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Active Roles by One Identity vs IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 20, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Active Roles by One Identity
Ranking in User Provisioning Software
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
Active Directory Management (1st), Non-Human Identity Management (NHIM) (1st)
IBM Security Identity Gover...
Ranking in User Provisioning Software
15th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (30th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the User Provisioning Software category, the mindshare of Active Roles by One Identity is 5.5%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence is 3.3%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
User Provisioning Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
One Identity Active Roles5.5%
IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence3.3%
Other91.2%
User Provisioning Software
 

Featured Reviews

Varun Mehra - PeerSpot reviewer
collaboration support engineer at a retailer with 11-50 employees
Automation has transformed onboarding and access control and now streamlines daily governance
While One Identity Active Roles is a strong identity and access management solution overall, there are a few areas where it could improve. One challenge we experienced was the initial setup and configuration complexity. Deploying workflows, policies, and delegation models require careful planning and a good understanding of the Active Directory environment. For organizations without experienced administrators, the learning curve can feel quite steep in the beginning. The user interface could also be more modern and intuitive. Some administrative tasks require navigating through multiple menus and the overall experience could be simplified for faster day-to-day management. Another area for improvement is reporting and customization. While the auditing features are good, creating highly customized reports sometimes requires additional efforts or scripting knowledge. More built-in reporting templates and easier dashboard customization would be helpful. We have also noticed that troubleshooting workflows or synchronization issues can occasionally take time because the logs can be very detailed and technical. Better diagnostic tools and simpler error explanations would improve the operational experience. That said, once the platform is properly configured and maintained, it performs reliably and delivers strong automation, delegation, and governance capabilities. One additional area where One Identity Active Roles could improve is cloud integration and hybrid environment management. While it works well with Active Directory and the Microsoft environment, organizations moving heavily towards cloud-first infrastructure may want even deeper and more seamless integration with modern SaaS platforms and identity providers. Performance optimization in large environments could be improved. In very large enterprise deployments with complex workflows and multiple managed domains, some administrative actions and synchronization tasks can occasionally feel slower than expected. Another point is documentation and onboarding resources. The product is feature-rich, but some advanced configurations require going through extensive documentation. More practical examples, guided setup wizards, and easier to follow best practice guides would help new administrators adopt the platform faster. Overall, the core functionality is solid, and most of the pain points are related more to usability, complexity, and modernization rather than the reliability. One additional improvement I would mention is around integration flexibility with third-party ITSM and DevOps tools. While the platform integrates well within Microsoft-centric environments, broader out-of-the-box integration and simpler API workflows for non-Microsoft ecosystems would make deployment and automation easier for organizations using diverse infrastructure. Another area is upgrade and migration simplicity. In enterprise environments, version upgrades and environment migration sometimes require careful planning and testing. Streamlining that process with more automated compatibility checks and migration assistance would reduce operational overhead.
reviewer1830612 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head, Cybersecurity at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We use the solution to ensure organizations conform to industry base certifications and best practices
We use the product to ensure organizations conform to industry base certifications and best practices and do not contradict their security policies within the base points they specify in the system, which are used to match everything against their governance use cases I think the product's most…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"One Identity Active Roles has positively impacted our organization by improving operational efficiency, strengthening governance, and reducing manual administrative effort within Active Directory and identity management operations."
"We are seeing a very good return on investment with One Identity Active Roles by reducing manual efforts, which in turn saves us time and money, and this solution provides a significant benefit, allowing us to complete tasks forty to sixty percent faster than before."
"I highly recommend all organizations to consider this as one of the best solutions."
"One Identity Active Roles brings a positive impact to organizations in that they will start realizing the ROI in a much faster manner because the implementation time is very short and it is easy to use."
"Overall, beyond just making tasks easier, it adds a strong layer of control, security, and visibility of AD operations."
"We have two staff members and so per staff member, Active Roles saves us 0.2 FTE."
"One Identity Active Roles has helped us improve security with smooth processes."
"One Identity Active Roles has significantly reduced both the complexity and the workload for Active Directory administration in our environment."
"This solution has a very good dashboard and the documentation is also very good, and life cycle management and governance are also good features in this solution."
"I would rate the price eight out of 10, with 10 as the best value for money."
"We use the product to ensure organizations conform to industry base certifications and best practices and do not contradict their security policies within the base points they specify in the system, which are used to match everything against their governance use cases."
"Lifecycle management, governance and documentation."
 

Cons

"One area that could be improved in One Identity Active Roles is the user interface and initial configuration process, as some advanced workflows and policy settings can be complex for new administrators."
"Pricing for One Identity Active Roles is a bit on the higher side compared to other options in the market."
"There are a couple of areas where One Identity Active Roles can be improved. One area is the overall user interface and experience, as the UI is sometimes very complex, so simplifying workflows for non-stakeholders would be helpful."
"There are areas for improvement in One Identity Active Roles that include updating the web interface, creating an API accessible from the web, and improving overall performance, as it can be slow at times."
"I believe the initial setup could be more simplified to allow for better and faster deployment."
"The UI of One Identity Active Roles could be more modern and responsive, and some advanced workflow configurations can feel complex during setup."
"One area where One Identity Active Roles can be improved is in the user interface. It can feel outdated and not very intuitive for new users."
"Even though I advocate for One Identity Active Roles, there are areas for improvement, particularly in hybrid integration experiences where it feels a bit clunky compared to its capabilities for on-premises AD management."
"I think improvements could be made in the self service center, making it easier for the user to understand."
"Self service center is not always easy to understand."
"The solution is also a bit pricey for the Nigeria region."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's fairly priced."
"The pricing is high. I have not been involved with the renewal or cost aspect, but I know it is not cheap by any means. However, it is very useful for our environment."
"The pricing for Active Roles is expensive but not as expensive as other solutions like Okta."
"The price is reasonable. It costs us about 1 million Danish kroner annually, and we also spend about half as much on consultants."
"The pricing is on the higher end."
"It's expensive."
"The licensing model is a simple user-based model, not that much complicated."
"I would rate the price eight out of 10, with 10 as the best value for money."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Construction Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
13%
Insurance Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business96
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise44
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for One Identity Active Roles?
I wasn't directly involved in the pricing or licensing decisions, so I cannot comment on the exact cost. For our operations, I believe the investment was considered worthwhile because the product r...
What needs improvement with One Identity Active Roles?
I think One Identity Active Roles is a mature and reliable solution, but there are a few areas where it could be improved. The biggest one is the management interface, which feels dated compared to...
What is your primary use case for One Identity Active Roles?
Our main use case for One Identity Active Roles is to simplify and standardize Active Directory administration across multiple business units while reducing the amount of manual work handled by our...
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Also Known As

Quest Active Roles
IGI, IBM Security Identity Manager, ISIM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City of Frankfurt, Moore Public Schools, George Washington University, Transavia Airlines, Howard County, MD. See all stories at OneIdentity.com/casestudies
E.ON Global Commodities
Find out what your peers are saying about Active Roles by One Identity vs. IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
905,526 professionals have used our research since 2012.