Identity Lifecycle and Deletion Semantics

This page explains how the Identity Operations Platform handles identity and group deletion over time.

It covers three lifecycle phases:

• Soft-Delete
• Grace-Period
• Hard-Delete

Purpose

Deletion in identity operations must be safe, auditable, and resilient to temporary upstream issues. The lifecycle model is designed to:

• prevent accidental immediate data loss
• provide a controlled review window
• enforce deterministic long-term cleanup
• preserve traceability for operations and audits

Lifecycle Overview

The platform applies a staged deletion model for synchronized managed identities and groups:

Phase	Meaning
Active	Record exists and is used in normal operations.
Soft-Delete	Record is marked for deletion but not yet physically removed.
Grace-Period	Waiting window after soft-delete before permanent removal.
Hard-Delete	Record is permanently removed after the grace-period.

Soft-Delete

If a managed identity or group is no longer found in its authoritative source during synchronization, the record is first marked for deletion.

At this stage:

• the record is retained in storage
• the record is excluded from normal operational usage
• permanent deletion is intentionally delayed

This protects operations from immediate impact when upstream connectors, directories, or network paths are temporarily unstable.

Grace-Period

After soft-delete, the platform keeps the record for a configurable grace-period.

The grace-period allows teams to:

• verify whether disappearance is expected or accidental
• handle upstream incidents without immediate irreversible deletion
• preserve short-term forensic and operational context

The deletion interval is controlled by platform system parameterization and should be aligned with customer governance requirements.

Hard-Delete

When the grace-period expires, the record is permanently removed.

This ensures:

• stale records do not accumulate indefinitely
• the identity dataset remains operationally clean
• storage and processing overhead stay predictable

Hard-delete is automatic and policy-driven, not manual by default.

Behavior in Source-Mapped Environments (OpenText Advanced Authentication + AD/LDAP)

In mapped multi-source setups, the platform uses additional safety checks before final deletion decisions.

In practical terms:

• a missing record in a mapped directory source does not automatically imply immediate deletion
• primary source context is considered before a deletion path is finalized
• group deletion is protected against false positives from non-primary source gaps

This is especially important in OpenText Advanced Authentication-centric deployments with mapped AD/LDAP sources, where temporary source inconsistencies can otherwise cause unintended deletions.

Why This Matters for Operations

The staged model improves operational reliability by:

• reducing blast radius from transient upstream failures
• providing controlled reaction time for administrators
• keeping cleanup behavior predictable across environments

Why This Matters for Audit and Compliance

The model strengthens auditability by clearly separating:

• logical removal intent (Soft-Delete)
• waiting and review window (Grace-Period)
• irreversible removal (Hard-Delete)

This supports clearer evidence trails and better post-incident reconstruction.

Customer Guidance

1. Define an appropriate grace-period based on regulatory and operational needs.
2. Keep source ownership and source mappings clean and documented.
3. Monitor synchronization health to detect unusual soft-delete spikes early.
4. Include deletion-lifecycle checks in periodic operational reviews.
5. Align backup and recovery procedures with deletion timing expectations.

Summary

The Identity Operations Platform deletion lifecycle balances safety and cleanup discipline. Soft-delete and grace-period protect day-to-day operations and auditability, while hard-delete guarantees long-term data hygiene.