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ForgeRock vs IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 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

ForgeRock
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Access Management (8th), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (4th)
IBM Security Identity Gover...
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
30th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (15th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of ForgeRock is 3.1%, down from 5.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence is 1.3%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Management (IM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ForgeRock3.1%
IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence1.3%
Other95.6%
Identity Management (IM)
 

Featured Reviews

SR
Software Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Centralized access control has improved secure onboarding and supports strict compliance
I wish we had used ForgeRock's adaptive risk-based authentication, which allows dynamic adjustment of authentication requirements based on user behavior. This could have helped us further strengthen our security. Another hidden gem is the built-in support for custom authentication modules and scripting, which gives a great deal of flexibility to tailor authentication flows. The self-service capabilities for password resets and account recovery have been very helpful in reducing support overhead and improving user experience. Discovering and utilizing these features would have definitely made our integration even smoother and would have provided additional value for both our users and our security team. One area of improvement would be the user interface for policy and workflow configuration, which can become complex and sometimes unintuitive, especially for new administrators. A more streamlined and user-friendly UI would help reduce the learning curve. Enhanced out-of-the-box analytics and reporting would also be valuable, as our current options often require custom development or integration with external tools. While extensibility is a strength, documentation for advanced customizations and integrations could be more comprehensive and easier to follow. Improved support for seamless upgrades and backward compatibility would also help minimize downtime. In terms of performance, optimizing the platform for high concurrency environments would be beneficial, especially for organizations with large user bases or peak usage periods. Enhanced scalability features such as more granular or horizontal scaling options would provide better support for distributed deployments. For integrations, having more pre-built connectors and easy integration with modern cloud-native services would accelerate adoption. Improved monitoring and real-time health dashboards would help proactively identify and resolve performance bottlenecks.
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

"I like the ease of navigating, handling and managing the applications and end-user profiles."
"Flexibility in the customisation. Out-of-the-box support for almost all authentication mechanisms/products."
"The support is good and prompt."
"We used it to implement multi-factor authentication and to improve our security posture as well as reducing the potential for attacks."
"The integration has been smooth and the costs have been significantly reduced."
"ForgeRock enabled us to deliver a more secure and compliant onboarding experience while also improving efficiency."
"Automated provisioning and deprovisioning of users and customers, and integration into our portals for self-service, with lots of customizations possible due to the powerful API."
"The product is easy to set up."
"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 would rate the price eight out of 10, with 10 as the best value for money."
"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."
"Lifecycle management, governance and documentation."
 

Cons

"It should be a little bit easier to implement. It is user-friendly, but there is always scope for improvement."
"I think the upgrade process is sometimes a little complicated and there are failures that occur."
"We would like this solution to be developed for use with mobile applications."
"In an upcoming release, the solution could improve by limiting the need to do customizations."
"Implementation, integration capabilities and support model are still evolving and posing a risk of poor quality."
"It would be better if they were available for support whenever the customer needs it, especially during migration or go-live time periods."
"I wish the JavaScript part could be improved, as not everyone is proficient in JavaScript, so automating that or reducing the reliance on it could be beneficial."
"Initial setup was complex because of the customizations needed."
"The solution is also a bit pricey for the Nigeria region."
"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 a bit pricey for some regions."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license is purchased annually per user. However, you can negotiate if you are signing for a longer period of time. When comparing this solution to others on the market it is priced fair, it is not at the top of the price range or at the bottom end."
"The pricing of the solution is fair but I do not have the full details."
"We have multiple clients we are looking at right now. We are at a very small number, however, the idea and the goal is to grow. We are looking at about $100,000 and $50,000 a minimum a month cost. That'd be minimum maybe in a couple of years."
"It's a bit pricey and could be more competitive."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis, but it also depends on the contract that you have with the vendor. They have multiple types of contracts. There are additional costs to the standard licensing fees. If you need some of the features, you have to pay more."
"ForgeRock is an expensive solution."
"ForgeRock's pricing is more competitive than other products."
"Its price is comparable to other products in the market."
"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
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Insurance Company
6%
Construction Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise18
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ForgeRock?
The pricing, setup cost, and licensing are very straightforward, which is a good success. I appreciate that it is very straightforward and helpful.
What needs improvement with ForgeRock?
There are some areas I want ForgeRock to improve. These areas include policy configuration, documentation clarity, UI complexity, and debugging token flow. I want ForgeRock to improve in documentat...
What is your primary use case for ForgeRock?
I am using ForgeRock for standard support, policy configurations, and documentation clarity. The pricing, setup cost, and licensing are very straightforward, which is a good success. I appreciate t...
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Also Known As

ForgeRock Identity Platform, ForgeRock OpenIDM
IGI, IBM Security Identity Manager, ISIM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Geico, Thomson Reuters, Salesforce, McKesson, Trinet, SKY, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Capgemini, North Western University
E.ON Global Commodities
Find out what your peers are saying about ForgeRock vs. IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.