Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) and the AD RMS client enables the improvement of the security strategy of a company by protecting information through persistent usage policies. These policies are always applied to data even when moved. Using AD RMS, it is possible to prevent sensitive information (such as financial reports, product specifications, customer data, and confidential e-mails) from deliberately or accidentally falling into the wrong hands.
Providing an AD RMS system gives organizations the following benefits:
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Protection of confidential information.
Applications such as word processors, e-mail clients, and industry applications can be activated for AD RMS to protect sensitive information. Users can define who is allowed to open, change, print, forward, or perform other actions related to the information. Organizations can create custom templates for usage guidelines (such as “Confidential - WriteProtected”) that can be applied directly to the information.
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Durable protection.
AD RMS improves existing, perimeter-based security solutions (such as firewalls and access control lists for optimized protection of information) by locking the usage rights in the document itself. Thus, it is possible to control how the information itself is used after being opened by a particular user.
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Flexible and customizable technology.
Independent software vendors (ISVs) and developers can enable applications for AD RMS. Information protection cna therefore be extended into server-based solutions that can include, for example, document and data record management, e-mail gateways and archiving systems, automated workflows and content audits.