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IBM OpenPages vs RSA Archer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 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

IBM OpenPages
Ranking in GRC
6th
Ranking in IT Governance
2nd
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
RSA Archer
Ranking in GRC
1st
Ranking in IT Governance
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
IT Vendor Risk Management (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the GRC category, the mindshare of IBM OpenPages is 5.5%, up from 5.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RSA Archer is 15.9%, down from 16.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
GRC Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
RSA Archer15.9%
IBM OpenPages5.5%
Other78.6%
GRC
 

Featured Reviews

Badri Anand Santhanam - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhancing enterprise risk management and reporting capabilities with insightful dashboards and automated features.
IBM OpenPages offers strong reporting capabilities with Cognos integration, providing standard tabular reports, various charts, and powerful dashboards for different lines of defense. It caters to the first line managing risks and controls, the second line of SMEs providing oversight, and the independent audit function with an internal audit management module. The solution is more intuitive and task-based, allowing better involvement of the risk function across different lines of defense. The automated features translate into reporting capabilities, and data can be easily extracted and downloaded in different formats.
IMRAN ALMARZOOQI - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates compliance management effectively but needs improved interface and dashboards
The tool basically automates whatever processes you already have, so I cannot specify improvements in that regard. However, my main issue with Archer is the graphics. The graphics have always been lacking. I always need to depend on another tool to read information from Archer to have better dashboards. It is like using Linux, and it has a Linux mindset and interface. I want to use Archer for top management and CEOs, but it looks too technical, and the dashboards are not really friendly. They are bulky, like opening an old Nintendo system from nineteen-ninety. The management agrees that Archer lacks in terms of presentation and dashboarding. It is complex, not user-friendly, and bulky. The interface just looks old.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Everything about IBM OpenPages is valuable, particularly when compared to other solutions in the market like MetricStream, from which we switched due to its feasibility, user-friendliness, and performance."
"The most valuable features are the workflow engine, calculations, and security rules."
"The ability to keep a record of internal incidents in the company, and also the monitoring of Key Indicators."
"IBM OpenPages saves time in my work as a developer."
"The content, reporting, and workflow features stand out as the most valuable aspects."
"IBM OpenPages provides time savings in recording risk management components."
"The most valuable feature is the enterprise module, which provides the capability of having all of the information stored and linked with everything else."
"The Advance Workflow feature simplifies things."
"The most valuable features of RSA Archer are the asset management, risk management, and vendor management."
"RSA is a very rich application. I like its adaptive suggestion, where based on your users and the class of data, it can actually recommend you the proper control to choose. For example, we have been using PCI DSS as an NIST. So based on application feedback, it will provide you with a suggestion on which control objective needs to be set. Based on that, you can make a decision—you don't need to take the suggestion, but you can customize that particular provided suggestion. RSA Archer's workflow is also good, in terms of process automation."
"Integration is another great aspect of RSA Archer. From the beginning, integration has been a central focus for RSA, and Archer has always integrated well with most tools on the market today."
"Good dashboards and reporting features; it's easy to gather reports quickly."
"RSA Archer's best features are advanced workflow, reports, dashboards, and notifications."
"Enables development of any application, automation of any workflow including the GRC work processes."
 

Cons

"IBM OpenPages could improve by adding more conditions to workflows, as some existing conditions might not work and can produce errors."
"I believe there's room for improvement in establishing connections with external information."
"It would be useful to have more out-of-the-box functionality, especially triggers and calculations."
"IBM needs to work on pricing for organizations with around 100 users, as the licensing model is not competitive enough for SMEs."
"IBM OpenPages needs improvement in its UI. Currently, it is difficult to see the relationships (associations/parents) between all items unless you click on the item itself."
"Some self-relationships are not available in OpenPages' relationship model."
"Performance could be improved."
"There is no inbuilt alert in Archer to let us know that a data feed has failed or did not run for different reasons. So, we don't even get to know that a feed has not run until somebody reports it to us. This has been a problem all the time. Data feeds have always been a big headache for us because there is no feature to let us know if a feed has not run or has failed. If Archer had a feature to send us an email notification when a feed has failed, it would've been very helpful. This is the reason why our users are slowly moving away to another platform. Some of the modules that I have been managing are being moved to ServiceNow. Next year, a lot of our modules will be moved from RSA Archer to ServiceNow, and the data feed issue has been one of the main reasons."
"The first improvement I would suggest for RSA Archer is a better search feature. The search criteria needs to be improved. Sometimes I do a search and the search doesn't return the exact item I'm looking for. RSA Archer could also be improved by being more user-friendly. Maybe I have been using a limited version of RSA Archer, but I'm not sure whether it has ESG, environmental and social governance. In the next couple of years, ESG is the next feature that will be integrated into GRC tools. I would recommend RSA Archer adds ESG."
"Recently, we made a suggestion for cross references, like for one application to another. There were limitations there, so we're hoping that will be included in the next upgrade."
"Its customization features could be better."
"There are some issues with the interface for version 6.5 but these may already be repaired and simplified in the new versions that have been released."
"The bullet chart is the best graph for my purposes, and it should be available for inclusion in the dashboards."
"Initially, technical support is a little weak, and I would rate it six out of ten. The issue with initial support is that new engineers are often not as experienced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"RSA Archer's price is justifiable and not as expensive, compared to ServiceNow. I have heard that the licensing for ServiceNow is much more expensive. I'm unaware whether there are any additional costs after licensing fees."
"The price of RSA Archer is good. The price isn't too high considering it is a leading tool in the market."
"The solution's price should be reduced. You only have to pay the license and there are no additional fees."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"At the higher end of the price scale, but provides better, more accessible functionality and customization than cheaper products."
"The initial purchase is cheap. You pay a nominal price to start then renew the license annually. You also must buy a license for each module. I'm not too fond of that aspect of the licensing model. You buy the elephant and then spend more money to feed the elephant."
"The solution is not at all a cheap product."
"I am not 100% familiar with that, especially with their new model. I just know that the way they've licensed per user to scale is good."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
5%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Insurance Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM OpenPages?
The product’s interface is very intuitive.
What needs improvement with IBM OpenPages?
IBM OpenPages could improve by adding more conditions to workflows, as some existing conditions might not work and can produce errors. Additionally, although there are risk assessment tools, I do n...
What is your primary use case for IBM OpenPages?
I primarily use IBM OpenPages ( /products/ibm-openpages-reviews ) for compliance and audit programs.
What do you like most about RSA Archer?
It has various valuable features. For example, showing us if a control aligns with specific standards or frameworks helps us understand it better and verify its compliance.
What needs improvement with RSA Archer?
While it provides benefits in terms of security, the pricing is a bit higher than customers typically expect. It would be helpful if RSA Archer had the capability for two-way integration because, i...
What is your primary use case for RSA Archer?
Regarding the compliance, risk, and governance tools, I am comfortable discussing the tools in the GRC category. The specific module from ServiceNow is the ServiceNow Compliance, Risk, and Governan...
 

Also Known As

OpenPages
Archer
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nationwide, Process Innovation AG, OSRAM Licht AG, Dep‹sito Central de Valores (DCV), Delta Lloyd Group, Unum
T-Systems, Bridge Point, Equifax, First Data, Global Imaging Company, Manulife Financial
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM OpenPages vs. RSA Archer and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,985 professionals have used our research since 2012.