Novell Documentation: Identity Manager Drivers

1.3 Benefits of the Driver

Benefits of using the driver include the following:

Eliminates redundant data entry.
If you use a work order system without the driver, you must enter the data twice, once in the work order and again in the PBX when performing the work order. With the driver, you enter the data once in the work order, and then the driver performs it for you, reducing the possibility of human error.

In fact, in a provisioning implementation you can avoid human intervention entirely for actions such as new hires, moves, and deletions; it can all be based on changes in a human resources application.
Allows automated provisioning of extensions for new users.
Allows you to use the Identity Vault as your work order database for PBX tasks, if you don’t already have one.
An iManager interface lets you create and track PBX work orders.
Helps reduce costs and data entry errors by letting you enforce business policies for phone usage.
For example, you could ensure that only users in the Localization, Sales, and Human Resources departments can make international calls. Another example could be making sure that extensions for call center employees are always non-DID extensions.
Allows updates to be sent to the Identity Vault when an extension is changed directly in the PBX.
This means that after deploying the driver you can still make changes in the PBX manually when necessary.

When the driver prepares to perform work orders at the specified time, it queries the PBX to see if changes have been made. If a manual change has been made to a PBX extension, the driver can detect the change. If the PBX administrator who made the manual change also enters the user ID in the PBX to identify the user of the extension, then the driver can update the user object in eDirectory.