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Microsoft Identity Manager vs SAP Identity Management 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

Microsoft Identity Manager
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP Identity Management
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Identity Manager is 2.0%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Identity Management is 2.1%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Management (IM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Identity Manager2.0%
SAP Identity Management2.1%
Other95.9%
Identity Management (IM)
 

Featured Reviews

RameshKumar9 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at IOM - UN Migration
Supports reliable identity management and custom policy design
Microsoft Identity Manager can be improved by integrating it with Entra ID as a SaaS application or by having a cloud-based connector, as it is currently limited to on-prem scenarios, and a combination of both would be a great solution compared to competitors such as SailPoint or One Identity Manager. While the initial setup of Microsoft Identity Manager is not completely complex, migrating or upgrading to a new version can be complex and requires multiple backups to ensure it goes smoothly.
FM
Sales Executive at Minsait
Identity management enhances connectivity and productivity with streamlined access and robust security, offering time-saving processes and facilitating seamless integration with other BI tools
One area that could be improved with SAP Identity Management, other than support, is user engagement from an implementation perspective. It would be beneficial for SAP to extend their events and workshops that are currently performed for partners to their final customers, as many customers want to know what's new and what else they can do without solely depending on the partners. For SAP support in Brazil, everything is in English, which poses a difficulty for many customers. The support could be improved for the specific needs in Brazil, as many customers have difficulty accessing the support center due to the language barrier. This feedback is specific to Brazil, though it's unclear if SAP receives similar feedback from other countries. It could certainly be enhanced with Portuguese documents, among other improvements.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The integration with other Microsoft ecosystems, such as Graph API, is really cool."
"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 feature that I find most valuable is the security layer of the identity and access management solution. The ability to secure on-premises and cloud-based workloads and to provide seamless authentication into hybrid workloads, which is also both on-premises and in cloud environments."
"The best features of Microsoft Identity Manager are its 100% compatibility with Active Directory, the ability to customize IAM policies as required, and its simplicity in design."
"The features that we find most valuable are security, mobility, and Single Sign-On."
"It has a lot of features; it has all the bells and whistles of identity and access management, such as adaptive MFA, intelligent graph security API, and being powered by Microsoft Graph API."
"Identity Security Access Management is the three I can think of, why? they transpass the hybrid barrier, and it's from Microsoft, fits in M365 application well"
"MIM's most valuable feature is its connectivity with Exchange."
"What I like about SAP Identity Management is that it's stable for experienced users and suitable for access management, not just for SAP accounts, but for Active Directory, including file sharing and process sharing."
"NW IDM is extremely flexible, and with a small amount of effort you can integrate the basic provisioning for most of the commonly used modern systems."
"The setup process is straightforward."
"It provides basic automatic user administration and role provisioning to save time."
"There is definitely ROI because we use this as our enterprise-wide SSO solution."
"The most valuable feature is the user experience for managing information."
"Automatic provisioning by designed workflows are valuable in any authorization audit."
"What I found most valuable in SAP Identity Management is process automation."
 

Cons

"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."
"It requires a lot of improvements. Microsoft is killing this product and migrating some of the features to Azure AD. The last version of this solution was 2016. If it is going to stay and integrate with Azure AD, its integration needs to be worked on in terms of connectors, etc. It doesn't seem that they are improving it alone. Microsoft wants to integrate it with Azure AD, but the integration is still not complete."
"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."
"MIM's reliability could be improved."
"It requires a lot of improvements. Microsoft is killing this product and migrating some of the features to Azure AD."
"This product was only launched two or three years ago and it is still in the process of becoming stable."
"SharePoint is also a little bit confusing to handle."
"I haven't explored it deeply enough to identify any areas for enhancement."
"The standard one is not friendly and very time-consuming for elementary operation."
"One of the areas for improvement in the solution is its user interface which needs to be up-to-date and fancier, in particular, have better visualization in terms of the tabs and buttons. The user interface of SAP Identity Management should be improved based on the latest trends."
"The current functionality allows you only to change one user at a time. There is no option to maintain the business roles from the UI using standard validation or imports, so you have to build your business roles one by one."
"I find SAP Identity Management complicated to use. Maintaining it is also complex."
"SAP Identity Management can improve risk analysis and authority checks."
"I have encountered issues with the host authentication feature."
"Research and marketing need to be improved."
"The pricing could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is included in the Microsoft E3 license and premium subscriptions of Azure AD."
"When comparing the cost, Microsoft Identity Manager is the best solution because it is free if you have an Azure P2 license."
"It is an expensive tool."
"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."
"MIM is free with a Microsoft Azure license."
"The solution is expensive."
"My rating for the pricing of Microsoft Identity Manager is average, neither too expensive nor too cheap."
"The licensing cost varies depending on the specific requirements and deployment size."
"When evaluating the price of any product, I first look at how it meets my business requirements and if it meets requirements adequately and predictively. Currently, I don't see this from SAP Identity Management, so pricing for it is expensive, in my opinion."
"I rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Construction Company
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Identity Manager?
Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Identity Manager, it has a couple of cloud connectors that can sync directly with the O365 admin center, which is good enough, but Entra I...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Identity Manager?
Microsoft Identity Manager could be improved in several areas. The solution uses a batching process that executes at scheduled times, which differs from other vendor solutions. It is missing capabi...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Identity Manager?
Microsoft Identity Manager is used primarily in the retail business. The implementation is enterprise-level within a national company, specifically at JCPenney, which is a large organization.
What needs improvement with SAP Identity Management?
One area that could be improved with SAP Identity Management, other than support, is user engagement from an implementation perspective. It would be beneficial for SAP to extend their events and wo...
What is your primary use case for SAP Identity Management?
The use cases for SAP Identity Management include the logistics company, and we also have a beverage company that is using SAP Identity Management. We did not make the migration for them, but we im...
What advice do you have for others considering SAP Identity Management?
My clients use SAP Identity Management for managing access rights efficiently based on user roles. I have experience with other IAM tools, having worked for Oracle three or four years ago, but I ca...
 

Also Known As

MIM, Forefront Identity Manager, FIM, MS Identity Manager
SAP NetWeaver Identity Management, NetWeaver Identity Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Whole Foods Market
State of Indiana, Automotive Resources International (ARI), Alliander N.V., Chemion Logistik GmbH, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH)
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Identity Manager vs. SAP Identity Management and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,270 professionals have used our research since 2012.