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ForgeRock vs Symantec VIP Access Manager comparison

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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

ForgeRock
Ranking in Access Management
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (9th), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (6th)
Symantec VIP Access Manager
Ranking in Access Management
30th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (16th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Access Management category, the mindshare of ForgeRock is 3.4%, down from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec VIP Access Manager is 1.8%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Access Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ForgeRock3.4%
Symantec VIP Access Manager1.8%
Other94.8%
Access Management
 

Featured Reviews

SR
Software Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Centralized access control has improved secure onboarding and supports strict compliance
I wish we had used ForgeRock's adaptive risk-based authentication, which allows dynamic adjustment of authentication requirements based on user behavior. This could have helped us further strengthen our security. Another hidden gem is the built-in support for custom authentication modules and scripting, which gives a great deal of flexibility to tailor authentication flows. The self-service capabilities for password resets and account recovery have been very helpful in reducing support overhead and improving user experience. Discovering and utilizing these features would have definitely made our integration even smoother and would have provided additional value for both our users and our security team. One area of improvement would be the user interface for policy and workflow configuration, which can become complex and sometimes unintuitive, especially for new administrators. A more streamlined and user-friendly UI would help reduce the learning curve. Enhanced out-of-the-box analytics and reporting would also be valuable, as our current options often require custom development or integration with external tools. While extensibility is a strength, documentation for advanced customizations and integrations could be more comprehensive and easier to follow. Improved support for seamless upgrades and backward compatibility would also help minimize downtime. In terms of performance, optimizing the platform for high concurrency environments would be beneficial, especially for organizations with large user bases or peak usage periods. Enhanced scalability features such as more granular or horizontal scaling options would provide better support for distributed deployments. For integrations, having more pre-built connectors and easy integration with modern cloud-native services would accelerate adoption. Improved monitoring and real-time health dashboards would help proactively identify and resolve performance bottlenecks.
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

"The solution integrates well and it is important for them to keep up with the current trends in the market quickly enough, and they have been doing a good job at it."
"One of the interesting projects was to use ForgeRock as software as a service for the biggest telecommunication company in Switzerland, where they used it as a service for their customers."
"Even though we have very small business interests with them today, they see that we plan on growing drastically over the next two years. Therefore, we have excellent support and we are now at a point where we are not calling tech support. We pick up a phone and call the Account Manager and they'll get everything resolved for us. We don't have to queue along with everybody else and go through a long process."
"For our client, which we are deploying for, the solution seems to be offering them really great value."
"Their access management solution, OpenAM, is most valuable because it meets the needs of a lot of users."
"We never experienced any user ID, user password, or personal information being leaked because it was a very secure system that we implemented properly."
"The solution is very scalable, and we have a lot of users that have been increasing over the years that we have been using it, with approximately 20,000 users."
"Better Access Management."
"After the initial integration, the overall support calls dropped, and customer satisfaction for VPN increased."
"Mostly from a product expert's point of view, it provides solutions for my clients."
"The tool has been very stable, in my experience. Also, I haven't faced any issues or problems with integration or connectivity."
"It is a fast and easy solution for end users, and you are always online."
"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."
"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."
"In this version 9.1, lots of changes are done for the dashboard, User Store etc."
 

Cons

"They should improve the solution by include reporting."
"It's hard to speak with ForgeRock. It's very expensive."
"ForgeRock can be improved by making it easier to understand the licensing and upgrade protocols."
"The only problem with ForgeRock is that it is derived from an open-source product, so sometimes it's a bit unstable."
"Technical support needs improvement. We have raised many cases but every time I call, they don't support."
"The solution's deployment should be made easier."
"One area of improvement would be the user interface for policy and workflow configuration, which can become complex and sometimes unintuitive, especially for new administrators."
"The identity management model needs a bit of improvement."
"Every time that I have a new phone or computer, it takes a little longer to deploy it."
"Maybe Symantec could consider providing a step-by-step guide for first-time users."
"Our only issue was with user training. The additional challenge was not well received."
"The VIP Manager can be accessed from the outside which is a security vulnerability."
"The User Store synchronization part needs to improve. Also, the logs, reports, and dashboard can be improved."
"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."
"It is challenging to use when installing a new version."
"If they had dashboards or a report for managers or executives, then it would allow them to see the status and have it make sense to them."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's a bit pricey and could be more competitive."
"The pricing of the solution is fair but I do not have the full details."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis, but it also depends on the contract that you have with the vendor. They have multiple types of contracts. There are additional costs to the standard licensing fees. If you need some of the features, you have to pay more."
"The license is purchased annually per user. However, you can negotiate if you are signing for a longer period of time. When comparing this solution to others on the market it is priced fair, it is not at the top of the price range or at the bottom end."
"ForgeRock is an expensive solution."
"We have multiple clients we are looking at right now. We are at a very small number, however, the idea and the goal is to grow. We are looking at about $100,000 and $50,000 a minimum a month cost. That'd be minimum maybe in a couple of years."
"Its price is comparable to other products in the market."
"ForgeRock's pricing is more competitive than other products."
"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."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
5%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ForgeRock?
The pricing, setup cost, and licensing are very straightforward, which is a good success. I appreciate that it is very straightforward and helpful.
What needs improvement with ForgeRock?
There are some areas I want ForgeRock to improve. These areas include policy configuration, documentation clarity, UI complexity, and debugging token flow. I want ForgeRock to improve in documentat...
What is your primary use case for ForgeRock?
I am using ForgeRock for standard support, policy configurations, and documentation clarity. The pricing, setup cost, and licensing are very straightforward, which is a good success. I appreciate t...
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Also Known As

ForgeRock Identity Platform, ForgeRock OpenIDM
Symantec VIP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Geico, Thomson Reuters, Salesforce, McKesson, Trinet, SKY, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Capgemini, North Western University
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about ForgeRock vs. Symantec VIP Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.