Hey everyone,
I'm trying to figure out if my organization is the only one struggling with this issue or if it's a common problem. We've got users all over the place in platforms like Google Workspace, Slack, Freshservice, and Intune.
While offboarding is one challenge, we keep finding "zombie" accounts — contractors who left months ago or users who haven't logged in for ages, yet we're still dishing out $20 per month for their licenses without anyone raising a flag.
How do you manage your accounts? Are you running manual audit logs every month? Have you developed any custom scripts in PowerShell or Python to streamline the process?
I've been so fed up with the manual tracking that I'm actually building a lightweight tool that connects to the APIs to identify inactive accounts after 30 days and calculate the costs we're wasting. Before I invest too much time into this, I wanted to check if there's a simpler, existing solution that you all are using.
3 Answers
I totally feel your pain! I get chewed out by accounting every month for not disabling licenses when people quit or get fired. It’s such a hassle just keeping track of everything. What I do is run a quick check to flag unused accounts, but it’s far from perfect. Just wish I could cut down on the screaming, you know? 😂
What I’ve found helpful is linking account creation to our HR system and setting up a proper notification process for IT when someone leaves the company. Try to audit your user lists with HR regularly — at least once a year — to spot anyone who might have slipped through the cracks. That said, I know manual audits can be a hassle, especially with large teams.
I hear you! I’m looking for a more automated solution because manually reviewing is just not feasible anymore.
Do you guys actually have a working HR system for this? That's pretty impressive!
You might want to consider prioritizing Single Sign-On (SSO) for your apps. It helps with automating user provisioning and deprovisioning through the SCIM protocol. This way, if you have a solid IT process for SSO during onboarding and offboarding, managing accounts can get a lot easier. It also boosts security by simplifying how you handle compromised accounts.
Same here! If only we could automate it a bit more, it would make life so much easier!