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IBM OpenPages vs RSA Archer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 2025

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 OpenPages
Ranking in GRC
7th
Ranking in IT Governance
2nd
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
RSA Archer
Ranking in GRC
1st
Ranking in IT Governance
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
IT Vendor Risk Management (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the GRC category, the mindshare of IBM OpenPages is 5.6%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RSA Archer is 16.9%, down from 18.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
GRC
 

Featured Reviews

Badri Anand Santhanam - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhancing operational risk management and reporting capabilities with insightful dashboards and automated features
IBM OpenPages offers strong reporting capabilities with Cognos integration, providing standard tabular reports, various charts, and powerful dashboards for different lines of defense. It caters to the first line managing risks and controls, the second line of SMEs providing oversight, and the independent audit function with an internal audit management module. The solution is more intuitive and task-based, allowing better involvement of the risk function across different lines of defense. The automated features translate into reporting capabilities, and data can be easily extracted and downloaded in different formats.
IMRAN ALMARZOOQI - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates compliance management effectively but needs improved interface and dashboards
The tool basically automates whatever processes you already have, so I cannot specify improvements in that regard. However, my main issue with Archer is the graphics. The graphics have always been lacking. I always need to depend on another tool to read information from Archer to have better dashboards. It is like using Linux, and it has a Linux mindset and interface. I want to use Archer for top management and CEOs, but it looks too technical, and the dashboards are not really friendly. They are bulky, like opening an old Nintendo system from nineteen-ninety. The management agrees that Archer lacks in terms of presentation and dashboarding. It is complex, not user-friendly, and bulky. The interface just looks old.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ability to keep a record of internal incidents in the company, and also the monitoring of Key Indicators."
"The content, reporting, and workflow features stand out as the most valuable aspects."
"IBM OpenPages provides time savings in recording risk management components."
"Everything about IBM OpenPages is valuable, particularly when compared to other solutions in the market like MetricStream, from which we switched due to its feasibility, user-friendliness, and performance."
"IBM OpenPages saves time in my work as a developer."
"The most valuable features are the workflow engine, calculations, and security rules."
"The product is very flexible."
"I have found all the features to be valuable, including those involving reporting, the dashboard, notifications, email modules, the database and data input."
"I like how Archer requires very little programming ability. A person with minimum coding experience can configure the necessary fields in Archer. It's more of a drag-and-drop solution."
"RSA Archer is a good tool and I have found performing the application, ISMS, and TPRM assessments beneficial."
"Its user interface is pretty neat, and there is flexibility in generating the data. You can customize reports at any level. You can directly get reports in Tableau format. If you want to generate statistical data, you can create reports with graphs. There is an adequate amount of flexibility for changing the format, the type of graphs, etc."
"It is a very friendly tool. We can easily understand what is going on inside the tool. I like this tool. We can work with the tool for the ERP platform. We can create automated applications based on the requirements."
"The tool has stability, and it allows me to automate whatever process I have."
"The tool has stability, and it allows me to automate whatever process I have."
 

Cons

"IBM OpenPages needs improvement in its UI. Currently, it is difficult to see the relationships (associations/parents) between all items unless you click on the item itself."
"Some self-relationships are not available in OpenPages' relationship model."
"It would be useful to have more out-of-the-box functionality, especially triggers and calculations."
"IBM OpenPages could improve by adding more conditions to workflows, as some existing conditions might not work and can produce errors."
"I believe there's room for improvement in establishing connections with external information."
"IBM needs to work on pricing for organizations with around 100 users, as the licensing model is not competitive enough for SMEs."
"When we have to do formulas or some other type of calculation in Archer, it sometimes doesn't work correctly. The fields don't display right, and we have to contact RSA Archer support to fix things. I think the calculation components are a bit complicated."
"Performance could be improved."
"Archer could be improved by having more customization. I'm not sure if the backend processes have API calls and those kinds of seamless integrations, but from the front, some of the solutions are very out-of-the-box. It's not customizable, so that could be a little problematic since you have to use their features. In terms of the backend structure, I'm not too sure because I'm not a developer—I was an end user and product owner of Archer—and I don't quite know the backend and developmental features. But since it's an out-of-the-box solution, sometimes customization was challenging and support was a little problematic because we had to reach out to them all the time."
"I would like to have the ability to build and maintain an inventory of personal data processing activities and assets utilizing a purpose-built taxonomy and data structure."
"Some areas are not truly automated but are only scheduled."
"While the AI features are emerging and the cost is comparatively low, it's not yet up to the market standard."
"An area for improvement would be the user interface. They could also offer more on-demand applications free of cost."
"Initially, technical support is a little weak, and I would rate it six out of ten. The issue with initial support is that new engineers are often not as experienced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"I am not 100% familiar with that, especially with their new model. I just know that the way they've licensed per user to scale is good."
"The price of the solution is very affordable."
"I am not sure about other companies, but it's quite expensive."
"It is not expensive. It is reasonable. We only pay for the licensing."
"The pricing is okay. The licensing costs are very reasonable; it is very affordable to us."
"The initial purchase is cheap. You pay a nominal price to start then renew the license annually. You also must buy a license for each module. I'm not too fond of that aspect of the licensing model. You buy the elephant and then spend more money to feed the elephant."
"Fairly highly-priced, especially for smaller companies."
"As I am a developer and responsible for providing production support, I do not have personal knowledge of the pricing. However, my colleagues claim that it is very expensive in comparison with other tools."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
29%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
6%
Educational Organization
51%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
5%
Manufacturing Company
3%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM OpenPages?
The product’s interface is very intuitive.
What needs improvement with IBM OpenPages?
IBM OpenPages could improve by adding more conditions to workflows, as some existing conditions might not work and can produce errors. Additionally, although there are risk assessment tools, I do n...
What is your primary use case for IBM OpenPages?
I primarily use IBM OpenPages ( /products/ibm-openpages-reviews ) for compliance and audit programs.
What do you like most about RSA Archer?
It has various valuable features. For example, showing us if a control aligns with specific standards or frameworks helps us understand it better and verify its compliance.
What needs improvement with RSA Archer?
If the user needs to fill data, they need to go to one page and then to the next page if they can reduce the number of clicks to perform some activities and would like RSA to improve in this area. ...
What is your primary use case for RSA Archer?
I perform all of our information security management governance and risk -related activities through Archer. My organization manages all types of audits and Enterprise risk activities using Archer.
 

Also Known As

OpenPages
Archer
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nationwide, Process Innovation AG, OSRAM Licht AG, Dep‹sito Central de Valores (DCV), Delta Lloyd Group, Unum
T-Systems, Bridge Point, Equifax, First Data, Global Imaging Company, Manulife Financial
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM OpenPages vs. RSA Archer and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.