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IBM Security Verify Access vs One Identity Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

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)
17th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (15th), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (17th), Access Management (15th)
One Identity Manager
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
150
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (2nd), Identity Governance Administration (IGA) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of IBM Security Verify Access is 1.5%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of One Identity Manager is 5.4%, down from 8.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Management (IM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
One Identity Manager5.4%
IBM Security Verify Access1.5%
Other93.1%
Identity Management (IM)
 

Featured Reviews

Ateeq Rehman - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Neha Chhangani - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Analyst at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Centralized identity governance has automated lifecycle management and simplifies compliance
One Identity Manager could be improved by making the initial setup and configuration simpler, especially for complex workflows and integrations. The user interface and reporting dashboards could also be more modern and intuitive with better out-of-the-box analytics. Additionally, clearer documentation and faster implementation guidance would help organizations get value more quickly. One specific challenge my team encountered was the complexity during initial configuration, especially when setting up custom workflows and role models which required more time and expertise. We also felt that out-of-the-box reports and dashboards are limited, and more customizable real-time analytics would be helpful. Better documentation and guided setup wizards would make adoption easier, particularly for teams new to identity governance tools. One improvement I think One Identity Manager needs is the enhanced self-service experience. The end-user self-service portal could be more intuitive with clearer guidance for access requests and password resets. Additionally, while integrations are solid, deeper cloud-native connectors and API-driven automation would help in hybrid and multi-cloud environments. A more responsive mobile interface or dedicated app for approvals and tasks would help managers who are often on the go. One more improvement is the built-in predictive insights or trend dashboards around access patterns and risk could improve proactive governance. More descriptive error messages and in-tool troubleshooting tips during setup configuration would reduce dependency on external documentation or support.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"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 solution has powerful authentification and authorization. It offers a good way to increase security."
"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 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."
"Its stability and UI are most valuable."
"The policy and role management features are superb. If you have a customer who is willing to go somewhere with role management, then the possibilities are endless with the product. It is well-structured, and the architecture is well-defined."
"The One Identity Manager's user-friendly interface allows for easy external identities and user account creation."
"We have not encountered any stability issues."
"One Identity Manager is very customizable to meet customer requirements."
"One Identity Manager provides everything in a single place, which is beneficial."
"Among the most valuable features of One Identity Manager are administration from Active Directory and Azure Active Directory, as well as administration from Exchange. These features enable us to have fully automated processes to create new accounts and new mailboxes. The most valuable option is the ability to design an automated route to give our customers permissions."
"From a technical perspective, One Identity Manager's greatest strength lies in its extensive customization options."
"The biggest improvement has been the auditing. Now we have a record of what the users have, what the users have requested and when, and when things were approved. It's all in the same system."
 

Cons

"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."
"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 needs to be simplified, it's complex and not user-friendly."
"The user interface for users and administrators could be improved to make it easier. Automating some functions could also be beneficial."
"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."
"IBM Security Verify Access installation process is not straightforward; it requires underlying specialized knowledge upon which the IBM products are based."
"IBM Security Verify Access installation process is not straightforward; it requires underlying specialized knowledge upon which the IBM products are based."
"We fell into that trap of over-customization which made upgrading the product difficult."
"One Identity Manager is a complex tool with multiple components and a convoluted backend."
"The performance is quite bad, but this is because we have a very old version."
"One of the things we would like is the ability to have more than one system role manager."
"One Identity Manager has room for improvement in areas such as being more low-code, since it currently requires some coding knowledge."
"The technical support is non-existent. It is not worth talking about."
"The initial setup was complex. It is an extremely complicated thing to replace an entire self-built solution."
"The documentation I found in their repository is neither interactive nor engaging."
 

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."
"It needs flexibility in the licensing or packaging, because you buy the entire package at once, and sometimes the customers are a bit overwhelmed with whatever they get. I would like if they could cut the licensing or packaging into somewhat smaller things."
"I believe the pricing is fair."
"There is a one-time licensing cost, and there is also a yearly subscription fee."
"It's costlier that some other products, and there is nothing that fits every solution."
"We have the premium support and are very satisfied. They are always answer our questions very quickly. For the moment, we are very satisfied, but I think it's because we are paying for the premium support."
"On-premises, it is cheap. It is way cheaper than others. The cost of the hosted one varies. They do offer a hosted one, and its cost varies, but it is not that expensive. You have a license for employees and a license for support."
"One Identity Manager is fairly priced."
"It is cost-effective. I do not know about the other regions, but here in the Middle East, the competitors are almost double the price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Insurance Company
12%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business47
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise103
 

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...
What needs improvement with IBM Security Access Manager?
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. I...
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...
What do you like most about One Identity Manager?
The One Identity birthright process has helped generate user accounts more accurately and quickly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for One Identity Manager?
In terms of pricing, I find One Identity Manager to be cost-efficient. I appreciate the licensing model where you purchase a license and only buy maintenance later, rather than paying for a subscri...
What needs improvement with One Identity Manager?
I would like to see the possibility of being supported during the migration to the Angular portal as an improvement in One Identity Manager. I do not have any other points regarding necessary impro...
 

Also Known As

IBM Security Verify Access (SVA), IBM Security Access Manager, ISAM
Quest One Identity Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

POST Luxembourg
Texas A&M, Sky Media, BHF Bank, Swiss Post, Union Investment, Wayne State University. More at OneIdentity.com/casestudies
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Verify Access vs. One Identity Manager and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.