The Reddit thread nails it: admins stuck in 'hybrid AD plus 365 mess.' Onboarding a new employee means touching AD, Microsoft 365, Azure AD, and a dozen SaaS apps. Offboarding is worse - miss one and you have a security hole. Big players (Okta, JumpCloud) solve this but are expensive and complex. The indie angle: a laser-focused tool just for hybrid AD + M365 environments - the most common SMB setup. Single form triggers: AD account, email, license assignment, group membership, and schedules deprovisioning. Problem: this is DEEP enterprise territory with serious security implications.
💰 Revenue Blueprint
Three-tier value ladder to monetize from day one
Up to 50 users, basic onboarding/offboarding
Unlimited users, custom workflows, audit logs
📊 Market Evidence
The Market Gap
Big players are expensive and complex. SMB-focused hybrid AD + M365 automation is underserved but technically challenging.
🏆 Competitor Landscape
How existing players stack up in this market
| Competitor | Pricing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Okta | $2-15/user/mo | Market leader, VC-backed, enterprise |
| JumpCloud | $7-24/user/mo | Modern alternative, SMB-friendly |
| Rippling | $8+/user/mo | HR + IT combined, well-funded |
| BetterCloud | $3-6/user/mo | SaaS management focus |
Market leader, VC-backed, enterprise
Modern alternative, SMB-friendly
HR + IT combined, well-funded
SaaS management focus
Launch Strategy
Target r/sysadmin and MSP communities. Build for HubSpot/Salesforce first (most common SMB CRM). Partner with IT consultants.
🛠️ Recommended Tech Stack
Suggested tools and technologies to build this idea
Score Breakdown
Early-stage opportunity worth watching
Market (20%) + Revenue (20%) + Trend (15%) + Competition (15%) + Build (15%) + Pricing (15%)
8 - Okta, JumpCloud, Rippling prove massive demand
5 - Enterprise-focused, hard indie proof
7 - Hybrid work driving IT automation
3 - Dominated by well-funded players
4 - AD + M365 integration is complex
8 - $10-30/user/mo validated
🚀 Start Building
Copy a prompt into your favorite AI coding tool and start building this idea right now.
Build a SaaS product called "Employee Lifecycle Automator". ## Product Overview Orchestrate onboarding/offboarding across hybrid AD + M365 ## Problem Orchestrate onboarding/offboarding across hybrid AD + M365 ## Solution Build Employee Lifecycle Automator ## Target Audience indie hackers, small businesses, and solopreneurs ## Tech Stack - Next.js 15 (App Router) with TypeScript - Tailwind CSS v4 for styling - Supabase for auth, database, and storage - Vercel for deployment - shadcn/ui for UI components - Framer Motion for animations ## MVP Features to Build 1. Landing page with clear value proposition 2. User authentication (sign up, sign in, forgot password) 3. Core product functionality based on the solution above 4. Dashboard for users to manage their data 5. Pricing page with at least 2 tiers (free + paid) 6. Basic settings/profile page ## Known Competitors Okta, JumpCloud, Rippling, BetterCloud ## Key Risks to Address Standard market entry risks ## Deployment 1. Set up Supabase project and configure environment variables 2. Deploy to Vercel with `npx vercel --prod` 3. Set up custom domain 4. Configure Supabase RLS policies for security ## Instructions Start by creating the project structure, then build the landing page first. Use server components where possible. Make it mobile-responsive from the start. Focus on getting the core value loop working before adding polish.