are part of a complete identity management solution. Many user provisioning and governance tools providers natively have or integrate with other providers to offer: [**Single sign-on (SSO) software**](https://www.g2.com/categories/single-sign-on-sso) **—** Single sign-on (SSO) software allows users to access multiple corporate applications with one set of credentials. This gives users more access to their applications without logging in multiple times. Single sign-on (SSO) is achieved through federation by linking IT systems, applications, and identities to create a seamless user experience. [**Password manager software**](https://www.g2.com/categories/password-manager) **—** Password manager software helps end users manage their passwords by allowing them to create one master password to access the passwords associated with their accounts. This is different from single sign-on, which federates the identity to other applications, while password manager software merely provides a secure storage vault to house user passwords. [**Identity and access management (IAM) software**](https://www.g2.com/categories/identity-and-access-management-iam) **—** User provisioning and governance tools are a part of identity and access management (IAM) functionality, which allows IT administrators to quickly provision, de-provision, and change user identities. IAM software also authenticates users to ensure they are who they say they are before providing access to corporate assets. IAM software is a modern solution, especially for companies utilizing numerous cloud-based applications. [**Customer identity and access management (CIAM) software**](https://www.g2.com/categories/customer-identity-and-access-management-ciam) **—** Customer identity and access management (CIAM) software manages a company’s customer identities and accounts. CIAM is different from identity and access management (IAM) software. IAM is used for internal corporate use—such as managing the identities of internal employees or contractors—while CIAM is for customer-focused identity management. [**Privileged access management (PAM) software**](https://www.g2.com/categories/privileged-access-management-pam) **—** Privileged access management (PAM) software is a tool used to protect a company’s privileged account credentials. It is generally used by IT administrators and other super users with high-level access to applications, not everyday users. [**Multi-factor authentication (MFA) software**](https://www.g2.com/categories/multi-factor-authentication-mfa) **—** Before granting a user access to company assets, it is essential to authenticate that they are indeed who they say they are. This can be achieved using multi-factor authentication (MFA) software solutions such as SMS codes, mobile push, biometric verification, or email one-time-pass (OTP) pushes. For example, if an employee loses their laptop, the laptop and the accounts the employee has access to are generally rendered useless to someone else unless that person could spoof the employee’s other authentication factors.