AWS IAM Identity Center vs Microsoft Active Directory comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft are both solutions in the Single Sign-On (SSO) category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #12 with an average rating of 9.0, while Microsoft is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.7. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 2.2% mindshare in SSO, compared to Microsoft’s 4.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

AWS IAM Identity Center

Read 1 AWS IAM Identity Center review

369 Views
328 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Active Directory

Read 38 Microsoft Active Directory reviews

940 Views
656 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

AWS IAM Identity Center

Microsoft Active Directory

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between AWS IAM Identity Center and Microsoft Active Directory based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cisco, Ping Identity and others in Single Sign-On (SSO).

To learn more, read our detailed Single Sign-On (SSO) Report (Updated: August 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Single Sign-On (SSO)

August 2024

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Helped 801,634 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

AWS IAM Identity Center

Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)

12th

Average Rating

9.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (14th)

Microsoft Active Directory

Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)

7th

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Active Directory Management (6th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2024, in the Single Sign-On (SSO) category, the mindshare of AWS IAM Identity Center is 2.2%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Active Directory is 4.1%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Featured Reviews

Nizamuddeen TZ

Assistant Consultant at Tata Consultancy

Apr 2, 2024

Helps users provide or revoke accesses whenever needed

I don't think there is any need for improvement in the product since everything has been created architecturally by AWS. AWS has given all the features in the tool. In the product, two groups cannot have the same name. There will be a conflict if the same name is provided to two groups in the tool. If you want to say something to another user, the tool fails to identify which group out of the two having the same name is involved in the activity. In general, the tool does not allow for the duplication of names. The aforementioned area can be considered for improvement in the product.

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Mohammad Roshanshak

IT Engineer at United Nations

Aug 3, 2023

Is easy to use, but can be restricted to the specific local area networks

Most of the features which are required for the active directory are already introduced into the Azure Active Directory. If you are using the Active Directory, the main concern is that the policy is restricted to the specific local area network. The users may not be in that specific local area network, like the office network, and won't get the updates and new policies. However, upgrading is not easy because it has to come in a hierarchy from top to bottom. If you are a global administrator and have limited rights, it might be difficult as you are responsible for the whole entity.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product is easy for beginners to learn and use."

"Active Directory plays a focal point in security management, encompassing aspects like credential management, lifecycle, dynamic provisioning, and the network infrastructure of customers."

"The scalability of the solution is high...The initial setup of the solution is easy, and I would rate it an eight or nine out of ten on a scale of one to ten, where one being difficult and ten being easy."

"I think the main reason we are using Active Directory for SSO Office for single time and for intake integrity capability to other services."

"It's useful in bringing order to the system."

"The most valuable feature is the configured appliance system in Hypervisor."

"The solution is user-friendly, and I like using Microsoft products. I think there is no other choice for Active Directory. Microsoft Windows Server Active Directory is the best."

"Stability and performance are good. So far, we have not observed any major downtime or performance issues since we deployed it."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is authentication."

More Microsoft Active Directory pros

Cons

"In the product, two groups cannot have the same name...In general, the tool does not allow for the duplication of names."

"It could be more stable."

"There has been a change in the layout of the user information. Previously, I had to go to properties to view the information, but now it is displayed directly below the search results. It takes some time to get used to."

"The scalability of the solution needs improvement."

"There are no reporting features."

"There could be enough material to learn about the product."

"The DNS services could improve in Microsoft Active Directory."

"If you are using the Active Directory, the main concern is that the policy is restricted to the specific local area network."

"Microsoft Active Directory restricts most of the features our company's employees want to use since they are involved in research and development activities."

More Microsoft Active Directory cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is cheap since it is available on the cloud."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten."

"I'm unsure about the cost of the solution, as I was never involved in that aspect. However, I don't think it would be expensive. It might be average, around four or five out of ten."

"We purchase the license for the solution on a yearly basis."

"It's not overly expensive. It's considered a base function by Microsoft."

"The version of Microsoft Active Directory I was using was expensive because it was used for large companies."

"I rate the product’s pricing a five out of ten."

"Active Directory is built-in into Microsoft Windows 10. I'm not an administrator and would not be involved in purchasing decisions for new versions of the software. I have only used the client portion of it, I do not know if there is a cost to using the solution."

"The pricing is not very expensive. I rate the pricing a five out of ten."

More Microsoft Active Directory pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

27%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

20%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS IAM Identity Center?

The product is easy for beginners to learn and use.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS IAM Identity Center?

The product is cheap since it is available on the cloud. AWS IAM Identity Center does not fall under the services that my company provides continuously to our customers, but we do create users and ...

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What needs improvement with AWS IAM Identity Center?

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Active Directory?

The solution is easy to install and has good reliability.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Active Directory?

The solution should maintain the infrastructure according to the period you are in and the security changes.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?

Microsoft Active Directory is an authentication infrastructure.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Entra ID vs AWS IAM Identity Center

Compared 62% of the time

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs AWS IAM Identity Center

Compared 20% of the time

Red Hat Single Sign On vs AWS IAM Identity Center

Compared 19% of the time

More AWS IAM Identity Center Competitors

Ping Identity Platform vs Microsoft Active Directory

Compared 27% of the time

ManageEngine ADManager Plus vs Microsoft Active Directory

Compared 24% of the time

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Microsoft Active Directory

Compared 19% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Active Directory

Compared 18% of the time

CyberArk Identity vs Microsoft Active Directory

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Active Directory Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Single Sign-On (SSO)

August 2024

Download AWS IAM Identity Center product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Active Directory

August 2024

Download Microsoft Active Directory product report

Also Known As

AWS Single Sign On, AWS SSO

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Learn More

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

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Microsoft

Overview

AWS IAM Identity Center is the recommended service for managing your workforce's access to AWS applications or your multiple AWS accounts (or both). It is a flexible solution that can be used to connect your existing identity source or help you create users in AWS. IAM Identity Center can be used alongside your existing AWS account access configurations.

Active Directory stores information about objects on the network and makes this information easy for administrators and users to find and use. Active Directory uses a structured data store as the basis for a logical, hierarchical organization of directory information.

This data store, also known as the directory, contains information about Active Directory objects. These objects typically include shared resources such as servers, volumes, printers, and the network user and computer accounts.

Security is integrated with Active Directory through logon authentication and access control to objects in the directory. With a single network logon, administrators can manage directory data and organization throughout their network, and authorized network users can access resources anywhere on the network. Policy-based administration eases the management of even the most complex network.

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers

Information Not Available

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cisco, Ping Identity and others in Single Sign-On (SSO). Updated: August 2024.

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