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AWS Directory Service vs Thales SafeNet Trusted Access comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 2, 2024

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

AWS Directory Service
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
18th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Thales SafeNet Trusted Access
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
25th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (19th), Access Management (28th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of AWS Directory Service is 1.0%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Thales SafeNet Trusted Access is 1.7%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
AWS Directory Service1.0%
Thales SafeNet Trusted Access1.7%
Other97.3%
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Akram Zaki - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist at FlairsTech
Hybrid directory service has streamlined global server access and supported reliable daily operations
Some features in AWS Directory Service are not automated and are not scriptable, so they require manual work. In today's world where everything is pretty much automated and scriptable using AI, this is a downside. The price is another concern. AWS is really expensive. They provide an awesome service in general, but it's still expensive, very expensive. AD Connector is an application which connects my own Active Directory to AWS Directory Service or AWS infrastructure. There is a bit of latency which is bound by the AD Connector availability. If the AD Connector is having issues, there is a bit of latency, but in general, it's way better than Microsoft Azure. Still, it could be better. The migration was a bit challenging and required intensive planning and migration time. That is always a hassle. No matter which cloud environment you're moving into, the migration is sensitive because you're generally moving from on-premise to a cloud environment, so there is downtime and there are unexpected issues and errors. It needs very careful planning before doing the migration itself. AWS Directory Service is lacking a few things which could be better. Single sign-on federation is missing. SCIM provisioning is not available. In my company, we use other services for SSO federation, SCIM provisioning, and authentication because of these gaps. I would like AWS Directory Service to enroll a multi-factor authentication method. I would like to have an SSO federation where users, if we're hosting applications in AWS, would not need to log in to each application. Single sign-on would log in the user to their account and from there they can open all their applications without requiring a login each time. One of the other cons in AWS is that directories cannot span multiple regions because it's a region-bound architecture. This requires several directories for multi-region deployment. This is the case on my end because my company has several branches all over the world, so it requires several deployments.
GauravMathur - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President Information Technology at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Simple to use, easy to set up, and performs well
I'm not saying that we want to switch the product, however, since the requirement has increased, we are looking at other options that may be better suited. The scalability may not there. We have a few specific use cases where we have to avoid the cloud. Especially in Europe, we're not allowed to carry their phone in factories. We need some sort of secure access solution. There's a dependency on Microsoft Azure. I am paying to SafeNet and in parallel, I also need to pay Microsoft to use the same service. That makes no sense, to pay double. If they could do something about it, that would be very good.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Technical support is very knowledgeable and responds very quickly."
"AWS handles everything on the backend requiring minimal legwork from our team. We only require a dedicated database administrator while depending on Amazon for RDS."
"We can provide specific access to people based on what they need from our accounts."
"It's a pretty good solution in terms of performance with good availability and minimal downtime."
"The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost."
"This is a managed directory service (by AWS) that offers a hands-free solution for our team as we are not required to hire or train people to manage Active Directory features and high availability backups, there is no security patching required on an operating system level or Active Directory malware attack, and we are able to easily integrate other AWS services."
"This solution does what we want to achieve."
"The most valuable feature of AWS Directory Service is cost-cutting features."
"The solution is simple to use."
"The validation and integrity features of the endpoint are great."
"Right now, we only have a small use case for the product, however, it has performed well."
"The interface is easy to use."
"I recommend this solution because it protects information."
 

Cons

"AWS could improve the number of regions. Azure has passed them. The ned more consistency, as far as the Northeast is concerned."
"Can be improved by including on-premises access for services through Identity Access Management."
"I would like to see better integration with other business solutions."
"The solution lacks certain features."
"I'd like to see some additional features, similar to what Azure has."
"I'd rate the solution at a six out of ten, simply based on the cost. It's very expensive."
"Our only complaint is that you cannot integrate your Exchange server. Or, if you are planning to install an Exchange server on your Amazon EC2 instance, then you need to configure Active Directory on EC2 instance. We would like for this limitation to be lifted."
"I would like to grant partial access to a table contained in a database without having to provide full access to the whole database."
"There's a dependency on Microsoft Azure."
"SafeNet's reporting and monitoring features could be improved."
"I'd like to see more networking features, such as the ability to integrate network monitoring solutions and authenticate the app users."
"The scalability may not be there."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing depends because with AWS there are two types of directory objects: 30,000 and 500,000. It varies. AWS provides the pricing calculators so we can get an estimate from there as per the company requirement of how many users and objects that we need to create. So we can go to that portal, put in the data, and get the quotation. There are no extra licensing fees. It's all included."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"AWS' pricing is fair, and costs can be cut if you look carefully at when you're using it."
"We pay an annual subscription fee."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Performing Arts
9%
Government
9%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Performing Arts
9%
Legal Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Directory Service?
The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost. You do not need to hire any system administrator to manage your Active Directory.
What needs improvement with AWS Directory Service?
Some features in AWS Directory Service are not automated and are not scriptable, so they require manual work. In today's world where everything is pretty much automated and scriptable using AI, thi...
What advice do you have for others considering AWS Directory Service?
I would like AWS Directory Service to enroll a multi-factor authentication method. I would like to have an SSO federation where users, if we're hosting applications in AWS, would not need to log in...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

AWS Managed Microsoft AD
SafeNet Trusted Access, Gemalto SafeNet Trusted Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
IBM, Western Union, Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, Novartis, and AT&T.
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Directory Service vs. Thales SafeNet Trusted Access and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.