Is your Active Directory not so active?

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Keeping Active Directory information current and updated can be a real challenge. Active Directory is at the core of many organization's information systems. Users rely on their Exchange / Outlook Global Address List (GAL) to provide them with information (telephone number, address, department, etc…) about other users and contacts within their organization.

For even a small company, keeping the Active Directory up-to-date can overwhelm an administrator but allowing the information to become stale and out-of-date frustrates users and makes them less productive.

Ithicos Solutions is pleased to provide economical, Web-based solutions that you can easily deploy and make your own life easier as well as ensuring that your Active Directory has the most up-to-date information available for the users.  You (the administrator) provides the user with a customized web page that allows them to update the information that you want them to update. Let your all of your users or a designated user keep this information up-to-date for you. 

We have new versions of our software that we have just released, read more!  Directory Update v2.1.2 is the newest build of the software.  This build of the software will support the forthcoming Directory Password product that allows self-service password changes and self service account unlock via a web page.

Directory Update
Directory Update is a "self-service" solution that allows a user to update their own information in the Active Directory. The Web interface is customizable so that a user can provide only valid information (such as city, department, title) and the telephone number format can be validated. Directory Update is US$359.00 per Active Directory domain.   Logon to the Directory Update demo and see for yourself. Directory Update v2.1.2 is now released; all customers eligible for upgrades will receive an e-mail notifying them of the new version and how to request a license key.  If your users are not updating their information, remind them during Windows logon if their information is out-of-date with the Auto Launch script. 

Directory Manager
Directory Manager is an easy-to-use Web interface that a designated user to update other user's information in the Active Directory. This designated user can search for a specific use account and can update the attributes that you specify in an interface that is very similar Directory Update. Attributes can be configured with drop-down lists of valid information and telephone number formats can be validated. Directory Manager is US$469.00 per Active Directory domain.  Directory Manager does not provide self-service capability, though. For that you need Directory Update. Logon to the Directory Manager demo and see Directory Manager in action. Learn more about Directory Manager. Medium and large organizations, please read about the Directory Manager permissions model. See the "future feature" list. 

Directory Search
Directory Search is a standalone Web application that you can give to your users that will allow them to use the Active Directory as a web-based phone book. This simple application is licensed one time for an entire Active Directory forest and is customized in much the same way that Directory Update and Directory Manager are customized. Pricing for a single Active Directory forest is $249.00, but discounts will apply for existing customers. See our Directory Search page for more information and an online demo.

Directory Password
Directory Password v1.0 is now available in limited release. Directory Password is an add-on for Directory Update v2.1.2 that allows an end-user to reset their password if they have forgotten their password or to unlock their account if their account is locked. The user must have first answered security questions via the add-on for Directory Update. To use Directory Password v1.0, a user must access a computer that has Internet or intranet access, such as a co-worker's computer or a kiosk computer. Directory Update v1.0 does not include a GINA module which would allow a user to reset their password via a locked workstation. Introductory pricing for Directory Password is US$250 per Active Directory domain. Directory Password v1.0 requires Directory Update v2.1.2 which has now been released.  

Directory Manager and Directory Update - Self service and delegated administration

• Improved accuracy with drop-down lists.
• Field types can be dropdown, text, or combo boxes
• Photo support!  We upload the user's photo to the thumbnailPhoto attribute and resize it to 128x128. This is the same attribute that Outlook 2010 and Microsoft Lync use.
• Fields or entire sections can be hidden from the user interface.
• Custom Attributes 1 - 15, Employee ID, Employee Type, and Employee Number, Web page, Description, Notes, Phone Number help message, and additional telephone numbers available
• Forms-based or Integrated Windows Authentication options
• Manager, Secretary, and Assistant fields
• Required fields and field format validation using regular expressions (REGEXs)
• Address sets allow a user to select one field and have their mailing address attributes populated automatically - See the demo! - New!
• Multiple domains supported from the same installation
• Administrator can restrict which attributes can be updated - For a full list of attributes that Directory Update supports, see the attribute support list.
• Customizable help string, help page, page title, window title, and attribute labels
• E-mail notifications of changes - New!
• File logging / auditing
  
  See more on Features and Examples...
  Online Demo Sites:
     See for yourself  - Directory Update online
     See our new product Directory Manager via the online demo site
     See the Directory Search online demo - New!

Directory Update was designed from the beginning to be easy to use and easy to deploy. Download the evaluation version, review the installation instructions, and you will have a fully functional and customized application in under 1 hour!

Why purchase Directory Update? At US$359 per domain, Directory Update gives you the most bang for your buck with "self service" Active Directory updates. For $469 per Active Directory domain, Directory Manager allows you to easily offload help desk or directory admin functions to a Human Resources person, department manager, or receptionist. Read more about why we offer the best self-service directory management solution on the market and a price that won't put a dent in your IT budget.

For more information, support, or pricing, please contact support @ ithicos.com,  Matt @ ithicos.com   or   jmcbee @ cta.net

Customer Feedback and Testimonials

Hear what our customers are saying about Directory Update, Directory Manager, and Directory Search!

"This product rocks; simple and effective; no bloat in the interface .. very nice!" 
- Tim W. - Dr. Pepper Snapple Group 

"Directory Update helps us keep our directory accurate and useful." Stacie M - FGI Services  

“I have been trying for years to get our Global Address List up-to-date. With this software it is finally done.”
- Jeff G. at Graphic Packaging International 

“Directory Update is a simple, clean application that does what you need it to at a reasonable price.”

"Customer service is great keep it up, don’t get that at a lot of places any more."

"Directory Update fills a gaping void in the market. Thanks to Directory Update, our Active Directory is no longer a months-old snapshot but a living resource."   - Kate L. at Jobster

"Directory Update has really made a difference for our staff being able to help us help them by keeping their contact information up to date in straight-forward and quick manner. Wonderful!"
 -Grant T. at SGS

"Why spend thousands of dollars on an application that has dozens of features we will never need. Directory Update does everything we need."

"We replicate our Active Directory to a central directory service holding nearly 100,000 user objects world-wide. Once we implemented Directory Update for our Active Directory, our user information is the only information that is consistently correct and up to date in the global directory service."

News and Updates

• December 4, 2011 - New prices taking effect - See the Ithicos Price List

• October 9, 2011 - Visit Ithicos Solutions on Facebook!

• August 18, 2011 - Thanks for the nod, Windows IT Pro Community Choice Awards!!!  Vote for Ithicos Solutions Directory Update before September 7th!

• August 15, 2011 - Directory Update v2.1.2, Directory Manager v1.6, and Directory Search v1.6.1 are the newest builds of our software that are available. See the Downloads page for more information.

• August 1, 2011 - All that additional security in Windows Server 2008 can cause installation and configuration problems.  See the Windows Server 2008 Common Problems page for assistance.

• June 22, 2011 - Note that changes to the style.css file as well as ASPX and ASCX files may be possible but may also put you in to an unsupported state.  We have had several incidents recently in which the application was broken due to changes that required many hours of support to fix.

• April 17, 2011 - We have tried hard to avoid a price increase over the last two years, but can't put it off any longer. In order to continue to provide timely updates, better documentation, and superior ongoing support, we will be increasing the price of all products between $50 and $100 each after September 15, 2011.

• March 31, 2011 - Congrats to Microsoft for releasing IE 9 and to the Firefox team for releasing Firefox 4.0.  New browser releases always have the potential for breaking AJAX and Web 2.0-type applications like ours. IE 9 and Firefox 4.0 will only be tested with Directory Update v2.1 (and later), Directory Manager v1.5 (and later), Directory Search v1.5 (and later) and Directory Password 1.0 (and later).  Contact support if you need a newer version and if you are on software maintenance.  See our Web Browser Support information.

• January 12, 2011 - A number of people have asked if our software is compatible with Exchange Server 2007 or Exchange Server 2010. The simple answer is "Yes".  The hard answer is that there is actually nothing Exchange specific in our software (except that we can use attributes that are created by the Exchange schema prep.)

• November 12, 2010 - New versions of all software are coming out soon starting with Directory Update v2.0.

• October 28, 2010 - Am I on support and maintenance? Support and maintenance is included with the purchase price for one year from the date of purchase. Additional years of support can be purchased at approximately 25% of the current cost of the product.

• October 4, 2010 - Note that Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are fully supported.  Read our Windows 2008 and x64 Windows support statement

• June 1, 2010 - The following versions are no longer supported:  Directory Update v1.6 and earlier, Directory Manager v1.2 and earlier, and Directory Search v1.2 and earlier. Customers that are current with their support and maintenance contracts can update to the newest versions. Support is approximately 20% of the cost of the software per year. If your support period expires, you must pay for support starting from the expiration date.

• August 14, 2009 - Note that all future releases (and any maintenance releases on current versions) will require the .NET 2.0 Framework and the .NET v3.5 SP1 Framework. We recommend installing all current Microsoft Updates.

• May 2, 2009 - We are on target to have a working beta version of the Directory Update product that will include an optional web-based password reset/forgot password tool. The introductory price for the password reset option will be about US$250 (in addition to the cost of Directory Update).

More news...

Alternatives

In the past, the only way a user could update their existing information was to call the help desk or an account administrator and have the information updated. An alternative to this was to use a utility such as Microsoft’s GALMOD utility from the Microsoft BackOffice Resource Kit or the Exchange Resource Kit. GALMOD (GALMOD32.EXE) allows a user to update their Global Address List attributes from within Outlook. However, GALMOD utility had to be installed on each user’s desktop. The alternative was for the user to request the updates be made to the user account administrator thus placing an additional burden on the IT Department.

Otherwise a third-party utility must be purchased to allow a user to edit their information in the Active Directory. The current third-party utilities on the market are full-featured user provisioning systems that are expensive and have far more features than are required for the simple attribute updates that most users and organizations require.