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ForgeRock vs Symantec Siteminder 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

ForgeRock
Ranking in Access Management
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (13th), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (5th)
Symantec Siteminder
Ranking in Access Management
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (12th), Web Access Management (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Access Management category, the mindshare of ForgeRock is 6.8%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Siteminder is 3.8%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Access Management
 

Featured Reviews

Trisha Bhola - PeerSpot reviewer
It's easier to customize and maintain our code
I worked on two different projects based on ForgeRock, and both are automated deployments. One is a UI-based deployment. It's an automated process using some scripts. The deployments are done through Octopus, so it's also automated. We first deploy the essential components of AM and then implement additional configurations like Amster Imports. After that, we import all the SAML Federation data and add some certificates. We have two teams of five and three team members working on the different deployment processes. One is working on the dev side, another is looking at the higher environment, and one is managing the data. In another project, I'm the only developer. We also deploy on the dev environments so that anyone can test new features, configurations, and client requirements. They can test it on the dev environment, but a team of four people manages higher environments. The Access Management component involves the most customization, which takes around 15 to 20 minutes because of the need to import the Amster configuration. If another deployment is simultaneously happening, it may be a little slower and take around 30 minutes. The other components, like the user data stores, take about five to seven minutes. It's another five to 10 minutes for Identity Management. After deployment, the maintenance is mostly checking for security vulnerabilities. If ForgeRock shares security vulnerabilities or advisories, we check to see if there is something inside we need to maintain. Other than that, we just install updates when they add features each month.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"In terms of the tool's operational efficiency, ForgeRock Access Management is used in a lot of environments, different regions, and in different stages of production environments."
"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."
"Installation and configuration are pretty easy for ForgeRock OpenIDM."
"The product is easy to use in a development environment."
"ForgeRock is an extensive product with many functionalities and capabilities, much more than many other tools combined."
"The support is good and prompt."
"We create and define the permissions and configurations for the users."
"A valuable feature of Siteminder is the way it handles bulk traffic. The features it has, in terms of routing the traffic and load balancing, are good."
"You can quickly deploy the entire product with a basic config within couple of hours."
"The solution is easy to use for our managers."
"The most valuable feature is the integration with the Active Directory."
"We almost never have outages nor see slowdowns."
"It's quite scalable."
"The feature that I mostly valued is the ease of installation on different systems, especially on Windows."
"The most valuable feature is the Federation part of Single Sign On, which is customizable and is easily integrated with any customer application or any third party application."
 

Cons

"The user interface could be improved as it is cumbersome and outdated. It doesn't have a responsive UI."
"Automatic Deployment needs improvement. it could be made easier."
"The only problem with ForgeRock is that it is derived from an open-source product, so sometimes it's a bit unstable."
"I find that it's quite expensive for just an open-source system. Support is quite expensive."
"It should have a better user interface. Its flexibility should also be improved. It is not about simplifying; it is more about flexibility. Each company has its own requirements, and ForgeRock can provide more flexibility in terms of the use of existing modules to implement features for the customers."
"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."
"They should improve the solution by include reporting."
"The identity management model needs a bit of improvement."
"I would like to see a move towards the newer technologies, which is what we are doing right now. I think that's in the roadmap that's coming, in the 12.8 and 14 releases, but we would like to have it sooner than later."
"We would like to the OAuth be more stable, more issues being fixed rather than not."
"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 initial setup of Symantec SiteMinder was a bit tricky. I would rate it a seven on a scale of one to ten, where ten indicates an easy setup."
"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."
"I would prefer to see their SAML integration be a more streamlined and easier interface."
"Siteminder needs to improve its user experience."
"The support could be faster."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price is comparable to other products in the market."
"The pricing of the solution is fair but I do not have the full details."
"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."
"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 is an expensive solution."
"It's a bit pricey and could be more competitive."
"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."
"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 licensing is fair for this solution."
"The price is quite comparable to the other enterprise-level solutions in that market."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"CA solutions are generally expensive but for the customer the ROI is big."
"I recommend conducting a PoC on every available product before choose one."
"Symantec Siteminder is expensive; they could definitely do better on the price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
24%
Computer Software Company
12%
Insurance Company
7%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
36%
Insurance Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ForgeRock?
The most valuable features of ForgeRock are social login and data protection.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ForgeRock?
Our company was considering switching back to Keycloak from ForgeRock, so as to not pay any license fees. ForgeRock also supports M-PIN and biometric features that Keycloak does not provide. My com...
What needs improvement with ForgeRock?
In the past, I saw that Splunk was integrated with a testing portal, and then it was integrated with Slack. I don't think ForgeRock directly supports integrations with Slack, making it an area wher...
What do you like most about Symantec Siteminder?
It's agent-based. It's convenient to deploy and integrate.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Siteminder?
When considering pricing, I have usually advised on the Microsoft solution, but compared to that, Symantec SiteMinder’s pricing is moderately priced. I would rate it a four on a scale where one is ...
What needs improvement with Symantec Siteminder?
I need to check the latest documentation, however, being able to expand or at least communicate with other identity providers to perform handshakes would be great. While I have some integration wit...
 

Also Known As

ForgeRock Identity Platform, ForgeRock OpenIDM
SiteMinder, CA SSO, Layer7 SiteMinder
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Geico, Thomson Reuters, Salesforce, McKesson, Trinet, SKY, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Capgemini, North Western University
British Telecom, CoreBlox, DBS, HMS, Itera ASA and Simeo
Find out what your peers are saying about ForgeRock vs. Symantec Siteminder and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.