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Did you know that 60% of all breaches involve the human element through error, privilege misuse, use of stolen credentials, or social engineering? Even more alarming: credential abuse remains the most common vector of data breaches in 2025, accounting for 22% of all incidents. The message is crystal clear: attackers aren’t breaking in anymore, they’re logging in!
This is precisely why identity and access management (IAM) solutions, such as ManageEngine AD360, are now crucial for security.
In this comprehensive review, we’ll explore AD360’s features, analyze its pricing structure, and provide an honest assessment of its pros and cons, ultimately determining whether it truly meets the demands of enterprises. Whether you’re managing 100 users or 100,000, this review will help you decide if ManageEngine AD360 deserves a place in your IT stack.
★ ManageEngine AD360 Component Ratings & Quick Verdicts
| Component | Feature | Rating | Quick Verdict | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADManager Plus | Bulk User/Group Management | 4.8 | Effortlessly manages and automates AD operations. | 4.8 |
| Role-Based Delegation | 4.9 | Integrates granular delegation for help desks and HR. | ||
| Custom Reporting | 4.8 | Prebuilt and custom reports support compliance. | ||
| ADAudit Plus | Real-Time AD File/Server Auditing | 4.8 | Tracks changes, logons and permissions instantly. | 4.7 |
| Compliance & Risk Alerts | 4.6 | Meets SOX, HIPAA, and other audit needs. | ||
| Detailed Logon & Change Reports | 4.8 | Extensive at-a-glance reporting for administrators. | ||
| ADSelfService Plus | Self-Service Password Reset | 4.8 | Empowers users to reset passwords securely, 24/7. | 4.8 |
| Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) | 4.9 | Flexible MFA with biometrics, push, and OTP. | ||
| Single Sign-On (SSO) | 4.8 | One-click access to cloud and enterprise apps. | ||
| Exchange Reporter Plus | Hybrid Exchange Reporting | 4.7 | Comprehensive reporting for on-prem/cloud mailboxes. | 4.7 |
| Exchange Auditing | 4.8 | Tracks mailbox access, permissions, and actions. | ||
| Customizable Templates | 4.8 | Prebuilt and user-defined templates simplify audits. | ||
| M365 Manager Plus | Microsoft 365 License Reporting | 4.7 | Insightful license usage & audit reporting. | 4.7 |
| Delegated Admin/Role Management | 4.8 | Eases admin workload with secure delegation. | ||
| Activity Monitoring & Alerts | 4.6 | Immediate notification for risky activities. | ||
| RecoveryManager Plus | AD/Exchange/365 Backup | 4.7 | Reliable backup for AD, Exchange & O365. | 4.6 |
| Granular/Versioned Restore | 4.8 | Quickly recovers deleted or changed objects. | ||
| Multi-Platform UI | 4.5 | Unified dashboard for all restore/backup tasks. | ||
| SharePoint Manager Plus | SharePoint/Teams Reporting | 4.6 | Centralized reporting for hybrid SharePoint & Teams. | 4.6 |
| Migration & Integration Tools | 4.7 | Seamless team and data migration tools. | ||
| Security Analytics & Audit | 4.6 | Visual dashboards for governance & compliance. |
Table of Contents
What is ManageEngine AD360
ManageEngine AD360 is an integrated identity and access management (IAM) solution designed to help organizations manage, secure, and govern user identities across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. Built to streamline IT administration and boost security, AD360 offers centralized control over Active Directory, Microsoft 365, Exchange, G Suite, and related platforms from a single console.
AD360 automates routine identity lifecycle tasks, monitors privileged access, and provides compliance assurance for standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX. It equips IT teams with robust tools for user behavior analytics, real-time auditing, privileged access management, backup and disaster recovery, and adaptive authentication.
The platform stands out with its ease of deployment, integration capabilities (including REST APIs and third-party connectors), and support for high availability. AD360 integrates with popular platforms, including ServiceNow, Slack, Salesforce, and hundreds of others.
Its modular architecture allows you to select only the components you need, enabling you to manage complex hybrid environments from a single dashboard, thereby improving security, compliance, and administrative efficiency.
ManageEngine AD360 Components
Understanding AD360’s modular architecture is crucial to appreciating its value proposition. Rather than building a monolithic solution, ManageEngine designed AD360 as an integrated platform comprising multiple specialized components, each addressing specific aspects of identity and access management. This modular approach allows organizations to implement only the capabilities they need while maintaining seamless integration across all components.
AD360 comprises seven components, each providing a rich yet unique set of features, according to ManageEngine’s official documentation. This component-based architecture represents a fundamental design philosophy that sets AD360 apart from competitors who often force organizations into all-or-nothing licensing models.
ADManager Plus: The Foundation of User Lifecycle Management
ADManager Plus serves as a unified management component of AD360 for AD, Microsoft 365, Exchange, and Google Workspace. This component handles the fundamental task of user provisioning, mailbox management, group and OU administration, and supports bulk operations with templates and automation policies
Integration and Extensibility
ADManager Plus offers robust REST API support and out-of-the-box integrations for common ITSM, HCM, and SIEM solutions, enabling automated onboarding that is in sync with HR or help desk workflows. Mobile apps for Android and iOS provide on-the-go user and group management for admins on the move.
What do we like about ADManager Plus?
- Centralized Management & Reporting: ADManager Plus lets IT teams manage Active Directory, Microsoft 365, Exchange, Google Workspace, OUs, and groups from a single dashboard. Day-to-day tasks like bulk provisioning, modification, license management, and group administration become “one-click” activities, saving enormous time.
- Workflow Automation: Routine actions (user onboarding, deprovisioning, mailbox assignment) are fully automatable with multi-level approval workflows. Delegation keeps the help desk risk low.
- Compliance, Security, Traceability: Over 200 reports, audit trails, and role-based delegation simplify compliance, making audits and privilege management straightforward and reducing chances of human error.
Real-World Example
Imagine onboarding a batch of new employees: HR submits a CSV file, and ADManager Plus automatically provisions user accounts, assigns the correct licenses (Office 365, Google Workspace), adds users to the right AD groups, creates Exchange mailboxes, and applies security policies—all with approvals and notifications as needed.
ADAudit Plus: Real-Time Security and Compliance Monitoring
The IT security and compliance component of AD360, ADAudit Plus delivers real-time auditing and user behavior analytics for AD, file servers, and Windows servers. Monitors privileged access, detects insider threats, and provides over 1,000 prebuilt audit reports to meet compliance needs.
This component transforms AD360 from a simple management tool into a comprehensive security platform. ADAudit Plus continuously monitors Active Directory changes, user login patterns, file access activities, and administrative actions, providing the real-time visibility that security teams need to detect potential threats and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
What do we like about ADAudit Plus?
- Continuous Security & Compliance Visibility: ADAudit Plus automatically audits and alerts on logins, privilege changes, GPO edits, account lockouts, and more across AD, Azure AD, and file servers.
- Threat Detection: Built-in user behavior analytics (UBA) spot signs of insider threats, privilege abuse, or attacks before damage occurs—enabling rapid incident response.
- Audit-Ready Reporting: Hundreds of prebuilt, out-of-the-box, compliance-mapped reports (SOX, PCI, HIPAA, GDPR) mean less time crunching data and more time defending systems.
Real-World Example
Imagine a financial services firm required to monitor privileged access and file modifications for SOX compliance. ADAudit Plus provides real-time, automated reporting and alerting. So if a user unexpectedly elevates privileges, modifies client files, or logs in after hours, the IT team is instantly alerted and can respond in minutes, not days. Scheduled reporting and log archiving make regulatory audits a breeze.
ADSelfService Plus: Empowering Users While Reducing IT Burden
The integrated self-service password management component of AD360 offers end-user password resets, MFA, and secure SSO for enterprise applications. ADSelfService Plus represents the user-facing element of the AD360 platform. This component reduces help desk workload and improves user experience while enforcing strong security policies.
ADSelfService Plus addresses three of the most stubborn identity pain points in modern organizations—forgotten passwords, account lockouts, and insecure logins. Instead of waiting for the help desk, users can reset their password, unlock their account, or update their contact details in minutes, anytime, anywhere—even from their mobile device.
Its multi-factor authentication capabilities provide 19+ context-aware authentication factors (SMS, biometrics, email OTP, push notifications, YubiKey, etc.) at AD, machine, VPN, and web portal logins.
What we like about ADSelfService Plus
- User Empowerment: Staff can reset passwords, unlock accounts, and update profile details 24/7, from web, desktop, or mobile—without IT support. This drastically cuts help desk tickets and lost productivity.
- Security at Every Login: Adds multi-factor authentication (MFA) to AD and cloud apps (including Windows, Mac, Linux endpoints), SSO for SaaS, and adaptive conditional access—making every login more secure.
Real-World Example
A remote employee forgets their password late at night—no need to call IT or wait until morning. ADSelfService Plus lets them verify their identity with a push notification and reset their password instantly. If company policy requires, they’ll also have to complete a biometric check or answer a security question before gaining access.
M365 Manager Plus: Comprehensive Microsoft Cloud Management c
A holistic Microsoft 365 management and reporting component of AD360, which centralizes management, reporting, auditing, monitoring, automation, and alerting for the full Microsoft 365 suite. M365 Manager Plus addresses the growing complexity of Microsoft’s cloud services. As organizations increasingly adopt Microsoft 365, the need for sophisticated cloud management capabilities has become critical.
M365 Manager Plus Handles mailbox provisioning, license assignment, group membership, and compliance reporting across tenants
M365 Manager Plus is designed to overcome the limitations of the native Microsoft 365 admin centers by centralizing controls, automating routine tasks, enabling cross-tenant operations, and providing deep, actionable insights
What we like about M365 Manager Plus
- Comprehensive Microsoft 365 Oversight: One console for reporting, management, delegation, and automation across Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Azure AD
- Automated License Management & Cost Savings: Provides granular reports on license allocation and usage—helping organizations optimize spend and avoid over-licensing.
Real-World Example
An admin at a multinational firm can instantly pull month-end license usage, identify inactive mailboxes, re-assign licenses to new hires, receive instant security alerts for suspicious logins, and provide compliance documentation for auditors—all with clicks instead of code. Delegated roles allow regional IT staff to manage their own groups and users without overexposing permissions.
Exchange Reporter Plus: Deep Email Infrastructure Insights
The Exchange Reporter Plus component of AD360 provides in-depth reporting, auditing, monitoring, and content searching for Exchange Server (both on-premises and online) and Skype for Business. Exchange Reporter Plus excels at tracking mailbox usage, delegate rights, security logs, and compliance audit reports.
By collecting and correlating data from Exchange servers, Active Directory, IIS logs, and cloud tenants, Exchange Reporter Plus generates over 450 built-in reports covering every critical angle—mailboxes, email traffic, permissions, public folders, OWA, ActiveSync, databases, and much more. Its dashboards and alerts let admins spot problems, optimize resources, and preempt security or compliance incidents.
What we like about Exchange Reporter Plus
- Deep Exchange & Skype for Business Insight: Delivers 450+ reports and real-time monitoring for Exchange Server/Online and Skype for Business, covering mailboxes, permissions, traffic, and configuration changes.
- Outage & Risk Prevention: Alerts for mailbox issues, traffic spikes, and configuration changes mean problems are caught early, not after users complain.
- Hybrid & Cloud Ready: Supports both on-prem and cloud environments, facilitating seamless transitions, migrations, and compliance reporting.
Real-World Example
Imagine a compliance officer needing a monthly report on mailbox access rights, or a security admin spotting suspect logins to VIP mailboxes—Exchange Reporter Plus delivers this in minutes, with point-and-click configuration, automated scheduling, and instant alerts on high-risk actions or outages.
RecoveryManager Plus: Enterprise Backup and Disaster Recovery
RecoveryManager Plus, a component of AD360, is a Powerful backup and restoration for AD, Azure AD, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, on-premises Exchange servers, and Zoho —all from a single web-based console.
RecoveryManager Plus is designed to prevent data loss, minimize downtime, and support fast, granular restoration after accidental changes, data corruption, ransomware attacks, and system errors.
At its core, RecoveryManager Plus automatically backs up every critical object and change across your identity and collaboration environment—with flexible, incremental schedules and immutability options for ransomware defense. If disaster strikes or a misconfiguration happens, you can roll back not just entire domains but specific users, groups, mailboxes, files, or even individual attributes, quickly and without taking systems offline.
What we like about Exchange Reporter Plus
- Multi-Platform Backup: Flexible, incremental backup and rapid granule-level restoration for AD, Azure AD, M365, Google Workspace, Exchange, and more.
- Ransomware Defense: Store backups in immutable repositories, minimizing data loss and reducing recovery times after attacks
Real-World Example
A user account is accidentally deleted. RecoveryManager Plus enables administrators to recover the entire user, including all group memberships, attributes, and even BitLocker keys with a single click. If a ransomware attack encrypts Exchange mailboxes or OneDrive, backup data can be restored from immutable cloud storage, ensuring minimal downtime and business disruption.
SharePoint Manager Plus: Content and Collaboration Security
Effortlessly manage and audit SharePoint sites, generate analytical reports, and monitor both on-premises and SharePoint Online environments from a single console with this AD360 component.
This component provides comprehensive SharePoint management capabilities, including site provisioning, permission management, usage reporting, and security auditing.
It is designed for IT teams grappling with the complexity of multi-site, multi-tenant SharePoint. It centralizes control and delivers deep visibility to keep collaboration secure, efficient, and compliant.
SharePoint Manager Plus makes SharePoint administration easier and more transparent, whether you run SharePoint Server, SharePoint Online, or a hybrid environment.
What we like about Exchange Reporter Plus
- Centralized SharePoint Oversight: Manage, audit, and report on permissions, content, and usage across SharePoint Online, on-prem, and hybrid deployments.
- Agentless Scalability: No agents needed, works across versions and tenants with full SIEM integration for security workflows.
Real-World Example
An enterprise needs to migrate thousands of files from a legacy SharePoint site to SharePoint Online, audit all permission changes for compliance, and receive real-time alerts if sensitive content or group memberships change. SharePoint Manager Plus enables the IT team to manage and monitor the entire process end-to-end—no scripting, minimal downtime, and compliance reports ready with a click.
Key Features and Functions of AD360
ManageEngine AD360 delivers targeted IAM capabilities using modular components, each engineered to address critical challenges for IT teams managing Active Directory, Exchange, Microsoft 365, and hybrid cloud environments.
Key Features of ADManager Plus
- Bulk User Provisioning and Management: Effortlessly create, modify, enable/disable, and delete users across Active Directory, Microsoft 365, Exchange, Google Workspace, and more using CSV files and smart templates—enabling batch operations without PowerShell scripting.
- Customizable Templates for User Onboarding: Use smart templates to standardize user attributes (departments, roles, group memberships) for consistent onboarding across platforms.
- Automated Workflows & Scheduled Actions: Configure multi-step workflows for onboarding, offboarding, account updates, and license assignments. Schedule automation for regular tasks, such as provisioning, AD cleanup, and policy enforcement.
- Role-Based Delegation and Help Desk: Assign granular admin roles and delegate routine management tasks (such as resets and unlocks) to help desk or HR personnel, thereby reducing the burden on AD administrators while enforcing least-privilege access.
- Comprehensive Reporting: Generate 200+ built-in reports covering users, groups, permissions, login activity, inactive/locked users, NTFS/share permissions, regulatory compliance (SOX, HIPAA, GDPR), and much more available in multiple export formats.
- Password and Account Management: Reset passwords, unlock accounts, expire passwords, and enforce password policies for users in bulk, facilitating credential hygiene and compliance.
- Group, OU, and Mailbox Management: Bulk manage AD groups, OUs, Exchange/Office 365 mailboxes, and contacts—setting memberships, permissions, rules, and properties for security and operational efficiency.
- Active Directory Cleanup & Risk Assessment: Identify and clean up inactive, obsolete, or risky accounts and objects to keep AD secure and efficient; leverage access certification campaigns to enforce least privilege through periodic entitlement reviews.
- Integration with External Systems: Connect directly with HRMS, HCM, ITSM, and databases (MS SQL, Oracle) via REST/SOAP APIs for automated user creation and updates—ensuring seamless cross-team operations.
- Mobile App Support: Manage AD tasks on the go, including user and group provisioning, with ADManager Plus mobile apps for iOS and Android.
- Compliance-Driven Management: Built-in support for regulatory mandates (SOX, HIPAA, GLBA, PCI, GDPR) with audit trails and exportable compliance reports for periodic reviews.
- Terminal Services & Additional AD Objects: Manage terminal service attributes, computers, contacts, and GPOs in bulk—expanding beyond user management for holistic AD control.
Key Features of ADSelfService Plus
- Self-Service Password Reset and Account Unlock: Empowers users to securely reset forgotten passwords and unlock accounts for Active Directory, Microsoft 365, and other integrated applications—drastically reducing help desk tickets and downtime.
- Adaptive Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Enforces context-based MFA for portal, endpoint, and application logins with up to 19 authentication methods (including biometrics, push, OTP, YubiKey, and more), protecting credentials and sensitive resources.
- Single Sign-On (SSO): Let’s users access multiple enterprise and cloud applications (both on-premises and SaaS) with a single, secure authentication flow, reducing password fatigue and improving convenience.
- Password Policy Enforcement: Administrators can enforce strong password complexity, history, expiry, and rotation policies across platforms—raising the security bar and supporting compliance requirements.
- Automated Password Expiry Notifications: Automatically notifies users of upcoming password and account expirations, ensuring they can update credentials before losing access.
- Mobile App and Remote Work Enablement: ADSelfService Plus apps for Android and iOS support password resets, profile edits, and directory searches anywhere, anytime. Supports remote password management, even off the corporate network, with cached credential updates.
- Profile Self-Update and Group Management: Users can update their personal information (such as email and phone) and subscribe/unsubscribe to directory groups, keeping their identity data current and reducing administrative workloads.
- Conditional Access Policies: Admins can configure policies that trigger additional authentication factors based on location, device, risk, or user group, adding dynamic protection against unusual activity.
- Customizable User Portal: The self-service portal can be branded and customized to suit organizational preferences and end-user needs, enhancing usability and adoption.
- Comprehensive Auditing and Reporting: All self-service, authentication, and admin actions are logged and reportable for auditing, troubleshooting, and compliance needs—exportable in multiple formats.
- Integration & Extensibility: ADSelfService Plus integrates with leading ITSM, SIEM, and IAM solutions, supporting workflow automation, security analytics, and external event forwarding.
- Role-Based Access Controls: Admins can define and limit which users or groups get access to specific self-service features or security policies, ensuring least-privilege operation.
Key Features of ADAudit Plus
- Real-Time Active Directory Auditing: Monitors and logs every change in AD objects (users, groups, computers, and OUs), GPOs, DNS, and schema in real-time for comprehensive visibility and quick investigations.
- File Server and Windows Server Auditing: Tracks access, modification, deletion, and permission changes for files and folders across Windows servers, NetApp, EMC, and other NAS devices for data security and compliance.
- Azure AD Auditing: Extends audit capabilities to Azure AD—including sign-ins, group and role changes, app usage, and cloud configuration—giving a unified view for hybrid environments.
- User Logon and Account Lockout Analysis: Audits logon/logoff events, account lockouts, failed logons, and remote access across domain controllers and workstations to catch suspicious activity fast.
- Group Policy Change Auditing: Detects and reports changes to GPOs, settings, and linkages—making sure policy modifications are tracked and audited for compliance.
- Permission Change and OU Audit: Instantly alerts on permission changes in AD, file servers, and OUs, allowing quick response to privilege escalation attempts or risky access.
- Logon Failure & Inactive User Tracking: Flags failed logon attempts and tracks inactive user accounts to help enforce credential hygiene and identify dormant, risky accounts.
- Comprehensive Compliance Reporting: Offers over 300 built-in, regulation-mapped reports (SOX, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, ISO 27001) and automated, scheduled delivery for audits.
- User Behavior Analytics (UBA) and Threat Detection: Uses machine learning and volume-based thresholds to flag abnormal user or admin behavior, detect 25+ AD attack patterns (e.g., Kerberoasting, DCSync, password spray), and identify cloud misconfigurations across AWS, GCP, and Azure.
- Customizable Alerts: Email/SMS notifications for critical or suspicious activities—supporting proactive threat hunting and remediation.
- Audit Log Archiving and Retention: Automates log retention, archiving, and search for long-term compliance, forensics, and resource optimization.
- Role-Based Access Control & Web-Based Interface: Admins can assign access rights, limit control by roles or groups, and manage all audit operations through an intuitive web console.
- Integration and Extensibility: Integrates with ITSM, SIEM, and other platforms (ServiceNow, Splunk, Zendesk, Workday, Oracle) and offers open APIs for custom automation.
- Scheduled Reporting & Automated Response: Automate report generation and set up scripts for corrective action (disable account, shut down devices) when thresholds are met.
Key Features of Exchange Reporter Plus
- Comprehensive Reporting (450+ Built-In Reports): Get actionable insights on mailbox sizes/growth, inactive/hidden mailboxes, mail traffic, distribution lists, public folders, OWA/ActiveSync activity, databases, and more. Reports are customizable, schedulable, and exportable in multiple formats (CSV, PDF, XLS, HTML).
- Real-Time Change Auditing & Alerting: Track and alert on critical changes in mailbox access, permissions, non-owner logins, properties, and configuration. Alerts may be triggered instantly for policy violations or unusual activity.
- Mailbox Permission and Access Rights Audit: Specifically, it audits mailbox folder permissions, delegated rights, and access patterns—helping IT control who can view, send, and manage sensitive emails.
- Email Traffic & Message Content Analysis: Monitor email flow in real time and analyze traffic statistics, message counts, attachment policies, and search for specific content based on keywords and compliance requirements.
- Exchange Server, DAG, and Service Health Monitoring: Continuously monitor overall health, performance, queue status, high-availability DAG replication, protocol/service uptime, and client connectivity. Provides actionable, real-time alerts for outages or anomalies.
- Compliance Reporting: Provide audit-ready evidence for SOX, HIPAA, PCI DSS, GLBA, GDPR, FISMA, and other standards. Built-in and custom reports support regulatory, internal, and forensic audits.
- Custom Search and Forensics: Enable deep mailbox and message content searches by keyword, attachment, sender/recipient, or subject with filtering for dates, policy matches, and security patterns—boosting eDiscovery and investigation workflows.
- Skype for Business Integration & Reporting: Extend reporting and monitoring to Skype for Business servers and activities, giving unified collaboration insights within Exchange Reporter Plus.
- Role-Based Delegation: Assign technician or operator roles, control access to reports, schedule report generation, and distribute auditing duties as needed for operational security and compliance.
- Instant Deployment & Intuitive Dashboard: Fast setup, user-friendly browser dashboard, and configuration in a matter of minutes—direct, visual summaries and drill-downs for rapid insight.
- Migration Support: Streamlines email, contact, and calendar migration from Exchange Server to Exchange Online or hybrid models for seamless transition.
Key Features of M365 Manager Plus
- 700+ Preconfigured Reports: Generate granular, customizable reports for Exchange Online, Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), Teams, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, user activity, licenses, mailbox size, email traffic, group membership, and more. Reports can be scheduled, exported, and visualized for deep operational and compliance insights.
- Bulk User and Mailbox Management: Provision, modify, or delete Office 365 users, groups, mailboxes, and contacts in bulk via templates or CSV imports—no PowerShell required. Easily automate onboarding, group assignments, and policy updates for large environments.
- Automated User and License Workflows: Automate recurring tasks such as onboarding, stale account cleanup, license assignment, mailbox feature changes, and compliance management with custom policies.
- Role-Based Delegation and Help Desk Control: Empower technicians and help desk staff with granular access and custom roles; assign specific administrative rights and permissions to ensure least-privilege delegation across tenants, departments, or business units.
- Advanced Auditing & Real-Time Alerts: Monitor, track, and alert on activities such as login attempts, permission changes, data exports, license changes, file downloads, email forwarding, mailbox access, sharing, external activity, and more. Get instant notifications about suspicious events and compliance risks.
- Continuous Service Health Monitoring: Track Microsoft 365 service health for each app (Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, etc.), monitor endpoints and email for outages, receive instant alerts, and drill down to incident/advisory details.
- Content Search & Data Security: Search mailboxes and messages for keywords, attachments, PII, insider information, and policy violations. Proactively discover potential data breaches or compliance issues.
- Compliance Reporting and Risk Management: Audit logs and regulatory compliance reports for SOX, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, FISMA, and other standards. Easily perform access reviews, document privileged actions, and enforce security best practices.
- Exchange Online Backup and Restoration: Incrementally back up Exchange Online mailboxes (emails, calendars, contacts, tasks), restore data granularly or in bulk, and export mailboxes to PST or other formats for recovery or migration.
- Template-Based Management: Standardize user and mailbox management, group creation, and attribute modification using reusable templates to ensure consistency and compliance across the organization.
- Password Expiry Notifications and Self-Service: Automatically notify users about password expiration or soon-to-expire licenses, allow for self-service resets, and support credential hygiene for remote/hybrid users.
- Virtual Tenant Grouping: Segment users into virtual tenants for easier administration and policy management in large or multi-tenant organizations.
Key Features of Recovery Manager Plus
- Comprehensive Backup Coverage: Supports full, incremental, and scheduled backups for Active Directory (on-premises and Entra ID/Azure AD), Microsoft 365, Exchange (on-premises and Online), Google Workspace, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, Teams, and Zoho WorkDrive covering the entire identity and collaboration landscape.
- Object-Level and Attribute-Level Restore: Restore any directory or Exchange/M365 object (user, group, mailbox, OU, contact, computer, GPO, DNS zone/node) or even a single attribute (like group membership or password) to a backed-up state without reverting unrelated changes or causing downtime.
- Granular & Cross-Platform Recovery: Recover single emails, mailbox folders, calendar events, or AD attributes—restore to the same or different accounts and even move data between on-premises and cloud (hybrid restore).
- Immutable and Flexible Storage Options: Store backups locally, on NAS, or in the cloud (AWS S3, Azure Blob, Wasabi). Supports immutable storage to protect against ransomware and accidental or malicious deletions.
- Automated, Policy-Driven Scheduling: Set custom backup intervals by object type or organizational unit—automates backup refreshes and rotation for true “set-and-forget” peace of mind.
- Recycle Bin & Point-in-Time Rollback: Restore deleted AD objects (users, computers, groups, OUs, GPOs, DNS, containers) from a real-time recycle bin with all memberships, attributes, passwords, and delegated rights intact—plus rollback any changes to a historical backup version.
- GPO & DNS Backup/Recovery: Track, back up, and restore Group Policy Objects or DNS zones/nodes with full change history and privilege tracking; revert unwanted changes at the granular level.
- Backup Explorer & Search: Interactive timeline and explorer for instant discovery and restoration of deleted or modified objects; advanced filtering by type, date, attribute, and more.
- Comprehensive Security: Backups are encrypted, with support for SSL data transfer, session control, access logs, and administrator activity audits to support regulatory compliance (GDPR, SOX, HIPAA, PCI, etc.).
- Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity: No server restarts are needed; it supports forced replication across domain controllers and allows for swift, targeted restoration after attacks or configuration mistakes, thereby minimizing disruption and downtime.
- Customizable Retention Policies: Fine-tune how long different backup versions/data will be preserved, as well as how often incremental or full backups are performed, to optimize storage efficiency and compliance.
- Role-Based Delegation: Admins can assign backup or restore permissions by role or scope, supporting distributed teams and separation of duties.
Key Features of SharePoint Manager Plus
- Centralized Permissions and Group Management: Perform critical operations on SharePoint permissions and groups, such as granting, revoking, copying, moving, and bulk modification across sites, sub-sites, and document libraries. Supports both on-premises and SharePoint Online environments in a single console.
- Comprehensive Reporting: Predefined and customizable reports track all permission, group, and component changes, user privileges, content database sizes, inventories, site users, document libraries, and security. Reports deliver granular insights into both Microsoft 365 and on-prem SharePoint environments for storage analytics, security monitoring, and compliance.
- Efficient Auditing: Continuously audit changes at site, sub-site, list, and document library level, including all security and component-level events (group creations, modifications, deletions, permission changes). Out-of-the-box audit logs support SOX, HIPAA, GDPR, and other regulations.
- Real-Time Monitoring & Alerts: Monitor SharePoint Online and on-premises health, quota usage, service availability, and storage. Detect and instantly alert administrators on critical changes or risky activities (site deletion, document deletion, permission or group changes, etc.) with customizable severity levels.
- Seamless Migration Tools: Built-in migration tools enable the movement of entire sites, lists, document libraries, or the import of network file shares to new or existing SharePoint locations—supporting upgrades, environment mergers, and low-risk transitions.
- Automated Backup and Restoration: Automate scheduled backups for SharePoint (on-prem) site collections, lists, and content items. Restore data flexibly and rapidly from backup using the intuitive interface for business continuity and compliance.
- Audit Log Archival: Archive audit logs to meet IT regulatory mandates (such as PCI DSS and GDPR). Retrieve archived logs for forensic analysis or detailed reporting on historical events.
- SharePoint Explorer: Visualize and explore the full hierarchical architecture of all configured SharePoint servers (on-premises and online), including detailed component information and security status, for informed and quick management decisions.
- Delegation and Technician Control: Delegate management tasks and restrict admin privileges to designated technicians, control administrative boundaries, and monitor technician activities with built-in audit reports. Supports granular, role-based administration for easier distribution of IT load.
- Agentless Architecture: No installation required on SharePoint servers for analysis or auditing. Simplifies deployment and ensures safe monitoring and reporting for hybrid setups.
- Security Enhancements and Custom Workflows: Enforce robust security and compliance policies, automate repeat tasks (reporting, backup, notifications), and support customizable alert/action workflows for proactive SharePoint governance.
Manage Engine AD360 Pricing Analysis
Choosing the right AD360 configuration isn’t straightforward because you’re not buying a single product – you’re selecting from seven integrated components. After analyzing pricing across multiple deployments and understanding how these modules work together, I’ll break down exactly what each component of AD360 costs.
| Component | Standard Edition Features | Pro Edition Features | Licensing/Seat Model | Standard Price | Pro Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADManager Plus | Basic management, core reporting | Advanced workflows, granular delegation, compliance, OU admin | Per domain/server | ~$595/domain/year | ~$795/domain/year |
| ADSelfService Plus | SSPR, SSO, basic MFA, 8 authenticators | Endpoint MFA, 21 authenticators, Windows login MFA, integrations | Per 500 users | ~$595/500 users/year | ~$795/500 users/year |
| ADAudit Plus | Basic AD logon/audit, alerting | GPO/object/permission auditing, advanced compliance | Per domain/server | ~$595/domain/year | ~$795/domain/year |
| M365 Manager Plus | Core M365/Exchange reporting | Advanced monitoring, backup, custom reporting | Per tenant | ~$595/tenant/year | ~$795/tenant/year |
| Exchange Reporter Plus | Standard reporting | Hybrid/online reporting, advanced templates | Per server | ~$595/server/year | ~$795/server/year |
| RecoveryManager Plus | Backup/restore for AD, O365, Google, SharePoint | Not available in Pro | Per domain/server/tenant | ~$595/domain/year | N/A |
| SharePoint Manager Plus | SharePoint reports, basic management | Migration, Teams support, analytics | Per server | ~$595/server/year | ~$795/server/year |
Prices are approximate starting points and vary by region, volume, and selected seat count. Please check the link below for AD360 pricing or contact ManageEngine for tailored quotes and enterprise discounts.
- Licenses are component-wise, and you choose only what you need.
- Seat/licensing scales by domain, server, tenant, or 500-user pack depending on the component.
- Support: All editions include 24×5 email/helpdesk, with premium support upgrades available.
- Free 30-day trial provides full access for evaluation
Hidden Cost
- Add-ons (e.g., compliance pack, endpoint MFA, advanced backup) are priced separately.
- Support upgrades (priority/premium) may be extra.
ManageEngine AD360 provides transparent, component-based pricing with flexible licensing options to suit every organization’s needs. You can choose between annual subscription and perpetual licenses for most modules, scaling by user, domain, server, or tenant. The modular approach means you pay only for the specific features and capacity you need, whether you start with one tool or deploy all seven core components.
Support tiers, volume discounts, and free trials are available, making it easy to evaluate and tailor the solution to your environment. Ultimately, AD360’s pricing structure offers IT teams budget control and strategic flexibility—whether your priority is cost savings, long-term ownership, or fast feature expansion.
ManageEngine AD360 Pros
- Centralizes identity management, audit, self-service, reporting, and backup for cloud and on-prem environments.
- Automates provisioning, deprovisioning, and group management with policy-driven workflows.
- Reduces help desk burden via a rich self-service portal for password resets and profile management.
- Offers adaptive MFA, SSO, and granular audit trails to strengthen security and compliance.
- Detects threats early with machine learning-driven user behavior analytics and real-time alerts.
- Integrates seamlessly with hybrid/cloud environments, as well as third-party applications.
- Delivers hundreds of customizable reports for audit, compliance, and executive dashboards.
- Provides intuitive UI and workflow templates for rapid deployment and usability.
- Supports strong integration with HR, SIEM, and ITSM tools to automate onboarding, monitoring, and response.
- Scales effectively for SMBs, large enterprises, and distributed organizations
ManageEngine AD360 Cons
- Initial setup and configuration may have a steep learning curve for new admins.
- AD360 is optimized for Microsoft environments. Organizations that primarily use Linux directories, custom IAM platforms, or are predominantly Google Cloud/Workspace users may find limited integration and features.
Who Should (And Shouldn't) Use ManageEngine AD360
Who Should Use AD360
Enterprises with Microsoft-Centric IT:
Companies using Active Directory, Azure AD, Exchange, or Microsoft 365 as their core identity infrastructure will benefit from streamlined management, automation, and reporting through AD360’s deep platform integration. Examples include banks, universities, hospitals, and government agencies that need cross-domain user management and integrated compliance.
IT Departments Needing Unified Identity, Security, and Compliance:
If your IT staff manages complex, multi-site AD, hybrid, or cloud environments and regularly deals with user onboarding/offboarding, audits, and password resets. In that case, AD360 can turn hours of manual effort into minutes—freeing up time for strategic IT projects. Riverside County’s IT team transitioned from manual, error-prone processes to automated workflows, resulting in significant time savings and a reduction in errors.
Organizations with Strong Compliance or Security Mandates:
AD360 provides audit-ready reports, adaptive MFA, policy-based delegation, and user behavior analytics. Financial institutions, healthcare providers, and public agencies benefit from robust controls and ready-to-export evidence for SOX, GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS requirements.
Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Distributed Teams:
MSPs and companies managing multiple sites or business units (such as global enterprises or educational networks) can take advantage of role-based administration, multi-tenant workflows, and delegated access. Customer stories show how AD360 empowers remote workforces with secure self-service, automated password management, and granular administrative control.
Organizations Seeking End-User Empowerment:
Businesses seeking to reduce help desk tickets and promote self-service (such as password resets, profile management, SSO) can expect tangible improvements in employee satisfaction and IT efficiency. Multiple case studies highlight drastically reduced help desk calls and improved onboarding experiences.
Who Shouldn’t Use AD360
Non-Microsoft or Heavily Custom/Legacy Environments:
Organizations that rely on Linux directories, open-source IAM, custom identity platforms, or Google-exclusive solutions might not benefit from AD360’s Microsoft-centric architecture and APIs, which focus heavily on AD and Microsoft 365 integration.
Organizations Wanting Fully Open Source or DIY IAM:
If complete control, open source, or unrestrained customization are top priorities, AD360’s proprietary, modular design can be a limiting factor. Specialist IAM tools, open frameworks, or DIY approaches might align better for these scenarios.
My Final Words
After diving deep into every aspect of ManageEngine AD360, from its comprehensive IAM features and 2025 enhancements to practical deployment and administration. I can confidently state that AD360 is a full-fledged identity management platform extending well beyond Active Directory. The platform delivers unified administration for AD, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Exchange, and SharePoint, combining automated provisioning, self-service password management, adaptive MFA, audit reporting, and risk analytics in one console.
What impressed us most during testing:
- The seamless integration enables the management of AD, Exchange, SharePoint, Office 365, and Google Workspace from a single console, eliminating the need for vendor juggling when issues arise.
- AD360’s dashboard consolidates reporting and controls from all seven components ADManager Plus, ADAudit Plus, ADSelfService Plus, Exchange Reporter Plus, M365 Manager Plus, RecoveryManager Plus, and SharePoint Manager Plus into a single customizable view where widgets and reports from each module can be combined for efficient daily monitoring and compliance management.
- The platform delivers tangible security benefits: User lifecycle management eliminates orphaned accounts that attract attackers, privileged account monitoring and governance help prevent unauthorized access, compliance auditing transforms complex audits into streamlined processes, and self-service password reset reduces helpdesk burden while closing security gaps. These aren’t theoretical advantages but practical solutions addressing real business challenges.
For organizations seeking a scalable, modular platform for identity governance across hybrid or multi-cloud environments with proven reliability and continuous updates, AD360 stands out as a robust, enterprise-grade solution.
