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Microsoft Entra ID vs Symantec Advanced Authentication comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 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

Microsoft Entra ID
Ranking in Authentication Systems
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
278
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (2nd), Identity Management (IM) (3rd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (1st), Access Management (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)
Symantec Advanced Authentic...
Ranking in Authentication Systems
22nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.7
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 5.6%, down from 11.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Advanced Authentication is 1.5%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Entra ID5.6%
Symantec Advanced Authentication1.5%
Other92.9%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Stafin Jacob - PeerSpot reviewer
Microsoft 365 Security & Compliance Practice Lead at Invoke
Identity has become our central gatekeeper and has provided secure single sign-on for all users
Microsoft Entra ID can improve by focusing more on new passwordless methods and becoming a primary adopter. One feature we would like to see is the ability to have security questions for password resets. I know the current capability is phasing out, so we do not have an alternative method yet. Customers who already use security questions require a smoother transition for that capability to be available. My experience with the deployment has had some challenges, particularly around the Microsoft MFA campaigns. The hardest part is moving users from a different MFA provider to the Microsoft MFA provider, as it ultimately depends on user activity. In large enterprises with numerous users across various geographies, this transition takes time. If there are ways to exert more control around that process, it would improve the situation.
Umair (Abu Mohaymin) Akhlaque - PeerSpot reviewer
Group CEO at Flexsolutions
Ensures robust security features and ease of deployment, although it may lack some of the more modern authentication options
There has been a need for aggressive development to modernize the product and align it with contemporary security requirements. While the rebranding has been a step forward, further enhancements are essential to meet the evolving demands of the market. It lacks features such as ActiveSync Exchange security, and it doesn't offer alternatives like password-less authentication via biometrics or patches. While Symantec mainly relies on traditional token-based or password-based methods, newer authentication methods are missing from its repertoire. Support services often lack promptness and depth of knowledge, leaving customers waiting for weeks to resolve issues. In the realm of multifactor authentication, swift resolution of problems is critical, as any slowdown or interruption can significantly impact operations. Urgent improvement is necessary to ensure that support responses are faster and more effective, aligning with the demands of MFA implementation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This solution has helped my organization by allowing us simple management of identities within the organization for integration with the single sign-on system unifying access to applications for mobile devices and management."
"The feature of Microsoft Entra ID that I appreciate the most is the level of integration that's available in the partner network."
"Having the single sign-on or the multi-factor way with just allowing the application with one tap to authenticate is really smart."
"We used to deal with 150 tickets a month for password changes, and after the migration and integration with those identities, we went to zero."
"The most beneficial feature would be the effectiveness of having a hybrid set-up."
"The features of Microsoft Entra ID have benefited my organization because we're just more secure; we have less identity theft and no identity compromises since we have MFA now, whereas before, we didn't have MFA."
"The technical support is pretty good."
"It's multi-tenant, residing in multiple locations. The authentication happens quickly. Irrespective of whether I'm in Australia, the US, India, or Africa, I don't see any latency. Those are the good features that I rely on."
"Ease of deployment: no need to keep up with physical devices for multi-factor authentication; no software to deploy on end-user computers requiring administrative rights."
"One of the most valuable aspects is its remarkable stability."
"CA products are the best fit with our backend systems."
"Being able to issue a soft token, but still having fairly strong security, is a big factor for us."
"It allows us to assure our customers that we are protecting their data."
"The most valuable feature is that we get a wide range of authentication methods and authentication integrators, so different platforms can get service authentication with transparency to the final user while providing strong authentication forms and connectors."
"Symantec Advanced Authentication can be useful for wherever you require a strong authentication."
"It tells us exactly what we want in terms of authentication to various applications and provides protection for users who access them."
 

Cons

"We did experience downtime tied to Microsoft when there was an issue with Front Door. All external identity platform services were down for more than 8 hours, which was a critical incident from a couple of months back."
"From time to time it takes a little bit of time to replicate, with some of the applications—something like five to 10 minutes."
"When it comes to identity governance, the governance features in Azure AD are very focused on Microsoft products. I would like to see those governance and life cycle management features offered for non-Microsoft products connected to Azure AD."
"The scalability of the solution is good."
"The solution could be improved when it comes to monitoring and logging as these are the most critical areas in case something was to go wrong."
"The issue with Microsoft Customer Service is that we have many experts in our IT department, including myself as an Entra expert, Exchange experts, and other specialists. When we contact Microsoft Support, it does not matter that we are experts; we must start at the very bottom."
"I rate Microsoft support five out of 10. It's just okay."
"In terms of improvement, we face issues with latency and responsiveness. Changes take some time to reflect across all users, sometimes up to twenty-four hours, which can be challenging when we need to implement drastic changes."
"The initial setup of the tenant is a big cost element of the service and we were doing multiple tenants for our customer."
"It needs faster implementation on the cloud for our customers."
"Symantec has very bad support, so I have no words for it. It's one of the worst support experiences I've ever had."
"They definitely need to automate a few processes like the Wiley process."
"Sometimes getting this set up does take a bit longer. It's not always install, next, next, next, finish."
"Arcot itself is based on a browser technology. This means that the office ID is effectively stored as a cookie in the browser."
"Urgent improvement is necessary to ensure that support responses are faster and more effective, aligning with the demands of MFA implementation."
"Advanced Authentication talks about the Device ID. But how the device ID is captured, I want to know more about that."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are always looking for better pricing."
"Azure Active Directory is expensive."
"The solution costs us 60,000 Rupees annually, just over $700, and there are no additional costs."
"Most features of Entra ID are part of Microsoft's ecosystem and included in Microsoft 365 bundles, which means there are no additional costs associated with pricing and licensing."
"Azure AD has four licensing options- Free, Office 365 apps, Premium P1, and Premium P2. The free option has a limited number of identities and features, and the Office 365 version comes included in several Office 365 subscriptions. With the P1 and P2 licenses, we get all the freeware features plus additional security features, but these come at a higher price. The base price for P1 and P2 is $6 and $9 per user per month, respectively."
"This product is sold as part of the enterprise package and our licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"We got a good deal. If you get rid of all the products providing features that Azure Suite can provide, then it makes sense cost-wise."
"The pricing depends on the use case and can be negotiated based on volume."
"The price is reasonable."
"There are eventually going to be implementation costs. Sometimes you're required to have custom code developments there, so that has to be part of the implementation price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Construction Company
15%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business91
Midsize Enterprise42
Large Enterprise162
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?
We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?
I primarily use Microsoft Entra ID's free tier, so I have not faced any issues with pricing; I hope this free tier remains available for some time.
What needs improvement with Azure Active Directory?
To improve Microsoft Entra ID, I believe it should be openable with third-party applications to use Microsoft Authenticator, which is currently tied to Entra. There should definitely be a way to re...
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Also Known As

Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator
CA Advanced Authentication, CA Strong Authentication, CA Risk Authentication, Arcot WebFort, Arcot RiskFort
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.
Global bank, Large Filipino Bank and SK Infosec
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Entra ID vs. Symantec Advanced Authentication and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.