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Microsoft Active Directory vs Thales SafeNet Trusted Access comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 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

Microsoft Active Directory
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Active Directory Management (4th)
Thales SafeNet Trusted Access
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
20th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (26th), Access Management (21st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Single Sign-On (SSO) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Active Directory is 3.3%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Thales SafeNet Trusted Access is 1.1%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Single Sign-On (SSO)
 

Featured Reviews

Roberta Politano - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good authentication features
The solution's group policy is a normal way to deploy configuration and helps deploy to a wider environment. The solution is deployed both on-premises and on the cloud. I would recommend the solution to other users based on their infrastructure. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
GauravMathur - PeerSpot reviewer
Simple to use, easy to set up, and performs well
I'm not saying that we want to switch the product, however, since the requirement has increased, we are looking at other options that may be better suited. The scalability may not there. We have a few specific use cases where we have to avoid the cloud. Especially in Europe, we're not allowed to carry their phone in factories. We need some sort of secure access solution. There's a dependency on Microsoft Azure. I am paying to SafeNet and in parallel, I also need to pay Microsoft to use the same service. That makes no sense, to pay double. If they could do something about it, that would be very good.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Having active deployment and well-configured systems helps me manage tasks and easily oversee thousands of users."
"It is a scalable solution."
"We can also have separate domain controllers in different Active Directory sites based on their location."
"Technical support is helpful."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is an easy-to-use tool."
"The product is very stable and flexible. You can also integrate the solution with other products like mail solutions."
"The most valuable feature is the configured appliance system in Hypervisor."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Active Directory is the group policies."
"The interface is easy to use."
"The solution is simple to use."
"The validation and integrity features of the endpoint are great."
 

Cons

"In the solution, assigning permissions is complex, making it difficult to grant them at a granular level or to multiple users without templates or alternative tools."
"There is room for improvement in the support."
"I expect additional features like maximizing user flow, improving the branding of the UI, and enabling non-interactive login. Customizing the login page is limited to changing the background and logo, and adding terms and conditions during registration requires JavaScript."
"Active Directory's user experience is a little dated. Group policy management should be more customizable."
"Even better group management would be beneficial."
"The cloud service of Microsoft Active Directory is an area with certain shortcomings that need improvement."
"I would like to see the integration with Mac and IOS products improved."
"The interface for logs should be user-friendly and allow for enhanced filtering to drill down to incidents."
"Lacks the ability to integrate network monitoring solutions and authenticate the app users."
"There's a dependency on Microsoft Azure."
"SafeNet's reporting and monitoring features could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license is perpetual and the cost is minimal. If you purchase Microsoft Windows then Microsoft Active Directory comes with the package."
"Its price is reasonable."
"We purchase the license for the solution on a yearly basis."
"The license per user can probably be reduced."
"Active Directory is built-in into Microsoft Windows 10. I'm not an administrator and would not be involved in purchasing decisions for new versions of the software. I have only used the client portion of it, I do not know if there is a cost to using the solution."
"Microsoft Active Directory is not an expensive solution."
"The solution is based on a licensing model."
"The product's premium support services are expensive."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
6%
Government
10%
Performing Arts
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Active Directory?
The solution is easy to install and has good reliability.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Active Directory?
There are a few areas that could be improved with Microsoft Active Directory, along similar lines as Intune. Not too much on the support side, but on the Group Policy side, it doesn't always functi...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?
The use cases for Microsoft Active Directory are managing all users on-premises. We have over 200 employees and multiple computers, approximately over 200 computers. We have shared computers and sh...
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Also Known As

No data available
SafeNet Trusted Access, Gemalto SafeNet Trusted Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
IBM, Western Union, Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, Novartis, and AT&T.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Active Directory vs. Thales SafeNet Trusted Access and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.