Powering Collaboration: How IMS Transformed a Customer's Digital Landscape

Every transformation story has its share of challenges, breakthroughs, and lessons learned. This is the story of a prominent public sector organization with over 50+ independent departments, each operating with its own systems and processes, yet united by a common goal: seamless collaboration. Their digital transformation journey wasn’t just about adopting new tools; it was about reshaping how people connect, communicate, and work together. At the heart of this journey was the Identity Migration Service (IMS).

The Challenge: Aligning Diverse Digital Ecosystems

The customer’s structure consisted of multiple departments, each with its own systems, workflows, and identity management practices. While this autonomy supported individual operations, it subtly created barriers to seamless collaboration and efficient identity management. As they embarked on their digital transformation journey, it became evident: to unlock their true potential, they needed to weave these separate threads into a unified digital fabric.

Enter IMS: The Bridge to Unity

When they reached out to us, the challenge was clear, yet daunting. How do you bring together 50+ autonomous departments without disrupting their unique workflows? The answer lay in IMS—a solution designed not just to migrate identities but to build bridges across digital ecosystems.

What We Set Out to Achieve:

• Simplify Access: One identity to rule them all—making it easier for users to access applications without juggling multiple credentials.
• Foster Collaboration: Break down digital walls, enabling departments to share tools, knowledge, and resources effortlessly.
• Boost Efficiency: Eliminate redundancies by leveraging shared digital infrastructures.

The Journey: More Than Just Migration

Our journey with this particular customer was anything but ordinary. This was one of the largest IMS onboardings we’d ever undertaken, filled with technical complexities and unique requirements. Here’s how we navigated it:

1. Guest Account Creation for SSO: To enable Single Sign-On (SSO) across their organization’s diverse applications, we created guest accounts for all source tenant users in the target tenant. This wasn’t just about simplifying logins—it was about giving every employee, regardless of their department, a unified digital identity.
   
   
2. Global Address List (GAL) Synchronization: Picture trying to send an email to someone in another department but not knowing their contact details. That was their situation—until we implemented GAL synchronization. By creating a mesh of contacts across all 50+ tenants, we made it effortless for employees to find and connect with colleagues across the organization.  

Tailoring the Solution: Customization at Its Core

No two departments for them were alike, and neither were their identity management needs. Here’s where IMS truly shined:

• Attribute Flow Customizations: Some departments were privacy-conscious, opting out of sharing attributes like mobilePhone. Others needed specific attributes to sync seamlessly. We made it all possible.
• Selective Tenant Participation: Not every tenant wanted to be part of the mesh network or guest sync. Some preferred to sync but remain invisible in the target tenant, and IMS accommodated these preferences effortlessly.
• Complex Sync Configurations: From tailored sync rules to unique compliance requirements, we navigated a labyrinth of customizations, ensuring every department’s needs were met without compromising the unified framework.

Overcoming the Inevitable Challenges

Managing an identity migration of this magnitude wasn’t a walk in the park. We faced:

• Stakeholder Alignment: Juggling expectations from 50+ departments meant constant communication and negotiation.
• Technical Complexities: Diverse systems, unique workflows, and custom configurations—each added a layer of complexity.
• Minimizing Disruptions: Our goal was to make the transition as smooth as possible, ensuring that employees felt the benefits without the burdens.

Through relentless collaboration, adaptability, and the robust capabilities of IMS, we turned these challenges into stepping stones.

The Transformation: Results That Speak Volumes

The impact of this project was profound:

• Seamless User Experience: Over 1 million objects were successfully managed, including user accounts, and contacts cumulatively, ensuring smooth identity transitions across all departments.
• Enhanced Collaboration: With 50+ independent departments unified, cross-departmental communication increased significantly, fostering real-time collaboration that was previously impossible.
• Operational Efficiency: The consolidation efforts streamlined workflows and reduced redundant administrative tasks, saving thousands of work hours annually.
• Reliability at Scale: As the project evolved, so did IMS. We continuously enhanced the product’s capabilities to accommodate emerging requirements, ensuring that the solution remained robust, flexible, and aligned with the customer’s growing needs. The system handled millions of sync operations with minimal latency, ensuring data consistency and uptime across the entire mesh network.

Reflections: Beyond Technology

Working with this public sector organization wasn’t just about deploying IMS; it was about witnessing the power of technology to transform not just systems, but cultures. This project reinforced a valuable lesson: at the heart of every successful digital transformation is a human story—of people connecting, collaborating, and growing together.

This customer’s journey is a testament to what’s possible when technology meets purpose. Through IMS, we didn’t just migrate identities; we empowered an organization to reimagine its digital future.

Are you facing similar identity management challenges? Discover how IMS can power your organization’s collaboration.

Learn more about IMS and start hassle-free migrations and its capabilities today! On our YouTube Channel 

Want to speak with an expert? Reach out to us at imssales@microsoft.com to connect with a sales representative. Let’s power the future of digital collaboration — together 🤝