Microsoft Entra ID vs NetIQ Identity Manager comparison

Microsoft and OpenText are both solutions in the Identity Management (IM) category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7, while OpenText is ranked #18 with an average rating of 7.7. Microsoft holds a 12.5% mindshare in IAM, compared to OpenText’s 1.9% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of OpenText users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

NetIQ Identity Manager and Microsoft Entra ID are products competing in the identity management solutions category. Microsoft Entra ID has gained an advantage due to its comprehensive features and perceived value, although it may have higher costs.

Features: NetIQ Identity Manager is recognized for its robust attribute synchronization, event-driven provisioning, and flexible integration capabilities. Microsoft Entra ID is distinguished by its advanced security features, scalability, and seamless integration within Microsoft's ecosystem.

Room for Improvement: NetIQ Identity Manager could enhance its cloud capabilities, improve the user interface, and expand integration with third-party services. Microsoft Entra ID could benefit from improved customer service, more competitive pricing, and simplifying customization processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NetIQ offers a structured deployment model aimed to minimize disruption, complemented by personalized customer support. Microsoft Entra ID's cloud-first deployment model ensures swift integration within Microsoft environments, though its customer service tends to be viewed as standard.

Pricing and ROI: NetIQ Identity Manager generally offers a lower initial setup cost and a favorable ROI for environments with specific customizations, whereas Microsoft Entra ID might require higher upfront investment but offers substantial ROI through comprehensive feature delivery aligned with Microsoft services.

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

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID vs. NetIQ Identity Manager

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

Omada Identity

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of Omada Identity is 3.3%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 12.5%, down from 13.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetIQ Identity Manager is 1.9%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Identity Management (IM)

Featured Reviews

Pernilla Hulth

IAM Project Manager (Independent) at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

The interface is easy to use and gives you a solid overview

The cloud-based deployment was straightforward, but the on-prem deployment was in a highly complex ecosystem. Omada has matured since then. I wouldn't say that it isn't straightforward, but it depends on the customer. A standard deployment is relatively easy, but it can be more painful if you need a lot of customization. We deployed the cloud solution in around four months, nearly meeting the 12-week benchmark. The on-prem deployment took three years. It was a highly complex ecosystem that was dependent on other systems. Depending on the size of your environment, you need a product owner and some specialists for maintenance. My last customer was a university with a complex environment. They had around 12 people involved in maintenance at that organization. Typically, it's between 2-5 people.

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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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SYAMSUL SALAM

Solutions Architect at Pos DIgicert Sdn Bhd

The product is affordable and easy to use, but the technical support must be improved

The solution is used to manage SSO and login for internal applications The product enables detailed user management. The product is easy to use. Our users found it easier than Microsoft Identity Manager. The solution must add more configurations. There are different types of user identity in…

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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

"The most valuable functionality of the solution for us is that when employees stop working for the municipality, they are automatically disabled in Active Directory. Omada controls that 100 percent. They are disabled for 30 days, and after that time Omada deletes the Active Directory account. The same type of thing happens when we employ a new person. Their information is automatically imported to Omada and they are equipped with the roles and rights so they can do their jobs."

"Surveying is a valuable feature because it allows us to import data and see who has access to what data, for example."

"We are able to onboard new user accounts much faster by automating the process and standardizing our operations globally. Previously, there were many individual processes and manual admin interactions. We also see a lot of cost savings and benefits because through automation and standardization."

"Omada's user interface is elegant and easy to work with. I like Omada's ability to automatically generate accounts for new hires and allow them access to all required systems by established policies. Around 80 percent of workers can start working immediately on their first day without requesting further access."

"When we started with identity and access management, we cleaned up and skipped 500 accounts. Therefore, there are a lot of people who are still in our system. Using this tool, we have cleaned up a lot of accounts for ourselves as well as our partners and suppliers. So, we can manage everything now."

"Support-wise, working with Omada has been good. We have very good direct interactions and fast responses."

"It has a lot of out-of-the-box features. It is flexible, and there are a lot of possibilities to configure and extend it. It is user-friendly. It has an interface that is end-user or business-user friendly."

"I appreciate all the support we receive from Omada."

More Omada Identity pros

"We have the ability to define the email user in the designated field."

"Azure AD has features that have helped improve our security posture."

"The benefits of using this solution were realized straightaway."

"The scalability is good now, and I find it to be more stable and faster since scaling up to ESX."

"We like the ease of app registrations and single sign-on with Entra ID. It offers an easy way to add multi-factor authentication to nearly any application and system."

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

"It is great for mom-and-pop shops or small businesses that are truly coming into the enterprise ecosystem and that have not come from a legacy environment."

"One of the most important is the Conditional Access. It helps affect a Zero Trust strategy positively."

More Microsoft Entra ID pros

"The access request management has improved significantly in terms of its user interface. What sets it apart from competitors like SailPoint is that it's an event-based solution rather than schedule-based. That's a key differentiator."

"I like the eDirectory feature."

"The most valuable feature of this solution has been the ability for us to integrate a lot of external systems, and the automatic transfer of a lot of identity information. Additionally, the customization is very good."

"The main value lies in the simplicity of implementation, as well as its customized look and feel."

"NetIQ does not have a limit on the number of users."

"The most valuable features of NetIQ Identity Manager are the synchronization of different directories, such as Active Directory. We have many Active Directory systems, not only one."

"The most valuable features are Password Reset Alerts, Password Sync, and SQL connectors."

"It's a very flexible tool, so you can synchronize multiple sources of data and you have multiple connections to various kinds of systems."

More NetIQ Identity Manager pros

Cons

"I would like more training. As someone who is new to this world, I don't feel that the courses Omada provides are good enough. They should also improve the documentation. It is difficult to learn how to use the solution by yourself"

"We are trying to use Omada's standards and to adapt our processes. But we have had some trouble with the bad documentation. This is something that they could improve on. It has not been possible for us to analyze some of the problems so far, based on the documentation. We always need consultants. The documentation should include some implementation hints and some guidelines for implementing the processes."

"When making a process, you should be able to use some coding to do some advanced calculations. The calculations you can currently do are too basic. I would also like some additional script features."

"The backend is pretty good but the self-service request access screen, the GUI, needs improvement. It's an old-fashioned screen. Also, Omada has reports, but I wouldn't dare show them to the business because they look like they're from 1995. I know they are working on these things and that’s good, because they’re really needed."

"The reporting and importing have room for improvement."

"The current reporting tools in Omada are limited, but we expect significant improvements in the new version."

"What I would most like to see added to the product is role management, especially enterprise or business role management, and the processes around that."

"The architecture of the entire system should also be less complex. The way they process the data is complex."

More Omada Identity cons

"Azure AD provides two types of features. One is Azure AD Excel and is already B2C. Out of both versions, Azure B2C requires some improvement, in terms of user management and role management, et cetera."

"The technical support could improve by having a faster response time."

"I believe it can also be integrated into other Microsoft products, as well as more integrations with other solutions."

"One challenge with Entra ID is its complexity, stemming from integrating many components into a single solution."

"There is no documentation about how Microsoft will scale Azure AD for customers. It only mentions that it will scale out if you have a lot of requests but does not mention how in detail."

"It would be good to have more clarity around licensing."

"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."

"Something that can be improved is their user interface"

More Microsoft Entra ID cons

"The vendor must provide an easier console for configuring things for smaller customers."

"There's no huge thing missing, because it's already comprehensive. Now and then, however, there might be a minor issue."

"It needs some modern features. They should improve and modernize their management interface. It has been created over years and by different persons. You can see different applications, different management consoles for different things. There should be an integrated interface."

"NetIQ Identity Manager could improve by updating the user portal, it is out of date."

"Areas for improvement are further enhancing the access granting process to reduce time and improve accuracy."

"We have another system that is using the SAML system, and we also integrate with Active Directory only. If NetIQ Identity Manager can integrate directly, we would not need to use the Active Directory directory."

"The solution architecture is somewhat complex. For some components, the necessary resilience is not inherent."

"If it could be operated in such a way that anybody could use it, with just the user interface, and there's no need for programming, then that would be a great improvement."

More NetIQ Identity Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There were a lot of administrator, partner, and supplier accounts for people who were no longer working for us but still in the system. So, we reduced the number of users no longer with the company, which saved us some money on licensing."

"My client deals directly with the Omada Identity team in terms of licensing. I never look at pricing, so I'm not aware of how much the solution costs, but it's worth the money. Often, when you begin to use Omada Identity and it takes a while to set up, it'll be irreversible, and you'd depend on and focus more on the functionality of the solution, rather than its price tag."

"Being Dutch, I can only say that it is extremely expensive, but all software products are expensive. If you have 38,000 users, then even one dollar or one euro per person would amount to a significant amount of money. Because of the high number of users, anything gets expensive very fast here."

"Omada Identity is very reasonably and competitively priced."

"Omada Identity is competitively priced and delivers good value for our money."

"Omada Identity offers a reasonable price point, but it will increase as we transition to the cloud."

"Omada continues to be very competitive on pricing, especially on the Omada cloud product."

"The pricing is too high for SMBs."

More Omada Identity pricing and cost advice

"It is bundled with other services and the pricing is quite reasonable."

"It is very expensive. Its price should be lower. Price is the most important factor for Turkish people."

"From a pricing standpoint, with all the services that we get, we are okay. I do not see a problem with the pricing structure. We are getting our money's worth."

"Microsoft has a free version of Azure AD. So, if you don't do a lot of advanced features, then you can use the free version, which is no cost at all because it is underpinning Office 365. Because Microsoft gives it to you as a SaaS, so there are no infrastructure costs whatsoever that you need to incur. If you use the free version, then it is free. If you use the advanced features (that we use), it is a license fee per user."

"Pricing could always be better. You pay the premium for Microsoft. Sometimes, it is worth it, and at other times, you wish to have more licensing options, especially for smaller companies."

"We have a yearly license."

"The solution costs us 60,000 Rupees annually, just over $700, and there are no additional costs."

"For you to make use of some of the security features, you need to upgrade your licenses. If it is possible, could they just make some features free? For instance, for the Condition Access policy, you need to set that up and be on Azure AD P2 licensing. So if they could make it free or reduce the licensing for small businesses, that would be cool, as I believe security is for everyone."

More Microsoft Entra ID pricing and cost advice

"The price of the solution is a bit high and could be reduced."

"It would easily help them in getting more market and more customers if more consultants knew about their software. If they could keep it free for schools for teaching purposes, it would be good. I had to pay myself to get it and use it for training. Their competitors are giving it for free. I had to pay for it myself. They are losing market to their competitors."

"Micro Focus is flexible when it comes to price. The cost varies from customer to customer. There are no additional costs, though. Everything is included."

"I would rate the pricing a two out of ten, with one being low price and ten being high price. It is significantly more cost-effective than the major players in the market."

"The solution is quite affordable."

"You just need to be aware that the more systems you connect, the more license fees you have to pay."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Educational Organization

33%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Omada Identity Cloud?

As an administrator, we benefit from a lot of functionality that is available out of the box, but it is also configur...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Omada Identity Cloud?

They are positioned at a good price point. They are lower than some of their competitors.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Omada Identity Cloud?

The biggest issue, which is the reason why we are transitioning from their product to SailPoint, is the overall user ...

See all answers

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 Du...

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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. W...

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 parti...

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What do you like most about NetIQ Identity Manager?

The most valuable feature of NetIQ Identity Manager for identity synchronization is the ability to provide users with...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetIQ Identity Manager?

The pricing depends on whether we buy the solution as a service or a license. The license is expensive. If we buy it ...

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What needs improvement with NetIQ Identity Manager?

The tool is used mostly in big systems to understand what is happening. There are not many technicians who know how t...

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Comparisons

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs Omada Identity

Compared 30% of the time

Saviynt vs Omada Identity

Compared 17% of the time

One Identity Manager vs Omada Identity

Compared 7% of the time

SAP Identity Management vs Omada Identity

Compared 6% of the time

Ping Identity Platform vs Omada Identity

Compared 4% of the time

More Omada Identity 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

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs NetIQ Identity Manager

Compared 35% of the time

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs NetIQ Identity Manager

Compared 17% of the time

One Identity Manager vs NetIQ Identity Manager

Compared 10% of the time

Saviynt vs NetIQ Identity Manager

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Identity Manager vs NetIQ Identity Manager

Compared 6% of the time

More NetIQ Identity Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Omada Identity

March 2025

Download Omada Identity product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID

March 2025

Download Microsoft Entra ID product report

Buyer's Guide

NetIQ Identity Manager

March 2025

Download NetIQ Identity Manager product report

Also Known As

Omada Identity Suite, Omada Identity Cloud

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

Novell Identity Manager

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Omada

Microsoft

Demo not available

OpenText

Overview

Omada Identity is an identity governance and administration (IGA) solution designed to help organizations manage and secure digital identities and access across their IT environments. It focuses on enhancing security, compliance, and efficiency by automating identity management processes.

Omada Identity offers a robust set of features that streamline identity lifecycle management, access governance, and compliance reporting. It integrates with a wide range of IT systems, applications, and data sources, providing a centralized platform for managing user identities and access rights. The solution enables organizations to enforce security policies, ensure regulatory compliance, and reduce the risk of unauthorized access.

What are the critical features of Omada Identity?

Identity Lifecycle Management: Automates the process of creating, updating, and deactivating user identities throughout their lifecycle.
Access Governance: Ensures that users have appropriate access rights, enabling continuous monitoring and recertification of access.
Compliance Reporting: Provides comprehensive reporting capabilities to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Simplifies the assignment and management of access rights based on user roles within the organization.
Self-Service Access Requests: Empowers users to request access to resources through a user-friendly portal, reducing administrative burden.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with various systems, applications, and data sources for unified identity and access management.

What benefits or ROI items should users look for in the reviews when evaluating Omada Identity?

Improved Security: By ensuring that only authorized users have access to sensitive information, Omada Identity enhances overall security posture.
Regulatory Compliance: Helps organizations meet compliance requirements by providing detailed audit trails and reporting features.
Operational Efficiency: Automates routine identity management tasks, reducing manual effort and freeing up IT resources for strategic initiatives.
User Productivity: Streamlines access management processes, enabling users to quickly obtain the resources they need to perform their jobs.
Reduced Risk: Minimizes the risk of data breaches and insider threats by enforcing strict access controls and continuous monitoring.

Omada Identity is widely adopted across various industries, including healthcare, finance, and manufacturing. In healthcare, it helps protect patient data and comply with regulations like HIPAA. In finance, it ensures compliance with SOX and other financial regulations. In manufacturing, it secures access to sensitive production data and intellectual property.

Pricing and licensing for Omada Identity are typically based on the number of users and the specific features required. Customer support is available through various channels, including online resources, support tickets, and professional services for implementation and customization.

In summary, Omada Identity is a comprehensive IGA solution that enhances security, compliance, and efficiency in managing digital identities and access.

Omada

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

NetIQ Identity Manager delivers a complete, yet affordable solution to control who has access to what across your enterprise both inside the firewall and into the cloud. It enables you to provide secure and convenient access to critical information for business users, while meeting compliance demands.

OpenText

Sample Customers

Bayer, ECCO Shoes, Vattenfall, NuStar Energy, Unicredit, Schiphol Group, BMW Group, Deutsche Leasing

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

Sheetz

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID vs. NetIQ Identity Manager

March 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Entra ID vs. NetIQ Identity Manager

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Entra ID vs. NetIQ Identity Manager and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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