Extending a Major ITSM Platform with Activate’s Deep Identity Automation
Transforming ticket-driven access management into policy-driven IAM
Client Snapshot
Organisation: Mid-sized government agency in New Zealand
Workforce: 5,000+ users
Environment: Hybrid Active Directory and Azure AD
Platform: Major ITSM
Solution: Activate Identity Lifecycle
The Challenge
The organisation relied on a major ITSM platform as its core IT service management platform for access requests and approvals. This effectively managed workflows and service catalog requests, however access provisioning still relied on manual processes. Access fulfilment depended on:
Manual IT intervention
Custom PowerShell scripts
Email handoffs between teams
Limited native connectors to downstream systems
This created several operational and security challenges:
New employees waited 2–5 days to receive full system access
Terminated users sometimes retained access in downstream systems
Role changes rarely triggered removal of outdated permissions
Service desk teams spent significant time handling repetitive access tasks
Audit teams struggled to verify access removal across all systems
The organisation needed deeper automation without replacing its existing ServiceNow platform.
The Solution
The organisation implemented Activate’s Identity Lifecycle Solution as the identity automation engine behind the major ITSM platform. The ITSM remained the system of engagement, while Activate provided the automation layer for identity lifecycle management.
The ITSM platform continued to manage:
User access requests
Approval workflows
Service catalog interactions
Activate automated:
Identity provisioning across systems
Role-based access control
Joiner, mover and leaver lifecycle events
Integration with Active Directory, Azure AD, Microsoft 365 and business applications
The ITSM platform triggered identity lifecycle events, and Activate executed the provisioning and access changes automatically using policy-driven rules.
Automated Lifecycle Management
The solution introduced automation across key identity lifecycle processes.
Automated Joiners
New hires are automatically provisioned with the appropriate accounts and access based on role-based policies.
Automated Movers
Role changes trigger recalculation of access entitlements, removing outdated permissions and applying new ones.
Immediate Leaver De-Provisioning
When employees leave, access is revoked across connected systems within minutes.
Reduced Service Desk Workload
Automation eliminated many repetitive access tasks previously handled manually by IT teams.
Business Impact
Within six months of deployment, the organisation saw significant improvements in operational efficiency and security governance. Key benefits included:
Faster onboarding and improved employee productivity
Reduced service desk workload
Stronger governance of identity and access across systems
Improved compliance and audit readiness
By adding deep automation alongside the major ITSM platform, the organisation transformed identity management from ticket-driven workflows to automated lifecycle governance.
Key Outcomes of deploying Activate Identity Lifecycle
30% reduction in manual access fulfilment
Near-zero orphaned accounts
Faster onboarding and improved day-one productivity
Reduced service desk workload
Improved audit visibility and compliance