Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Microsoft Entra ID vs OpenText Identity Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

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 Entra ID
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
273
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), Authentication Systems (1st), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (1st), Access Management (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)
OpenText Identity Manager
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (8th), Identity Governance Administration (IGA) (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 8.8%, down from 13.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Identity Manager is 2.2%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Management (IM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Entra ID8.8%
OpenText Identity Manager2.2%
Other89.0%
Identity Management (IM)
 

Featured Reviews

Stafin Jacob - PeerSpot reviewer
Microsoft 365 Security & Compliance Practice Lead at Invoke
Identity has become our central gatekeeper and has provided secure single sign-on for all users
Microsoft Entra ID can improve by focusing more on new passwordless methods and becoming a primary adopter. One feature we would like to see is the ability to have security questions for password resets. I know the current capability is phasing out, so we do not have an alternative method yet. Customers who already use security questions require a smoother transition for that capability to be available. My experience with the deployment has had some challenges, particularly around the Microsoft MFA campaigns. The hardest part is moving users from a different MFA provider to the Microsoft MFA provider, as it ultimately depends on user activity. In large enterprises with numerous users across various geographies, this transition takes time. If there are ways to exert more control around that process, it would improve the situation.
reviewer2401464 - PeerSpot reviewer
Architect at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
Updates systems quickly and does not have a limit on the number of users
NetIQ does not have a limit on the number of users. The tool is secure by nature. It can have more than one billion users. Event-based systems know what has to be changed. SQL-based systems can only change using time and date. Event-based systems provide immediate results, while SQL-based systems need time to sync. It is totally different from a security perspective. Event-based systems can update all the systems in seconds or minutes. Other systems do it within 24 hours. The basic event-based system is AI-driven. It has some kind of robotics and programming. Other tools need programming. I like systems that have prebuilt ideas of security. NetIQ has been in the market for a long period. It has all the systems and connectors. There is not much coding. We just need to configure the products. We need not do any programming. I haven't seen any other product that needs only configuration to do the job. Most products in the market are SQL-based. They need programming. Some service providers who sell other products to customers do not sell NetIQ because they can make more money by selling solutions that need more consultancy and programming. More hours lead to more money.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The implementation of Microsoft Entra ID has had a huge impact on our secure access to the apps or resources in our environment, as we can use Conditional Access to apply MFA going into apps, which definitely helped with our compliance."
"The most valuable feature is the conditional access policies. This gives us the ability to restrict who can access which applications or the portal in specific ways."
"What I appreciate the most about Microsoft Entra ID is that it integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products, which streamlines the process."
"The centralized management with the single sign-on feature of Microsoft Entra ID has been huge, and that aspect has been nice as a data point demonstrating the ROI."
"My two preferred features are conditional access and privileged identity management."
"The boards for task tracking are a valuable feature."
"The centralized management feature is very valuable."
"Entra ID provides an excellent overview of the applications and the options applied to them."
"The main value lies in the simplicity of implementation, as well as its customized look and feel."
"To my knowledge it is the only event based IDM system."
"The product is easy to use."
"Identity and access management processes have developed to become automatic and fast."
"The access request management has improved significantly in terms of its user interface. What sets it apart from competitors like SailPoint is that it's an event-based solution rather than schedule-based. That's a key differentiator."
"NetIQ does not have a limit on the number of users."
"The identity vault, password syncing and self service Password Reset are valuable features, and NetIQ does a good job with password syncing among directories."
"The Identity Engine is event-based and provides real-time synchronization and password synchronization to more than 40 different applications and services."
 

Cons

"One area where it can improve is connectivity with other systems. Not all systems are connected and you have to do coding to establish a point of connectivity. It supports certain vendors and it supports certain protocols. It is limited in many other aspects at the attribute level."
"The cost is one area that needs improvement."
"There are areas for improvement, particularly when moving between tenants. If we create a new tenant and try to set it up under the same organization, it becomes extremely difficult. A recent incident we dealt with took four months to resolve with a seven-day deadline, which was quite frustrating."
"Microsoft plans to move away from SMS authentication for Multi-Factor Authentication and only implement application-based authenticator, which will be challenging for retail outlets reliant on Microsoft Active Directory."
"The initial setup was complex."
"They can combine conditional access for user actions and application filtering. Currently, they are separated, and we cannot mix the two. I do not know how it would be possible, but it would be interesting."
"I would rate my customer service and technical support as about a five right now, as we just got in contact with our Microsoft rep, so it is improving."
"To improve Microsoft Entra ID, it should be made simpler because there is a lot of stuff to do in the platform, which could be reduced to fewer buttons."
"If it could be operated in such a way that anybody could use it, with just the user interface, and there's no need for programming, then that would be a great improvement."
"Scalability becomes an issue if the vision changes from the initial implementation. Not being flexible and having to rewrite quite a bit of code for even a simple added feature makes it difficult."
"Technical support is very good, but in my country the ecosystem of consultants is scarce."
"There's no huge thing missing, because it's already comprehensive. Now and then, however, there might be a minor issue."
"The solution architecture is somewhat complex. For some components, the necessary resilience is not inherent."
"Areas for improvement are further enhancing the access granting process to reduce time and improve accuracy."
"If it works, Designer is a charm, but it can be a pain to keep updated because of all the Java stuff that regularly goes wrong."
"The user facing interfaces are not too friendly and they are also fairly hard to configure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you're on Azure, it can be free or it's incorporated, at no extra cost, or it can become extremely complicated."
"The solution has three types of tiers: E1 has very basic features. You get limited stuff in E2 and cannot have Office 360 associated with it. E3 is on the costly side and has all the features."
"I think we're on the E3 — I think it was about 35 dollars per user."
"We have an agreement with Microsoft, and my company pays yearly."
"Microsoft Entra ID's pricing is reasonable."
"I'm not totally aware of the pricing and licensing, but I do know that the pricing and licensing must be quite balanced. We are a pretty old client of Microsoft, and MSA is just one of the services we use from Microsoft. There's a whole Microsoft 365 suite that's implemented as well. I'm sure it is something that is acceptable to both parties."
"Its price is okay. It is easy to go from P1 to P2 license. It is not exactly a bargain, but I would recommend the P2 license."
"Azure AD's pricing is comprehensive and affordable. The prices are easy to understand, and the licenses include a variety of security monitoring and additional features."
"The solution is quite affordable."
"You just need to be aware that the more systems you connect, the more license fees you have to pay."
"Micro Focus is flexible when it comes to price. The cost varies from customer to customer. There are no additional costs, though. Everything is included."
"The price of the solution is a bit high and could be reduced."
"It would easily help them in getting more market and more customers if more consultants knew about their software. If they could keep it free for schools for teaching purposes, it would be good. I had to pay myself to get it and use it for training. Their competitors are giving it for free. I had to pay for it myself. They are losing market to their competitors."
"I would rate the pricing a two out of ten, with one being low price and ten being high price. It is significantly more cost-effective than the major players in the market."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Identity Management (IM) solutions are best for your needs.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business88
Midsize Enterprise39
Large Enterprise159
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?
We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?
My experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Entra ID is that it is decent.
What needs improvement with Azure Active Directory?
I think Microsoft Entra ID could be improved by assigning permissions to nested groups in the next release.
What do you like most about NetIQ Identity Manager?
The most valuable feature of NetIQ Identity Manager for identity synchronization is the ability to provide users with all necessary access on day one through automated provisioning, facilitated by ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetIQ Identity Manager?
The pricing depends on whether we buy the solution as a service or a license. The license is expensive. If we buy it as a service for a large number of users, it is the cheapest tool we can get. Th...
What needs improvement with NetIQ Identity Manager?
The tool is used mostly in big systems to understand what is happening. There are not many technicians who know how to use the product. The vendor must provide an easier console for configuring thi...
 

Also Known As

Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator
Novell Identity Manager
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.
Sheetz
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Entra ID vs. OpenText Identity Manager and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.