Universal Directory vs Active Directory: 10 key differences

• Knowing the differences enables a business to make a proper decision on the application it should choose to best optimise its safety, efficiency, and agility, becoming increasingly adaptable to the new age in tech.

In today’s digital world, identity management becomes very vital in information security and the efficient operation of most organisations. Two of the major systems in the identity domain include Universal Directory (UD) and Active Directory (AD). Though both have been used for user identity and access management, they are, however, very different in some aspects.

Here are the ten major differences between Universal Directory and Active Directory:

1. Definition and Purpose: Active Directory is Microsoft’s directory service from Windows domain networks that manage computers and other devices on a network. On the contrary, Universal Directory is an identity management cloud solution by Okta, enabling organisations to merge user identities from disparate sources and platforms.
2. Environment of Deployment: AD is typically deployed on-premises with much due hardware and other structures mandatory to keep it running. Universal Directory, on the other hand, runs in the cloud and offers organisations freedom of flexibility and reduced costs from IT overhead for those companies willing to invest in fewer infrastructures.
3. Integration Capabilities: Universal Directory excels because it integrates with a number of third-party applications and services that are mostly through APIs and pre-built connectors. Whereas Active Directory is much more associated with Microsoft and provides ties with additional tools for a more broad application.
4. User Management: AD is used for Windows-based environment use; thus, it is biased towards Microsoft-centric applications. Universal Directory is open and does not care about the platform in that it allows the organisation to not only be able to manage users across different operating systems but can also manage users from other cloud applications.
5. Scalability: The Universal Directory now affords greater scalability for the organisations, which are either growing very quickly or undergoing fluctuating demand, owing to the rising trend of cloud computing. Scaling, as is the case with Active Directory, is typically resource-intensive and very manual because it is tethered to infrastructure on-premises as opposed to cloud environments.
6. Authentication Protocols: Though both systems support a variety of authentication protocols, AD is more reliant on Kerberos and NTLM, both of which are more pronounced in the Windows environment. Universal Directory is more extensive with modern protocols like OAuth and SAML for SSO and MFA across different platforms.
7. Directory Synchronisation: Universal Directory synchronises user identities in real-time from different sources like cloud applications and on-premises directories. On the contrary, Active Directory requires scheduled tasks and manual configurations to synchronise data with other systems, especially those based on the cloud.
8. User Experience: Universal Directory is user-oriented and allows users to manage their profiles safely and simply through friendly interfaces. Active Directory can be less user-friendly, with much of its enrichment collection activity often requiring IT intervention or personnel.
9. Cost Structure: AD can incur a higher initial cost regarding licensing, hardware, and staff costs, making it more expensive for specific enterprises. In contrast, Universal Directory charges a subscription fee, which is much less costly and predictable to budget for over expensive upfront costs.
10. Governance and Compliance: Universal Directory has built-in features for governance and regulatory compliance, helping organisations maintain safety practices according to frameworks such as GDPR and HIPAA. Active Directory offers some degree of compliance, but generally requires other tools and configurations to achieve equivalent oversight.

Universal Directory examples

A Universal Directory works as a central repository of information, which he helps to locate users to find different resources, services, or people across diverse platforms and systems. Besides connecting the different data sources, universal directories also help to improve the efficiency of searching them and increase user access to them. Some far-reaching examples of universal directories, which show their versatility and impact, are such as the following:

1.  LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol): LDAP is a well-known protocol to access and maintain distributed directory information services over an Internet Protocol (IP) network. This makes it useful for managing user accounts and permissions at a company level because it permits centralised management of a directory that can contain everything from user ids, passwords, contacts, and roles to seamless authentication and authorisation across multiple applications.
2. Google My Business: This Universal Directory now becomes the lifeline for local businesses. Google My Business enables companies to manage their online presence on Google across its platforms, including Search and Maps. A business could create a profile in this directory that essentially contains important pieces of information like address, hours of operation, and customer reviews. Such is made in order to improve the visibility and connect potential clients to know about the services available in their area.
3. LinkedIn: Professionally networked, LinkedIn acts as an international directory. It creates potential users’ profiles displaying their abilities, experiences, and endorsements and connects them to each other. Such a directory, in fact, is efficient for pursuing talents through recruitment processes by employers. Its searchable directory profile also enables possible networking opportunities across different industries.
4.  Internet Service Providers Directories:  Most ISPs would have generic directories to guide their customers in sourcing the services available for them in their location. Usually, this is information on service plans, speeds, and customer ratings. Thus, such data will be blended with many other types of service providers for different geographic locations to help people in their decision making regarding internet services.
5. Maricopa County Property Assessor’s Office:  This is a public directory that gives access to property information in Maricopa County, Arizona. The details span property assessment, tax information, and ownership records. It would benefit potential buyers, real estate agents, and legal professionals. Providing this further brings transparency and easy access in terms of very specific property records.

Active Directory example

Active Directory is a directory service from Microsoft for Windows domain networks. With it, the network resources become centrally manageable–the users, computers, printers, and other devices are all right there in the same building. One great use of Active Directory is in a large multinational organisation, educational institution, or government agency.

Here is a typical instance of an Active Directory implementation within an organisation: streamlining user authentication and provisioning access control for users over resources within a network. Let’s take a fictional organisation named “Tech Solutions”, having departments like Human Resources, IT, and Sales. These departments would be having different levels of access to shared resources such as file servers and applications.

In the given scenario, Tech Solutions is using Active Directory to create a domain named “techsolutions.local.” Within the domain, the administrator will be the IT department, and each department will be assigned an Organisational Unit (OU). This would allow management using settings, permissions, and policies in the organisation.

1. User Accounts: The IT department creates user accounts for every employee and sorts them into their respective OUs. For example, HR employees belong to the “HR” OU while Sales employees belong to the “Sales” OU. Using this kind of segmentation creates a manageable environment for user permission management.
2. Group Policy: With the added application of Group Policies by an IT administrator, it can provide the organisation with uniform security and configuration settings. For example, within the HR OU there may be rules to prevent the access of sensitive data files by all people except the approved ones. Whereas, the sales OU may have the provision to access CRM applications using a different policy.
3. Authentication and Authorisation: All the users will log on to the workstation, and the computer will authenticate them against the Active Directory database. Once their authentication is successful, they are granted access to resources as defined by their permissions. Well, centralising the management capabilities adds security and compliance.
4. Scalability: As Tech Solutions grows, Active Directory allows the company to add new users, groups, and resources without in the process disturbing the existing structure, going along the way for more effective management as the company grows.