In 1999, Microsoft bought a company called Zoomit, which had a product called VIA, a directory synchronization product. Microsoft incorporated Zoomit VIA into the product known as Microsoft Metadirectory Services (MMS). MMS was only available as a Microsoft Consulting Services solution.

Microsoft released Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS) in 2003, which was the first publicly available version of the synchronization engine we know today as MIM 2016 Synchronization Service.

In 2005, Microsoft bought a company called Alacris. Alacris had a product called IdNexus that managed certificates and smart cards, which Microsoft renamed Certificate Lifecycle Manager (CLM).

Microsoft took MIIS (now with Service Pack 2) and CLM and consolidated them into a new product in 2007 called Identity Lifecycle Manager 2007 (ILM 2007). ILM 2007 was a directory synchronization tool with the optional certificate management feature.

In 2010, Microsoft released Forefront Identity Manager 2010 (FIM 2010). FIM 2010 added the FIM Service component, which provides workflow capabilities, self-service capabilities, and a codeless provisioning option to the synchronization engine. Many identity management operations that used to require a lot of coding were suddenly available without a single line of code.

Microsoft announced the acquisition of some of the BHOLD suite in 2011, which is a product that provides identity and access governance functionality. A year later, in 2012, FIM 2010 R2 was released, reporting was added, BHOLD and additional browser support for Password Reset Portal were incorporated, performance was improved, and better troubleshooting capabilities were introduced. Support for Active Directory 2012, SQL Server 2012, and Exchange 2013 was added with FIM 2010 R2 Service Pack 1, which was released in 2013.