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ForgeRock vs OpenText Identity Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

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)
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Access Management (7th), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (4th)
OpenText Identity Manager
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (8th), Identity Governance Administration (IGA) (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of ForgeRock is 3.7%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Identity Manager is 2.2%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Management (IM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ForgeRock3.7%
OpenText Identity Manager2.2%
Other94.1%
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.
reviewer2401464 - PeerSpot reviewer
Architect at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
Updates systems quickly and does not have a limit on the number of users
NetIQ does not have a limit on the number of users. The tool is secure by nature. It can have more than one billion users. Event-based systems know what has to be changed. SQL-based systems can only change using time and date. Event-based systems provide immediate results, while SQL-based systems need time to sync. It is totally different from a security perspective. Event-based systems can update all the systems in seconds or minutes. Other systems do it within 24 hours. The basic event-based system is AI-driven. It has some kind of robotics and programming. Other tools need programming. I like systems that have prebuilt ideas of security. NetIQ has been in the market for a long period. It has all the systems and connectors. There is not much coding. We just need to configure the products. We need not do any programming. I haven't seen any other product that needs only configuration to do the job. Most products in the market are SQL-based. They need programming. Some service providers who sell other products to customers do not sell NetIQ because they can make more money by selling solutions that need more consultancy and programming. More hours lead to more money.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This is a stable solution. When you do experience any issues, you will see it in your DB logs or audit logs so you can easily reach a conclusion of might be causing it."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the authentication for the consumers. The integration with other third-party applications is excellent."
"In terms of the tool's operational efficiency, ForgeRock Access Management is used in a lot of environments, different regions, and in different stages of production environments."
"ForgeRock has made a huge impact on our company because it helps us with DevOps automation support and policy configuration."
"We have found the identity and access management tools in the solution to be particularly useful for our organization."
"We never experienced any user ID, user password, or personal information being leaked because it was a very secure system that we implemented properly."
"ForgeRock has CIAM, which other products didn't have, and they have DevOps ready."
"Installation and configuration are pretty easy for ForgeRock OpenIDM."
"It's a very flexible tool, so you can synchronize multiple sources of data and you have multiple connections to various kinds of systems."
"NetIQ does not have a limit on the number of users."
"NetIQ Identity Manager is by far the most flexible product available, and the pricing is incredibly good, even if you're not situated in the BeNeLux."
"I would recommend this product, its quite flexible and quick to start with."
"The greater strength was to keep the identities synchronized without failures in both attributes and passwords."
"I like the eDirectory feature."
"The access request management has improved significantly in terms of its user interface. What sets it apart from competitors like SailPoint is that it's an event-based solution rather than schedule-based. That's a key differentiator."
"To my knowledge it is the only event based IDM system."
 

Cons

"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."
"The user interface could be improved as it is cumbersome and outdated. It doesn't have a responsive UI."
"It should have a better user interface. Its flexibility should also be improved. It is not about simplifying; it is more about flexibility. Each company has its own requirements, and ForgeRock can provide more flexibility in terms of the use of existing modules to implement features for the customers."
"In future releases, I would like to see easier integration with other solutions, like facial recognition and KYC solutions with biometric onboarding."
"Implementation, integration capabilities and support model are still evolving and posing a risk of poor quality."
"I don't think ForgeRock directly supports integrations with Slack, making it an area where improvements are required."
"Improve the software quality (bugs in new versions)."
"The solution requires more simplified customization. However, part of the problem is my clients determining their own preferences. Technology can help and do many things, but you have to define your own policies to ensure that the solution or service works within those parameters. Helping customers understand their business and different processes is another issue not relating to the functionality of this solution."
"We have another system that is using the SAML system, and we also integrate with Active Directory only. If NetIQ Identity Manager can integrate directly, we would not need to use the Active Directory directory."
"NetIQ Identity Manager could improve by updating the user portal, it is out of date."
"The UI for requesting and approving rights have been a little outdated, however, in the most recent version that has been addressed."
"The solution architecture is somewhat complex. For some components, the necessary resilience is not inherent."
"The integrations must be made easier."
"The interface is old and outdated, and the design software seems archaic."
"The user facing interfaces are not too friendly and they are also fairly hard to configure."
"Areas for improvement are further enhancing the access granting process to reduce time and improve accuracy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of the solution is fair but I do not have the full details."
"ForgeRock's pricing is more competitive than other products."
"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."
"ForgeRock is an expensive solution."
"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."
"It's a bit pricey and could be more competitive."
"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."
"Its price is comparable to other products in the market."
"The price of the solution is a bit high and could be reduced."
"Micro Focus is flexible when it comes to price. The cost varies from customer to customer. There are no additional costs, though. Everything is included."
"I would rate the pricing a two out of ten, with one being low price and ten being high price. It is significantly more cost-effective than the major players in the market."
"It would easily help them in getting more market and more customers if more consultants knew about their software. If they could keep it free for schools for teaching purposes, it would be good. I had to pay myself to get it and use it for training. Their competitors are giving it for free. I had to pay for it myself. They are losing market to their competitors."
"You just need to be aware that the more systems you connect, the more license fees you have to pay."
"The solution is quite affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise6
 

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?
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. Additionally, having only one realm...
What is your primary use case for ForgeRock?
My main use case for ForgeRock is designing user journeys, specifically customer user journeys, and how they interact with the system. A specific example of a user journey I designed using ForgeRoc...
What do you like most about NetIQ Identity Manager?
The most valuable feature of NetIQ Identity Manager for identity synchronization is the ability to provide users with all necessary access on day one through automated provisioning, facilitated by ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetIQ Identity Manager?
The pricing depends on whether we buy the solution as a service or a license. The license is expensive. If we buy it as a service for a large number of users, it is the cheapest tool we can get. Th...
What needs improvement with NetIQ Identity Manager?
The tool is used mostly in big systems to understand what is happening. There are not many technicians who know how to use the product. The vendor must provide an easier console for configuring thi...
 

Also Known As

ForgeRock Identity Platform, ForgeRock OpenIDM
Novell Identity Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Geico, Thomson Reuters, Salesforce, McKesson, Trinet, SKY, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Capgemini, North Western University
Sheetz
Find out what your peers are saying about ForgeRock vs. OpenText Identity Manager and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.