IBM Security Verify Access vs WSO2 Identity Server comparison

The compared IBM and WSO2 solutions aren't in the same category. IBM is ranked #17 in IAMS , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 2.1% mindshare in the category. WSO2 is ranked #9 in CIaA , with an average rating of 8.3, and holds a 2.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of WSO2 users who would recommend it.

IBM Security Verify Access

Read 8 IBM Security Verify Access reviews

2,670 Views
1,095 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

WSO2 Identity Server

Read 11 WSO2 Identity Server reviews

1,636 Views
720 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Security Verify Access

WSO2 Identity Server

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM Security Verify Access and WSO2 Identity Server based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Security Verify Access vs. WSO2 Identity Server Report (Updated: January 2023).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Verify Access vs. WSO2 Identity Server

January 2023

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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 Security Verify Access

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Single Sign-On (SSO) (15th), Identity Management (IM) (17th), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (17th), Access Management (14th)

WSO2 Identity Server

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (9th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Identity and Access Management solutions, they serve different purposes. IBM Security Verify Access is designed for Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) and holds a mindshare of 2.1%, up 1.7% compared to last year.
WSO2 Identity Server, on the other hand, focuses on Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM), holds 2.9% mindshare, up 2.5% since last year.

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
IBM Security Verify Access	2.1%
Microsoft Entra ID	16.8%
Google Cloud Identity	9.3%
Other	71.8%

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

Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
WSO2 Identity Server	2.9%
Okta Platform	15.3%
Auth0 Platform	13.3%
Other	68.5%

Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)

Featured Reviews

Ateeq Rehman

Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited

Has improved secure user access while managing development through multiple technologies

I have already explained this in my previous call; I don't handle financial terms and commercials. Pricing is generally managed by functional teams and management looking after licensing matters. In Pakistan, vendors such as Oracle and IBM manage account relationships with clients and have tailored pricing models, so I do not have sufficient insights into that aspect.IBM Security Verify Access installation process is not straightforward; it requires underlying specialized knowledge upon which the IBM products are based. The complexity and scalability of the architecture necessitate in-depth technical knowledge and understanding of the system. Thus, installation is not as simple as clicking through; it requires extensive configuration of the underlying application servers, such as IBM WebSphere, where these products are deployed and configured.

Read full review

Ritesh_Shah

Senior Solution Architect at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Utilizing key management and seamless single sign-on integration for enhanced user profile management

WSO2 Identity Server's key management feature stands out as a particularly impactful feature for enhancing security. Additionally, from a user perspective, the self-user portal and user profile management capabilities are highly valuable. It allows users to manage their profiles, change passwords, and offers a self-care portal type of functionality. The single sign-on capability integrates seamlessly with various platforms, including Google, Facebook, LDAP, and Active Directory, which supports rapid product launches.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution has powerful authentification and authorization and offers a good way to increase security."

"The most valuable feature of IBM Security Access Manager, at least for my company, is multi-factor authentication. That's the only feature my company is using. The solution works well and has no glitches. IBM Security Access Manager is a very good solution, so my company is still using it."

"It's a good solution for identification and access management."

"It can do a lot of different functions, and different types of teams can use this product for a variety of use cases, such as RSA, OTP, and single sign-on functionalities."

"I have found this solution to be really practical and when a user wants to log in, it is effortless and runs smooth."

"IBM Security Verify Access, formerly known as ISAM, IBM Security Access Manager, now renamed to ISVA, integrates with central directory services for our organization and provides user management functionality."

"From the integration point of view, it supports SAML, OIDC, and OAuth. For legacy applications that don't have support for SAML and other new protocols, it provides single sign-on access to end-users. From the integration compatibility point of view, it is highly capable."

"I have found this solution to be really practical and when a user wants to log in, it is effortless and runs smooth."

More IBM Security Verify Access pros

"The feature that I found most valuable was the ecosystem, which is very comprehensive and allowed me to find the components that I wanted to use, including the identity server and the API."

"I am completely satisfied with WSO2 Identity Server and would definitely recommend it to other companies."

"The solution gets the job done, and we don't have to do the main configuration."

"We are able to use this tool to better secure next generation data centers, which use software defined networks."

"The keystore feature has been most valuable for us."

"The single sign-on procedure itself, as well as the ability to connect to external user sources such as Microsoft Active Directory and LDAP servers, are the solution's most valuable features."

"The product provides easy integration between API manager and IT server components."

"The product's initial setup phase is easy."

More WSO2 Identity Server pros

Cons

"The user interface needs to be simplified, it's complex and not user-friendly."

"The user interface for users and administrators could be improved to make it easier. Automating some functions could also be beneficial."

"There are a lot of areas that can be improved, but the main area is the lack of customization. You cannot easily customize anything in the product. It is not easy to tweak the functionality. It is challenging to change the out-of-the-box functionality."

"The solution could be classified as a hilt system. There are a lot of resources being used and it is suitable for very large enterprises or the public sector."

"Configuration could be simplified for the end-user."

"For small or medium-sized businesses they cannot afford this solution."

"They can improve the single sign-on configuration for OIDC and OAuth. That is not very mature in this product, and they can improve it in this particular area. OIDC is a third-party integration that we do with the cloud platforms, and OAuth is an authorization mechanism for allowing a user having an account with Google or any other provider to access an application. Organizations these days are looking for just-in-time provisioning use cases, but IBM Security Access Manager is not very mature for such use cases. There are only a few applications that can be integrated, and this is where this product is lagging. However, in terms of configuration and single sign-on mechanisms, it is a great product."

More IBM Security Verify Access cons

"This solution does not have BPM workflows already integrated, we had to integrate the BPM module externally. They do not provide full-featured auditing and certification modules out of the box."

"I found the initial setup to be very complex."

"Sometimes working with the code is difficult because I search for documentation about the code and how to work with the code, which is where I believe they should improve, by providing some documentation on how to work with the code."

"This solution requires extensive knowledge to be used effectively as certain areas of its use are not user friendly."

"The solution seems to be pretty outdated."

"I tried the product but I found it very cumbersome, so I no longer use it."

"The solution could improve its development from a user perspective."

More WSO2 Identity Server cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license and costs depend on the amount range of users you have. For just approximately 2,000 users, the price is practical and fair. However, when you have 20,000 users, it starts to become really expensive, and the discount per user is not attractive enough to go ahead and purchase."

"The product is not expensive. It depends on the number of users."

"It costs about 300K AED for a year. Its pricing is a bit on the higher end, but in comparison to other products in the market, its price is still better. There are lots of other products that are very costly."

"We have to take their support, but that is a minimal charge if I'm comparing it to other identity managers."

"At this time we are working with the open-source version."

"WSO2 Identity Server is not an expensive solution."

"They should bring in some good pricing models to host the marketplace."

"I have found the solutions license is priced competitively compared to others."

"I rate the product price an eight out of ten. There is a need to pay more for the extra features provided by the solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Insurance Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

12%

Construction Company

10%

Transportation Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	5

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM Security Access Manager?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Security Access Manager?

We are still using the IBM BPM platform to automate the processes for our organization.I generally use Microsoft Project for project planning and schedule management, especially in relation to Orac...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering IBM Security Access Manager?

My current domain is leading project development, overseeing both technical and functional areas in process automation and orchestration, along with the hands-on implementation of process automatio...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for WSO2 Identity Server?

The pricing is currently the same as the API Manager, so it's not surprising. Since we used it primarily for SSO and the self portal, there were no additional pricing concerns.

See all answers

What needs improvement with WSO2 Identity Server?

Currently, all required features are supported. If new use cases for artificial intelligence arise, it could be beneficial to incorporate those. However, for our current projects, WSO2 Identity Ser...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WSO2 Identity Server?

We deployed WSO2 Identity Server to fulfill our single sign-on (SSO) requirements. Whenever we implement the API Manager, instead of using the API Manager's inbuilt key manager, we use WSO2 Identit...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Entra ID vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 9% of the time

Okta Platform vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 9% of the time

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 6% of the time

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 5% of the time

IBM Cloud Identity Service vs IBM Security Verify Access

Compared 5% of the time

More IBM Security Verify Access Competitors

Auth0 Platform vs WSO2 Identity Server

Compared 23% of the time

Okta Platform vs WSO2 Identity Server

Compared 22% of the time

Ping Identity Platform vs WSO2 Identity Server

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs WSO2 Identity Server

Compared 8% of the time

Symantec Siteminder vs WSO2 Identity Server

Compared 4% of the time

More WSO2 Identity Server Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Verify Access

April 2026

Download IBM Security Verify Access product report

Buyer's Guide

WSO2 Identity Server

March 2026

Download WSO2 Identity Server product report

Also Known As

IBM Security Verify Access (SVA), IBM Security Access Manager, ISAM

No data available

Overview

IBM Security Verify Access is a complete authorization and network security policy management solution. It provides end-to-end protection of resources over geographically dispersed intranets and extranets.Provides a wide range of built-in authenticators and supports external authenticators.Provides permit and deny decisions for protected resources requests in the secure domain through the authorization API.Manages secure access to private internal network-based resources by using the public Internet's broad connectivity and ease of use with a corporate firewall system.

IBM

WSO2 Identity Server can be used to simplify identity and access management (IAM) related activities in the enterprise. The product is based on open standards and open source principles. WSO2 Identity Server comes with seamless, easy to use integration capabilities that help connect applications, user stores, directories and identity management systems.

WSO2

Sample Customers

POST Luxembourg

Nutanix, ELM, AlmavivA, BDigital, StubHub, M-creations, MedVision360

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Verify Access vs. WSO2 Identity Server

January 2023

Free Report: IBM Security Verify Access vs. WSO2 Identity Server

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Verify Access vs. WSO2 Identity Server and other solutions. Updated: January 2023.

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