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Microsoft Entra External ID vs SAP Customer Identity and Access Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 27, 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

Microsoft Entra External ID
Ranking in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
4th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (8th), Microsoft Security Suite (21st)
SAP Customer Identity and A...
Ranking in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra External ID is 8.4%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Customer Identity and Access Management is 2.2%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Entra External ID8.4%
SAP Customer Identity and Access Management2.2%
Other89.4%
Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
 

Featured Reviews

Suresh Kumar Subramaniyan - PeerSpot reviewer
Has supported secure access but still lacks full coverage for external identity challenges
The user experience is acceptable, but Microsoft Entra External ID is not a full-fledged IGA solution. We use different products for complete Identity Governance Administration. Microsoft Entra External ID is suitable for small-scale enterprises implementing identity lifecycle management since most have Active Directory. However, there are several challenges. The out-of-the-box connector has limited features for applications, requiring us to build scheme connectors. While small-scale enterprises can benefit from Microsoft Entra External ID's Identity Governance solution, large-scale enterprises might need different tools from leading market vendors such as SailPoint or Saviynt. Customers face particular challenges with contractor and B2B accounts. Microsoft Entra External ID isn't a complete cloud-based account solution, as it must handle internal employees and collaborate with internal Active Directory. There are delays in the identity lifecycle process, especially for contract partners during onboarding and off-boarding. This might be due to back-end syncing with Active Directory. B2B account removal and provisioning take considerable time. Access governance, particularly access certification for guest users, is time-consuming. Multi-factor authentication enforcement also presents challenges for external users.
Srini-Dhanaraj - PeerSpot reviewer
A set of tools that allows you to manage user access to the Fiori apps and specify what users can do and see in the apps
Seamless integration is the most valuable feature. There is some functionality where you can go and enable and disable everything in no time.  You could use only SAP provided the API to extract. And there is one channel I experienced during the data migration, which allows us to create the…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"When it comes to Microsoft Entra External ID, Microsoft itself is the best distributor."
"The fact that it is quite integrated into the entire Microsoft environment makes it quite easy to use."
"It's quite easy to manage and monitor."
"The experience has been rather good; there are other possibilities, but we made the choice to go with Microsoft, and we have a good experience with that."
"The positive impact of Microsoft Entra External ID on my organization is that it enhances ease of use for the administrative side."
"I have not encountered any stability issues with Microsoft Entra External ID."
"The most valuable feature for me is the firewall capabilities."
"The most valuable feature for me is the firewall capabilities."
"Seamless integration is the most valuable feature. There is a there is some functionality where you could go and be enabled and disable everything, you can do it with no time."
"The most valuable aspect of the product is the provisioning of a lot of SAP systems. It offers automated provisioning."
 

Cons

"The quality of Microsoft customer support varies. With an enterprise contract, good resources are usually provided, especially in regions like Saudi Arabia or UAE. However, we have faced challenges with support quality, especially in some subcontinent areas where the resources might not be as experienced."
"The cost is very high."
"The problem with Microsoft products is that they often cater to enterprise-level needs, which can be too costly for medium-sized businesses."
"The training generally is complicated to understand, leading us to often go through a managed service provider."
"Single sign-on for external applications such as Oracle could be improved to be a little bit cheaper."
"Microsoft's pricing is complex and difficult to fathom due to a range of different licensing options."
"A common concern among the customers I visit is the unpredictability of Microsoft's costs at every renewal. This is really bothersome for the customer, and I would say it is the worst element I have seen in these years."
"The authentication methods available are very limited, and this presents a weak point."
"The automated provisioning only works well with the SAP products and there are some problems with the non-SAP products. Even if it is SAP, if it is a non-ABAP system, it is a little bit problematic."
"Only component, I would think the database is inbuilt. So you could use only SAP provided the API to extract. And there is one channel I experienced during the data migration, which is which allow us to create the customer or delete the Customer. And it won't allow for any change. The data migration needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We don't pay separately for Microsoft Entra External ID as it's part of our Microsoft Exchange subscription."
"The pricing of the solution is cheap."
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868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Entra External ID?
The only problem that you might face with Microsoft now is their complex licensing model.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra External ID?
For the last four or five years, I have been in an IT manager function, focusing on making things happen and having technical persons execute tasks. In the last three months, I have transitioned to...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra External ID?
I am looking for a new solution and investigating existing products. We are already working with Microsoft Intune and SOTI. I have been working in the past with a Kaseya product, specifically Datto...
What do you like most about SAP Customer Identity and Access Management?
Seamless integration is the most valuable feature. There is a there is some functionality where you could go and be enabled and disable everything, you can do it with no time.
What needs improvement with SAP Customer Identity and Access Management?
You could use only SAP provided the API to extract. And there is one channel I experienced during the data migration, which allows us to create the customer or delete the customer. And it won't all...
What advice do you have for others considering SAP Customer Identity and Access Management?
The implementation is very simplified, and it's a progressive implementation. Overall I would rate the solution a nine out of ten.
 

Also Known As

Azure Active Directory External Identities
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Entra External ID vs. SAP Customer Identity and Access Management and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.