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IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence vs Microsoft Identity Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 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

IBM Security Identity Gover...
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
30th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (13th)
Microsoft Identity Manager
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence is 1.0%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Identity Manager is 2.1%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Management (IM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Identity Manager2.1%
IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence1.0%
Other96.9%
Identity Management (IM)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1830612 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head, Cybersecurity at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We use the solution to ensure organizations conform to industry base certifications and best practices
We use the product to ensure organizations conform to industry base certifications and best practices and do not contradict their security policies within the base points they specify in the system, which are used to match everything against their governance use cases I think the product's most…
RameshKumar9 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at IOM - UN Migration
Supports reliable identity management and custom policy design
Microsoft Identity Manager can be improved by integrating it with Entra ID as a SaaS application or by having a cloud-based connector, as it is currently limited to on-prem scenarios, and a combination of both would be a great solution compared to competitors such as SailPoint or One Identity Manager. While the initial setup of Microsoft Identity Manager is not completely complex, migrating or upgrading to a new version can be complex and requires multiple backups to ensure it goes smoothly.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Lifecycle management, governance and documentation."
"I would rate the price eight out of 10, with 10 as the best value for money."
"I appreciate how Microsoft keeps adding new features to Microsoft Identity Manager."
"The integration with other Microsoft ecosystems, such as Graph API, is really cool."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the fact that I can use it to track who is sending which email, who is accessing which documents or which files, etc. These tools help me improve security within the enterprise environment."
"The most valuable feature is that it provides protection for our company documents."
"The best features of Microsoft Identity Manager are its 100% compatibility with Active Directory, the ability to customize IAM policies as required, and its simplicity in design."
"The features of Microsoft Identity Manager that have been most impactful in improving security and compliance include the granular policies, report, and the ability to gain end-to-end visibility for each user."
"Very powerful synchronization tool."
"Microsoft Identity Manager automates all identities and access on every target system efficiently and quickly."
 

Cons

"Self service center is not always easy to understand."
"The solution is a bit pricey for some regions."
"Microsoft Identity Manager could be improved in several areas."
"Integration with third parties and enhanced policy management could be improved."
"In terms of the identity and access management solution for on-premises environment, I think Microsoft needs to eliminate or minimize the number of workloads for the solution to run in on-premises environment."
"It requires a lot of improvements. Microsoft is killing this product and migrating some of the features to Azure AD. The last version of this solution was 2016. If it is going to stay and integrate with Azure AD, its integration needs to be worked on in terms of connectors, etc. It doesn't seem that they are improving it alone. Microsoft wants to integrate it with Azure AD, but the integration is still not complete."
"This product was only launched two or three years ago and it is still in the process of becoming stable."
"MIM's reliability could be improved."
"The information that is available for the Active Directory portal is segregated here and there."
"Integration with third parties and enhanced policy management could be improved. The current policy management features are limited, and custom, flexible policies would be ideal."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the price eight out of 10, with 10 as the best value for money."
"The solution is expensive."
"When comparing the cost, Microsoft Identity Manager is the best solution because it is free if you have an Azure P2 license."
"MIM is free with a Microsoft Azure license."
"The solution is included in the Microsoft E3 license and premium subscriptions of Azure AD."
"Microsoft Identity Manager comes with the premium or community license. If the customer doesn't have a premium license, the reseller who sells the licenses of Microsoft to the enterprise can extend the license for the client."
"My rating for the pricing of Microsoft Identity Manager is average, neither too expensive nor too cheap."
"It is an expensive tool."
"The prices can always be improved. I'd rate it a 4 out of 10 in terms of pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Insurance Company
10%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Identity Manager?
Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Identity Manager, it has a couple of cloud connectors that can sync directly with the O365 admin center, which is good enough, but Entra I...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Identity Manager?
Microsoft Identity Manager can be improved by integrating it with Entra ID as a SaaS application or by having a cloud-based connector, as it is currently limited to on-prem scenarios, and a combina...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Identity Manager?
The typical use case for Microsoft Identity Manager is to automate Active Directory, where it is responsible for onboarding new employees to on-premises AD or to the cloud based on certain criteria.
 

Also Known As

IGI, IBM Security Identity Manager, ISIM
MIM, Forefront Identity Manager, FIM, MS Identity Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

E.ON Global Commodities
Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Whole Foods Market
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence vs. Microsoft Identity Manager and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.