ForgeRock vs Microsoft Entra ID comparison

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between ForgeRock and Microsoft Entra ID based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Identity Management (IM) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed ForgeRock vs. Microsoft Entra ID Report (Updated: May 2024).

Buyer's Guide

ForgeRock vs. Microsoft Entra ID

May 2024

Download the complete report

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Categories and Ranking

Omada Identity

Market share comparison

As of June 2024, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the market share of Omada Identity is 4.1% and it decreased by 24.5% compared to the previous year. The market share of ForgeRock is 4.6% and it decreased by 20.8% compared to the previous year. The market share of Microsoft Entra ID is 9.3% and it decreased by 21.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Identity Management (IM)

Unique Categories:

User Provisioning Software

5.6%

Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)

3.6%

Access Management

5.8%

Single Sign-On (SSO)

31.2%

Authentication Systems

26.6%

Featured Reviews

reviewer2389656

Senior Systems Consultant at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

Apr 12, 2024

Offers a clear roadmap, has significantly improved our efficiency, and the integration is excellent

As an administrator, we benefit from a lot of functionality that is available out of the box, but it is also configurable to meet our specific needs. Overall, the integration is excellent. A standardized connector REST scheme allows us to connect to a wide range of systems, including LDAP and others, simply by configuring connectors. This eliminates the need for custom development in most cases. This is a major advantage. Additionally, the platform offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface that empowers us to create custom data, views, and processes with ease. By simply clicking within the tool, we can achieve significant functionality without any coding required.

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Bindu Gowda

Technology Security Analyst at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Aug 23, 2022

Very easy to navigate, handle and manage applications

ForgeRock can be a complex product that requires a lot of time to learn and understand its real value. The issue is that when we're working in real-time scenarios for real-time projects, we might face challenges that we're not able to figure out ourselves. By the time we have real-time interaction with the customer, it can be awkward to go back to the documentation and try to figure it out. I'd like the solution to include ways of customizing or achieving our scenarios more simply. That could include simplified documentation within the tool rather than having to use a separate portal. If something were available within the tool, I would be happy.

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Nagendra Nekkala.

Senior Manager ICT & at Bangalore International Airport Limited

Dec 14, 2023

A complete and simple solution for managing identity and applications access

It provides a single pane of glass for managing user access. It streamlines the IT access management process and improves the security of the IT systems. If there are any configuration changes in the software, they are taken care of automatically. The integration of Azure Active Directory with other Microsoft services is very easy. We can integrate it with Teams, 365, or any other Microsoft solution. Azure Active Directory provides a seamless and secure way for employees to access work resources that have been assigned to them. They can access the resources from anywhere and work from anywhere. Azure Active Directory provides a robust set of features. Features such as multifactor authentication and conditional access policies are in-built. These features enhance the security of the IT systems and protect sensitive information from potential threats. Conditional Access helps to enforce fine-tuned and adaptive access controls. Conditional Access provides more secure authentication for us. We also use multifactor authentication to secure our enterprise from any potential threats. Permission Management helps to bifurcate the users based on various roles, such as administrator. Azure Active Directory has saved us time. It has helped to save four hours a day. It has also saved us money. There is about a 10% saving. Azure Active Directory has affected the employee user experience in our organization. It is seamless. They do not get to feel it is there.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The identity lifecycle support is definitely valuable because we are a complex organization, and there is a lot of onboarding, movement, and offboarding in our organization. We have 31,000 users, and there are a lot of users who are constantly onboarding, offboarding, and moving. So, we need to make sure that these activities are supported. In old times, we used to do everything manually. Everyone was onboarded, offboarded, or moved manually. So, from a business point of view and an economics point of view, identity lifecycle is most valuable. From a security point of view, access review is the most important feature for us."

"What I like most is that we can always find a solution, and we can also find the cause when something goes wrong. I like that the most because everything is in one way or another traceable. That is what I like most. I like its reliability."

"When we started with identity and access management, we cleaned up and skipped 500 accounts. Therefore, there are a lot of people who are still in our system. Using this tool, we have cleaned up a lot of accounts for ourselves as well as our partners and suppliers. So, we can manage everything now."

"The best feature in Omada Identity is that it enables us to implement standardized employee life cycle processes so that we don't have to create them ourselves. We can then use the standard workflows. The breadth and scope of the solution’s IGA features also fulfill our requirements."

"We used to have a problem where an employee's access wasn't terminated when they left the company. Now, we have much better visibility into and control over who has access."

"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."

"As an administrator, we benefit from a lot of functionality that is available out of the box, but it is also configurable to meet our specific needs."

"The administrative features and SoD are valuable."

More Omada Identity pros

"Easy to customize and adaptable to any environment."

"The solution is very scalable. We have a lot of users that have been increasing over the years that we have been using it. We have approximately 20,000 users."

"Easy to navigate, handle and manage the applications."

"Even though we have very small business interests with them today, they see that we plan on growing drastically over the next two years. Therefore, we have excellent support and we are now at a point where we are not calling tech support. We pick up a phone and call the Account Manager and they'll get everything resolved for us. We don't have to queue along with everybody else and go through a long process."

"The solution integrates well and it is important for them to keep up with the current trends in the market quickly enough, and they have been doing a good job at it."

"The most valuable features are that it is easy to manage and it's stable."

"I like the way it is handling authentication and authorization."

"The product is easy to set up."

More ForgeRock pros

"Don't delay implementing this solution, it's the best thing you can do for your identity protection."

"Azure Active Directory's single sign-on feature has been helpful because users don't need to authenticate again and again each time they access it. Users only need to sign in the first time, and Azure handles everything. We haven't experienced any errors or security-related issues in the past four years. Many people use our protection servers from outside, requiring multi-factor authentication. Each authentication is logged precisely."

"It's pretty easy to implement."

"Being able to use Azure AD means that you can use some of the Azure AD security features like Advanced Password Protection. As well as querying your normal password requirements like lengths and complexity, Azure AD has a feature in which you can put specific words. It can be words to do with your company, words to do with your company location, or words that a lot of your employees would otherwise use. You can disallow them. It's very good at making more obvious passwords, ones they're not allowed to use anymore. That's a good feature."

"We use BitLocker for policy enforcement. And now, because of the Microsoft 365 Business Premium package, we get Intune as a part of it. That's very useful for us for setting policies and managing the systems. The biggest strength of Azure AD is Intune."

"The most valuable feature is that it is very easy to implement, you don't need a lot of effort to set up the solution. This is the most advantageous point, that you can do anything on Azure without taking too much time."

"If a company has hundreds of users that already exist in the cloud, and it now wants to enable those same users to be present in third-party applications that their business uses, like Atlassian or GoToMeeting, the provisioning technology can assist in achieving that."

"The tool's most valuable features are security and integration with other tenants."

More Microsoft Entra ID pros

Cons

"The web GUI can be improved."

"The architecture of the entire system should also be less complex. The way they process the data is complex."

"When you do a recalculation of an identity, it's hard to understand what was incorrect before you started the recalculation, and which values are actually updated... all you see are all the new fields that are provisioned, instead of seeing only the fields that are changed."

"I would like more training. As someone who is new to this world, I don't feel that the courses Omada provides are good enough. They should also improve the documentation. It is difficult to learn how to use the solution by yourself"

"Omada could make it a bit more convenient to send emails based on events automatically. Having that functionality is critical for us to maintain transparency."

"The solution should be made more agile for customers to own or configure."

"Improved traceability would be helpful for administrators. For example, let's say a user's permission is being revoked. We can only see the system that has carried out a particular action but not what triggered it. If an event definition or something has changed in the criteria for the permission being removed or something like that, we don't have immediate access to that information. It takes a little detective work."

"I am not working with the product, but they have this BI tool for role-based mining, and I think that should be included in the core product rather than an add-on."

More Omada Identity cons

"The user interface could be improved as it is cumbersome and outdated. It doesn't have a responsive UI."

"As with any complex software platform, there is a learning curve to using ForgeRock, and it may require specialized expertise to implement and manage effectively."

"The solution requires more simplified customization. However, part of the problem is my clients determining their own preferences. Technology can help and do many things, but you have to define your own policies to ensure that the solution or service works within those parameters. Helping customers understand their business and different processes is another issue not relating to the functionality of this solution."

"We raised tickets asking for improvements, but sometimes we don't get the proper solution. They are responding, but the ticket is open for weeks and weeks. For some issues, we don't get a satisfactory solution or the solution doesn't work."

"We would like this solution to be developed for use with mobile applications."

"The identity management model needs a bit of improvement."

"I think the upgrade process is sometimes a little complicated and there are failures that occur."

"ForgeRock is an open source solution and is available to everyone but it is not freeware. If you need support, you need a subscription for ForgeRock. Many of its functionalities need to be built up with the help of a consultant."

More ForgeRock cons

"Be aware that it may not work perfectly globally yet. There are still glitches with the solution in Africa."

"They can combine conditional access for user actions and application filtering. Currently, they are separated, and we cannot mix the two. I do not know how it would be possible, but it would be interesting."

"We previously used Microsoft's technical support, which was excellent; they were very responsive. Now, we use a CSP, and their support is lacking, so I rate them five out of ten."

"Microsoft services and most familiar third-party applications are currently supported, but we can't find many other platforms that integrate with Office 365 or Azure Active Directory. Microsoft should develop connectors for different applications and collaborate more with other vendors to cover a broader range of applications."

"The management interface has some areas that need improvement."

"The most challenging aspect I found was the creation of organizational units and specific domains. They have a tool called Bastion, which is expensive and a little bit confusing."

"The synchronization with the local Active Directory and synchronization with all of the users on the local and cloud could be better."

"The thing that is a bit annoying is the inability to nest groups. Because we run an Azure hybrid model, we have nested groups on-premise which does not translate well. So, we have written some scripts to kind of work around that. This is a feature request that we have put in previously to be able to use a group that is nested in Active Directory on-premise and have it handled the same way in Azure."

More Microsoft Entra ID cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From an on-prem point of view, the cost is quite transparent and reasonable. The direct cost is primarily for licenses and maintenance on licenses."

"It is expensive. Fortunately, I had a very good procurement manager on my side, but they are expensive. The closest competitors are also very expensive. You get a full-fledged solution that can do everything you dream of, but you pay for everything."

"Omada Identity is very reasonably and competitively priced."

"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 not cheap. It is expensive, but compared to what we did almost three years ago, it is value for money. It is worth it."

"It is fairly priced for an on-premise environment, but for the cloud environment, I am not that happy with the pricing."

"Omada is expensive."

"The pricing is okay."

More Omada Identity pricing and cost advice

"ForgeRock is an expensive solution."

"Its price is comparable to other products in the market."

"The license is purchased annually per user. However, you can negotiate if you are signing for a longer period of time. When comparing this solution to others on the market it is priced fair, it is not at the top of the price range or at the bottom end."

"It's a bit pricey and could be more competitive."

"The pricing of the solution is fair but I do not have the full details."

"We have multiple clients we are looking at right now. We are at a very small number, however, the idea and the goal is to grow. We are looking at about $100,000 and $50,000 a minimum a month cost. That'd be minimum maybe in a couple of years."

"ForgeRock's pricing is more competitive than other products."

"Its licensing is on a yearly basis, but it also depends on the contract that you have with the vendor. They have multiple types of contracts. There are additional costs to the standard licensing fees. If you need some of the features, you have to pay more."

"I am not involved in the pricing or licensing, so I can't speak to that."

"Our customers are looking for advanced features and processes for it to be cost-effective for their organizations. They see it as an overpriced product. They are enjoying using Azure Active Directory, but they are looking for better prices."

"Microsoft Authenticator is a free product."

"The licensing costs are yearly. There is a standard fee per user."

"Azure AD has four licensing options- Free, Office 365 apps, Premium P1, and Premium P2. The free option has a limited number of identities and features, and the Office 365 version comes included in several Office 365 subscriptions. With the P1 and P2 licenses, we get all the freeware features plus additional security features, but these come at a higher price. The base price for P1 and P2 is $6 and $9 per user per month, respectively."

"Make sure that you get the most out of your Office 365 licenses for Azure AD. If you have additional concerns for users who don't have an Office 365 license, consider Azure AD Premium P1 and P2. Be aware that you have to evaluate your license usage beforehand."

"Licensing is easy."

"Microsoft has a free version of Azure AD. So, if you don't do a lot of advanced features, then you can use the free version, which is no cost at all because it is underpinning Office 365. Because Microsoft gives it to you as a SaaS, so there are no infrastructure costs whatsoever that you need to incur. If you use the free version, then it is free. If you use the advanced features (that we use), it is a license fee per user."

More Microsoft Entra ID pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

22%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

27%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Omada Identity?

We don't have to go in and do a lot of the work that we did before. It may have saved us somewhere in the range of 10...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Omada Identity?

My client deals directly with the Omada Identity team in terms of licensing. I never look at pricing, so I'm not awar...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Omada Identity?

There are some technical bits and pieces that we have looked at that could be better. For instance, when you do a rec...

See all answers

What do you like most about ForgeRock?

The most valuable features of ForgeRock are social login and data protection.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ForgeRock?

ForgeRock is an expensive solution.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ForgeRock?

The solution's deployment should be made easier.

See all answers

How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?

We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Du...

See all answers

What do you like most about Azure Active Directory?

It is very simple. The Active Directory functions are very easy for us. Its integration with anything is very easy. W...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?

It is worth the money.

See all answers

Comparisons

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs Omada Identity

Compared 25% of the time

Saviynt vs Omada Identity

Compared 12% of the time

One Identity Manager vs Omada Identity

Compared 8% of the time

SAP Identity Management vs Omada Identity

Compared 8% of the time

More Omada Identity Competitors

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs ForgeRock

Compared 19% of the time

Ping Identity Platform vs ForgeRock

Compared 13% of the time

Auth0 vs ForgeRock

Compared 8% of the time

Symantec Siteminder vs ForgeRock

Compared 5% of the time

Saviynt vs ForgeRock

Compared 5% of the time

More ForgeRock Competitors

Microsoft Intune vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 10% of the time

Google Cloud Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 6% of the time

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 6% of the time

Ping Identity Platform vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 5% of the time

Okta Workforce Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Entra ID Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Omada Identity

May 2024

Download Omada Identity product report

Buyer's Guide

ForgeRock

June 2024

Download ForgeRock product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID

May 2024

Download Microsoft Entra ID product report

Also Known As

Omada Identity Suite, Omada Identity Cloud

ForgeRock Identity Platform, ForgeRock OpenIDM

Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator

Learn More

Video not available

Omada

Ping Identity

Microsoft

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Omada

Demo not available

Ping Identity

Microsoft

Overview

Omada Identity delivers an end-to-end identity and access management solution with essential identity governance functionality for secure, compliant, and efficient administration of all users' access rights across on-premises or cloud-based systems. The solution provides configurable best practice processes that covers all identity and access related scenarios from providing an access risk overview, management of identities lifecycle, to automated enforcement of policies.

ForgeRock is a comprehensive open-source identity and access management solution designed to meet the unique needs of your users and workforce. With ForgeRock you can orchestrate, manage, and secure the complete lifecycle of identities in any cloud or hybrid environment. ForgeRock allows you to set up bot detection, identity proofing, and risk-based authentication.

With ForgeRock, you can define access policies and automate the management of the identity lifecycle all from a central, easy to use, and graphical dashboard. ForgeRock Access Management allows you to build safe authentication using options like passwordless and usernameless logins, single sign-on, biometrics, contextual analytics, and behavioral authentication. When threats appear, you can swiftly change how your users access your most sensitive applications and provide users with secure access to the applications, systems, and resources they need on demand.

ForgeRock Benefits and Key Features

Elevate your security and efficiency: Consolidating your legacy systems under one single platform provides reliable, unified control over all your user identities and access-related policies. ForgeRock Access Management also supports scaling existing policies for application onto new setups.
Passwordless authentication: Implementing passwordless authentication is simple with ForgeRock Access Management. You can easily replace user-selected passwords with other options, such as easy multi-factor authentication, biometrics, and SSO.
Identity governance: ForgeRock Identity Governance is a modern, AI-driven identity governance solution. By leveraging ForgeRock generated analysis reports, you can identify and apply appropriate user access, automate high-confidence access approvals, recommend certification for low-risk accounts, and review high-risk and inappropriate user access privileges. In addition, you can grant and enforce access to systems, applications, and infrastructure according to established policies.

Reviews from Real Users

ForgeRock stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its robust identity and access tools and its being easy to manage and scale with one central dashboard.

PeerSpot users note the effectiveness of these features. A technology solutions leader at an outsourcing company writes, “We need it for multiple clients, multiple implementations. Not all of them are necessarily a multi-tenant solution. We need a very versatile solution that can do a lot of work, but from a single instance that we can centralize authentications and we don't duplicate the efforts and that's where ForgeRock seems to do better.”

Mohamed B., a cyber security consultant at a tech company, writes, "Their access management solution, OpenAM, is most valuable because it meets the needs of a lot of users. ForgeRock secured our system so that it is accessed only by authorized people, and it implemented the SSO."

Microsoft Entra ID, previously known as Azure AD (Active Directory), is Microsoft's cloud-based identity and access management (IAM) solution. Designed to help organizations of all sizes manage user identities and create an intelligent security perimeter around their cloud and on-premise resources. Microsoft Entra ID or Azure AD is integral to the Microsoft 365 and Azure ecosystems. It provides a robust set of capabilities to manage users and groups and secure access to applications in a centralized, streamlined manner.

Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) is a login system, morphing into a sophisticated identity and access management (IAM) solution for the modern, hybrid workplace. Imagine a single vault for all your digital keys – that's the essence of Entra ID's identity management. It acts as a central repository for user identities, encompassing usernames, passwords, and even additional attributes like department or employee role.

These capabilities enabled simplified administration using a unified platform for adding, modifying, and deleting user accounts. Users no longer need to remember login credentials for a plethora of applications. Entra ID streamlines access by using the same identity across various cloud services and on-premises resources (if integrated). Centralized identity management allows for stricter enforcement of security policies and password complexity requirements across the organization.

Authentication sits at the heart of the solution, ensuring only authorized users gain access to sensitive resources. It employs a multi-pronged approach:

Password Authentication: The traditional method of username and password is still supported, but Entra ID encourages stronger authentication methods.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Adding an extra layer of security, MFA requires users to verify their identity beyond just a password – through a code sent to their phone, fingerprint recognition, or a security key.
Single Sign-On (SSO): This user-friendly feature eliminates the need to enter credentials repeatedly. Users sign in once to Entra ID and gain seamless access to all authorized applications, boosting productivity.
Conditional Access Policies: Providing granular control over how and when users can access resources. Based on conditions like user role, location, device state, and the application being accessed, Conditional Access policies help ensure that only the right people under the right conditions can access sensitive resources.
Seamless Integration: Seamless integration with thousands of SaaS applications, Microsoft 365, and on-premises applications via Application Proxy or third-party identity bridges.
Advanced Security Reports and Alerts: Sophisticated security monitoring, reporting tools, and automated alerts. These features enable to identify potential security issues, such as atypical behavior or attempted identity attacks, allowing for swift remediation actions.

For organizations with on-premises infrastructure, Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) offers hybrid identity options. This allows for a smooth integration between on-premises Active Directory and Entra ID, providing a consistent identity for users across both environments. It enables organizations to leverage their existing investments in on-premises infrastructure while taking advantage of cloud scalability and flexibility.

In conclusion, Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) is a comprehensive IAM solution that addresses the complex challenges of managing and securing identities in a cloud-centric world. Its blend of ease of use, security, and integration capabilities makes it an essential component of modern IT infrastructure, supporting both operational efficiency and strategic business objectives.

Additional links:

Sample Customers

Bayer, ECCO Shoes, Vattenfall, NuStar Energy, Unicredit, Schiphol Group

Geico, Thomson Reuters, Salesforce, McKesson, Trinet, SKY, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Capgemini, North Western University

Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.

Buyer's Guide

ForgeRock vs. Microsoft Entra ID

May 2024

Free Report: ForgeRock vs. Microsoft Entra ID

Find out what your peers are saying about ForgeRock vs. Microsoft Entra ID and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.

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