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IBM Security Verify Access vs Okta Platform comparison

 

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 Verify Access
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
15th
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
16th
Ranking in Access Management
13th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (17th)
Okta Platform
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
2nd
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
2nd
Ranking in Access Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
109
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (3rd), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (3rd), ZTNA as a Service (2nd), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (1st), AI IT Support (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of IBM Security Verify Access is 2.1%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Okta Platform is 9.2%, down from 13.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Okta Platform9.2%
IBM Security Verify Access2.1%
Other88.7%
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
 

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.
Vanga Sainithinreddy - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Developer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Single secure login has simplified daily access and strengthened multi-factor protection
Okta Platform offers several valuable features. The first one is Single Sign-On, which allows users to log in once and gain access to multiple applications without needing to enter credentials repeatedly. I believe that is one of the best features. The second one is multi-factor authentication (MFA). It adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to verify their identity through multiple methods such as a password and a mobile verification code. I use it mostly to manage secure access to enterprise applications and cloud services. Other features include user lifecycle management and integration with cloud applications. I myself have relied mostly on multi-factor authentication (MFA) because I tend to log in every day and whenever I am working or take a break, I use this multi-factor authentication to sign in. Okta Platform simplifies identity management, improves security, and allows employees to access multiple applications through a single secure login. I believe this is a very good feature. Okta Platform has improved our organization through user authentication with features like Single Sign-On and multi-factor authentication. I believe the features it provides simplify identity management, improve security, and fulfill the need for secure and centralized identity and access management.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution has powerful authentification and authorization and offers a good way to increase security."
"The solution has powerful authentification and authorization. It offers a good way to increase security."
"It's a good solution for identification and access management."
"I have found this solution to be really practical and when a user wants to log in, it is effortless and runs smooth."
"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, and from the integration compatibility point of view, it is highly capable."
"It can do a lot of different functions, and different types of teams can use this product for a variety of use cases, such as RSA, OTP, and single sign-on functionalities."
"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."
"Its stability and UI are most valuable."
"It's very stable we have 99.999% uptime on the base"
"The most valuable feature of Okta Customer Identity is its SSO because it's very easy to use and it's user-friendly. Even the admin portal of the solution is very user-friendly, and you can walk through it with ease. Okta Customer Identity is not a complicated solution, and even the workflow automation feature is very, very easy to understand."
"Time saved is a great example of return on investment, as Okta Workforce Identity has saved approximately 50 to 80 percent of our time."
"One of the most beneficial features of the solution is the user provisioning and the de-provisioning feature."
"Okta Platform has positively impacted my organization with easy single sign-on, as we need single sign-on multifactor authentication for various things and Okta Platform is very secure."
"Enabled MFA to access federated applications as well as increased user satisfaction through improved provisioning times and more reliable processes."
"It is dependent on the evolution of your user base. It depends on usage per user, so the more sign-ins there are, the more expensive it becomes, so it works best for smaller companies from a financial perspective."
"Ease of use and the ability to trust the product are what I value most."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"What we'd like improved in IBM Security Access Manager is its onboarding process as it's complex, particularly when onboarding new applications."
"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."
"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."
"IBM Security Verify Access installation process is not straightforward; it requires underlying specialized knowledge upon which the IBM products are based."
"For small or medium-sized businesses they cannot afford this solution."
"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."
"We experienced some technical glitches that need to be resolved."
"When you are doing basic things, it is straightforward, but if you are going to be doing workflows, other things, or recon and trust, then there is effort involved, and that is where it gets convoluted."
"The initial setup, for new users, is a bit difficult."
"The error logging could be improved. Okta doesn't provide enough details when you are troubleshooting an issue. It's often difficult to fix it from our end, so we always need additional support from Okta."
"It's not compatible with on-premises installations, unless you host it as a SaaS. We were not able to do that. For example, imagine a scenario where the cloud is not available. Then, Okta will not work for you. That use case will readily fail because it doesn't have an on-premises installation that you can use to authenticate or provide identity and access management. If you have a purely on-premises solution that is not connected to the internet, then this will not work. This is one area that can be improved."
"It would be great if there were a way to save even my social media passwords and other passwords through Okta Platform and single sign-on through Okta Platform in the future."
"Okta can consider to become also a password vaulting manager."
"They are far from perfect, so Okta has the worst implementation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is not expensive. It depends on the number of users."
"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."
"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 licensing model is fine for general service usage. However, the charges for API features and API tokens can be quite high."
"License is around US$20,000 annually."
"We pay 23 pence (approximately $0.30 USD) per user, annually, for 150,000 users."
"It is costly for large companies."
"The solution is really expensive."
"The solution's pricing model could be better for SMBs."
"Price-wise, Okta Workforce Identity is a cheap solution. The overall cost depends on the license since you can negotiate with Okta or any of Okta's partners only if you opt for many licenses."
"The price of the solution is good."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
9%
Insurance Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
6%
 

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 Business47
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise56
 

Questions from the Community

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 advice do you have for others considering IBM Security Access Manager?
My current domain is leading project development, overseeing both technical and functional areas in process automation and orchestration, along with the hands-on implementation of process automatio...
What do you like most about Okta Workforce Identity?
Okta has introduced the Universal Directory. It has custom attribute capability and user permissions to read/write on their profiles or hide them. Profile sources and identity profile sourcing are ...
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 ...
 

Also Known As

IBM Security Verify Access (SVA), IBM Security Access Manager, ISAM
Okta Customer Identity, Workforce Identity
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

POST Luxembourg
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 Verify Access vs. Okta Platform and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.