IBM Security Verify Access vs Microsoft Identity Manager comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Identity Management (IM) category. IBM is ranked #25 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft is ranked #10 with an average rating of 7.8. IBM holds a 1.2% mindshare in IAM, compared to Microsoft’s 3.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 76% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

IBM Security Verify Access and Microsoft Identity Manager compete in the identity and access management category. IBM Security Verify Access seems to have advantages with pricing and customer support, while Microsoft Identity Manager stands out with its comprehensive features.

Features: IBM Security Verify Access offers a robust policy engine, seamless multi-factor authentication, and extensive integration capabilities. Microsoft Identity Manager is known for its strong identity synchronization, advanced certificate management, and feature-rich customization, appealing to organizations with complex identity needs.

Room for Improvement: IBM Security Verify Access could enhance its customization options, improve its documentation, and advance its identity synchronization features. Microsoft Identity Manager may benefit from simplifying its deployment process, reducing its licensing costs, and enhancing integration outside the Microsoft ecosystem.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Security Verify Access typically offers straightforward deployment and reliable support, leading to faster implementation. In contrast, Microsoft Identity Manager often requires detailed configuration and specialized expertise, but it provides extensive documentation for customization.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Security Verify Access generally has lower initial setup costs, potentially delivering faster ROI with its cost-effective pricing. Microsoft Identity Manager’s setup might be more expensive, yet it offers greater returns due to its comprehensive capabilities, making it suitable for diverse organizational needs.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Security Verify Access vs. Microsoft Identity Manager Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Verify Access vs. Microsoft Identity Manager

July 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

Omada Identity

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of Omada Identity is 3.2%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Security Verify Access is 1.2%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Identity Manager is 3.4%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Identity Management (IM)

Featured Reviews

Pernilla Hulth

IAM Project Manager (Independent) at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

The interface is easy to use and gives you a solid overview

The cloud-based deployment was straightforward, but the on-prem deployment was in a highly complex ecosystem. Omada has matured since then. I wouldn't say that it isn't straightforward, but it depends on the customer. A standard deployment is relatively easy, but it can be more painful if you need a lot of customization. We deployed the cloud solution in around four months, nearly meeting the 12-week benchmark. The on-prem deployment took three years. It was a highly complex ecosystem that was dependent on other systems. Depending on the size of your environment, you need a product owner and some specialists for maintenance. My last customer was a university with a complex environment. They had around 12 people involved in maintenance at that organization. Typically, it's between 2-5 people.

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Jared Ochieng

Information Technology Security Specialist at infoark

Offers multiple authentication methods like tokens and one-time passwords

The authentication process with IBM Security Verify Access is good and is considered one of the best identity and access management solutions. It helps with multi-factor authentication. It offers multiple authentication methods like tokens and one-time passwords, enhancing security. It also includes features like password vaults and single sign-on, streamlining the access process for remote and local users across different solutions. The tool provides a password vault, single sign-on, and multifactor authentication. It offers various authentication methods like fingerprint integration, one-time passwords, or tokens sent via email or SMS. This ensures secure access to your accounts by providing multiple authentication options. The policy control feature allows you to set authentication measures and policies for your organization's identity governance. This feature helps create standardized policies and organize them into groups based on departments or specific needs. It simplifies access management for both administrators and users. IBM Security Verify Access can be integrated with almost any solution using APIs. The time required for integration depends on whether the solution is out of the box or custom. Out-of-the-box solutions can be integrated quickly, typically within a few days or hours, while custom solutions may require additional steps and take longer to integrate.

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RameshKumar9

Consultant at IOM - UN Migration

Supports reliable identity management and custom policy design

Microsoft Identity Manager can be improved by integrating it with Entra ID as a SaaS application or by having a cloud-based connector, as it is currently limited to on-prem scenarios, and a combination of both would be a great solution compared to competitors such as SailPoint or One Identity Manager. While the initial setup of Microsoft Identity Manager is not completely complex, migrating or upgrading to a new version can be complex and requires multiple backups to ensure it goes smoothly.

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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

"Omada's onboarding features reflect our processes for onboarding new employees well. That is the primary reason we use this solution. We use role-based access control. I'm not sure how much it has improved our security posture, but it's made managing identities more convenient."

"What I like most is that we can always find a solution, and we can also find the cause when something goes wrong. I like that the most because everything is in one way or another traceable. That is what I like most. I like its reliability."

"The support for the validity of the resources is valuable. The tool allows resource assignments within a validity period so that the managers do not have to remember to revoke the access once the work is done."

"The most valuable feature is the automatic provisioning and reconciliation of things like the Active Directory groups and memberships."

"We used to have a problem where an employee's access wasn't terminated when they left the company. Now, we have much better visibility into and control over who has access."

"As an administrator, we benefit from a lot of functionality that is available out of the box, but it is also configurable to meet our specific needs."

"Omada's most valuable aspect is its usability."

"Surveying is a valuable feature because it allows us to import data and see who has access to what data, for example."

More Omada Identity pros

"The most valuable feature of IBM Security Access Manager, at least for my company, is multi-factor authentication. That's the only feature my company is using. The solution works well and has no glitches. IBM Security Access Manager is a very good solution, so my company is still using it."

"The solution has powerful authentification and authorization. It offers a good way to increase security."

"Its stability and UI are most valuable."

"From the integration point of view, it supports SAML, OIDC, and OAuth. For legacy applications that don't have support for SAML and other new protocols, it provides single sign-on access to end-users. From the integration compatibility point of view, it is highly capable."

"It's a good solution for identification and access management."

"I have found this solution to be really practical and when a user wants to log in, it is effortless and runs smooth."

"The tool provides a password vault, single sign-on, and multifactor authentication. It offers various authentication methods like fingerprint integration, one-time passwords, or tokens sent via email or SMS. This ensures secure access to your accounts by providing multiple authentication options."

"The self-service password reset feature is a very important aspect because it reduces the workload of other employees, and it's a very interesting and often-used feature."

"The most valuable feature is that it provides protection for our company documents."

"The concept is primarily for the people in the business. In business, you can discuss how integrating all the services and resources within the company can bring numerous benefits."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the fact that I can use it to track who is sending which email, who is accessing which documents or which files, etc. These tools help me improve security within the enterprise environment."

"The best features of Microsoft Identity Manager are its 100% compatibility with Active Directory, the ability to customize IAM policies as required, and its simplicity in design."

"The product’s simplicity and integration are valuable."

"Microsoft integration products are strong. That is what I like about the product."

"The product’s most valuable feature is stability."

More Microsoft Identity Manager pros

Cons

"When you do a recalculation of an identity, it's hard to understand what was incorrect before you started the recalculation, and which values are actually updated... all you see are all the new fields that are provisioned, instead of seeing only the fields that are changed."

"In our organization, all the data is event-driven, which means that if an attribute is changed in the source system, it can be updated within a few seconds in all end-user systems. There is room for improvement in Omada regarding that. Omada is still batch-based for some processes, so sometimes it can take an hour or even four hours before the execution is run and the update is sent."

"Functionality and usability could be improved."

"The comprehensiveness of Omada's out-of-the-box connectors for the applications we use could be better. We are getting a new HR system called Cornerstone for which they do not have an out-of-the-box connector, so we have to take the REST connector and play around with it."

"The solution should be made more agile for customers to own or configure."

"There is room for improvement in Omada's integration capabilities, particularly in streamlining complex integrations and enhancing programming logic for better rule management."

"Omada could communicate better with us about the product roadmap. We haven't gotten any updates about it. The user interface is often a bit difficult to understand. It isn't optimized for small screens, so it doesn't display all of the information clearly, so users need to scroll a lot."

"Omada's performance could be better because we had some latency issues. Still, it's difficult to say how much of that is due to Omada versus the resources used by our other vendors in our on-prem environment. Considering the resources we have invested into making it run well, it's slightly slower than we would expect."

More Omada Identity cons

"They can improve the single sign-on configuration for OIDC and OAuth. That is not very mature in this product, and they can improve it in this particular area. OIDC is a third-party integration that we do with the cloud platforms, and OAuth is an authorization mechanism for allowing a user having an account with Google or any other provider to access an application. Organizations these days are looking for just-in-time provisioning use cases, but IBM Security Access Manager is not very mature for such use cases. There are only a few applications that can be integrated, and this is where this product is lagging. However, in terms of configuration and single sign-on mechanisms, it is a great product."

"The user interface for users and administrators could be improved to make it easier. Automating some functions could also be beneficial."

"The user interface needs to be simplified, it's complex and not user-friendly."

"The solution could be classified as a hilt system. There are a lot of resources being used and it is suitable for very large enterprises or the public sector."

"Configuration could be simplified for the end-user."

"There are a lot of areas that can be improved, but the main area is the lack of customization. You cannot easily customize anything in the product. It is not easy to tweak the functionality. It is challenging to change the out-of-the-box functionality."

"What we'd like improved in IBM Security Access Manager is its onboarding process as it's complex, particularly when onboarding new applications. We need to be very, very careful during the onboarding. We have no issues with IBM Security Access Manager because the solution works fine, apart from the onboarding process and IBM's involvement in onboarding issues. If we need support related to the onboarding, we've noticed a pattern where support isn't available, or they don't have much experience, or we're not getting a response from them. We're facing the same issue with IBM Guardium. As we're just focusing on the multi-factor authentication feature of IBM Security Access Manager and we didn't explore any other features, we don't have additional features to suggest for the next release of the solution, but we're in discussion about exploring ID management and access management features, but those are just possibilities because right now, we're focused on exploring our domain."

"Microsoft Identity Manager has shown a strong focus on cloud solutions, but it could improve its support for legacy products and on-premise infrastructure. Legacy applications or solutions are often not fully supported, which can be a limitation for customers with existing on-premise setups. The emphasis on cloud-based solutions is beneficial for modernization as it is crucial to address customers' needs relying on legacy systems. Microsoft should address the gap in support for legacy products to ensure a more comprehensive and inclusive approach."

"Integration with third parties and enhanced policy management could be improved."

"I haven't explored it deeply enough to identify any areas for enhancement."

"In terms of the identity and access management solution for on-premises environment, I think Microsoft needs to eliminate or minimize the number of workloads for the solution to run in on-premises environment."

"The prices can always be improved, and the integration with the software from other vendors could use an improvement, especially if you are using something like Oracle for a database, SAP for ERP, or something like that."

"Instead of using the connectors from the third-party companies, they should make the Microsoft templates available with this product. If Microsoft would increase the number of the box connectors that would be helpful to all the customers who use it daily."

"Microsoft Identity Manager can be improved by integrating it with Entra ID as a SaaS application or by having a cloud-based connector, as it is currently limited to on-prem scenarios, and a combination of both would be a great solution compared to competitors such as SailPoint or One Identity Manager."

"Integration with third parties and enhanced policy management could be improved. The current policy management features are limited, and custom, flexible policies would be ideal."

More Microsoft Identity Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Omada Identity is very reasonably and competitively priced."

"Omada Identity is competitively priced and delivers good value for our money."

"They are positioned at a good price point. They are lower than some of their competitors."

"Omada continues to be very competitive on pricing, especially on the Omada cloud product."

"The pricing is too high for SMBs."

"Being Dutch, I can only say that it is extremely expensive, but all software products are expensive. If you have 38,000 users, then even one dollar or one euro per person would amount to a significant amount of money. Because of the high number of users, anything gets expensive very fast here."

"Omada is too expensive. We are in the automotive industry. The pricing might be high because most of the other customers are in the insurance or banking sectors, but it's steep for an auto supply company."

"Omada is expensive."

More Omada Identity pricing and cost advice

"It costs about 300K AED for a year. Its pricing is a bit on the higher end, but in comparison to other products in the market, its price is still better. There are lots of other products that are very costly."

"The product is not expensive. It depends on the number of users."

"The license and costs depend on the amount range of users you have. For just approximately 2,000 users, the price is practical and fair. However, when you have 20,000 users, it starts to become really expensive, and the discount per user is not attractive enough to go ahead and purchase."

"The solution is expensive."

"The solution is included in the Microsoft E3 license and premium subscriptions of Azure AD."

"It is an expensive tool."

"MIM is free with a Microsoft Azure license."

"When comparing the cost, Microsoft Identity Manager is the best solution because it is free if you have an Azure P2 license."

"The tool's price is low for my company."

"Microsoft Identity Manager comes with the premium or community license. If the customer doesn't have a premium license, the reseller who sells the licenses of Microsoft to the enterprise can extend the license for the client."

"My rating for the pricing of Microsoft Identity Manager is average, neither too expensive nor too cheap."

More Microsoft Identity Manager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

23%

Insurance Company

14%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Omada Identity Cloud?

As an administrator, we benefit from a lot of functionality that is available out of the box, but it is also configur...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Omada Identity Cloud?

They are positioned at a good price point. They are lower than some of their competitors.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Omada Identity Cloud?

The biggest issue, which is the reason why we are transitioning from their product to SailPoint, is the overall user ...

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What do you like most about IBM Security Access Manager?

The tool provides a password vault, single sign-on, and multifactor authentication. It offers various authentication ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Security Access Manager?

The user interface for users and administrators could be improved to make it easier. Automating some functions could ...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering IBM Security Access Manager?

I rate the product an eight out of ten.

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Identity Manager?

The product’s simplicity and integration are valuable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Identity Manager?

Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Identity Manager, it has a couple of cloud connectors that...

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What needs improvement with Microsoft Identity Manager?

Microsoft Identity Manager can be improved by integrating it with Entra ID as a SaaS application or by having a cloud...

See all answers

Comparisons

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs Omada Identity

Compared 31% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Omada Identity

Compared 17% of the time

Saviynt vs Omada Identity

Compared 16% of the time

One Identity Manager vs Omada Identity

Compared 8% of the time

BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management vs Omada Identity

Compared 2% of the time

More Omada Identity Competitors

Oracle Access Manager vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 20% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 12% of the time

Ping Identity Platform vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 10% of the time

Okta Workforce Identity vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 8% of the time

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 8% of the time

More IBM Security Verify Access Competitors

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs Microsoft Identity Manager

Compared 34% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Identity Manager

Compared 20% of the time

One Identity Manager vs Microsoft Identity Manager

Compared 10% of the time

Saviynt vs Microsoft Identity Manager

Compared 8% of the time

Optimal IGA vs Microsoft Identity Manager

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Identity Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Omada Identity

August 2025

Download Omada Identity product report

Buyer's Guide

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

July 2025

Download IBM Security Verify Access product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Identity Manager

August 2025

Download Microsoft Identity Manager product report

Also Known As

Omada Identity Suite, Omada Identity Cloud

IBM Security Verify Access (SVA), IBM Security Access Manager, ISAM

MIM, Forefront Identity Manager, FIM, MS Identity Manager

Overview

Omada Identity is an identity governance and administration (IGA) solution designed to help organizations manage and secure digital identities and access across their IT environments. It focuses on enhancing security, compliance, and efficiency by automating identity management processes.

Omada Identity offers a robust set of features that streamline identity lifecycle management, access governance, and compliance reporting. It integrates with a wide range of IT systems, applications, and data sources, providing a centralized platform for managing user identities and access rights. The solution enables organizations to enforce security policies, ensure regulatory compliance, and reduce the risk of unauthorized access.

What are the critical features of Omada Identity?

Identity Lifecycle Management: Automates the process of creating, updating, and deactivating user identities throughout their lifecycle.
Access Governance: Ensures that users have appropriate access rights, enabling continuous monitoring and recertification of access.
Compliance Reporting: Provides comprehensive reporting capabilities to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Simplifies the assignment and management of access rights based on user roles within the organization.
Self-Service Access Requests: Empowers users to request access to resources through a user-friendly portal, reducing administrative burden.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with various systems, applications, and data sources for unified identity and access management.

What benefits or ROI items should users look for in the reviews when evaluating Omada Identity?

Improved Security: By ensuring that only authorized users have access to sensitive information, Omada Identity enhances overall security posture.
Regulatory Compliance: Helps organizations meet compliance requirements by providing detailed audit trails and reporting features.
Operational Efficiency: Automates routine identity management tasks, reducing manual effort and freeing up IT resources for strategic initiatives.
User Productivity: Streamlines access management processes, enabling users to quickly obtain the resources they need to perform their jobs.
Reduced Risk: Minimizes the risk of data breaches and insider threats by enforcing strict access controls and continuous monitoring.

Omada Identity is widely adopted across various industries, including healthcare, finance, and manufacturing. In healthcare, it helps protect patient data and comply with regulations like HIPAA. In finance, it ensures compliance with SOX and other financial regulations. In manufacturing, it secures access to sensitive production data and intellectual property.

Pricing and licensing for Omada Identity are typically based on the number of users and the specific features required. Customer support is available through various channels, including online resources, support tickets, and professional services for implementation and customization.

In summary, Omada Identity is a comprehensive IGA solution that enhances security, compliance, and efficiency in managing digital identities and access.

Omada

IBM Security Verify Access is a complete authorization and network security policy management solution. It provides end-to-end protection of resources over geographically dispersed intranets and extranets.Provides a wide range of built-in authenticators and supports external authenticators.Provides permit and deny decisions for protected resources requests in the secure domain through the authorization API.Manages secure access to private internal network-based resources by using the public Internet's broad connectivity and ease of use with a corporate firewall system.

IBM

Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM) builds on the identity and access management capabilities of Forefront Identity Manager. MIM helps you manage the users, credentials, policies, and access within your organization. Additionally, MIM adds a hybrid experience, privileged access management capabilities, and support for new platforms.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Bayer, ECCO Shoes, Vattenfall, NuStar Energy, Unicredit, Schiphol Group, BMW Group, Deutsche Leasing

POST Luxembourg

Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Whole Foods Market

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Verify Access vs. Microsoft Identity Manager

July 2025

Free Report: IBM Security Verify Access vs. Microsoft Identity Manager

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