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AWS Directory Service vs Google Cloud Identity comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 2, 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

AWS Directory Service
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Google Cloud Identity
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
4th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of AWS Directory Service is 2.6%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Cloud Identity is 16.2%, down from 20.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Basa Saiteja - PeerSpot reviewer
A valuable access management system with a user-friendly and straightforward setup
The solution is scalable, and we can scale according to our needs. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten. In our organization, our access to our AWS comes from IAM. We use AWS consoles using our credentials and don't have route access, so each person will log in through our IAM programmatic access, and everyone on our team can work on cloud. Over 10,000 people in our organization utilize the solution.
EkoNugroho - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced security and simplicity in deployment for a holistic protection
The most valuable feature of Google Cloud Identity is its simplicity in deployment. You only need to purchase and assign licenses to users, and there's no need for extensive setup. Another valuable feature is its integration with Google Workspace, which enhances security through context-aware access and allows for geographic and IP-specific restrictions. This ensures secure access to applications and data.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The support is very good. I would rate the technical support as a nine out of ten."
"The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost."
"AWS has eliminated the downtime we waste when our on-premises resources go down."
"AWS Directory Service is secure."
"We can provide specific access to people based on what they need from our accounts."
"Two-step authentication is very useful and important."
"The solution integrates well with other tools, particularly through single sign-on, allowing users to connect to various applications using just one password, including email."
"Provides good performance and availability."
"Cloud Identity is scalable enough for our needs. It's serving more than 3,000 users in our organization."
"The solution is user-friendly."
"The most valuable feature of Google Cloud Identity is its stability."
"It is a very stable solution. I would rate it a ten out of ten."
"The tool provides a free service that you can integrate for laptop authentication. You also don’t need a separate Active Directory."
"The main control page and the ability to manage all our users from a web-based portal are the most valuable aspects of the solution. That's particularly useful because we're a heterogeneous network."
"The most valuable feature of Google Cloud Identity is group access. You are able to assign policies to groups instead of users individually."
"I think the first thing that is great is that it gives you a lot of features, like login, and then vaulted passwords and secure LDAP. It becomes easier for the end customer to leverage all those features without going to a higher SKU of G Suite."
 

Cons

"AWS could improve the number of regions. Azure has passed them. The ned more consistency, as far as the Northeast is concerned."
"I would like to grant partial access to a table contained in a database without having to provide full access to the whole database."
"The AWS Directory Service should be easier to integrate."
"The solution lacks certain features."
"To get CloudWatch to monitor your memory and storage, you have to do some configuration within your server, which sometimes results in errors."
"Our only complaint is that you cannot integrate your Exchange server. Or, if you are planning to install an Exchange server on your Amazon EC2 instance, then you need to configure Active Directory on EC2 instance. We would like for this limitation to be lifted."
"The group policy can be improved."
"AWS Directory Service needs to improve processing."
"There is room for improvement in the configuration of their security policies. It seems quite basic."
"Google Cloud Identity should improve its compatibility with other products without any impact, such as Jamf Cloud."
"Technical support is slow."
"Google Cloud Identify could make the technology used easier to understand as a layman making it more user-friendly."
"The solution needs to better integrate with Mac's OS."
"I want the tool to improve its support. It should also incorporate some functionalities. Currently, preparing presentations in Google is a pain point. The tool’s certain features like user provisioning are not intuitive as well. The product’s LDAP support is very poor. Clients do not trust the product due to the spam."
"Google Cloud Identity the UI could improve."
"The integration should be made easier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"AWS' pricing is fair, and costs can be cut if you look carefully at when you're using it."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"The pricing depends because with AWS there are two types of directory objects: 30,000 and 500,000. It varies. AWS provides the pricing calculators so we can get an estimate from there as per the company requirement of how many users and objects that we need to create. So we can go to that portal, put in the data, and get the quotation. There are no extra licensing fees. It's all included."
"We pay an annual subscription fee."
"The fees are paid monthly and there are no additional costs other than the licensing fees."
"The pricing is a bit expensive."
"The licensing cost depends on the partners and the relationship between the company and the partners."
"Licensing fees are on a yearly basis."
"When I worked on Cloud Identity, they offered a free or enterprise version. You can synchronize and create up to 100 user identities in the free version. After that, you have to purchase a business or enterprise license. In that model, you'll be charged based on the number of users."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten."
"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"The product is billed on a monthly basis depending on the number of users."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS Directory Service?
The most valuable feature of AWS Directory Service is cost-cutting features.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Directory Service?
The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost. You do not need to hire any system administrator to manage your Active Directory.
What needs improvement with AWS Directory Service?
Currently, there is no option to integrate our on-premises Cisco AWS Directory Service, requiring some manual configuration. If AWS Active Directory Service provided additional domain controller fu...
How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also access to both Microsoft’s user community as well as around-the-clock customer s...
What do you like most about Google Cloud Identity?
The most valuable feature of Google Cloud Identity is its stability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Identity?
Google services are affordable compared to other services. Additional costs depend on the specific products; for example, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) may require extra payment for additional suppor...
 

Also Known As

AWS Managed Microsoft AD
Cloud Identity, Cloud Identity Premium
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
ExtraHop Networks, HealthChannels
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Directory Service vs. Google Cloud Identity and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.