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Symantec Siteminder vs Symantec VIP Access Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 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

Symantec Siteminder
Ranking in Access Management
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (12th), Web Access Management (1st)
Symantec VIP Access Manager
Ranking in Access Management
19th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (16th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Access Management category, the mindshare of Symantec Siteminder is 2.9%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec VIP Access Manager is 0.8%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Access Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Symantec Siteminder2.9%
Symantec VIP Access Manager0.8%
Other96.3%
Access Management
 

Featured Reviews

Muzi Lubisi - PeerSpot reviewer
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
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

"Right now, federation that comes out-of-the-box with single sign-on is the most valuable feature that we have, and also scalability."
"It provides the breadth and the width to provide solutions for the different kinds of technologies which we have."
"The authentication and single sign-on features of Symantec Siteminder are valuable."
"It's agent-based. It's convenient to deploy and integrate."
"Authentication & Authorization are important because all the sites need authentication for security purposes. That has been handled pretty well all these years with SSO."
"The feature that I mostly valued is the ease of installation on different systems, especially on Windows."
"It is pretty easy to learn."
"As our identity model continues to mature, probably the Federation is most valueable."
"The two-factor authentication is most definitely valuable and moves us closer to being able to check off those important boxes for compliance."
"The VPN we are using is good and working quite well."
"It's a good tool. It's pretty straightforward."
"The tool has been very stable, in my experience. Also, I haven't faced any issues or problems with integration or connectivity."
"In this version 9.1, lots of changes are done for the dashboard, User Store etc."
"It offers more platform support, like Apple, Android, and Microsoft."
"The product is useful for providing user access from an in-built office server as we follow the work-from-home model."
"It is easy to use."
 

Cons

"They need to make configurations easier, and not have the engineer having to guess what will happen when he changes a particular setting."
"If the reporting feature can be integrated into SSO itself that will be an icing on the cake."
"As we are moving in to the mobility space, this is where we really see SiteMinder and their other product really come together to provide a solution base to a different area where the IoT is coming, the different business communications are happening. All of those things require authentication and we really want to see this product grow into that role."
"CA has reporting at the moment. With the reporting, every particular segmented product has a reporting engine. I would like to see centralized reporting for all of them together."
"I think they need to integrate some of the newer types of authentication into the product. I'm not seeing the innovation when it comes to biometrics in the product."
"The Federation part of CA Single Sign On, it's a bit complex to implement because it involves the SSL certificates, exchange of certificates, and lot of technical details. The documentation misses some important parts of this, so that's the reason it took some time for us to go live."
"Some of the new protocols, like OAuth 2.0, could be improved."
"We're currently unable to find information about if the solution can do a full implementation with SQL. Some better and more accessible documentation for new users or those curious about the product would be helpful."
"The User Store synchronization part needs to improve. Also, the logs, reports, and dashboard can be improved."
"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."
"In the next release, I would like the ability to work offline with remote access."
"Maybe Symantec could consider providing a step-by-step guide for first-time users."
"Every time that I have a new phone or computer, it takes a little longer to deploy it."
"If they had dashboards or a report for managers or executives, then it would allow them to see the status and have it make sense to them."
"I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company...Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial."
"Geofencing needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing is fair for this solution."
"CA solutions are generally expensive but for the customer the ROI is big."
"Symantec Siteminder is expensive; they could definitely do better on the price."
"The price is quite comparable to the other enterprise-level solutions in that market."
"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."
"The solution's pricing is competitive."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"I recommend conducting a PoC on every available product before choose one."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
"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."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Insurance Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Healthcare Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
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 do you like most about Symantec Siteminder?
It's agent-based. It's convenient to deploy and integrate.
What needs improvement with Symantec Siteminder?
Symantec Siteminder needs to have adaptive authentication and multi-factor authentication as integrated features. Currently, multi-factor authentication is available as a separate solution, and it ...
What do you like most about Symantec VIP Access Manager?
The product is useful for providing user access from an in-built office server as we follow the work-from-home model.
What needs improvement with Symantec VIP Access Manager?
The product's connection speed needs improvement. Sometimes, I need help connecting my mobile to the main office's system due to a version upgrade. It is challenging to use when installing a new ve...
What is your primary use case for Symantec VIP Access Manager?
We use the product to access a virtual computer, hosted by our IT sector while working remotely.
 

Also Known As

SiteMinder, CA SSO, Layer7 SiteMinder
Symantec VIP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

British Telecom, CoreBlox, DBS, HMS, Itera ASA and Simeo
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about Symantec Siteminder vs. Symantec VIP Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,778 professionals have used our research since 2012.