How a Global Enterprise Unified Digital Identity Across Its Entire Organization and Eliminated Fragmented Access

Client Name : Financial Institution

Industry : Corporate Risk & Enterprise Risk Management

Start Date: 5/2/2025

End Date: 7/14/2025

Business Challenge

This finance company faced challenges managing a growing number of users and their roles across distributed environments. They struggled with scalability, inconsistent configurations, a lack of disaster recovery, and difficulties in meeting security and compliance requirements.

Objective

To modernize the organization’s legacy Active Directory infrastructure using AWS-native services. The goal was to improve scalability, simplify management, enhance security, and align with cloud best practices.

Solution by Futran Solutions

Futran Solutions implemented AWS Managed Microsoft AD to streamline identity and access management across AWS workloads.

EC2 instances running Windows Server 2019 were used as domain controllers.

AWS Managed Microsoft AD was deployed across multiple Availability Zones for high availability and automated patching

Private subnets within a VPC were used to isolate identity services and reduce exposure

The environment supported centralized authentication using AWS Workspaces.

Security groups and VPC-level network segmentation were used to enforce least privilege and isolate AD access.
Managed Services – Monitoring & Optimization Enabled continuous monitoring of identity services using Amazon CloudWatch and CloudTrail, ensuring visibility, proactive alerting, and operational efficiency.
Managed Services – Patching & Maintenance Leveraged AWS Managed Microsoft AD and EC2 patching automation to maintain secure, up-to-date domain controllers without manual intervention.
Managed Services – Cost & Compliance Management Delivered ongoing FinOps and compliance support using AWS Trusted Advisor, helping GARP optimize spend and align with regulatory standards.

Architecture Overview

The architecture for the Company’s identity modernization was designed to ensure scalability, high availability, and secure access control. Key components of the solution included:

AWS Managed Microsoft AD deployed across multiple Availability Zones
EC2 Windows Server 2019 instances as domain controllers in private subnets
VPC segmentation and security groups for network isolation and access control
Integration with AWS WorkSpaces (were domain-joined) for centralized authentication
Use of Auto Scaling and Multi-AZ deployment patterns to ensure fault tolerance and scalability

High Availability and Scalability

High availability was achieved by deploying identity services across multiple Availability Zones. Domain controllers were distributed to ensure service continuity in case of an AZ-level failure. Scalability was supported using AWS services such as Auto Scaling for EC2 instances and Amazon S3 for scalable storage. The architecture was designed to adapt to changes in demand and maintain operational resilience.

Security

The solution enforced strong security controls by deploying AWS Managed Microsoft AD in private subnets, reducing exposure to the internet. IAM roles, security groups, and VPC-level segmentation ensured least privilege access and network isolation. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) was implemented for secure user access, and AWS CloudTrail and Amazon Inspector were used for auditing and vulnerability detection. These measures helped the company align with compliance requirements and reduce the risk of unauthorized access.

Operational Excellence

Futran Solutions designed the environment with automation and manageability in mind. AWS Managed Microsoft AD simplified identity operations by eliminating the need to patch or manage domain controllers manually. Monitoring and logging via Amazon CloudWatch and CloudTrail provided visibility into system health and user activity. The use of centralized authentication through AWS WorkSpaces ensured consistent policy enforcement and streamlined user management across distributed environments.

Key Workloads and Services Involved

AWS Managed Microsoft AD

EC2 Windows Server 2019 (as Domain Controllers)

AWS WorkSpaces (domain-joined)

Network segmentation in VPC

Active Directory modernization

Business Results

Improved reliability with 99.9% authentication uptime.
Supported 4× user growth with no degradation in performance.

Achieved a 40% reduction in admin hours per week.

Raised audit compliance scores by 15 percentage points.

Lessons Learned / Best Practices

Deploying AWS Managed Microsoft AD with EC2 DCs in private subnets adds both security and availability

Domain joining Windows workloads ensures consistent policy enforcement

VPC-level network segmentation is essential for isolating sensitive identity services