Cion Systems
CionSystems: Securing and Stabilizing Cloud Critical Directory Systems

As organizations continue to grow, so does their need to effectively manage software and hardware resources. It is imperative that user accounts and passwords are stored and managed securely. Though Active Directory facilitates critical identity management and messaging services, many IT administrators are frustrated when it comes to simplifying management process and reducing operational risks and cost. The Redmond, WA-based CionSystems addresses these challenges by building solutions for the easy management of cloud and on-premise infrastructure. These include identity management, migration, synchronization, and support for traditional, hybrid, and pure cloud solutions. “Cion’ symbolizes a ‘young plant.’ We are a young and growing company with a vision to make identity and access management easy,” says Zubair Ansari, CTO and Founder, CionSystems.

Active Directory Manager Pro is CionSystems’s single solution for managing Microsoft identity, access and authentication infrastructure–Active Directory, Windows Servers, Windows based identity, and Exchange. Active Directory Manager Pro delivers workflow, reporting, delegation, governance, automation, and automated provisioning and de-provisioning, which significantly improves efficiency and reduces downtime. “We also field Cloud Identity Management Solutions which provide full lifecycle management and monitoring to address the real issues companies face in production,” says Ansari.

As a Microsoft Gold partner, CionSystems has created an array of turnkey solutions for the IT environment that support Microsoft’s Azure, Office 365, Active Directory, PowerShell, .net, and Exchange. The solutions utilize the Microsoft Stack: the platform, services and Servers, including cloud offerings. Additionally, CionSystems simplify managing and integrating Google, SaaS services, OpenLDAP, Salesforce and a variety of other Identity stores.

According to Ansari, building and deploying solutions within the Microsoft technology landscape has helped the company understand the limitations customers face in their environments. “We provide an alternative to Microsoft’s limited set of use cases and pricing for their cloud models by delivering the flexibility customers want with an ability to leverage multiple cloud offerings,” adds Ansari.

Furthermore, CionSystems’s solutions simplify complex tasks and do not require customers to abandon their existing archi¬tecture and investments.

CionSystems’s experienced team of industry veterans work with partners and customers to identify potential future needs charting a solution path, which is far more scalable and manageable. Ansari points to several competitors who for instance introduce Apache, Java and other technologies that do not in¬tegrate with customers’ operational processes and increase the attack surface area. “We are aware of the customer impact with threats like HeartBleed, Poodle, and the issues in addressing unpatched vulnerabilities,” says An¬sari. “Our key differentiating factors are our solutions’s ease-of-use features, and the ability to field a true, web-based solution that can be securely utilized from any desktop, anywhere in the world to leverage on the Microsoft Stack.”

Ansari emphasizes on the nimbleness of the company in quickly adjusting to changing market needs. “Many solutions in this space require extensive consulting and customization before any value is derived in production. Our solutions have been installed in under an hour and have shown ROI on the first day of use,” states Ansari.

Our solutions deliver selfservice, change monitoring, workflow, reporting, delegation, governance, automation, access control, and automated provisioning and deprovisioning

At CionSystems’s development and R&D center, the focus is on building the current and next generation products. CionSystems has been working on claims-based authentication and authorization and creating a common framework that support Microsoft Products. “We have several products in late beta that greatly simplify managing SharePoint security and the overall IdM and provisioning workflows. This is particularly important for companies that provide external SharePoint access for internal and external users, suppliers, and customers,” says Ansari. The firm is working on extending access control products that integrate cloud and eliminates passwords to enhance productivity to customers’ business