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IBM Security Verify Access vs Microsoft Entra ID Protection 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 Verify Access
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
20th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (14th), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (16th), Access Management (14th)
Microsoft Entra ID Protection
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (9th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of IBM Security Verify Access is 1.2%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID Protection is 1.5%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Management (IM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Entra ID Protection1.5%
IBM Security Verify Access1.2%
Other97.3%
Identity Management (IM)
 

Featured Reviews

Ateeq Rehman - PeerSpot reviewer
Unit Head System Implementor at Allied Bank Limited
Has improved secure user access while managing development through multiple technologies
I have already explained this in my previous call; I don't handle financial terms and commercials. Pricing is generally managed by functional teams and management looking after licensing matters. In Pakistan, vendors such as Oracle and IBM manage account relationships with clients and have tailored pricing models, so I do not have sufficient insights into that aspect.IBM Security Verify Access installation process is not straightforward; it requires underlying specialized knowledge upon which the IBM products are based. The complexity and scalability of the architecture necessitate in-depth technical knowledge and understanding of the system. Thus, installation is not as simple as clicking through; it requires extensive configuration of the underlying application servers, such as IBM WebSphere, where these products are deployed and configured.
Luis Gabriel Mieles Benavides - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Architect at Sonda S.A.
Identity protection has strengthened daily access control and improved passwordless security
The best features of Microsoft Entra ID Protection include the password dictionary, which we do not have in Active Directory. Conditional access is excellent because we can select the location from which users authenticate, and this is the best feature for me. Another valuable feature is the ability to identify critical or suspicious computers. If computers are too old or too suspicious, the system does not allow authentication, which is excellent. The effectiveness of automated remediation for handling identity threats is great. I use passwordless authentication with cellular phone authentication, which is excellent because we do not always need a password. Microsoft Entra ID Protection is a great solution overall because it improves security in the company through identity management. It improves integration with other solutions such as Google, Gmail, Hotmail, Outlook, and Facebook. We can create different applications and integrate with different services.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I have found this solution to be really practical and when a user wants to log in, it is effortless and runs smooth."
"It's a good solution for identification and access management."
"The most valuable feature of IBM Security Access Manager, at least for my company, is multi-factor authentication. That's the only feature my company is using. The solution works well and has no glitches. IBM Security Access Manager is a very good solution, so my company is still using it."
"IBM Security Verify Access, formerly known as ISAM, IBM Security Access Manager, now renamed to ISVA, integrates with central directory services for our organization and provides user management functionality."
"The solution has powerful authentification and authorization. It offers a good way to increase security."
"From the integration point of view, it supports SAML, OIDC, and OAuth. For legacy applications that don't have support for SAML and other new protocols, it provides single sign-on access to end-users. From the integration compatibility point of view, it is highly capable."
"The tool provides a password vault, single sign-on, and multifactor authentication. It offers various authentication methods like fingerprint integration, one-time passwords, or tokens sent via email or SMS. This ensures secure access to your accounts by providing multiple authentication options."
"IBM Security Verify Access is providing a secure way of handling the user login journey, and secure user authentication is fully managed by ISAM or ISVA."
"The solution's technical support offers great assistance to users."
"We can solve many problems without deep knowledge of coding, and it's very quick to solve problems with the no-code, low-code solution of Microsoft for us."
"The deployment process is straightforward. It takes a few hours to complete."
"The reverse proxy feature provides additional security that is not available in other solutions."
"The solution helps us with authentication."
"I find the most valuable feature to be conditional access. It allows for comprehensive security controls, network security, and application label security."
"Microsoft's support is commendable. Their response time is quick, and they handle inquiries effectively, ensuring ongoing support processes."
"The tool is simple and you can find a lot of tutorials, and videos on YouTube that can help you."
 

Cons

"IBM Security Verify Access installation process is not straightforward; it requires underlying specialized knowledge upon which the IBM products are based."
"The solution could be classified as a hilt system. There are a lot of resources being used and it is suitable for very large enterprises or the public sector."
"They can improve the single sign-on configuration for OIDC and OAuth. That is not very mature in this product, and they can improve it in this particular area. OIDC is a third-party integration that we do with the cloud platforms, and OAuth is an authorization mechanism for allowing a user having an account with Google or any other provider to access an application. Organizations these days are looking for just-in-time provisioning use cases, but IBM Security Access Manager is not very mature for such use cases. There are only a few applications that can be integrated, and this is where this product is lagging. However, in terms of configuration and single sign-on mechanisms, it is a great product."
"Configuration could be simplified for the end-user."
"The user interface needs to be simplified, it's complex and not user-friendly."
"There are a lot of areas that can be improved, but the main area is the lack of customization. You cannot easily customize anything in the product. It is not easy to tweak the functionality. It is challenging to change the out-of-the-box functionality."
"The user interface for users and administrators could be improved to make it easier. Automating some functions could also be beneficial."
"IBM Security Verify Access installation process is not straightforward; it requires underlying specialized knowledge upon which the IBM products are based."
"The product's initial setup phase is not easy."
"The platform's pricing and scalability need improvement."
"Support or customer service with Microsoft Entra ID Protection can be challenging because you can get lost in the queue. You can open up a case, but sometimes it can be an hour or even a day between communications."
"Identity labeling and sensitivity needs improvement."
"A potential area of improvement in Microsoft Entra ID Protection could include backup-level capability or snapshot capability."
"The solution is not optimized to work with Mac devices on a granular level. They work seamlessly with Windows but have a lot to improve to work with Mac devices. It also needs to improve stability and scalability."
"The recent CrowdStrike issue affected most systems."
"There is room for improvement in the ability for Entra ID Protection to inherit roles and configurations from whatever solution I am migrating from, so that these don't have to be built from the ground up during the implementation process."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It costs about 300K AED for a year. Its pricing is a bit on the higher end, but in comparison to other products in the market, its price is still better. There are lots of other products that are very costly."
"The license and costs depend on the amount range of users you have. For just approximately 2,000 users, the price is practical and fair. However, when you have 20,000 users, it starts to become really expensive, and the discount per user is not attractive enough to go ahead and purchase."
"The product is not expensive. It depends on the number of users."
"The product cost is on the expensive side."
"Azure Active Directory Identity Protection is not very expensive."
"From one to ten, if one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the tool a seven out of ten."
"The pricing is competitive in the SMA segment and runs $5-$6 per user."
"The price of Azure AD is not expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Insurance Company
12%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Security Access Manager?
The tool provides a password vault, single sign-on, and multifactor authentication. It offers various authentication methods like fingerprint integration, one-time passwords, or tokens sent via ema...
What needs improvement with IBM Security Access Manager?
I have already explained this in my previous call; I don't handle financial terms and commercials. Pricing is generally managed by functional teams and management looking after licensing matters. I...
What is your primary use case for IBM Security Access Manager?
We are still using the IBM BPM platform to automate the processes for our organization.I generally use Microsoft Project for project planning and schedule management, especially in relation to Orac...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory Identity Protection?
The pricing for Microsoft Entra ID protection is not expensive. It varies based on the company's size and quality.
What needs improvement with Azure Active Directory Identity Protection?
We explore the possibilities to use Purview to control our applications, though not very deeply as it's not very helpful at this moment.For us, the most important problem is access; we need an easy...
What is your primary use case for Azure Active Directory Identity Protection?
We are still deep involved in the use of Microsoft technology for databases and business intelligence, and in the last three years with Power Apps and Power Automate, all that means Azure services,...
 

Also Known As

IBM Security Verify Access (SVA), IBM Security Access Manager, ISAM
Azure Active Directory Identity Protection, Azure AD Identity Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Verify Access vs. Microsoft Entra ID Protection and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.