tenfold Import Feature โ€“ Integrate Existing Structures

Organizations who decide to implementย access management softwareย commonly ask themselves:ย what to do with existing infrastructures? What can we do withย file server groupsย that were established as part of aย painstaking manual processย that took forever? Withย tenfold, your efforts will not have been in vain because you can simplyย importย these existing structures. Weโ€™ll tell youย how itโ€™s doneย and outline whom the import feature could be of special interest to.

Tidying Up the File Server โ€“ Withย tenfold

tenfold establishes all access structures automatically and always in accordance with Microsoftโ€™s best practice approach, the AGDLP principle. Sticking to this user and access management approach manually can only be done with the greatest of efforts (and not without tolerating a high potential for errors). tenfold automates all of these tedious manual processes and manages the infrastructure transparently.

The ability to import existing structures has been available since tenfold version 2019 R2. The purpose of the import feature is to avoid confusion as it prevents several structures from existing at the same time. This allows organizations to continue using groups that have already been established, for instance.

How Are Old Structures Imported?

To ensure the file server order is not jeopardized, the software imports existing structures only once they have been classified and registered in accordance with best practices. This entire process is automated and therefore does not add any extra work to the admin pile. To import an existing structure, tenfold proceeds as follows:

  • If there is justย oneย group with aย certain permissionย (e.g. โ€œModifyโ€) for a folder,ย tenfoldย automatically detects this and suggests the group should be registered as aย tenfoldย group.

  • If there are several groups with the same permission on a folder, you can simplyย select the groupย you wish to be registered inย tenfold.

  • The import also recognizesย list groupsย that were created for folder browsing.

  • If there is a group that is being used onย more than one folderย โ€“ which goes against best practices โ€“ย tenfoldย will display aย warning.

  • Theย group nameย doesย notย have to conform to any particular rule or standard and you areย not requiredย to update theย description field.

When an Older Version of tenfold Is Already Installed

The import feature is also of interest to installations of tenfold that were done before version 2019 R2. For instance, if you wish to re-integrate existing file servers or ones that have been integrated but are not yet properly registered in tenfold, the import feature represents a viable option.

Switching toย tenfold

The import feature is of particular interest to customers who are planning to replace their current access management tool with tenfold. The import feature allows you to continue using the structures you established using your previous tool with tenfold.

tenfold screenshot showing the file server group import interface.
tenfold lets you import existing file server and group structures.
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About the Author: Helmut Semmelmayer

Helmut Semmelmayer currently heads channel sales at the software company tenfold software. He looks back on 10 years of involvement in the identity and access management market. Having worked on countless customer projects, he has extensive knowledge of the challenges that organizations face when it comes to protecting data from unauthorized access. His goal is to educate businesses and build awareness for current and future access-based attack patterns.