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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
274
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), 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
19th
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 April 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 7.8%, down from 16.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec VIP Access Manager is 2.4%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Entra ID7.8%
Symantec VIP Access Manager2.4%
Other89.8%
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

"Overall the solution functions very well, such as the ability to access it from the cloud."
"The ability to offer employees access to any platform, including private PCs and tablets, has been a game-changer."
"Using this product has also had a positive effect on our end-user experience."
"The best feature is the single sign-on provision for the various type of users."
"Entra ID enables us to implement security easily and effectively."
"It helps us with maintaining enterprise identities."
"From an administrative perspective, we can now manage users from a single pane of glass, which enhances efficiency."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to set up conditional access, where you can enforce users to connect using multifactor authentication."
"The ease of integrating into an existing authentication system."
"I like the whole solution, and I would recommend it."
"The VPN we are using is good and working quite well."
"Mostly from a product expert's point of view, it provides solutions for my clients."
"Pricing was about 25% of the old solution, saving us about $500,000 over three years for 10,000 users."
"It is a fast and easy solution for end users, and you are always online."
"The two-factor authentication is most definitely valuable and moves us closer to being able to check off those important boxes for compliance."
"Cloud-based service and management."
 

Cons

"When implementing for one client, where they had ADFS turned on, we could not ID enough ADFS and when there was no internet connection. This was a Catch-22 for us, and very frustrating."
"Microsoft Entra ID could be improved with more out-of-the-box integrations with other parties."
"The subscription costs are quite high, so that area needs consideration."
"If your organization requires additional security then the subscription will be more expensive."
"The licensing cost is a bit prohibitive."
"The conditional access rules are a little limiting. There's greater scope for the variety of rules and conditions you could put in that rules around a more factual authentication for other users. If you have an Azure AD setup, you can then connect to other people's Azure AD, but you don't have a huge amount of control in terms of what you can do. Greater control over guest users and guest access would be better. It's pretty good as it is but that could be improved."
"When you start to deal with legacy applications, provisioning is not as intuitive."
"I have experienced downtime. We've had instances of downtime."
"It gets out of sync with Active Directory or whatever it might be, whatever the authentication piece is on Active Directory, and they just reset it on the backend."
"In my opinion, for this solution, the technical support is not so expert when we talk about integration using the API."
"At times, the relay server could not contact Symantec; it would fail open and allow access without a passcode."
"There are some shortcomings on the reporting side, such as how many connections you can get per month."
"It is challenging to use when installing a new version."
"In the next release, I would like the ability to work offline with remote access."
"The User Store synchronization part needs to improve. Also, the logs, reports, and dashboard can be improved."
"Geofencing needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have various levels of their licensing, which includes users on different levels of their enterprise offering."
"Entra ID is not too bad, but Microsoft licensing generally is insane. Most customers normally buy a bundle license with Microsoft 365, E3, or E5. Out of our 2,000 customers, for 99.9% of our customers, the Entra ID license that they are getting through the part of that would be sufficient. There are some more advanced ones that give you a bit more functionality, but we probably have not had a customer for that. We do not even internally use that ourselves. When you buy the Entra ID license on its own, it is probably three or four pounds. You just get it included in the license."
"If you have a different IDP today, I would take a close look at what your licensing looks like, then reevaluate the licensing that you have with Microsoft 365, and see if you're covered for some of this other stuff. Folks sometimes don't realize that, "Oh, I'm licensed for that service in Azure." This becomes one of those situations where you have the "aha" moment, "Oh, I didn't know we can do that. Alright, let's go down this road." Then, they start to have conversations with Microsoft to see what they can gain. I would recommend that they work closely with their TAM, just to make sure that they are getting the right level of service. They may just not be aware of what is available to them."
"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."
"I feel Microsoft is very costly compared to other products. That is also what management is thinking. But when we consider security and support, Microsoft is better than any other product."
"The cost of Azure AD is one of the biggest benefits, as it is available for use free of charge when you start with Office 365."
"There are add-on components and services, such as identity services, that we have to add to our Azure subscription. Only then can I actually say it's on par with the on-prem server edition. Why should I pay for a component? It should be included in my subscription."
"The licensing is really not clear unless you are a premium client."
"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."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business88
Midsize Enterprise39
Large Enterprise160
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?
My experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Entra ID is that it is decent.
What needs improvement with Azure Active Directory?
I think Microsoft Entra ID could be improved by assigning permissions to nested groups in the next release.
Ask a question
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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: March 2026.
885,728 professionals have used our research since 2012.