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Microsoft Active Directory vs SolarWinds Access Rights Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 9, 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

Microsoft Active Directory
Ranking in Active Directory Management
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (7th)
SolarWinds Access Rights Ma...
Ranking in Active Directory Management
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Active Directory Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Active Directory is 4.8%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Access Rights Manager is 5.6%, up from 4.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Active Directory Management
 

Featured Reviews

Rajitha Abhisheka - PeerSpot reviewer
A solution that easily merges with cloud-based ADs and provides superior data security
The interface for logs should be user-friendly and allow for enhanced filtering to drill down to incidents. It is time consuming to get a clear picture and review deviations in conditional policies because you have to check each and every log to find information on malicious attacks, a compromised end-user's account, or phishing emails. The logs for sign-ins and auditing should be available for more than a 30-90 day window. Most logs are displayed in UTC but it would be helpful to include time conversions for tenant regions. Currently, we must do time conversions manually before we contact users to share information and troubleshoot issues.
Rafal-Stas - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good pricing options and is easy to manage and deploy
It's pretty easy to manage, and quite easy to deploy. It's easy to understand to work, and customers also tell us that there are a lot of options even too many sometimes for them. Sometimes the product is even too big for them at the beginning. The product also has a good payload with pricing. That's why the customers choose this solution. The price and the quality and options have a good ratio.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is an easy-to-use tool."
"The solution's initial setup is straightforward."
"We use the tool for FSMO, policies, and customized user registrations."
"One advantage of Active Directory is that you can sync it with Microsoft Office 365, so you can manage on-premise and cloud operations, which can have different requirements. The flexibility of a hybrid management solution is valuable."
"The scalability of the solution is high...The initial setup of the solution is easy, and I would rate it an eight or nine out of ten on a scale of one to ten, where one being difficult and ten being easy."
"It is easy to understand all the components."
"It's quite easy to integrate into other directories."
"The most valuable feature is the configured appliance system in Hypervisor."
"It's pretty easy to manage, and quite easy to deploy."
"The solution can be used to audit the whole on-premises environment, including Active Directory, file servers, and other Microsoft services."
 

Cons

"UI is not very user-friendly."
"Microsoft Active Directory restricts most of the features our company's employees want to use since they are involved in research and development activities."
"Active Directory's user experience is a little dated. Group policy management should be more customizable."
"The product must provide remote password reset features."
"Short-term fixes are like band-aids."
"If you are using the Active Directory, the main concern is that the policy is restricted to the specific local area network."
"The cloud service of Microsoft Active Directory is an area with certain shortcomings that need improvement."
"There could be enough material to learn about the product."
"The GUI could be improved because this GUI was invented ten years ago, and now we have a modern user interface. This GUI is a bit older than expected in this market."
"Configuring the solution with online services, like Microsoft Exchange Online, is difficult."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Active Directory is not an expensive solution."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten."
"My company makes payments every quarter towards the licensing costs of the product."
"Its price is reasonable."
"We have to purchase a license for the solution."
"I'm unsure about the cost of the solution, as I was never involved in that aspect. However, I don't think it would be expensive. It might be average, around four or five out of ten."
"The solution is based on a licensing model."
"The license is perpetual and the cost is minimal. If you purchase Microsoft Windows then Microsoft Active Directory comes with the package."
"The pricing of the solution is fine. I rate the pricing a five out of ten."
"The pricing of the solution is fine. I rate the pricing a five out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Educational Organization
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
10%
Retailer
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Active Directory?
The solution is easy to install and has good reliability.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Active Directory?
Technology is evolving. AI is offering solutions. However, short-term fixes are like band-aids.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?
I utilize it in almost every scenario. I use the Hazer database and meet daily needs across every industry, every time.
What do you like most about SolarWinds Access Rights Manager?
It's pretty easy to manage, and quite easy to deploy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Access Rights Manager?
The pricing of the solution is fine. I rate the pricing a five out of ten.
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Access Rights Manager?
First configuration may be difficult if you didn't deep dive into documentation. I recommend contacting some partners to help you deploy it in your environment.
 

Also Known As

No data available
SolarWinds ARM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Accenture, Emerson, Lockheed Martin, Nielsen, NTT
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Active Directory vs. SolarWinds Access Rights Manager and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,190 professionals have used our research since 2012.