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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
6.8
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
IT Vendor Risk Management (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the GRC category, the mindshare of IBM OpenPages is 6.0%, up from 5.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RSA Archer is 17.4%, up from 17.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
GRC
 

Featured Reviews

Badri Anand Santhanam - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhancing operational 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

"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."
"IBM OpenPages provides time savings in recording risk management components."
"The content, reporting, and workflow features stand out as the most valuable aspects."
"IBM OpenPages saves time in my work as a developer."
"The most valuable features are the workflow engine, calculations, and security rules."
"The ability to keep a record of internal incidents in the company, and also the monitoring of Key Indicators."
"The solution has helped our organization manage our internal and external activities."
"The integrated data model of a one-to-many/many-to-one relationship is quite useful."
"First of all, its access control feature where it provides application level access, solution level access, and even recall access, as well."
"I have found all the features to be valuable, including those involving reporting, the dashboard, notifications, email modules, the database and data input."
"It has the best workload management features."
"The tool has stability, and it allows me to automate whatever process I have."
"The most valuable features are the advanced workflow and the dashboards. This tool can present data wonderfully to management, and it is easy for them to manage the risk plans."
"RSA Archer's best features are advanced workflow, reports, dashboards, and notifications."
 

Cons

"IBM OpenPages could improve by adding more conditions to workflows, as some existing conditions might not work and can produce errors."
"IBM needs to work on pricing for organizations with around 100 users, as the licensing model is not competitive enough for SMEs."
"Some self-relationships are not available in OpenPages' relationship model."
"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."
"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 of the error reporting isn't very clear. When you're looking for information on error codes, you got to do a lot of digging."
"A remaining area for improvement is integration. There should be built-in integration mechanisms, for example, for organizations switching from platforms like ServiceNow to Archer, instead of custom integrations for each client."
"When we have to do formulas or some other type of calculation in Archer, it sometimes doesn't work correctly. The fields don't display right, and we have to contact RSA Archer support to fix things. I think the calculation components are a bit complicated."
"In terms of what can be improved, our client always says their user experience, IU/UX in RSA Archer. They found it is not as user friendly as other tools."
"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."
"Recently, we made a suggestion for cross references, like for one application to another. There were limitations there, so we're hoping that will be included in the next upgrade."
"The solution as a whole could be simplified."
"I would like to have the ability to build and maintain an inventory of personal data processing activities and assets utilizing a purpose-built taxonomy and data structure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Fairly highly-priced, especially for smaller companies."
"The solution's price should be reduced. You only have to pay the license and there are no additional fees."
"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."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"The license is costly for the solution, but the remaining set up and maintenance is quite cheaper."
"The initial purchase is cheap. You pay a nominal price to start then renew the license annually. You also must buy a license for each module. I'm not too fond of that aspect of the licensing model. You buy the elephant and then spend more money to feed the elephant."
"At the higher end of the price scale, but provides better, more accessible functionality and customization than cheaper products."
"The solution is not at all a cheap product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
29%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
5%
Educational Organization
43%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

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?
If the user needs to fill data, they need to go to one page and then to the next page if they can reduce the number of clicks to perform some activities and would like RSA to improve in this area. ...
What is your primary use case for RSA Archer?
I perform all of our information security management governance and risk -related activities through Archer. My organization manages all types of audits and Enterprise risk activities using Archer.
 

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: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.