IBM Security Verify Access vs Microsoft Identity Manager comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Identity Management (IM) category. IBM is ranked #21 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.0. IBM holds a 1.3% mindshare in IAM, compared to Microsoft’s 2.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 76% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM Security Verify Access

Read 8 IBM Security Verify Access reviews

1,924 Views
558 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Identity Manager

Read 25 Microsoft Identity Manager reviews

2,202 Views
2,114 Comparison Views

76% willing to recommend

IBM Security Verify Access

Microsoft Identity Manager

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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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: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Verify Access vs. Microsoft Identity Manager

December 2025

Download the complete report

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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 Security Verify Access

Ranking in Identity Management (IM)

21st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (14th), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (15th), Access Management (13th)

Microsoft Identity Manager

Ranking in Identity Management (IM)

11th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of IBM Security Verify Access is 1.3%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Identity Manager is 2.3%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Identity Management (IM) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Identity Manager	2.3%
IBM Security Verify Access	1.3%
Other	96.4%

Identity Management (IM)

Featured Reviews

Ateeq Rehman

Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited

Has improved secure user access while managing development through multiple technologies

I have already explained this in my previous call; I don't handle financial terms and commercials. Pricing is generally managed by functional teams and management looking after licensing matters. In Pakistan, vendors such as Oracle and IBM manage account relationships with clients and have tailored pricing models, so I do not have sufficient insights into that aspect.IBM Security Verify Access installation process is not straightforward; it requires underlying specialized knowledge upon which the IBM products are based. The complexity and scalability of the architecture necessitate in-depth technical knowledge and understanding of the system. Thus, installation is not as simple as clicking through; it requires extensive configuration of the underlying application servers, such as IBM WebSphere, where these products are deployed and configured.

Read full review

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

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."

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

"IBM Security Verify Access, formerly known as ISAM, IBM Security Access Manager, now renamed to ISVA, integrates with central directory services for our organization and provides user management functionality."

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

"IBM Security Verify Access is providing a secure way of handling the user login journey, and secure user authentication is fully managed by ISAM or ISVA."

"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."

"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."

More IBM Security Verify Access pros

"The features of Microsoft Identity Manager that have been most impactful in improving security and compliance include the granular policies, report, and the ability to gain end-to-end visibility for each user."

"The most valuable and most interesting feature is the conditional access."

"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."

"Microsoft Identity Manager's documentation is good, and its end-user portal is user-friendly."

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

"The integration with other Microsoft ecosystems, such as Graph API, is really cool."

"Microsoft Identity Manager automates all identities and access on every target system efficiently and quickly."

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

More Microsoft Identity Manager pros

Cons

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"IBM Security Verify Access installation process is not straightforward; it requires underlying specialized knowledge upon which the IBM products are based."

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

"IBM Security Verify Access installation process is not straightforward; it requires underlying specialized knowledge upon which the IBM products are based."

More IBM Security Verify Access cons

"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."

"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."

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

"The product could be more friendly for non-native English speakers. It would also be better if it were more intuitive and visually attractive."

"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."

"Some valuable features might go unused because they are not well-documented or connected clearly in user guides."

"They have to improve the User Entity and Behavioral Analysis."

"Microsoft Identity Manager could be improved in several areas."

More Microsoft Identity Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"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 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 prices can always be improved. I'd rate it a 4 out of 10 in terms of pricing."

"The solution is expensive."

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

"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."

"MIM is free with a Microsoft Azure license."

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

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

"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

17%

Insurance Company

12%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

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 methods like fingerprint integration, one-time passwords, or tokens sent via ema...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Security Access Manager?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Security Access Manager?

We are still using the IBM BPM platform to automate the processes for our organization.I generally use Microsoft Project for project planning and schedule management, especially in relation to Orac...

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 can sync directly with the O365 admin center, which is good enough, but Entra I...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Identity Manager?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Identity Manager?

The typical use case for Microsoft Identity Manager is to automate Active Directory, where it is responsible for onboarding new employees to on-premises AD or to the cloud based on certain criteria.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Entra ID vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 12% of the time

Okta Platform vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 10% of the time

IBM Cloud Identity Service vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 7% of the time

Ping Identity Platform vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 7% of the time

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 7% of the time

More IBM Security Verify Access Competitors

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs Microsoft Identity Manager

Compared 23% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Identity Manager

Compared 15% of the time

One Identity Manager vs Microsoft Identity Manager

Compared 10% of the time

Saviynt vs Microsoft Identity Manager

Compared 10% of the time

Oracle Identity Governance vs Microsoft Identity Manager

Compared 7% of the time

More Microsoft Identity Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Verify Access

January 2026

Download IBM Security Verify Access product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Identity Manager

January 2026

Download Microsoft Identity Manager product report

Also Known As

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

MIM, Forefront Identity Manager, FIM, MS Identity Manager

Overview

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

POST Luxembourg

Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Whole Foods Market

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Verify Access vs. Microsoft Identity Manager

December 2025

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

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