MIM Synchronization Service is the oldest member of Microsoft's identity family. Anyone who has worked with MIIS 2003, ILM 2007, FIM 2010, or MIM 2016 will find the MIM synchronization engine very similar. Visually, the management tools look the same. MIM Synchronization Service can work by itself without any other MIM component installed, although not all product features are possible using only MIM Synchronization Service.

MIM Synchronization Service is like a heart that pumps identity data between systems. Identity data could be a new user account, an update to someone's department, an updated member of a group, the modification of a contact, and so on. Synchronization is sometimes referred to as data flowing from one system to another, and this is a good way to think of it.

We will explore the MIM Synchronization Service features and dive deeper into why the MIM Synchronization Service is such a powerful tool when leveraged with the rest of the identity management stack.