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One Identity Active Roles vs OpenText Identity Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

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

One Identity Active Roles
Ranking in User Provisioning Software
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Active Directory Management (1st), Non-Human Identity Management (NHIM) (2nd)
OpenText Identity Manager
Ranking in User Provisioning Software
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (15th), Identity Governance Administration (IGA) (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the User Provisioning Software category, the mindshare of One Identity Active Roles is 5.8%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Identity Manager is 3.5%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
User Provisioning Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
One Identity Active Roles5.8%
OpenText Identity Manager3.5%
Other90.7%
User Provisioning Software
 

Featured Reviews

Mahesh Malve - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Business Development Executive at DigitalTrack Solutions Ind Pvt Ltd
Automation has transformed user lifecycle tasks and now enforces consistent secure access
While One Identity Active Roles is a strong platform, a few improvements would make it even better. Many users feel the user interface is not very modern or intuitive, and it can take time to get used to navigating the console and workflows. Another improvement area is the learning curve and setup complexity. One Identity Active Roles is very powerful, but initial configuration, especially for policies, workflows, and delegation, can be complex and require experienced resources. From an integration perspective, although it supports multiple systems, organizations would benefit from more out-of-the-box connectors and smoother cloud integrations such as Azure Active Directory and software-as-a-service applications, as some setups currently require customization. In terms of reporting, while auditing is strong, generating business-friendly reports can be challenging. Users have mentioned the need for better dashboards and easier report generation. There are also some performance considerations, especially in large environments, such as slower PowerShell execution or delays in dynamic group processing in certain cases. Overall, improvements in user interface, ease of use, integration, reporting, and performance optimization would significantly enhance the product experience.
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

"One Identity Active Roles has had a very positive impact on our organization, mainly by improving efficiency and security at the same time."
"Active Roles provided us to do all these operations automatically and reduced our workload very significantly."
"Active Roles improved the management of users, groups, and AD objects in the organization."
"One Identity Active Roles has made things more organized and secure across the company, and it has also reduced the need to contact IT administrators directly, saving time for both me and the IT staff."
"The AD and AAD management features of this solution are really good... They offer added value by showing more fields such as password age and the statuses of some things that we normally wouldn't see."
"Having a tool to manage all changes to AD from a single pane of glass is awesome."
"One Identity Active Roles has helped us improve security with smooth processes."
"Overall, One Identity Active Roles has helped us move toward a more automated, secure, scalable identity management model, aligning IT operations more closely with business needs."
"The product is easy to use."
"It's a solid product, it's a mature product."
"I would recommend this product, its quite flexible and quick to start with."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of this solution has been the ability for us to integrate a lot of external systems, and the automatic transfer of a lot of identity information. Additionally, the customization is very good."
"I like the eDirectory feature."
"The most valuable feature of this solution has been the ability for us to integrate a lot of external systems, and the automatic transfer of a lot of identity information."
"The main value lies in the simplicity of implementation, as well as its customized look and feel."
 

Cons

"It's a fairly stable product but not perfectly reliable."
"The user interface needs to be more modern and scalable. There are certain screen resolutions where the product is unusable."
"It also has workflows and those are really powerful, but there are no built-in workflows. When it comes to them, it's empty. I would personally love for it to come with ten, 15, or 20 workflows where each achieves a certain task... I could just look at how each is done, clone them, copy them, modify them the way I want them, and be good to go. Right now we have to invent things from scratch."
"I've had a difficult time getting it to cooperate with Azure in the cloud and, while the support staff are very good and very knowledgeable, what they assist with just on a call doesn't go deep enough to help with a number of issues. The answer that comes back is that we'd have to start an engagement with Professional Services, which is fine but that takes time to schedule and it takes budget."
"I've had a difficult time getting it to cooperate with Azure in the cloud and, while the support staff are very good and very knowledgeable, what they assist with just on a call doesn't go deep enough to help with a number of issues."
"The UI of One Identity Active Roles could be more modern and responsive, and some advanced workflow configurations can feel complex during setup."
"The solution needs an attestation process that includes certification and recertification attestation."
"One Identity Active Roles could be improved by speeding up the approval process, especially for urgent access requests."
"NetIQ Identity Manager can improve the bulk account uploads, it's very slow. We work in the education sector, and every year we have approximately 20,000 accounts to create in a very short period, the NetIQ Identity Manager has a problem with this, we need to use a batch job."
"Be more honest about how poorly it runs on Windows servers. It is optimized for Linux."
"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."
"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."
"There's no huge thing missing, because it's already comprehensive. Now and then, however, there might be a minor issue."
"There are some limitations in the custom workflows, mainly in the GUI presentation, but the latest release improved."
"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."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's fairly priced."
"The pricing for Active Roles is expensive but not as expensive as other solutions like Okta."
"The price is reasonable. It costs us about 1 million Danish kroner annually, and we also spend about half as much on consultants."
"The pricing is on the higher end."
"The licensing model is a simple user-based model, not that much complicated."
"It's expensive."
"The pricing is high. I have not been involved with the renewal or cost aspect, but I know it is not cheap by any means. However, it is very useful for our environment."
"The price of the solution is a bit high and could be reduced."
"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."
"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."
"You just need to be aware that the more systems you connect, the more license fees you have to pay."
"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 solution is quite affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
19%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise30
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for One Identity Active Roles?
I had a great experience with the setup cost, pricing, and licensing costs because the sales team of the vendor is really helpful during the entire procurement of the solution, and we are grateful ...
What needs improvement with One Identity Active Roles?
I do not see anything that needs to be changed as of now concerning the organization's needs because it is working very well and it is providing great features with great processes. The initial set...
What is your primary use case for One Identity Active Roles?
When a new user is created, predefined rules automatically apply naming standards and assigned groups. This reduces manual tasks while ensuring consistency across all operations. It prevents and av...
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...
What is your primary use case for NetIQ Identity Manager?
NetIQ Directory is the main function of the product. As far as I know, it is the only event test directory that exists. It has all the potential for event-based testing. It has rules, connectors, a...
 

Also Known As

Quest Active Roles
Novell Identity Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City of Frankfurt, Moore Public Schools, George Washington University, Transavia Airlines, Howard County, MD. See all stories at OneIdentity.com/casestudies
Sheetz
Find out what your peers are saying about One Identity Active Roles vs. OpenText Identity Manager and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.