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CyberArk Identity vs Microsoft Active Directory comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

CyberArk Identity
Ranking in Active Directory Management
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (9th), Identity Management (IM) (13th), Authorization Software (4th), Enterprise Password Managers (9th), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (9th), Access Management (9th), Cloud Resource Access Management (2nd), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (6th)
Microsoft Active Directory
Ranking in Active Directory Management
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (7th)
 

Featured Reviews

RiyasAbdulkhader - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and supports single sign-on (SSO) across multiple applications but dependency on Identity Connectors for seamless federation can be cumbersome
CyberArk Identity could improve by allowing federation directly or seamlessly, without the need for an Identity Connector. Instead of building separate Azure Connectors, if they could just federate, that would be nice. However, for this kind of feature to work, the customer's environment would need specific configurations. Basically, they could improve the federation capabilities to handle multiple domains separately, instead of just one. Right now, if you're working with one domain, it's okay. But for multiple domains, it becomes a bit complicated. In the on-premises version, you can curate more than one domain seamlessly. However, the SaaS version of CyberArk Identity requires more configuration. Moreover, CyberArk Identity is relatively new. They haven't been in the market for more than two or three years. They're still under development and not yet a fully-fledged product. They're constantly adding features, but they haven't yet achieved complete account management capabilities for all types of accounts, which is likely due to their competition. So, while they are actively promoting it, not many customers are using CyberArk Identity yet.
Rajitha Abhisheka - PeerSpot reviewer
A solution that easily merges with cloud-based ADs and provides superior data security
The interface for logs should be user-friendly and allow for enhanced filtering to drill down to incidents. It is time consuming to get a clear picture and review deviations in conditional policies because you have to check each and every log to find information on malicious attacks, a compromised end-user's account, or phishing emails. The logs for sign-ins and auditing should be available for more than a 30-90 day window. Most logs are displayed in UTC but it would be helpful to include time conversions for tenant regions. Currently, we must do time conversions manually before we contact users to share information and troubleshoot issues.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is straightforward. It takes me up to an hour and a half."
"The integration capabilities, ability to integrate CyberArk into the overall IBB strategy of our current clients."
"I found the solution to be stable."
"The most valuable features of CyberArk Identity are its ability to control access to administrative staff."
"The solution helps with auditing, and monitoring, and integrates with Splunk for log analysis. User activity logs are captured in CyberArk Identity and sent to external tools like Splunk for analysis and monitoring."
"The initial setup of CyberArk Identity was straightforward."
"The features that I personally find most effective in terms of security stem from the fact that it is easy to integrate and also the adoption is faster."
"The most valuable feature of CyberArk Identity is the adaptive interface."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Active Directory is the ability to search for computers and users. While I do not have administrative privileges to reset passwords, I can view user information such as department, and communicate with someone who can make the changes."
"The solution’s management capability is very good. The tool is also very scalable. You can add any number of users that you want to operate. Moreover, you can easily organize the solution."
"The solution is easy to install and has good reliability."
"The password policy helps enforce security protocols by requiring complex passwords and frequent password changes."
"We use the tool for FSMO, policies, and customized user registrations."
"The ability for a single sign-on for applications."
"It's quite easy to integrate into other directories."
"The solution's initial setup is straightforward."
 

Cons

"CyberArk Identity could improve by having the ability to better manage the network, such as Cisco. There seem to be some issues in this area."
"At the moment CyberArk needs to enrich Conjur and it needs to be made more viable so that its adoption can be made much faster."
"They could improve their UI and make everything more user-friendly."
"The product needs to leverage the cloud more, especially in the financial sector, where cloud adoption might be limited. Proper reporting within the cloud is essential. The tool should be more user-friendly to expedite access for users. The current agent-based system poses challenges if a user loses access to the server, making tasks difficult to perform. It should also improve technical support."
"The solution's difficulty in gaining skill sets should be improved because it's a vertical product."
"There is room for improvement in documentation. The documentation could be more specific about the changes needed to achieve specific goals."
"The OpenID features could improve in CyberArk Identity."
"The solution could be easier to use and I found it to be very complex involving many steps."
"Microsoft Active Directory could improve by having better integration with other solutions."
"It could be more stable."
"The solution should maintain the infrastructure according to the period you are in and the security changes."
"The cloud service of Microsoft Active Directory is an area with certain shortcomings that need improvement."
"We may occasionally experience difficulty integrating some solutions with Microsoft Active Directory, but I am unsure whether the issue lies with Microsoft Active Directory or the other solution."
"Microsoft Active Directory fails to provide MFA. MFA, which is also known as multi-factor authentication on top of the password and username, is what I would like to see in the product's future releases."
"They should improve the solution's old computer cleanup tool."
"The interface for logs should be user-friendly and allow for enhanced filtering to drill down to incidents."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is cheap and I rate its pricing an eight out of ten."
"We find that the pricing and licensing of this solution is adequate, as compared to the other competitors in the market."
"It's not that affordable compared to Delinea or other products. They're less expensive and allow more customization. For the cost, it is expensive."
"In terms of pricing, BeyondTrust and CyberArk tend to be more expensive, with CyberArk receiving an eight out of ten, in this regard."
"CyberArk Identity is an expensive solution."
"Their pricing is obviously a lot higher than many vendors in the marketplace but their service is also unmatched."
"There could be some additional costs apart from the licensing costs of the solution when you want to develop connectors in CyberArk Identity."
"I think it is a fairly priced tool. I rate the tool between six and seven on a scale of one to ten where one is expensive, and ten is cheap."
"The solution is based on a licensing model."
"We have to purchase a license for the solution."
"Active Directory is an expensive solution, primarily due to Microsoft's licensing model. This licensing approach includes paying for server licenses as well as for each computer that connects to it. However, when working with the Azure cloud, there is no cost for the server. This is profitable and one of the main reasons why Azure Cloud and other cloud-based solutions are being used more."
"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."
"The price of Microsoft Active Directory could improve. We pay annually for the solution."
"The license per user can probably be reduced."
"It's not overly expensive. It's considered a base function by Microsoft."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Insurance Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about CyberArk Identity?
The integration capabilities, ability to integrate CyberArk into the overall IBB strategy of our current clients.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CyberArk Identity?
I think it is a fairly priced tool. I rate the tool between six and seven on a scale of one to ten where one is expensive, and ten is cheap.
What needs improvement with CyberArk Identity?
At the moment CyberArk needs to enrich Conjur and it needs to be made more viable so that its adoption can be made much faster.
What do you like most about Microsoft Active Directory?
The solution is easy to install and has good reliability.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Active Directory?
The challenges everyone now has in mind is how to really migrate fully to the cloud. Many companies face both technical and cost-related challenges when moving from on-premise Active Directory to M...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?
We are still on a hybrid environment where we have Azure Directory on-premises, and sync it up to Microsoft.
 

Also Known As

Idaptive
No data available
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

MLB, Citi, Pfizer, SulAmerica, GE Capital, Shiseido
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about CyberArk Identity vs. Microsoft Active Directory and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.