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IBM Tivoli Access Manager [EOL] vs Symantec VIP Access Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 Tivoli Access Manager [...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
3.8
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Symantec VIP Access Manager
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (11th), Access Management (18th)
 

Featured Reviews

it_user711612 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Reverse proxy provides central control over authentication and authorization.
It is a single product that caters for all the business needs throughout the organization. It provides a seamless integration that in turn encourages most of the applications to use the SSO features Reverse proxy is the most valuable feature as it provides central control over authentication and…
Berk Onur - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Consultant at Cyberwise
With its mobile application, this tool offers a convenient and user-friendly experience to its users
To improve the tool, I think that the solution should consider integrations with other cybersecurity and IT technologies, such as Privileged Access Management and Site Integration. Additionally, the implementation of second-factor authentication via Symantec VIP Access Manager, CyberArk, and Delinea, among other technologies, could be best for the product. While the existing technology is okay, improving the integration capabilities for Symantec VIP Access Manager would benefit the product. I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company. While many cybersecurity solutions can function independently, they often lack integration with our systems due to missed integration points. Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The SSO, URL-based access control, OAuth 2 and OIDC are the most valuable features."
"Single Sign-On functionality is valuable because the core purpose of the product is to allow universal (or bespoke) SSO for application suites."
"The combination of TAM with IDM in IBM Tivoli Identity Manager helped us to realize robust and secure authentication infrastructure in accordance with industry regulations and laws."
"It is a single product that caters for all the business needs throughout the organization."
"Some of the valuable features are: Reverse proxy Protected object space Ease of integration Multiple and robust AuthN and AuthZ mechanisms built-in No single point of failure (SPOF)"
"Several SSO methods are supported out of box, federation based SSO (SAML / Oauth / OpenID etc) setup is easy, performance and scalability are very good, and the internal STS token service can be used for custom SSO tokens."
"Tivoli Access Manager (or IBM Security Access Manager) is a fully featured web authentication, sso and authorization product."
"Provided more secure computing."
"Cloud-based service and management."
"It is a fast and easy solution for end users, and you are always online."
"Pricing was about 25% of the old solution, saving us about $500,000 over three years for 10,000 users."
"I like the whole solution, and I would recommend it."
"It is easy to use."
"In this version 9.1, lots of changes are done for the dashboard, User Store etc."
"It offers more platform support, like Apple, Android, and Microsoft."
"If you're looking for a fairly lightweight client that works very well for remote access purposes, I think Symantec is definitely a good product."
 

Cons

"You must be skilled to use Tivoli Access Manager."
"This product is also available in the appliance offering which has not yet matured and has many issues."
"The profiling element is incredibly robust, but also equally as complex, it requires an off-site course to be able to understand the context or the plethora of options available."
"Installation and configuration. If you don’t know the requirements of the supporting components, it could be complicated to install and this has been improved in the later versions that are renamed to IBM Tivoli Security Access Manager."
"The license model is pretty complex."
"I have not tested the stability yet."
"The self-service portal needs improvement."
"We have had stability issues lately with the hardware and SAN that the product runs on."
"Every time that I have a new phone or computer, it takes a little longer to deploy it."
"In the next release, I would like the ability to work offline with remote access."
"I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company...Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial."
"Maybe Symantec could consider providing a step-by-step guide for first-time users."
"The User Store synchronization part needs to improve. Also, the logs, reports, and dashboard can be improved."
"At times, the relay server could not contact Symantec; it would fail open and allow access without a passcode."
"Geofencing needs improvement."
"The VIP Manager can be accessed from the outside which is a security vulnerability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The IBM prices are, as ever, extortionate, even with a business partnership, and high levels of discounts."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
"There is a one-time setup fee plus the licenses are provided as per the number of users. For SMS and voice calls, the costs are separate."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Marketing Services Firm
12%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

Also Known As

Tivoli Access Manager, IBM Security Access Manager
Symantec VIP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Essex Technology Group Inc.
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Okta, One Identity and others in Single Sign-On (SSO). Updated: June 2026.
900,838 professionals have used our research since 2012.