IBM Cloud Identity Service vs Microsoft Entra ID comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category. IBM is ranked #30, while Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7. IBM holds a 0.4% mindshare in IAMS, compared to Microsoft’s 28.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM Cloud Identity Service

Read 3 IBM Cloud Identity Service reviews

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118 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Entra ID

Read 226 Microsoft Entra ID reviews

10,226 Views
7,551 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Identity Service

Microsoft Entra ID

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 2, 2024

Microsoft Entra ID and IBM Cloud Identity Service are identity management products. Microsoft Entra ID leads in integration and security features, while IBM Cloud Identity Service is recognized for advanced analytics and identity governance.

Features:Microsoft Entra ID includes seamless integration with Microsoft ecosystems, multi-factor authentication, and access auditing. IBM Cloud Identity Service has robust identity governance, extensive analytics, and adaptive access capabilities. Microsoft Entra ID specializes in integrations, and IBM Cloud Identity Service in analytics.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Microsoft Entra ID offers an intuitive deployment process within Microsoft environments, supported by online resources and training. IBM Cloud Identity Service provides a modular deployment approach for complex requirements with reliable support. Microsoft Entra ID is simple; IBM Cloud Identity Service suits complex deployments.

Pricing and ROI:Microsoft Entra ID is competitively priced, with licensing models offering favorable ROI, especially for enterprises integrated with Microsoft. IBM Cloud Identity Service has higher setup costs but provides significant ROI due to enhanced analytics and management. Microsoft Entra ID is cost-effective for integration-focused businesses, whereas IBM offers better returns for analytics and governance.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cloud Identity Service vs. Microsoft Entra ID Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Identity Service vs. Microsoft Entra ID

April 2025

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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

IBM Cloud Identity Service

Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

30th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Entra ID

Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

226

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), Authentication Systems (1st), Identity Management (IM) (1st), Access Management (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Identity Service is 0.4%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 28.1%, down from 28.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

Featured Reviews

Baba Sally

Head of Advisory at a tech company with 501-1,000 employees

All of its features are valuable but the support needs improvement

It is multiple identity and access management, so all of the applications are valuable. It's also part of the automated process The support needs improvement. I have been using IBM Cloud Identity Service for the last five years. It is stable. It is scalable. We have 5,000 users using this…

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Aaron Liang

System engineer at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees

Has significantly improved secure access to applications and resources in our environment

Microsoft Entra ID has helped by simplifying our management of permissions for APIs. We are not directly exposing credentials, as we use tokens instead. It has made management easier and more secure, especially in a multi-user environment. The implementation of Microsoft Entra ID significantly improved secure access to applications and resources in our environment, primarily through the widespread use of single-sign-on. Managing API permissions became much easier, as application registration often involves calling an API to utilize services without directly exposing credentials, relying instead on token-based authentication. This streamlined approach benefits end-users by simplifying access while remaining transparent to them. Ultimately, my role focuses on ensuring a smooth and user-friendly experience, even if the underlying technology remains unseen by the end-users. Our company strongly emphasizes passwordless authentication, primarily through device-bound passkeys in Microsoft Authenticator. While administrators with high-privileged accounts utilize YubiKeys and passwords for tasks like accessing Microsoft Graph, we are actively transitioning all other users towards passwordless methods such as Windows Hello biometrics. This approach streamlines authentication and enhances security. Though initial deployment in 2022 presented challenges due to hardware limitations and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the technology has significantly improved and provides a simple and effective user experience.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is stable. We can automate many of our daily operations with it, and we don't have to manage many things manually."

"It is multiple identity and access management, so all of the applications are valuable. It's also part of the automated process."

"One of the most valuable features of IBM Cloud Identity Service is that it delivers integrations with the commercial SaaS software that's available."

"We have the ability to define the email user in the designated field."

"Azure Active Directory provides us with identity-based authentication, which secures access at the user level and also integrates with conditional access policies and multi-factor authentication helping to increase the identity security for that person. So, the hacking and leaking of passwords is a secondary problem because you will not authenticate a person with one factor. There is a second factor of authentication available to increase the security premise for your company."

"It has made our work easier in that it’s simplified everything for us."

"I love how it uniquely identifies a person universally. If you have the email address, it will be the same account across most platforms. If everything is set up correctly, it's easy to identify a person and get all kinds of information about them from Azure or whichever system."

"It's an easy product to maintain."

"The product is easy to use."

"A couple of features are valuable, but the one that comes across the most to me is multi-factor authentication."

"The solution scales well."

More Microsoft Entra ID pros

Cons

"IBM Cloud Identity Service is going in the right direction with the product. They need to keep building out the integrations and having the library is very critical."

"Everything can be more stable and secure. There could also be more account features. I would like to be able to do more things through it to manage users' accounts."

"The initial setup is complex, it's not straightforward. It takes months because it's not straightforward."

"The integration between the Azure active directory and the traditional active directory could be improved upon."

"The cost of licensing always has room for improvement."

"The product needs to be more user-friendly."

"In a hybrid deployment, when we update a license by changing the UPN or email address of a user, it does not get updated automatically during normal sync. This means that we have to update it manually from Azure, which is something that needs to be corrected."

"If any service is down, it can affect a whole region. We would need to wait on a ticket and get word from Microsoft to understand the issues. If it takes longer to resolve the issue on Microsoft's side, all we can do is wait for them to fix it."

"Everything should be in one package. There are so many different packages. They need to provide guidance because there are so many features and we don't know how to implement them in our organization."

"Microsoft services and most familiar third-party applications are currently supported, but we can't find many other platforms that integrate with Office 365 or Azure Active Directory. Microsoft should develop connectors for different applications and collaborate more with other vendors to cover a broader range of applications."

"Though the installation was seamless, it took longer than expected to be completed."

More Microsoft Entra ID cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is expensive for non-enterprise companies. IBM's always going to be a little more expensive, you're going to be paying a premium. However, depending on the organization's needs, there's probably a benefit there to do even with the price being the way it is."

"The E5 plan we are using contains the premium plans for Azure Active Directory. We are not paying only for the Azure Active Directory Premium licenses. We have it already included within our E5 plan."

"The licensing costs are yearly. There is a standard fee per user."

"I would advise implementing the solution to VIPs and admins; it's affordable, effective, and efficient. I would say training staff on properly using the tool is also essential."

"Microsoft Authenticator is included in the package when we purchase a license from Microsoft."

"We are a non-profit organization, so we get good prices from Microsoft for their products. It is working well, but it could be cheaper. For the type of organization we are, it would be good if they could give a little bit more and be more generous like Google, which has completely free services. Microsoft has free versions or web services called Office 365 E1, which is free for use, but we want to have it with more qualified clients."

"Its price is per user. It is also based on the type of user that you're synchronizing up there."

"The licensing model is straightforward. I don't think there are any issues with the E3 license or E5 license."

"It is not too expensive."

More Microsoft Entra ID pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Educational Organization

30%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?

We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...

See all answers

What do you like most about Azure Active Directory?

It is very simple. The Active Directory functions are very easy for us. Its integration with anything is very easy. We can easily do third-party multifactor authentication.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?

Regarding pricing, for the services we receive, it seems within the market range and about average.

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM Security Verify Access vs IBM Cloud Identity Service

Compared 100% of the time

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Google Cloud Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Intune vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 10% of the time

Okta Workforce Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 8% of the time

Auth0 vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 6% of the time

Amazon Cognito vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Entra ID Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

April 2025

Download IBM Cloud Identity Service product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID

April 2025

Download Microsoft Entra ID product report

Also Known As

No data available

Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

IBM

Microsoft

Overview

Whether your applications are custom, your business processes complex, or you're looking for world-class professional services and project management to coordinate each step of your project, IBM Cloud Identity Service is uniquely suited to serve organizations with out-of-the box challenges.

IBM Cloud Identity Service can be designed to help with the full lifecycle of implementation and operations, including discovery, planning, project management, integration engineering and more – expertly delivered by IBM's global staff of identity professionals.

IBM

Microsoft Entra ID is used for extending on-premises Active Directory to the cloud, managing application access, enabling multi-factor authentication, and single sign-on. It facilitates policy enforcement and secure access, ensuring centralized identity management across cloud and on-premises resources.

Organizations utilize Microsoft Entra ID for robust user and group management, identity synchronization, and conditional access. Its seamless integration with third-party apps, scalability, and support for remote work make it a preferred choice. The admin center streamlines identity and access tasks, enhancing efficiency and security with features like privileged identity management and audit logs.

What are the key features of Microsoft Entra ID?

Single Sign-On: Simplifies user access to multiple applications with one login.
Multifactor Authentication: Enhances security by requiring additional verification.
Conditional Access: Establishes policies that determine how users' access cloud apps.
Integration: Easily integrates with various third-party applications.
User Identity Protection: Safeguards user identities from threats.
Privileged Identity Management: Manages elevated access to sensitive resources.
Audit Logs: Provides thorough activity logs for oversight and compliance.

What benefits should users look for in Microsoft Entra ID reviews?

Enhanced Security: Offers strong multifactor authentication and identity protection.
Administrative Efficiency: Simplifies identity and access management tasks.
Scalability: Supports growing user bases and remote work environments.
Integration Capabilities: Compatible with numerous third-party applications.
User-Friendly Interface: Makes managing user identities straightforward.

Microsoft Entra ID implementation varies across industries. Tech firms leverage it for secure, scalable access management, while healthcare organizations utilize its identity protection features to safeguard patient data. Educational institutions adopt Entra ID for streamlined user management and policy enforcement, ensuring secure access for students and staff across on-premises and cloud resources.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Baxter Healthcare,

Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Identity Service vs. Microsoft Entra ID

April 2025

Free Report: IBM Cloud Identity Service vs. Microsoft Entra ID

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