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IBM Security Secret Server vs Okta Platform comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 22, 2026

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 Secret Server
Ranking in Privileged Access Management (PAM)
20th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Okta Platform
Ranking in Privileged Access Management (PAM)
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
126
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), Authentication Systems (3rd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (2nd), Access Management (2nd), ZTNA as a Service (3rd), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (1st), AI IT Support (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Privileged Access Management (PAM) category, the mindshare of IBM Security Secret Server is 1.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Okta Platform is 3.2%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Privileged Access Management (PAM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Okta Platform3.2%
IBM Security Secret Server1.4%
Other95.4%
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
 

Featured Reviews

AsifIqbal - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Information Security Officer at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees
Privileged access monitoring has strengthened identity control and improved security posture
I find the monitoring and recording parts of IBM Security Secret Server to be the most valuable features. Password vaulting is somewhat typical, but I rate monitoring and recording as very good features, along with ease of deployment. The reporting tools in IBM Security Secret Server have helped me identify vulnerabilities. From the monitoring part, you can somewhat cover the identity vulnerability aspect. However, for identity vulnerability, I think the best approach is to use IAM rather than PAM. It is easy to integrate IBM Security Secret Server with cybersecurity frameworks, which is a very important aspect. When we are improving our attack surface, identity is the most important thing that we need to cover, and PAM will play a very crucial role in improving our cybersecurity framework and architecture. The main benefits that IBM Security Secret Server provides for me include complete control over the privileged identities, which are the main sources that can have the privilege to make numerous changes on the system. If we protect these identities through PAM and provide elevation on their accounts when required, then we can improve our security posture and infrastructure security.
SN
Identity and Access Management Specialist at a university with 10,001+ employees
Automated lifecycle management has cut onboarding times and now drives secure, clean access
Although I am a fan of Okta Platform overall, there are areas where it could improve security outcomes and reduce admin friction. My top improvement areas include the system log and analytics upgrade, which are great for point troubleshooting, but trending and root cause analysis across large tenants still require exporting to SIEM. Verbose queries and long-range retention costs can add up. Additionally, while certificate rotations are better than most, the process is still manual for busy portfolios, especially concerning multi-SP SAML certificate rotations and app metadata drift. Two more buckets of potential improvements for Okta Platform involve user experience and security. There is the issue of push fatigue and prompt sprawl, where users receive multiple prompts across different apps and sessions. I arrived at the rating of eight because the core controls are strong and reliable, but a few operational UX and UI gaps prevent it from being rated higher. The reasons for not giving it a nine or ten include ongoing issues concerning safety and change safety, the complexity of group rules and mappings, and the lack of robustness in policy management. Additionally, there remains a need for more manual involvement than necessary, especially for large portfolios and dual certificate rotation, along with proactive SP data metadata validation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This product has been able to cover most of the requests from our customers."
"What I like best about IBM Security Secret Server is its single-access console. It's also easy to manage and fulfills the requirements with the least resistance."
"The live recording is a very useful feature."
"As a PAM solution, Secret Server performs all the use cases in our environment."
"Stability-wise, I think it is a very good solution."
"One of the most valuable features is scalability, and how it allows you to scale it without affecting the underlying core components."
"Centralized Password Management: Our client has more than 400 geographical locations and approximately ten employees work at each location."
"It is one of the most well-known names in this field."
"When it comes to identity and access management, Okta Platform is in my top two solutions."
"Okta Platform is a great IAM solution because it's a very mature and cloud-first IAM platform, making it perfect for companies or startups that are just starting out; they don't need to go through on-premise setups."
"Valuable features include UD, SSO functionality, MFA and Adaptive MFA functionality, ability to link multiple Directory databases with UD."
"The most valuable feature in Okta Workforce Identity is the single sign-on, universal directory, and lifecycle management."
"We find the solution to be reliable for our customers and it is nice that it is cloud-based and can be accessed from anywhere."
"Okta Platform is the gold standard when it comes to identity providers and the single sign-on experience."
"The most valuable features are ease of operation and visibility."
"I like the tool's workflows, which is user-friendly. It can integrate with different applications. I particularly like that users are delighted to access their applications without the hassle of entering their username and password each time. It truly enhances user-friendliness."
 

Cons

"Although much has improved in last two years, the GUI for IBM products can be improved."
"The newer interface is maybe confusing old customer that using previous one from their point of views, I think they will need little pass of time to be familiar with."
"The nonclustered index is working in an area with a problem that needs improvement."
"It would be preferable if the full proxy was included in the IBM Security Secret Server."
"What needs improvement in IBM Security Secret Server is support. The local partner provides good support, but IBM itself doesn't. Most of the time, the IBM support team does not aggressively resolve issues reported through chat or the IBM website."
"The newer interface is more difficult to use than the previous one, and consequently, new users might need more training."
"Secret Server should have the ability to discover privileged accounts in the servers, like the administrator or users, from SQL and Oracle without having to import a script."
"I mention that password vaulting and password rotation in IBM Security Secret Server are basically the same thing, and it becomes somewhat complex when integrating a different system with them because it requires API development."
"In terms of improvement, Okta Platform can focus more on governance and posture management."
"The only aspect in which it can be improved is that the interface could be cleaner."
"The pricing could be improved."
"There were some outages, but I think they were fixed really quickly, so it was not a big deal for us."
"Okta could improve by making their learning materials more user-friendly."
"To improve Okta Platform, I think they should enhance the 2LO service-to-service aspect by integrating more features on the MCP side, allowing for authentication of containers running on the gateway."
"Okta has a limitation with directory integrations. If you have multiple Active Directory integrations, the user distinguished name (DN) and the manager DN don't get imported properly into the Okta user profile."
"They are far from perfect, so Okta has the worst implementation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price could be better. I think it's a good price for the on-premises environment and the high availability for enterprises the solution provides."
"My rating for the IBM Security Secret Server pricing is seven out of ten. It could be cheaper."
"I believe that we paid 35,000 or 40,000 US dollars for it."
"The price of this product could be lower."
"The solution's pricing model could be better for SMBs."
"I believe it competes well. The pricing is pretty competitive. I know that Microsoft also provides something similar with its MFA and identity services."
"License is around US$20,000 annually."
"Okta has fairly competitive pricing."
"It is costly for large companies."
"Pricing might be high, but it comes down when the number of people using the product goes up."
"The solution is not the cheapest but not the most expensive. They are in the middle rating."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Insurance Company
19%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Construction Company
12%
Performing Arts
7%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise27
Large Enterprise64
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM Security Secret Server?
I believe there is not much that can be improved for IBM Security Secret Server. Providing local support and local vendor availability would be beneficial so we are not dependent on international s...
What is your primary use case for IBM Security Secret Server?
IBM Security Secret Server serves multiple use cases for us, including the monitoring of privileged users, as well as the recording and password vaulting of their accounts, passwords, and need-base...
What advice do you have for others considering IBM Security Secret Server?
I mention that password vaulting and password rotation in IBM Security Secret Server are basically the same thing, and it becomes somewhat complex when integrating a different system with them beca...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Okta Workforce Identity?
Pricing for Okta is reasonably not that much, however, I don't have access to the commercial aspect.
What needs improvement with Okta Workforce Identity?
Currently, in Okta Workforce Identity we get the two-digit authentication code. Instead of getting the two-digit authentication code, if we had an option to do fingerprint verification, that would ...
What is your primary use case for Okta Workforce Identity?
I don't have many details about Okta Workforce Identity. I use the tool just to sign in to different applications that we have. We basically set up Okta Workforce Identity in our mobile phone. We d...
 

Also Known As

IBM Secret Server, Secret Server, IBM Security Privileged Identity Manager
Okta Customer Identity, Workforce Identity
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
FedEx, Zoom, Takeda, Lululemon Athletica, GrunHub, jetBlue, McKensson, Bain & Company, Engie, Peloton, Sonos, T-Mobile, Hewlett Packard, MGM Resorts, Ally Financial, Priceline, Albertsons, Itercom, Classy, FICO, Kensho, Live Nation, Drata, Rotary, and others.
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Secret Server vs. Okta Platform and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.