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Microsoft Entra ID vs Symantec VIP Access Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 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 Entra ID
Ranking in Authentication Systems
1st
Ranking in Access Management
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
277
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (2nd), Identity Management (IM) (2nd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)
Symantec VIP Access Manager
Ranking in Authentication Systems
12th
Ranking in Access Management
22nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 5.8%, down from 14.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec VIP Access Manager is 2.0%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Entra ID5.8%
Symantec VIP Access Manager2.0%
Other92.2%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Stafin Jacob - PeerSpot reviewer
Microsoft 365 Security & Compliance Practice Lead at Invoke
Identity has become our central gatekeeper and has provided secure single sign-on for all users
Microsoft Entra ID can improve by focusing more on new passwordless methods and becoming a primary adopter. One feature we would like to see is the ability to have security questions for password resets. I know the current capability is phasing out, so we do not have an alternative method yet. Customers who already use security questions require a smoother transition for that capability to be available. My experience with the deployment has had some challenges, particularly around the Microsoft MFA campaigns. The hardest part is moving users from a different MFA provider to the Microsoft MFA provider, as it ultimately depends on user activity. In large enterprises with numerous users across various geographies, this transition takes time. If there are ways to exert more control around that process, it would improve the situation.
Berk Onur - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Consultant at Cyberwise
With its mobile application, this tool offers a convenient and user-friendly experience to its users
To improve the tool, I think that the solution should consider integrations with other cybersecurity and IT technologies, such as Privileged Access Management and Site Integration. Additionally, the implementation of second-factor authentication via Symantec VIP Access Manager, CyberArk, and Delinea, among other technologies, could be best for the product. While the existing technology is okay, improving the integration capabilities for Symantec VIP Access Manager would benefit the product. I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company. While many cybersecurity solutions can function independently, they often lack integration with our systems due to missed integration points. Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"With Azure Active Directory we were able to manage with different options the access for different users."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is that is easy to use."
"We use it for authentication where we have cloud services, it syncs with Active Directory on-prem, and we have about 1,800 people using it."
"We simply use Azure AD and everything is taken care of instantly; you need not worry about user management because everything is taken care of by Azure AD itself and you just simply have it in your application and everything is done out-of-the-box."
"Microsoft Entra ID is regarded as the best ID management suite for integrating applications using SAML 2.0 for single sign-on."
"This solution is less time-consuming. We don't have to hire as many resources to give permissions to a particular user or group for any application."
"The ability to see and control PCs and mobile devices is the most valuable. I can see where they are and how many we have. I can also see the age and retention of PCs."
"The product is easy to install and quick to deploy."
"The ease of integrating into an existing authentication system."
"The main benefit of Symantec VIP is that it provides strong authentication while keeping it as a very user friendly experience."
"It offers more platform support, like Apple, Android, and Microsoft."
"Integration with Citrix Access Gateway, Microsoft Office 365 and Single Sign-On (through Symantec Validation and ID Protection Access Manager) has increased the productivity of the employees for accessing resources."
"Pricing was about 25% of the old solution, saving us about $500,000 over three years for 10,000 users."
"The product is useful for providing user access from an in-built office server as we follow the work-from-home model."
"In this version 9.1, lots of changes are done for the dashboard, User Store etc."
"It is a fast and easy solution for end users, and you are always online."
 

Cons

"We find that most of the new features are in preview for too long."
"An area where there is room for improvement is the ease of use of the dashboards."
"For example, there were some authentication features that, for security purposes, had certain limitations. Those limitations still exist, but the portal now has options so that the customers can make custom features to manage their identity."
"Certain aspects of the user interface can be rather clunky and slow. It can sometimes be circular in terms of clicking a link for a risky user sign-in and seeing what the risky login attempts were. It takes you in a circle back to where you started, so drilling down into details, especially if you are not in it every day and it is one of many tools that you use, can be difficult. It can be difficult to track down the source of an issue."
"In the compliance area, the granulation of access to storage accounts or Kubernetes could be improved."
"The robustness of the conditional access feature of the zero trust strategy to verify users is adequate but not comprehensive."
"The technical support has room for improvement."
"Documentation I think is always the worst part with what Azure's doing right now across the board."
"Maybe Symantec could consider providing a step-by-step guide for first-time users."
"The User Store synchronization part needs to improve. Also, the logs, reports, and dashboard can be improved."
"There are some shortcomings on the reporting side, such as how many connections you can get per month."
"I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company...Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial."
"It is challenging to use when installing a new version."
"The gateway server is a RADIUS server, but it lacks the functionality of returning RADIUS attributes other than those that are required for the gateway to authenticate the users."
"Every time that I have a new phone or computer, it takes a little longer to deploy it."
"Technical support is one of the worst problems."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of Azure Active Directory is competitive. By default, the product exists in almost every Microsoft cloud product. But it then depends on the features that a customer really wants to make use of."
"Entra has P1 and P2 licenses that are bundled with lots of applications."
"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."
"The solution was fairly priced the last time I checked the costs."
"I'd recommend Azure Active Directory if you are a big company. For small or medium companies, it's probably not the best idea in the world because of the pricing. If you are a small company, you can probably deploy your own solutions because you're not handling a website with tons of traffic. If you are not like Adidas, Nike, or Walmart, you can do it in a way that is more localized than handling everything through a big price solution. However, Azure tends to provide you with solutions that are easier to use. If it was cheaper, I'd definitely recommend going for it."
"The licensing is really not clear unless you are a premium client."
"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."
"If you are dealing with one supplier with an out-of-the-box solution, which provides you end-to-end capabilities, then it is naturally cheaper and less of a headache to manage and operate."
"There is a one-time setup fee plus the licenses are provided as per the number of users. For SMS and voice calls, the costs are separate."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Construction Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business89
Midsize Enterprise42
Large Enterprise162
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

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 Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?
I would rate the pricing of the product as four out of five. The product is definitely good, and I see it as part of the future roadmap for managing all endpoints.
What needs improvement with Azure Active Directory?
I believe instead of putting everything in a single form under Microsoft Entra ID, it would be best for Microsoft to segregate these features. For example, if someone wants to design the Conditiona...
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Also Known As

Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator
Symantec VIP
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Entra ID vs. Symantec VIP Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
910,437 professionals have used our research since 2012.