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Okta Platform vs Symantec Siteminder 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Access Management category, the mindshare of Okta Platform is 11.4%, up from 11.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Siteminder is 3.4%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec VIP Access Manager is 1.7%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Access Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Okta Platform11.4%
Symantec Siteminder3.4%
Symantec VIP Access Manager1.7%
Other83.5%
Access Management
 

Featured Reviews

Nithin-Reddy - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Developer at Cognizant
Single secure login has simplified daily access and strengthened multi-factor protection
Okta Platform offers several valuable features. The first one is Single Sign-On, which allows users to log in once and gain access to multiple applications without needing to enter credentials repeatedly. I believe that is one of the best features. The second one is multi-factor authentication (MFA). It adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to verify their identity through multiple methods such as a password and a mobile verification code. I use it mostly to manage secure access to enterprise applications and cloud services. Other features include user lifecycle management and integration with cloud applications. I myself have relied mostly on multi-factor authentication (MFA) because I tend to log in every day and whenever I am working or take a break, I use this multi-factor authentication to sign in. Okta Platform simplifies identity management, improves security, and allows employees to access multiple applications through a single secure login. I believe this is a very good feature. Okta Platform has improved our organization through user authentication with features like Single Sign-On and multi-factor authentication. I believe the features it provides simplify identity management, improve security, and fulfill the need for secure and centralized identity and access management.
Muzi Lubisi - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior technical Consultant at CA Africa
Improved user experience with seamless integration and easy installation
The feature that I mostly valued is the ease of installation on different systems, especially on Windows. Additionally, it is very beneficial for deploying single sign-on sessions between different windows on a web browser, provided I am connected to the right identity provider. That seamless integration significantly improves user experience and efficiency.
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

"Most of what I appreciate about Okta Platform are the no-code features that I have found excellent, as you have a very low requirement to code."
"Okta Platform is a great product and one of the best."
"The biggest benefit my company gained from Okta Workforce Identity is that everything just works securely so that all your managed devices can access all your applications without any hassle because they are trusted devices, but if you want to use your father's or mother's PC to access the company application, then it will ask more MFA (multifactor authentication) steps."
"Our customers use it for multi-factor authentication, lifecycle, and workflow."
"The feature that is most valuable to me is the automated user provisioning that we set up using Okta as a major part of that process."
"A solution that's easy to use, stable, and reliable."
"The solution has great multifactor authentication."
"It is dependent on the evolution of your user base. It depends on usage per user, so the more sign-ins there are, the more expensive it becomes, so it works best for smaller companies from a financial perspective."
"The solution is easy to use for our managers."
"The single sign-on is the solution's most valuable feature"
"It's our single solution for managing user authentication."
"The solution has features that allow you to easily distinguish between protected and unprotected resources."
"Symantec Siteminder has simplified user access for our customers from user login to their web applications."
"This is one of the robust and stable product I have seen in my sixteen years of IT experience."
"The single sign-on is the solution's most valuable feature."
"SSO is a very robust application."
"Mostly from a product expert's point of view, it provides solutions for my clients."
"The two-factor authentication is most definitely valuable and moves us closer to being able to check off those important boxes for compliance."
"The solution has helped to increase staff productivity by approximately a minute."
"The tool has been very stable, in my experience. Also, I haven't faced any issues or problems with integration or connectivity."
"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."
"It is a fast and easy solution for end users, and you are always online."
"VIP is a strong, cloud-based authentication service that enables organizations to secure access to networks and applications to prevent unauthorized logins to company resources, even when passwords have been compromised or shared."
"In this version 9.1, lots of changes are done for the dashboard, User Store etc."
 

Cons

"Support could be a bit faster."
"The initial setup can be complex at first."
"They also have single sign-on (SSO). When we bought Okta Workforce Identity a year and a half ago, I was also looking at SSO, but not much documentation was available for SSO."
"Initial technical support is not very responsive, it's only after escalation that we get proper support."
"We have experienced some challenges in integrating this solution with Scope and Cognito."
"I would like to see the provisioning simplified."
"All of the governance functionality and privileged account management could be improved."
"If the organization is big, I can say Okta Platform is affordable; however, for small-scale industries, I would not recommend it, but for medium and enterprise organizations, it is good."
"For us, getting to that person or to the second level of support is time consuming."
"The GUIs are not very clear, especially when integrating with other products from CA."
"An area Siteminder could improve on is that there are a few limitations, in terms of new protocols for OpenID. If I want to have different scopes, the features are limited. They also do not have APIs exposed, which is a major drawback. API is a feature I would like to see included in the next release."
"It may be a good product, but I'd advise staying away from customizing it."
"The setup was not straightforward. I would give it a 7/10 rating - 1 being simple and 10 being complex."
"There is a considerable improvement in the product from previous versions, but a few items we feel need a little attention are the web agent installation process and steps – as it behaves differently on the same OS."
"Some of the new protocols, like OAuth 2.0, could be improved."
"The policy store configuration, and tuning the policy store is a bit complex in ensuring it does not corrupt."
"The User Store synchronization part needs to improve. Also, the logs, reports, and dashboard can be improved."
"It gets out of sync with Active Directory or whatever it might be, whatever the authentication piece is on Active Directory, and they just reset it on the backend. I never have to contact the vendor."
"At times, the relay server could not contact Symantec; it would fail open and allow access without a passcode."
"It gets out of sync with Active Directory or whatever it might be, whatever the authentication piece is on Active Directory, and they just reset it on the backend."
"The User Store synchronization part needs to improve. Also, the logs, reports, and dashboard can be improved."
"In my opinion, for this solution, the technical support is not so expert when we talk about integration using the API."
"The gateway server is a RADIUS server, but it lacks the functionality of returning RADIUS attributes other than those that are required for the gateway to authenticate the users."
"Every time that I have a new phone or computer, it takes a little longer to deploy it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"License is around US$20,000 annually."
"Though I don't know about the licensing model of the product, I wouldn't be surprised if Okta offers a per user license subscription model."
"It is costly for large companies."
"Pricing might be high, but it comes down when the number of people using the product goes up."
"The solution’s pricing needs to be reasonable. You are dealing with a lot of components and the pricing is component-based."
"The solution is not the cheapest but not the most expensive. They are in the middle rating."
"The solution is really expensive."
"It could be a bit too pricey for small companies. Okta Workforce Identity can add a lot of benefits, but smaller companies may not have a lot of applications that need to be managed by Okta Workforce Identity. In larger organizations, there are more departments, applications, and users to manage. Okta Workforce Identity adds a bit more value to those bigger organizations. In addition to standard licensing fees, there are also additional costs for things"
"Siteminder is a little costly. You pay for licensing, and they offer packages, so if you have less users, then you have to buy different products at different prices. If you have more of a user base, then the package is different. They also include other features—for example, if you have a database and you're using Siteminder, then it's good to use a Semantic-specific database, but if you are using less, then you have to purchase the database separately. Whereas if you are going for a bigger license, then it comes within the package. It depends on which plan you are using."
"Symantec Siteminder is expensive; they could definitely do better on the price."
"CA solutions are generally expensive but for the customer the ROI is big."
"The solution's pricing is competitive."
"The licensing is fair for this solution."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"I recommend conducting a PoC on every available product before choose one."
"The price is quite comparable to the other enterprise-level solutions in that market."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
"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
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Financial Services Firm
23%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Insurance Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business48
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise60
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise69
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Okta Workforce Identity?
Pricing for Okta is reasonably not that much, however, I don't have access to the commercial aspect.
What needs improvement with Okta Workforce Identity?
Currently, in Okta Workforce Identity we get the two-digit authentication code. Instead of getting the two-digit auth...
What is your primary use case for Okta Workforce Identity?
I don't have many details about Okta Workforce Identity. I use the tool just to sign in to different applications tha...
What needs improvement with Symantec Siteminder?
Symantec Siteminder needs to have adaptive authentication and multi-factor authentication as integrated features. Cur...
What is your primary use case for Symantec Siteminder?
I deploy and support Symantec Siteminder ( /products/symantec-siteminder-reviews ). I have been a partner and reseller.
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Also Known As

Okta Customer Identity, Workforce Identity
SiteMinder, CA SSO, Layer7 SiteMinder
Symantec VIP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

FedEx, Zoom, Takeda, Lululemon Athletica, GrunHub, jetBlue, McKensson, Bain & Company, Engie, Peloton, Sonos, T-Mobile, Hewlett Packard, MGM Resorts, Ally Financial, Priceline, Albertsons, Itercom, Classy, FICO, Kensho, Live Nation, Drata, Rotary, and others.
British Telecom, CoreBlox, DBS, HMS, Itera ASA and Simeo
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Okta, One Identity and others in Access Management. Updated: May 2026.
896,510 professionals have used our research since 2012.