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Microsoft Identity Manager vs NetIQ Identity Manager comparison

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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

Omada Identity
Sponsored
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (4th), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (5th), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (4th)
Microsoft Identity Manager
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetIQ Identity Manager
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
19th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of Omada Identity is 3.4%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Identity Manager is 3.6%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetIQ Identity Manager is 1.8%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Management (IM)
 

Featured Reviews

Pernilla Hulth - PeerSpot reviewer
The interface is easy to use and gives you a solid overview
The cloud-based deployment was straightforward, but the on-prem deployment was in a highly complex ecosystem. Omada has matured since then. I wouldn't say that it isn't straightforward, but it depends on the customer. A standard deployment is relatively easy, but it can be more painful if you need a lot of customization. We deployed the cloud solution in around four months, nearly meeting the 12-week benchmark. The on-prem deployment took three years. It was a highly complex ecosystem that was dependent on other systems. Depending on the size of your environment, you need a product owner and some specialists for maintenance. My last customer was a university with a complex environment. They had around 12 people involved in maintenance at that organization. Typically, it's between 2-5 people.
MANUEL VALDIVIA - PeerSpot reviewer
Priced in a low range but needs to improve the support services offered to users
If we don't use Microsoft Identity Manager for data masking, we can use some other tools, like IBM InfoSphere. The scope of Microsoft Identity Manager is limited to the identity part of our applications. Microsoft Identity Manager is an old technology, and Microsoft will discontinue it soon. Microsoft Identity Manager is very complex compared with other platforms. For example, I know Microsoft Azure is working on Azure Identity. In the future, Microsoft Identity Manager will migrate to Azure Identity because Azure Identity is a software asset and is less complex. The solution's technical support is bad, making it an area where improvements are required.
SYAMSUL SALAM - PeerSpot reviewer
The product is affordable and easy to use, but the technical support must be improved
The solution is used to manage SSO and login for internal applications The product enables detailed user management. The product is easy to use. Our users found it easier than Microsoft Identity Manager. The solution must add more configurations. There are different types of user identity in…

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 in Omada is the governance. We work with other products and other product vendors, but the sweet spot in the market for Omada is where things are heavy on governance."
"The most relevant feature is Omada's reporting engine. Omada never 'forgets' and archives every process. All steps an admin, user, or manager has executed, are recorded in Omada."
"Two valuable features of Omada Identity are the ability to discover accounts and link them to identities, and the automatic disabling of inactive accounts or identities."
"It has a lot of out-of-the-box features. It is flexible, and there are a lot of possibilities to configure and extend it. It is user-friendly. It has an interface that is end-user or business-user friendly."
"I appreciate all the support we receive from Omada."
"The key benefit of Omada Identity is maintaining complete control."
"Omada Identity Suite has a very powerful workflow engine. It is used for requesting access for approval to everything that's around Access Management and for re-certification purposes."
"Support-wise, working with Omada has been good. We have very good direct interactions and fast responses."
"The features that we find most valuable are security, mobility, and Single Sign-On."
"MIM's most valuable feature is its connectivity with Exchange."
"Its interface and the fact that it's integrated with everything in the Microsoft ecosystem are the most valuable features."
"I appreciate how Microsoft keeps adding new features to Microsoft Identity Manager."
"It is one of the easiest products to implement, which is one of the main advantages. The integration is easy. Unlike other products, it is not complicated to integrate."
"The most crucial feature of Microsoft Identity Manager is integration, especially with Office 365. A specific scenario where automation provided by the identity manager was crucial is when customers use hybrid clouds, with resources both locally and in the cloud. They require an easy identity solution across workspaces, local and cloud, integrating cloud identity with local identity sources, supporting single sign-on and authorizations, and ensuring security across applications.Microsoft Identity Manager integrates such local and cloud identity sources, supporting numerous applications."
"What makes this solution attractive is the licensing model. Microsoft Identity Manager is included in premium versions of Azure AD and in enterprise agreements such as E3. This makes the solution very attractive to many of our clients who are subscribed to those products."
"The concept is primarily for the people in the business. In business, you can discuss how integrating all the services and resources within the company can bring numerous benefits."
"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."
"The most valuable features are Password Reset Alerts, Password Sync, and SQL connectors."
"I like the eDirectory feature."
"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 approval workflows."
"The main value lies in the simplicity of implementation, as well as its customized look and feel."
"The product is easy to use."
"The most valuable features of NetIQ Identity Manager are the synchronization of different directories, such as Active Directory. We have many Active Directory systems, not only one."
"NetIQ does not have a limit on the number of users."
 

Cons

"If you find an error and you need it fixed, you have to upgrade. It's not like they say, "Okay, we'll fix this problem for you." You have to upgrade. The last time we upgraded, because there was an error in a previous version, we had to pay 150,000 Danish Krone (about $24,000 at the time of this review) to upgrade our systems... That means that we have to pay to get errors fixed that Omada has made in programming the system. I hope they change this way of looking at things."
"What I would most like to see added to the product is role management, especially enterprise or business role management, and the processes around that."
"I would like to search on date fields, which is not possible now."
"The account management integration isn't bad, but it isn't plug-and-play like Microsoft Azure. You need some deep development knowledge to set up the connectors."
"It is not possible to customize reports on Omada Identity."
"In our organization, all the data is event-driven, which means that if an attribute is changed in the source system, it can be updated within a few seconds in all end-user systems. There is room for improvement in Omada regarding that. Omada is still batch-based for some processes, so sometimes it can take an hour or even four hours before the execution is run and the update is sent."
"If you're running Omada on a cloud service, you may have some issues deploying the newest release. Sometimes, the latest release doesn't adapt to the processes we have already installed. Identity Access Management is a critical system for our organization, and we need to ensure that everyone has the same access as they did before the release."
"Omada could communicate better with us about the product roadmap. We haven't gotten any updates about it. The user interface is often a bit difficult to understand. It isn't optimized for small screens, so it doesn't display all of the information clearly, so users need to scroll a lot."
"Microsoft Identity Manager has shown a strong focus on cloud solutions, but it could improve its support for legacy products and on-premise infrastructure. Legacy applications or solutions are often not fully supported, which can be a limitation for customers with existing on-premise setups. The emphasis on cloud-based solutions is beneficial for modernization as it is crucial to address customers' needs relying on legacy systems. Microsoft should address the gap in support for legacy products to ensure a more comprehensive and inclusive approach."
"I haven't explored it deeply enough to identify any areas for enhancement."
"The security could be slightly improved."
"Instead of using the connectors from the third-party companies, they should make the Microsoft templates available with this product. If Microsoft would increase the number of the box connectors that would be helpful to all the customers who use it daily."
"This product was only launched two or three years ago and it is still in the process of becoming stable."
"Integration with third parties and enhanced policy management could be improved."
"The setup was difficult. The deployment process is not quick."
"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."
"It needs some modern features. They should improve and modernize their management interface. It has been created over years and by different persons. You can see different applications, different management consoles for different things. There should be an integrated interface."
"NetIQ Identity Manager could improve by updating the user portal, it is out of date."
"The integrations must be made easier."
"Areas for improvement are further enhancing the access granting process to reduce time and improve accuracy."
"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."
"The vendor must provide an easier console for configuring things for smaller customers."
"The solution architecture is somewhat complex. For some components, the necessary resilience is not inherent."
"We have another system that is using the SAML system, and we also integrate with Active Directory only. If NetIQ Identity Manager can integrate directly, we would not need to use the Active Directory directory."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There were a lot of administrator, partner, and supplier accounts for people who were no longer working for us but still in the system. So, we reduced the number of users no longer with the company, which saved us some money on licensing."
"Omada continues to be very competitive on pricing, especially on the Omada cloud product."
"They are positioned at a good price point. They are lower than some of their competitors."
"It's a fair price for the on-premises system. Compared with what we had before, it's much cheaper and we get all the modules in one. We tried to go with the cloud, but it was far too expensive."
"It is licensed per managed user per year."
"The pricing for Omada Identity is fair."
"Omada is too expensive. We are in the automotive industry. The pricing might be high because most of the other customers are in the insurance or banking sectors, but it's steep for an auto supply company."
"It is not cheap. None of these solutions are cheap, but we have good pricing at least for now from a licensing perspective."
"The solution is expensive."
"The solution is included in the Microsoft E3 license and premium subscriptions of Azure AD."
"The prices can always be improved. I'd rate it a 4 out of 10 in terms of pricing."
"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."
"My rating for the pricing of Microsoft Identity Manager is average, neither too expensive nor too cheap."
"It is an expensive tool."
"When comparing the cost, Microsoft Identity Manager is the best solution because it is free if you have an Azure P2 license."
"The tool's price is low for my company."
"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."
"The price of the solution is a bit high and could be reduced."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Omada Identity Cloud?
As an administrator, we benefit from a lot of functionality that is available out of the box, but it is also configur...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Omada Identity Cloud?
They are positioned at a good price point. They are lower than some of their competitors.
What needs improvement with Omada Identity Cloud?
The biggest issue, which is the reason why we are transitioning from their product to SailPoint, is the overall user ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Identity Manager?
The product’s simplicity and integration are valuable.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Identity Manager?
Integration with third parties and enhanced policy management could be improved. The current policy management featur...
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...
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 ...
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 t...
 

Also Known As

Omada Identity Suite, Omada Identity Cloud
MIM, Forefront Identity Manager, FIM, MS Identity Manager
Novell Identity Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bayer, ECCO Shoes, Vattenfall, NuStar Energy, Unicredit, Schiphol Group, BMW Group, Deutsche Leasing
Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Whole Foods Market
Sheetz
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Identity Manager vs. NetIQ Identity Manager and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.