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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
276
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (2nd), Identity Management (IM) (3rd), 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
21st
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 July 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 6.0%, down from 15.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec VIP Access Manager is 2.1%, 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 ID6.0%
Symantec VIP Access Manager2.1%
Other91.9%
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

"Multi-factor authentication really secures our environments and gives us the flexibility to use location-based policies. Azure AD also gives us a lot of flexibility in our scope of integration."
"Azure AD has features that have helped improve our security posture."
"Microsoft Entra ID Protection and Microsoft Sentinel are both excellent monitoring features for Microsoft Entra ID."
"The security features are great. They will report in advance to you in the case of suspicious activity."
"The solution adds an extra layer of security."
"Microsoft customer service is the best in the industry."
"Microsoft Entra ID efficiently responds to numerous requests, and we have not faced significant connectivity issues, making it reliable."
"https://www.itcentralstation.com/product_reviews/microsoft-bi-review-52460-by-amanda-zhou"
"Cloud-based service and management."
"It's a good tool. It's pretty straightforward."
"The main benefit of Symantec VIP is that it provides strong authentication while keeping it as a very user friendly experience."
"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."
"The two-factor authentication is most definitely valuable and moves us closer to being able to check off those important boxes for compliance."
"VIP is a strong, cloud-based authentication service that enables organizations to secure access to networks and applications to prevent unauthorized logins to company resources, even when passwords have been compromised or shared."
"It is easy to use."
"I like the whole solution, and I would recommend it."
 

Cons

"I would like it to be easier to integrate third-party applications."
"Its price should be improved. It is very expensive for Turkish people."
"My understanding is, in the future, they will be able to bring everything into one single platform and they are not there yet."
"Initially, we wanted to exclude specific users from MSA. So, we had a condition policy, which forces MSA for all the users. So we wanted to exclude users who are using an NPS extension. So it was not listed, as a NPS extension was not listed outside an application, in actual, so, we go back and were not able to exclude users using NPS extension from MSA. So that was one limitation that we found and we had to work around that."
"I rate Microsoft support five out of 10. It's just okay."
"There is a concept of cross-tenant trust relationships, which I believe Microsoft is actively pursuing."
"When it comes to Azure, creating certain things or getting different resources isn't very clear. You need a certain level of knowledge of the system. It could be a little bit more friendly so that some of the things can be done easily, but after everything is created, it's easy to use."
"The solution could be improved when it comes to monitoring and logging as these are the most critical areas in case something was to go wrong."
"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. I never have to contact the vendor."
"Geofencing needs improvement."
"Technical support is one of the worst problems."
"In the next release, I would like the ability to work offline with remote access."
"Our only issue was with user training. The additional challenge was not well received."
"In my opinion, for this solution, the technical support is not so expert when we talk about integration using the API."
"The VIP Manager can be accessed from the outside which is a security vulnerability."
"It is challenging to use when installing a new version."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Everything needs to be considered for the requirements and if it is within the budget, then you can come up with a solution, whether it is SaaS, PaaS, or IaaS."
"Azure AD comes with Office 365, so we are just paying for the Office 365 license."
"It is good. We have Office 365 E3, and then that is tied in with Azure Active Directory. I believe that we only have to pay for our technician-level access or IT department access for Azure Active Directory Premium, which I am sure they call Entra Premium P2 licensing, so it is not a very large cost. We just adopted that, and that gives us a lot of insights into user security that we would not otherwise have."
"MFA and P2 licenses for two Azures for fully-enabled scenarios and features cost a lot of money. This is where Okta is trying to get the prices down."
"We don't really have a choice. It's the one shop in town. If you want this, you have to pay for it."
"We pay about $35 per user."
"The licensing cost is a bit prohibitive."
"Its price is okay. It is easy to go from P1 to P2 license. It is not exactly a bargain, but I would recommend the P2 license."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business90
Midsize Enterprise40
Large Enterprise161
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 pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that going through and being able to use these things is always part of delivering an M365 bundle, so I don't think the experience is great ...
What needs improvement with Azure Active Directory?
Microsoft Entra ID can be improved by open-sourcing it. You already have Windows Subsystem for Linux, which is open-source Linux in Microsoft. One major shift for Microsoft would be using the commo...
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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: June 2026.
903,807 professionals have used our research since 2012.