Identity Director- Removing the SharePoint Dependency from MIM
For organisations running Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM), the biggest architectural risk isn’t the sync engine or governance logic – it’s the SharePoint dependency behind the MIM Portal.
At Oxford Computer Group, we see this pattern repeatedly: SharePoint once provided a convenient UI layer, but today it introduces costs, fragility, and operational overhead that far outweigh its value.
Patch cycles, infrastructure sprawl, performance issues, and a dated user experience have made the MIM Portal a liability rather than an asset.
You don’t need to replace MIM to fix this problem. You need to remove SharePoint instead.
SharePoint is the Weakest Link
The MIM Portal was built when SharePoint was Microsoft’s default application framework. In modern environments, it adds disproportionate complexity for minimal functional benefit.
Typical issues include:
- Large infrastructure footprints with multiple servers, databases, service accounts, and certificates
- High-risk patching and upgrade cycles
- Performance bottlenecks unrelated to identity logic
- A UI poorly suited to business users
None of these improves identity governance.
The Support Mismatch Problem
MIM remains supported until January 2029, but SharePoint 2016 and 2019 reach the end of support in July 2026, forcing many organisations to act years earlier than planned.
Microsoft’s recommended path is the SharePoint Subscription Edition, with MIM compatibility anticipated for MIM SP3. As yet, no release date has been announced. Recent SharePoint vulnerabilities have further highlighted the risk of running SharePoint solely to support identity portal functionality.
The question many teams are now asking is simple: Why modernise an entire SharePoint platform just to keep the MIM Portal running?
Identity Director: Remove SharePoint, Keep MIM
Identity Director addresses this by removing SharePoint from the MIM architecture without changing MIM itself.
It is a modern .NET web application that:
- Uses the existing MIM Service and database
- Operates on the current MIM configuration – objects, workflows, MPRs, approvals, RCDCs, sync rules, etc.
- Requires no migration or redesign of identity logic
From MIM’s perspective, nothing changes. MIM behaviour remains the same — SharePoint simply disappears.
Removing SharePoint delivers immediate operational and security benefits. It eliminates SharePoint patching, removes the SharePoint licensing costs and reduces the attack surface, delivering an improved security posture.
Identity Director: A Portal Built for Identity
SharePoint constrained the MIM Portal experience. Identity Director removes those constraints and provides a modern, more intuitive interface, offering, for example, much-improved search capabilities with data export, automatic use of calendar controls for date and time fields, and a timeline feature that shows historical changes on the object itself – all without changing MIM!
Identity Director’s enhanced capabilities enable existing RCDCs to be modified to provide a more dynamic, wizard-based experience for object creation and modification, using new or richer versions of existing controls.
All policy and enforcement remain in MIM. Identity Director simply makes them easier to understand and operate.
Low-Risk Modernisation
Identity Director is a drop-in replacement, not a re-platform. It can coexist with the MIM Portal (installed side-by-side), helpful for evaluation, or simply replace it.
Implementation effort is low because the MIM backend remains unchanged.
Immediate Benefits
Removing SharePoint delivers immediate benefits:
- Reduced infrastructure – eliminates SharePoint farms, SQL Server dependencies, service accounts and permissions
- Improved security posture – fewer “moving parts” provide a smaller attack surface area
- Reduced operational and administrative load – eliminates monthly patching
- No associated SharePoint licensing costs
In Summary
Identity Director doesn’t replace Microsoft Identity Manager. It replaces the SharePoint dependency that MIM never outgrew.
For organisations running MIM that want to reduce complexity, mitigate risk, and avoid unnecessary SharePoint modernisation, Identity Director offers the most direct and pragmatic path forward.
Any questions? We’re here to help
Oxford Computer Group UK is part of an international family of companies that has been helping organizations with identity management across the world for more than two decades.
- Our knowledge of MIM is unparalleled, but our expertise extends throughout the Microsoft identity stack.
- Our consultants have many decades of Microsoft identity management experience and offer a safe and expert pair of hands to organizations from all industry sectors.
Get in touch with our team to find out more about Identity Director.