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IBM OpenPages vs RSA Archer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 2025

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

IBM OpenPages
Ranking in GRC
6th
Ranking in IT Governance
2nd
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
RSA Archer
Ranking in GRC
1st
Ranking in IT Governance
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
IT Vendor Risk Management (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the GRC category, the mindshare of IBM OpenPages is 5.5%, up from 5.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RSA Archer is 15.9%, down from 16.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
GRC
 

Featured Reviews

Badri Anand Santhanam - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhancing enterprise risk management and reporting capabilities with insightful dashboards and automated features.
IBM OpenPages offers strong reporting capabilities with Cognos integration, providing standard tabular reports, various charts, and powerful dashboards for different lines of defense. It caters to the first line managing risks and controls, the second line of SMEs providing oversight, and the independent audit function with an internal audit management module. The solution is more intuitive and task-based, allowing better involvement of the risk function across different lines of defense. The automated features translate into reporting capabilities, and data can be easily extracted and downloaded in different formats.
IMRAN ALMARZOOQI - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates compliance management effectively but needs improved interface and dashboards
The tool basically automates whatever processes you already have, so I cannot specify improvements in that regard. However, my main issue with Archer is the graphics. The graphics have always been lacking. I always need to depend on another tool to read information from Archer to have better dashboards. It is like using Linux, and it has a Linux mindset and interface. I want to use Archer for top management and CEOs, but it looks too technical, and the dashboards are not really friendly. They are bulky, like opening an old Nintendo system from nineteen-ninety. The management agrees that Archer lacks in terms of presentation and dashboarding. It is complex, not user-friendly, and bulky. The interface just looks old.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are the workflow engine, calculations, and security rules."
"The content, reporting, and workflow features stand out as the most valuable aspects."
"IBM OpenPages provides time savings in recording risk management components."
"Everything about IBM OpenPages is valuable, particularly when compared to other solutions in the market like MetricStream, from which we switched due to its feasibility, user-friendliness, and performance."
"The ability to keep a record of internal incidents in the company, and also the monitoring of Key Indicators."
"IBM OpenPages saves time in my work as a developer."
"Good dashboards and reporting features; it's easy to gather reports quickly."
"It has the best workload management features."
"The most valuable features of RSA Archer are the asset management, risk management, and vendor management."
"The solution has helped our organization manage our internal and external activities."
"Solution is scalable."
"Enables development of any application, automation of any workflow including the GRC work processes."
"Its user interface is pretty neat, and there is flexibility in generating the data. You can customize reports at any level. You can directly get reports in Tableau format. If you want to generate statistical data, you can create reports with graphs. There is an adequate amount of flexibility for changing the format, the type of graphs, etc."
"The most valuable part of the product is the ease-of-use and the opportunity to create custom security applications easily."
 

Cons

"IBM OpenPages could improve by adding more conditions to workflows, as some existing conditions might not work and can produce errors."
"IBM OpenPages needs improvement in its UI. Currently, it is difficult to see the relationships (associations/parents) between all items unless you click on the item itself."
"IBM needs to work on pricing for organizations with around 100 users, as the licensing model is not competitive enough for SMEs."
"I believe there's room for improvement in establishing connections with external information."
"It would be useful to have more out-of-the-box functionality, especially triggers and calculations."
"Some self-relationships are not available in OpenPages' relationship model."
"There are some issues with the interface for version 6.5 but these may already be repaired and simplified in the new versions that have been released."
"The solution can be a little slow due to the Silverlight feature."
"It's resource-hungry, that's the best way of putting it."
"Solution could use more inbuilt applications."
"The financial area of RSA Archer has room for improvement."
"The solution as a whole could be simplified."
"An area for improvement would be the user interface. They could also offer more on-demand applications free of cost."
"The user interface needs work. There are many small text boxes, like credit card size's boxes, where we need to input a lot of text. You can't see what you're typing beyond the tiny window, so you have to scroll or type elsewhere and copy-paste it. It's very inconvenient."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The price of the solution is very affordable."
"The solution is not at all a cheap product."
"The license is costly for the solution, but the remaining set up and maintenance is quite cheaper."
"As I am a developer and responsible for providing production support, I do not have personal knowledge of the pricing. However, my colleagues claim that it is very expensive in comparison with other tools."
"At the higher end of the price scale, but provides better, more accessible functionality and customization than cheaper products."
"The solution's price should be reduced. You only have to pay the license and there are no additional fees."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"The price of RSA Archer is good. The price isn't too high considering it is a leading tool in the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
26%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
5%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Financial Services Firm
23%
Insurance Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM OpenPages?
The product’s interface is very intuitive.
What needs improvement with IBM OpenPages?
IBM OpenPages could improve by adding more conditions to workflows, as some existing conditions might not work and can produce errors. Additionally, although there are risk assessment tools, I do n...
What is your primary use case for IBM OpenPages?
I primarily use IBM OpenPages ( /products/ibm-openpages-reviews ) for compliance and audit programs.
What do you like most about RSA Archer?
It has various valuable features. For example, showing us if a control aligns with specific standards or frameworks helps us understand it better and verify its compliance.
What needs improvement with RSA Archer?
While it provides benefits in terms of security, the pricing is a bit higher than customers typically expect. It would be helpful if RSA Archer had the capability for two-way integration because, i...
What is your primary use case for RSA Archer?
Regarding the compliance, risk, and governance tools, I am comfortable discussing the tools in the GRC category. The specific module from ServiceNow is the ServiceNow Compliance, Risk, and Governan...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

OpenPages
Archer
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nationwide, Process Innovation AG, OSRAM Licht AG, Dep‹sito Central de Valores (DCV), Delta Lloyd Group, Unum
T-Systems, Bridge Point, Equifax, First Data, Global Imaging Company, Manulife Financial
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM OpenPages vs. RSA Archer and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.