IBM Cloud Identity Service vs Microsoft Entra ID comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category. IBM is ranked #30, while Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7. IBM holds a 0.4% mindshare in IAMS, compared to Microsoft’s 28.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM Cloud Identity Service

Read 3 IBM Cloud Identity Service reviews

203 Views
118 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Entra ID

Read 224 Microsoft Entra ID reviews

10,226 Views
7,551 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Identity Service

Microsoft Entra ID

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 2, 2024

Microsoft Entra ID and IBM Cloud Identity Service are identity management products. Microsoft Entra ID leads in integration and security features, while IBM Cloud Identity Service is recognized for advanced analytics and identity governance.

Features:Microsoft Entra ID includes seamless integration with Microsoft ecosystems, multi-factor authentication, and access auditing. IBM Cloud Identity Service has robust identity governance, extensive analytics, and adaptive access capabilities. Microsoft Entra ID specializes in integrations, and IBM Cloud Identity Service in analytics.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Microsoft Entra ID offers an intuitive deployment process within Microsoft environments, supported by online resources and training. IBM Cloud Identity Service provides a modular deployment approach for complex requirements with reliable support. Microsoft Entra ID is simple; IBM Cloud Identity Service suits complex deployments.

Pricing and ROI:Microsoft Entra ID is competitively priced, with licensing models offering favorable ROI, especially for enterprises integrated with Microsoft. IBM Cloud Identity Service has higher setup costs but provides significant ROI due to enhanced analytics and management. Microsoft Entra ID is cost-effective for integration-focused businesses, whereas IBM offers better returns for analytics and governance.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cloud Identity Service vs. Microsoft Entra ID Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Identity Service vs. Microsoft Entra ID

March 2025

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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

IBM Cloud Identity Service

Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

30th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Entra ID

Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

224

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), Authentication Systems (1st), Identity Management (IM) (1st), Access Management (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Identity Service is 0.4%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 28.4%, down from 29.0% 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

Baba Sally

Head of Advisory at a tech company with 501-1,000 employees

All of its features are valuable but the support needs improvement

It is multiple identity and access management, so all of the applications are valuable. It's also part of the automated process The support needs improvement. I have been using IBM Cloud Identity Service for the last five years. It is stable. It is scalable. We have 5,000 users using this…

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Aaron Liang

System engineer at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees

Has significantly improved secure access to applications and resources in our environment

Microsoft Entra ID has helped by simplifying our management of permissions for APIs. We are not directly exposing credentials, as we use tokens instead. It has made management easier and more secure, especially in a multi-user environment. The implementation of Microsoft Entra ID significantly improved secure access to applications and resources in our environment, primarily through the widespread use of single-sign-on. Managing API permissions became much easier, as application registration often involves calling an API to utilize services without directly exposing credentials, relying instead on token-based authentication. This streamlined approach benefits end-users by simplifying access while remaining transparent to them. Ultimately, my role focuses on ensuring a smooth and user-friendly experience, even if the underlying technology remains unseen by the end-users. Our company strongly emphasizes passwordless authentication, primarily through device-bound passkeys in Microsoft Authenticator. While administrators with high-privileged accounts utilize YubiKeys and passwords for tasks like accessing Microsoft Graph, we are actively transitioning all other users towards passwordless methods such as Windows Hello biometrics. This approach streamlines authentication and enhances security. Though initial deployment in 2022 presented challenges due to hardware limitations and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the technology has significantly improved and provides a simple and effective user experience.

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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

"It is multiple identity and access management, so all of the applications are valuable. It's also part of the automated process."

"One of the most valuable features of IBM Cloud Identity Service is that it delivers integrations with the commercial SaaS software that's available."

"It is stable. We can automate many of our daily operations with it, and we don't have to manage many things manually."

"Application integration is easy. MFA and password self-service have reduced most of the supportive work of IT. We use multi-factor authentication. Every access from a user is through multi-factor authentication. There is no legacy authentication. We have blocked legacy authentication methods. For people who use the MDM on mobile, we push our application through Intune. In a hybrid environment, users can work from anywhere. With Intune, we can push policies and secure the data."

"In terms of identity management, it helps to improve security posture. It generally helps in terms cloud security, simplicity, and single sign-on for multiple apps."

"The initial setup was very straightforward."

"A couple of features are valuable, but the one that comes across the most to me is multi-factor authentication."

"The most valuable feature is the single sign-on, which allows any application that is SAML or OAuth compatible to use Azure as an identity provider for seamless sign-in."

"The single sign-on is very convenient for us."

"My two preferred features are conditional access and privileged identity management."

"The most valuable features of this solution are definitely the authorization and authentication, and the rule-based user validation."

More Microsoft Entra ID pros

Cons

"IBM Cloud Identity Service is going in the right direction with the product. They need to keep building out the integrations and having the library is very critical."

"The initial setup is complex, it's not straightforward. It takes months because it's not straightforward."

"Everything can be more stable and secure. There could also be more account features. I would like to be able to do more things through it to manage users' accounts."

"Better integration with external governance products would be a welcome addition to Azure AD."

"Compatibility features for legacy system integration with new features will be challenging at times."

"Customers want to know exactly where they are spending their money, allowing them to assess and potentially save money in those specific areas."

"If Microsoft can give us a way to see where this product is running, from a backend perspective, then it would be great."

"The only issue is the OU is not properly synced. Therefore, you have to do a manual sync sometimes or you might lose the connector due to AD Connect or sync servers."

"I faced difficulties from Micorosft's end and during the transition from Microsoft Active Directory to Microsoft Entra ID. Sometimes, some of Microsoft's documentation could be a little outdated."

"I would like them to improve the dashboard by presenting the raw data in a more visual way for the logs and events. That would help us understand the reports better."

"Microsoft support has some room for improvement. I avoid contacting them because it can be time-consuming. They don't necessarily find the solution, but you have to be on call for them to connect and do things on your system remotely. You have to schedule a time to meet with them, and it's somewhat inconvenient."

More Microsoft Entra ID cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is expensive for non-enterprise companies. IBM's always going to be a little more expensive, you're going to be paying a premium. However, depending on the organization's needs, there's probably a benefit there to do even with the price being the way it is."

"I do not have experience with pricing."

"Entra's pricing is somewhat higher compared to AWS."

"Entra ID is not too bad, but Microsoft licensing generally is insane. Most customers normally buy a bundle license with Microsoft 365, E3, or E5. Out of our 2,000 customers, for 99.9% of our customers, the Entra ID license that they are getting through the part of that would be sufficient. There are some more advanced ones that give you a bit more functionality, but we probably have not had a customer for that. We do not even internally use that ourselves. When you buy the Entra ID license on its own, it is probably three or four pounds. You just get it included in the license."

"Pricing-wise, they offer a stepladder approach. You can start with the lowest level features, then start increasing based on new requirements."

"We don't really have a choice. It's the one shop in town. If you want this, you have to pay for it."

"The cost is billed on a per-user licensing basis."

"The price of the solution was reasonable."

"I think we're on the E3 — I think it was about 35 dollars per user."

More Microsoft Entra ID pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Educational Organization

32%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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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 Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...

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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. We can easily do third-party multifactor authentication.

See all answers

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

Microsoft Entra ID is reportedly quite expensive for each user regarding security features. The renewal cost is particularly high according to the teams managing purchases.

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Comparisons

IBM Security Verify Access vs IBM Cloud Identity Service

Compared 100% of the time

More IBM Cloud Identity Service Competitors

Microsoft Intune vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 11% of the time

Google Cloud Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 10% of the time

Okta Workforce Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 9% of the time

Auth0 vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 6% of the time

Amazon Cognito vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Entra ID Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

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

April 2025

Download IBM Cloud Identity Service product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID

March 2025

Download Microsoft Entra ID product report

Also Known As

No data available

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

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

IBM

Microsoft

Overview

Whether your applications are custom, your business processes complex, or you're looking for world-class professional services and project management to coordinate each step of your project, IBM Cloud Identity Service is uniquely suited to serve organizations with out-of-the box challenges.

IBM Cloud Identity Service can be designed to help with the full lifecycle of implementation and operations, including discovery, planning, project management, integration engineering and more – expertly delivered by IBM's global staff of identity professionals.

IBM

Microsoft Entra ID is used for extending on-premises Active Directory to the cloud, managing application access, enabling multi-factor authentication, and single sign-on. It facilitates policy enforcement and secure access, ensuring centralized identity management across cloud and on-premises resources.

Organizations utilize Microsoft Entra ID for robust user and group management, identity synchronization, and conditional access. Its seamless integration with third-party apps, scalability, and support for remote work make it a preferred choice. The admin center streamlines identity and access tasks, enhancing efficiency and security with features like privileged identity management and audit logs.

What are the key features of Microsoft Entra ID?

Single Sign-On: Simplifies user access to multiple applications with one login.
Multifactor Authentication: Enhances security by requiring additional verification.
Conditional Access: Establishes policies that determine how users' access cloud apps.
Integration: Easily integrates with various third-party applications.
User Identity Protection: Safeguards user identities from threats.
Privileged Identity Management: Manages elevated access to sensitive resources.
Audit Logs: Provides thorough activity logs for oversight and compliance.

What benefits should users look for in Microsoft Entra ID reviews?

Enhanced Security: Offers strong multifactor authentication and identity protection.
Administrative Efficiency: Simplifies identity and access management tasks.
Scalability: Supports growing user bases and remote work environments.
Integration Capabilities: Compatible with numerous third-party applications.
User-Friendly Interface: Makes managing user identities straightforward.

Microsoft Entra ID implementation varies across industries. Tech firms leverage it for secure, scalable access management, while healthcare organizations utilize its identity protection features to safeguard patient data. Educational institutions adopt Entra ID for streamlined user management and policy enforcement, ensuring secure access for students and staff across on-premises and cloud resources.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Baxter Healthcare,

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

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Identity Service vs. Microsoft Entra ID

March 2025

Free Report: IBM Cloud Identity Service vs. Microsoft Entra ID

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