Is your Active Directory not so active?
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keeping the Active Directory up-to-date can overwhelm an administrator but allowing the information to become stale and out-of-date frustrates users and makes them less productive.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 v1.7 is now being released.

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$299.00 per Active Directory domain.   Logon to the Directory Update demo and see for yourself. Directory Update v1.7 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  If your users are not updating their information, remind them during Windows logon if their information is out-of-date with the Auto Launch script.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$399.00 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 $199.00, but discounts will apply for existing customers. See our Directory Search page for more information and an online demo. New version provides Domain Controller or Global Catalog server query option and "contains" query option.

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 - New!
• 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 - New!
• Manager, Secretary, and Assistant fields
• Required fields and field format validation using regular expressions (REGEXs) - New!
• 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
  
  See more on Features and Examples...
  See for yourself  - Directory Update online demo - New!
  See our new product Directory Manager via the online demo site -

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$299 per domain, Directory Update gives you the most bang for your buck. For $399 per Active Directory domain, you can 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.

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.”

"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

"DirectoryUpdate saves me SOOOOO much time every week"
 - Cheyne M. at Sullivan Family of Companies

"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

• 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.

• August 3, 2009 - We are currently testing in-house the v2.0 version of Directory Update.  This version will include an optional (extra charge) password reset / forgot password feature. We expect this to be release in the next to months.

• August 3, 2009 - Read our Windows 2008 and x64 Windows support statement

• June 15, 2009 - The Directory Update will increase to $349 and Directory Manager to $499 on October 1, 2009.

• May 13, 2009 - We have a new fax number. Please fax purchase orders and tech support correspondence to (415) 494-0645.

• 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 password reset option will be about US$175 (in addition to the cost of Directory Update).

• January 20, 2009 - We are currently having issues with Firefox 3.0; many of these issues are difficult to fix since they relate to the underlying browser controls we use.  See our current support statement for more information.

• December 21, 2008 - Directory Update v1.7 is released. New versions of Directory Manager and Directory Search ready to release soon!

• September 5, 2008 - Auto Launch script for Directory Update users posted. This script automatically launches Directory Update on user logon if the phone number field is empty or if the user has not updated their information in 4 months.

• August 25, 2008 - Quick Install guides posted for on the Downloads page for Directory Update and Directory Manager
• August 19, 2008 - New, comprehensive Directory Update v1.6 documentation now posted on the Downloads page.
• August 11, 2008 - Interim builds of all products (Directory Update 1.6.1, Directory Manager v1.2.1, and Directory Search v1.2.1) are coming soon. All bug fixes will be included as well as a few new attributes and the ability to define wider or higher fields.
• August 10, 2008 - Change Password / Reset Password / Forgot Password features are coming this fall sometime. This feature will be an "additional charge" feature, probably around US$150 to US$200 to enable this feature.
• August 6, 2008 - Updates and bug fixes are available for Directory Manager v1.2 and Directory Update v1.6.  You do not need to re-install.  Download the files, and replace the DLL files in each application's BIN folder. Of course, make a backup copy of your entire installation, first. If you are using Photo support, please update your DLL files.
• August 5, 2008 - Want to allow anonymous access to Directory Search? Download the following Web.Config.Anon file and replace Directory Search's Web.Config file with this one. (You will need to rename the Web.Config.Anon file to Web.Config)
• July 30, 2008 - Support and maintenance policy - please read if you are an existing customer that is interested in ongoing software maintenance and support.
• July 15, 2008 - iPhone support?  We have had a few inquiries as to whether or not we have a style sheet that will fit the iPhone window better. Not yet, but we are curious how many people are interested in such a feature.
• May 4, 2008 - We are very seriously looking at designing a distribution list / mail group manager for Active Directory.  Read more...
• April 18, 2008 - The RegEx Library site is an excellent resource if you are using Regular Expressions to validate telephone number or other attribute formats
• April 12, 2008 - New Directory Search and Directory Manager "Applying Search Filters" documentation

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.