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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 April 2025, in the GRC category, the mindshare of IBM OpenPages is 5.5%, up from 5.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RSA Archer is 17.2%, down from 17.9% 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 content, reporting, and workflow features stand out as the most valuable aspects."
"IBM OpenPages provides time savings in recording risk management components."
"IBM OpenPages saves time in my work as a developer."
"The ability to keep a record of internal incidents in the company, and also the monitoring of Key Indicators."
"The most valuable features are the workflow engine, calculations, and security rules."
"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."
"RSA is a very rich application. I like its adaptive suggestion, where based on your users and the class of data, it can actually recommend you the proper control to choose. For example, we have been using PCI DSS as an NIST. So based on application feedback, it will provide you with a suggestion on which control objective needs to be set. Based on that, you can make a decision—you don't need to take the suggestion, but you can customize that particular provided suggestion. RSA Archer's workflow is also good, in terms of process automation."
"The most valuable features of RSA Archer are the asset management, risk management, and vendor management."
"It has the best workload management features."
"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."
"The Advance Workflow feature simplifies things."
"The most valuable features are the advanced workflow and the dashboards. This tool can present data wonderfully to management, and it is easy for them to manage the risk plans."
"I have found all the features to be valuable, including those involving reporting, the dashboard, notifications, email modules, the database and data input."
"From my perspective, because I've always done it as a consultant, I do like the way it is configured. They've gone into changing the application builder interface, so it is even easier. When you're working with users, it is really easy to show them how to do things quickly and how to configure, change, and design stuff quickly."
 

Cons

"It would be useful to have more out-of-the-box functionality, especially triggers and calculations."
"I believe there's room for improvement in establishing connections with external information."
"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."
"IBM needs to work on pricing for organizations with around 100 users, as the licensing model is not competitive enough for SMEs."
"Some self-relationships are not available in OpenPages' relationship model."
"IBM OpenPages could improve by adding more conditions to workflows, as some existing conditions might not work and can produce errors."
"There were so many problems that we had found. One time, the search index was not working. We also faced slowness in Archer, but I resolved this issue."
"It's resource-hungry, that's the best way of putting it."
"The bullet chart is the best graph for my purposes, and it should be available for inclusion in the dashboards."
"Its customization features could be better."
"Some of the error reporting isn't very clear. When you're looking for information on error codes, you got to do a lot of digging."
"There should be a way to export and get data from the system in PDF or PowerPoint presentation format. This would be a great addition."
"There should be built-in integration mechanisms, for example, for organizations switching from platforms like ServiceNow to Archer, instead of custom integrations for each client."
"The design and advanced workflow need to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The solution's price should be reduced. You only have to pay the license and there are no additional fees."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"I am not sure about other companies, but it's quite expensive."
"The price of the solution is very affordable."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing is okay. The licensing costs are very reasonable; it is very affordable to us."
"The price of RSA Archer is good. The price isn't too high considering it is a leading tool in the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
29%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
5%
Educational Organization
49%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

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: April 2025.
847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.