AWS Directory Service vs Idira Identity comparison

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

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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

AWS Directory Service

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (19th)

Idira Identity

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Authentication Systems (8th), Identity Management (IM) (8th), Authorization Software (2nd), Enterprise Password Managers (10th), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (9th), Access Management (6th), Active Directory Management (6th), Cloud Resource Access Management (3rd), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (8th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Identity and Access Management solutions, they serve different purposes. AWS Directory Service is designed for Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) and holds a mindshare of 1.0%, down 1.3% compared to last year.
Idira Identity, on the other hand, focuses on Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM), holds 4.7% mindshare, up 4.0% since last year.

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
AWS Directory Service	1.0%
Microsoft Entra ID	16.3%
Google Cloud Identity	10.8%
Other	71.9%

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)

Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Idira Identity	4.7%
Okta Platform	14.3%
Auth0 Platform	11.4%
Other	69.6%

Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)

Featured Reviews

Akram Zaki

IT Specialist at FlairsTech

Hybrid directory service has streamlined global server access and supported reliable daily operations

Some features in AWS Directory Service are not automated and are not scriptable, so they require manual work. In today's world where everything is pretty much automated and scriptable using AI, this is a downside. The price is another concern. AWS is really expensive. They provide an awesome service in general, but it's still expensive, very expensive. AD Connector is an application which connects my own Active Directory to AWS Directory Service or AWS infrastructure. There is a bit of latency which is bound by the AD Connector availability. If the AD Connector is having issues, there is a bit of latency, but in general, it's way better than Microsoft Azure. Still, it could be better. The migration was a bit challenging and required intensive planning and migration time. That is always a hassle. No matter which cloud environment you're moving into, the migration is sensitive because you're generally moving from on-premise to a cloud environment, so there is downtime and there are unexpected issues and errors. It needs very careful planning before doing the migration itself. AWS Directory Service is lacking a few things which could be better. Single sign-on federation is missing. SCIM provisioning is not available. In my company, we use other services for SSO federation, SCIM provisioning, and authentication because of these gaps. I would like AWS Directory Service to enroll a multi-factor authentication method. I would like to have an SSO federation where users, if we're hosting applications in AWS, would not need to log in to each application. Single sign-on would log in the user to their account and from there they can open all their applications without requiring a login each time. One of the other cons in AWS is that directories cannot span multiple regions because it's a region-bound architecture. This requires several directories for multi-region deployment. This is the case on my end because my company has several branches all over the world, so it requires several deployments.

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Radosław Szyszko

Security Consultant at Clico

Modern access controls have streamlined daily MFA use and support complex privileged workflows

The area that is missing much is about the reporting part. I would rate Idira Identity in general about eight. It has a good set of features compared to other identity security platforms. It's well-composed on different layers but requires platformization to go further to make it easier to use. You can do many things in it, but you need a lot of knowledge about dependencies of many things, so it requires time and big knowledge, and for the customer, it's a tough task now. It was very bad in the past. Now it's going better, and I expect that this platformization transition will help in succeeding more in the future.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Two-step authentication is very useful and important."

"What we appreciate most about AWS Directory Service is the high availability."

"The most valuable feature is ease of use."

"AWS Directory Service is very useful; it is a role-based mechanism, similar to identity management, and it is one of the most useful AWS features."

"We like the fact that it's got such great redundancy."

"This solution does what we want to achieve."

"The most valuable feature is that because it's all in the cloud, you don't need to manage the infrastructure."

"The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost."

More AWS Directory Service pros

"The best feature of CyberArk Identity is the single sign-on feature that offers quick and one-click access."

"The user self-service program and the Office 365 provisioning service feature are the most valuable. It is a very easy and feature-rich solution that gives priority to the users and security."

"The tool helps with authentication. It acts as an MFA for any kind of privileged access that occurs in our organization."

"We haven't encountered any problems with respect to the stability of this solution; it is very stable."

"The user identification is simplified, and managing user privileges, whether adding or revoking them, is also quite straightforward when utilizing CyberArk SaaS."

"The straight-through approach of CyberArk Identity is very easy to start with; after you start with it, you can very easily onboard your privileged accounts, and from there on, you can advance further and make it more and more secure."

"I find the CyberArk Identity portal quite intuitive; it has changed a lot over the last year and a half and if you think logically and understand your environment, it is easy to establish a suitable setup for yourself and all your vendors."

"The most valuable features of CyberArk Identity are its ability to control access to administrative staff."

More Idira Identity pros

Cons

"Can be improved by including on-premises access for services through Identity Access Management."

"I'd like to see some additional features, similar to what Azure has."

"AWS Directory Service needs to improve processing."

"We had a problem with the schema uploading and setting up the directory when we are migrating our users from on-premises to cloud infrastructure."

"Accessing the data needs improvement."

"The group policy can be improved."

"The AWS Directory Service should be easier to integrate."

"To get CloudWatch to monitor your memory and storage, you have to do some configuration within your server, which sometimes results in errors."

More AWS Directory Service cons

"The reporting functionality is somewhat complicated. While I would rate CyberArk Identity and Okta on the same level, Okta's reporting is crisper and clearer."

"I'm not sure what needs improvement. It is a good platform."

"The OpenID features could improve in CyberArk Identity."

"The user interface could be improved."

"CyberArk Identity is kind of expensive."

"Room for improvement for CyberArk Identity might be on the support side, as they constantly improve with new features and remove redundant ones, integrating multiple steps into a single one for easier use; however, this is not just CyberArk Identity, as many vendors start with basic troubleshooting services without recognizing that knowledgeable users often reach out after exhausting those options."

"When you translate the page from one language to another, it can be a difficult process. The translation isn't always good, and it may have a completely different name. I've noticed this in the English to Spanish translation."

"In terms of a governance platform, it's worth noting that CyberArk doesn't offer a particularly strong one."

More Idira Identity cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"AWS' pricing is fair, and costs can be cut if you look carefully at when you're using it."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"We pay an annual subscription fee."

"The pricing depends because with AWS there are two types of directory objects: 30,000 and 500,000. It varies. AWS provides the pricing calculators so we can get an estimate from there as per the company requirement of how many users and objects that we need to create. So we can go to that portal, put in the data, and get the quotation. There are no extra licensing fees. It's all included."

"I think it is a fairly priced tool. I rate the tool between six and seven on a scale of one to ten where one is expensive, and ten is cheap."

"There could be some additional costs apart from the licensing costs of the solution when you want to develop connectors in CyberArk Identity."

"The solution is cheap and I rate its pricing an eight out of ten."

"Their pricing is obviously a lot higher than many vendors in the marketplace but their service is also unmatched."

"It's not that affordable compared to Delinea or other products. They're less expensive and allow more customization. For the cost, it is expensive."

"I would rate the tool’s pricing a seven out of ten. The product’s pricing is expensive and is on a yearly basis. You will need to pay around 10,000 GBP for 500 users."

"The pricing of CyberArk Identity is competitive."

"We find that the pricing and licensing of this solution is adequate, as compared to the other competitors in the market."

More Idira Identity pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) solutions are best for your needs.

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920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Performing Arts

Government

Outsourcing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Construction Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	10

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Directory Service?

The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost. You do not need to hire any system administrator to manage your Active Directory.

What needs improvement with AWS Directory Service?

What advice do you have for others considering AWS Directory Service?

I would like AWS Directory Service to enroll a multi-factor authentication method. I would like to have an SSO federation where users, if we're hosting applications in AWS, would not need to log in...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CyberArk Identity?

I am not certain about CyberArk Identity's exact pricing model. For comparison, Okta was around five dollars per user. CyberArk Identity offers good discounts to some clients, which influences thei...

What needs improvement with CyberArk Identity?

What is your primary use case for CyberArk Identity?

I'm working with on-premises solutions. Back in the time there were no other options. I use multi-factor authentication with Idira Identity. I sell it, I deploy it, so it's something that is really...

Microsoft Entra ID vs AWS Directory Service

Comparisons

Compared 17% of the time

Okta Platform vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 14% of the time

Google Cloud Identity vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 7% of the time

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 6% of the time

Idira IGA vs AWS Directory Service

Compared 3% of the time

More AWS Directory Service Competitors

Okta Platform vs Idira Identity

Compared 4% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Idira Identity

Compared 4% of the time

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs Idira Identity

Compared 4% of the time

1Password Business vs Idira Identity

Compared 3% of the time

Auth0 Platform vs Idira Identity

Compared 3% of the time

More Idira Identity Competitors

Product Reports

AWS Directory Service

Download AWS Directory Service product report

Idira Identity

Download Idira Identity product report

Also Known As

AWS Managed Microsoft AD

Idaptive

Overview

AWS Directory Service offers a cloud-based infrastructure for managing secure access, allowing seamless integration with other services and reducing hardware costs. It enhances reliability and access management for enterprises.

AWS Directory Service is integrated with Amazon services such as EC2 and RDS, providing high availability, quick replication, and seamless disaster recovery. Its cloud-based nature eliminates the need for hardware management, delivering cost efficiency and robust secure access management. Users benefit from its role-based mechanisms, redundancy, scalability, and low downtime, addressing diverse access and management needs. Despite its strengths, difficulties with integration, automation, and user interface have been noted. The lack of single sign-on and multi-factor authentication, along with challenges in migration and configuration, highlight areas for improvement. Users also desire expanded regional coverage and better integration with CloudWatch.

What are the key features of AWS Directory Service?

Cloud Infrastructure: Provides a cloud-based directory eliminating the need for physical hardware.
Secure Access Management: Ensures managed access and hybrid operations across networks.
Integration with EC2 and RDS: Supports seamless integration with Amazon EC2 and RDS.
High Availability: Offers robust and reliable directory service with minimal downtime.
Role-Based Mechanisms: Allows precise control over permissions and access levels.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Cost Efficiency: Saves expenses related to hardware and its maintenance.
Scalability: Adapts to increasing company needs effortlessly.
Performance: Delivers consistent directory performance without disruptions.
Redundancy: Provides exceptional backup solutions to prevent data loss.

AWS Directory Service is predominantly leveraged in industries requiring secure data management and integration with Microsoft Active Directory. It's widely used for domain authentication and policy implementation in sectors such as banking, where centralized data processing and enhanced security layers are crucial. Its role in managing ACL permissions and IAM for special access is critical, especially in environments handling sensitive information.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

CyberArk Identity is a versatile identity management solution suitable for a wide range of enterprises. It is designed to enhance enterprise security and improve user experience. Its focus on security, compliance, and operational efficiency, combined with positive user feedback, makes it a strong contender in the identity management space.

CyberArk Identity offers a robust suite of features to manage user identities and access privileges. It focuses on securing access to resources across various environments, including cloud and on-premises applications. Its capabilities include single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), lifecycle management, and privileged access management. These features are engineered to streamline access control, enhance security, and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.

Single Sign-On (SSO) simplifies user access by providing a single authentication point for multiple applications.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security by requiring additional verification methods.
Lifecycle Management automates user account provisioning and deprovisioning, aligning with HR processes and compliance requirements.
Privileged Access Management secures and monitors access to critical systems and data by privileged users.

According to our user interviews, CyberArk Identity is praised for its reliability and user-friendly interface. IT professionals highlight the ease of integration with existing systems, while business executives appreciate the visibility it provides into access and identity management across the organization. Users also commend the responsive customer support, which is crucial for enterprise-level solutions.

IT Professionals found that CyberArk Identity's focus on multi-layered security significantly reduced the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access. With a centralized dashboard and automation features, you can streamline identity and access management tasks, saving time and reducing complexity. Finally, it helps meet various compliance requirements.

Idira by Palo Alto Networks

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers

MLB, Citi, Pfizer, SulAmerica, GE Capital, Shiseido

Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)