8.0 KiB
Identity MCP – Deployment Plan
Scope definition (what “Identity MCP” means here)
Identity MCP in your environment = an MCP server that exposes Active Directory + Entra ID identity state and approved identity operations to AI clients without replacing existing IAM processes.
Authoritative systems remain unchanged:
- On‑prem Active Directory
- Entra ID (Azure AD)
- Microsoft 365 admin center
- Service desk ticketing
MCP becomes a governed interface, not a new identity system.
Phase 0 – Pre‑deployment alignment (required)
Inputs already in your tenant
Your identity operations are well‑documented and standardized:
- AD scripts and procedures for:
- Group membership
- VPN access
- Termination workflows [Active Directory | OneNote], Active Directory (https://wheelsinc.sharepoint.com/sites/WheelsITServiceDesk/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?action=edit&mobileredirect=true&wdorigin=Sharepoint&DefaultItemOpen=1&sourcedoc={04cb4993-3d7c-4785-b67f-6a6afefdcaa8}&wd=target(/User Termination.one/)&wdpartid={b2ba40a3-f389-4021-9ec5-54268ce102ab}{1}&wdsectionfileid={33ca8871-68c7-4218-a016-fca812102c86})
- New‑hire and onboarding SOPs with explicit AD and Entra steps [Onboarding...ount setup | Word], [Latest Ser...ount setup | Word]
- Device and user setup SOPs that depend on identity state [Device Ima...Setup SoP | Word], [IT-SOP-009...vice Setup | PDF]
Deliverables
- ✅ List of approved identity operations
- ✅ Service account model
- ✅ Read vs write separation
No MCP code is written until this is agreed.
Phase 1 – Read‑only Identity MCP (foundation)
Objective
Allow AI to observe identity state safely.
MCP server capabilities (read‑only)
Expose only what your team already queries manually:
Users
- Enabled / disabled
- OU
- Description (termination markers)
- Last logon
Groups
- Group membership for a user
- Members of a group
- VPN‑related group membership (already queried today) [Active Directory | OneNote]
Computers
- Device accounts
- OU placement
Technical pattern
- MCP server runs under dedicated AD service account
- Permissions: Read Directory Data only
- Each MCP tool maps 1:1 to an existing PowerShell query
No abstraction magic. No new logic.
Example MCP tools
identity.getUser(username)
identity.getUserGroups(username)
identity.getGroupMembers(groupName)
identity.findStaleUsers(days)
identity.getComputer(computerName)
✅ Outcome
AI can answer questions your team already investigates manually—without taking action.
Phase 2 – Correlated identity insight
Objective
Connect identity data to device and process context.
At this point, Identity MCP is used together with:
- Intune MCP
- Inventory MCP
- Service Desk MCP (read‑only)
Example queries unlocked
- “Which users still have VPN access but are no longer active?”
- “Which devices belong to disabled users but are still domain‑joined?”
- “Which onboarding tickets are missing required group assignments?”
This directly supports SOP enforcement without automation.
✅ Outcome
Identity becomes context, not just attributes.
Phase 3 – Controlled write actions (SOP‑aligned)
Objective
Introduce safe, reversible identity actions that already exist in SOPs.
Allowed write actions (initial)
Based strictly on documented procedures:
- Add/remove user from non‑privileged groups
- Update user description fields (termination markers) Active Directory (https://wheelsinc.sharepoint.com/sites/WheelsITServiceDesk/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?action=edit&mobileredirect=true&wdorigin=Sharepoint&DefaultItemOpen=1&sourcedoc={04cb4993-3d7c-4785-b67f-6a6afefdcaa8}&wd=target(/User Termination.one/)&wdpartid={b2ba40a3-f389-4021-9ec5-54268ce102ab}{1}&wdsectionfileid={33ca8871-68c7-4218-a016-fca812102c86})
- Move users or computers between approved OUs
🚫 Explicitly excluded initially:
- Account deletion
- Privileged group changes
- Password resets
- MFA changes
Guardrail model
- AI proposes action
- Human approves
- MCP executes
- Result logged (ticket or audit log)
No silent execution.
✅ Outcome
AI assists identity work without becoming an identity admin.
Phase 4 – Identity MCP + Service Desk coupling
Objective
Tie identity state to work tracking and compliance.
Your SOPs already require ticket updates and closure steps. [Latest Ser...ount setup | Word]
MCP enables
- Linking identity actions to tickets automatically
- Preventing “work done, ticket forgotten”
- Auditable identity changes tied to request origin
✅ Outcome
Identity actions become traceable, not tribal knowledge.
Security & governance controls (non‑negotiable)
Identity
- Separate MCP service account
- No reuse of admin credentials
- Least‑privilege per operation
Audit
- Every MCP call logged
- Tool name + parameters + result recorded
- Correlates to human prompt
Change control
- MCP tool definitions version‑controlled
- Changes reviewed like scripts
- SOP changes trigger MCP review
What Identity MCP deliberately does not do
- Replace ADUC or Azure Portal
- Auto‑provision users
- Decide identity policy
- Bypass approvals
Identity MCP is assistive infrastructure, not automation for automation’s sake.
Rollout summary (executive‑safe)
| Phase | Capability | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read‑only identity queries | None |
| 2 | Cross‑system correlation | Low |
| 3 | SOP‑approved writes | Medium (controlled) |
| 4 | Ticket integration | Low |
One‑sentence summary
Identity MCP in your environment should start as a read‑only mirror of existing AD knowledge, then gradually expose only those identity actions already defined in SOPs, with human approval and audit at every step.