ABAC: Integrating Segments with Access Control Groups (ACGs)

Overview

Simpplr's Segments feature is a key component of grouping large organization's employees into the intranet so that the right groups of users are shown the most applicable information. If you haven't used segments, or need a refresher on how they work, check out this article. 

With the introduction of Audience Based Access Control (ABAC) and similarly, Access Control Groups (ACGs), Simpplr has improved the way users access and manage features across the intranet. ACGs work in tandem with segments in several ways.

This guide explains how segmentation in ABAC works, what happens behind the scenes, and how to configure ACGs based on your segments.

What are segments?

As a quick overview, segments allow organizations to group users based on a shared attribute, such as:

• Department (e.g., Manufacturing, Retail)

• Region (e.g., USA Operations)

Once segments are configured in your environment, the system automatically generates matching audiences. These segment audiences cannot be edited or deleted.

Learn more about segments here.

How segments integrate with audiences

When you enable segmentation:

• The system automatically creates audience groups that correspond to each segment.

• These segment-based audiences are system-generated and:

  • Cannot be deleted or edited

  • Automatically update as users join or leave a segment (based on their attributes)

You can view these in the Audience management menu. They’ll be listed under a "Segment" category.

How segments work with ACGs

While the system creates audiences automatically, ACGs must be created manually for those audiences. This gives your organization full control over how access is structured.

Why manual creation?

Organizations use segments differently. 

• Some apply access rules within each segment

• Some grant access across multiple segments

• Some combine both approaches

Manual ACG creation gives you the flexibility to configure ACGs that suit your governance structure.

How to create ACGs based on segments

You can create ACGs for segments in two ways:

Option 1: Create ACGs manually

1. Navigate to Access control.

2. Click Create.

3. Select a feature (e.g., Newsletters).

4. Choose the audience (e.g., Manufacturing).

5. Assign a manager from that segment.

6. Repeat for each segment you want to configure (e.g., Retail, USA Operations).

This works well for simple or one-off setups.

Option 2: Use bulk creation

The bulk creation tool is ideal for setting up ACGs across many segments and features at once:

1. Go to Access control > Bulk create control groups.

2. Select one or more features.

3. Select one or more segments (e.g., Manufacturing, Retail, USA Operations).

4. On the summary screen, choose how to group audiences.

Per feature, per segment (Segmented)

Creates one ACG for each feature per segment. For example:

• Alerts – Manufacturing

• Alerts – Retail

• Surveys – USA Operations

Per feature (combined)

Creates one ACG per feature with all selected segments included. For example:

• Alerts – All segments

Customize further

You can:

• Edit ACG names before creation

• Remove specific segment/feature combinations

• Mix segmented and non-segmented setups in one batch

Once created, you can assign managers and admins for each ACG using the standard or bulk tools.

Summary

By using segments with ACGs, you gain precision and flexibility in managing feature access across your intranet. Whether you're delegating management within departments or applying access organization-wide, the tools are built to support your structure.