Microsoft Entra ID vs Symantec Siteminder comparison

Microsoft and Broadcom are both solutions in the Single Sign-On (SSO) category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7, while Broadcom is ranked #13 with an average rating of 6.6. Microsoft holds a 25.5% mindshare in SSO, compared to Broadcom’s 2.6% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Entra ID

Read 234 Microsoft Entra ID reviews

7,146 Views
2,519 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Symantec Siteminder

Read 75 Symantec Siteminder reviews

1,037 Views
223 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Microsoft Entra ID

Symantec Siteminder

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 2024

Symantec Siteminder and Microsoft Entra ID provide distinct solutions for identity and access management. Microsoft Entra ID seems to have the upper hand due to advanced capabilities and perceived value.

Features: Symantec Siteminder is known for its comprehensive security policies, integration flexibility, and robust support features. Microsoft Entra ID is recognized for seamless cloud integration, multifactor authentication, and advanced user management features.

Room for Improvement: Symantec Siteminder faces challenges in user experience, complexity in configuration, and could simplify configurations. Microsoft Entra ID has occasional difficulty in initial setup, desires more detailed documentation, and could enhance user onboarding experiences.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Symantec Siteminder has a complex deployment process but a comprehensive support team. Microsoft Entra ID's deployment is relatively straightforward, although customer service experiences vary, with some users wishing for faster response times.

Pricing and ROI: Symantec Siteminder is perceived as more expensive but delivers high ROI with secure and reliable services. Microsoft Entra ID is considered more cost-effective and is valued for extensive features and integration capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Entra ID vs. Symantec Siteminder Report (Updated: May 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID vs. Symantec Siteminder

May 2025

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Helped 860,592 peers since 2012

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 Single Sign-On (SSO)

1st

Ranking in Access Management

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

234

Ranking in other categories

Authentication Systems (1st), Identity Management (IM) (2nd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)

Symantec Siteminder

Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)

13th

Ranking in Access Management

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Web Access Management (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Single Sign-On (SSO) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 25.5%, up from 25.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Siteminder is 2.6%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Featured Reviews

Bahram Piri

Chief Executive Officer & Founder at IDmelon Technologies

Security focus and seamless implementation increase platform productivity

Microsoft Entra ID can be improved in many ways, and there's a big wish list.If we're focusing on security, something that I definitely expect is improvement in the UI and UX for frontline workers. This is important, especially for non-tech savvy individuals. It is something Microsoft Entra ID could do to improve for a wider audience. It's important to focus on the frontline workers since they are non-tech savvy individuals. They are not like those back-office engineering C-level employees who are constantly dealing with computers, and we need to build a specific user experience and user interface for them to handle this stuff. That's something I expect Microsoft to focus on more for Microsoft Entra ID.

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Muzi Lubisi

Senior technical Consultant at CA Africa

Improved user experience with seamless integration and easy installation

The feature that I mostly valued is the ease of installation on different systems, especially on Windows. Additionally, it is very beneficial for deploying single sign-on sessions between different windows on a web browser, provided I am connected to the right identity provider. That seamless integration significantly improves user experience and efficiency.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's something we have to deal with every day. It is present. If you're in a domain environment, you'll need it to log in. If you work in a Microsoft-centric environment, you can't avoid it."

"The integration with all Microsoft services and external applications is crucial. Microsoft Entra ID has helped the company with user identities, user device management, and endpoint management. Integration capabilities are significant."

"Entra ID can be deployed using a hybrid model for organizations with a significant on-premises presence, or in a fully cloud-based setup for those that do not."

"All of the features are amazing, such as identity governance and privileged identity management."

"We can centralize and manage everything much more effectively with this tool."

"The feature that I have found most valuable is its authentication security. That is Azure Active Directory's purpose - making cloud services' security and integration easier."

"The solution has some great features, such as identity governance, and user self-service. The Outlook application is very good and is used by a lot of people even if they are using Google services."

"The ability to grant access to other organizations is helpful."

More Microsoft Entra ID pros

"SAML is the best thing we're using right now because there is no need for creating an external account."

"The most valuable feature is the integration with the Active Directory."

"The solution is easy to use for our managers."

"It's quite scalable."

"Symantec Siteminder Is both scalable and stable."

"It has the ability to authenticate and authorize users. It is the main feature for our security."

"IWA is an out-of-the-box feature. The SAML-based federation is standard for all tools. However, CA Single Sign-On has made the federation configuration way too simple and handy to set up and use."

"Siteminder allows us to manage identity and portability control efficiently."

More Symantec Siteminder pros

Cons

"The product needs to improve its support."

"I had some issues with the Azure Active Directory on Windows XP. However, it worked well on Windows 7."

"Lacks integration between applications and phones."

"Allowing for more customization would be very useful. There is a limited metadata capability. When you look at a user, there are only six pieces of information you can see, but organizations are way more complex, so having that metadata available and being able to use that for dynamic user groups and other policies would be very helpful."

"You can manage the users from the Office 365 administration center, and you can manage them from Azure Active Directory. Those are two different environments, but they do the same things. They can gather the features in one place, and it might be better if that place were Azure."

"The documentation could be better."

"I would like to be able to authenticate Wi-Fi users using the Azure ID"

"I haven't had any issues with the product."

More Microsoft Entra ID cons

"I'd like to see a rework of the user directory configuration."

"The main thing is we do not have the traceability and good monitoring that CA can provide us to capture problems when they occur."

"In future releases, I would like to see maybe more capabilities with some more modern authentication."

"We're currently unable to find information about if the solution can do a full implementation with SQL. Some better and more accessible documentation for new users or those curious about the product would be helpful."

"Symantec Siteminder needs to have adaptive authentication and multi-factor authentication as integrated features."

"The tech support has not been very good for us so we don't use them anymore. We have had some issues. Nobody is perfect."

"I think they need to integrate some of the newer types of authentication into the product. I'm not seeing the innovation when it comes to biometrics in the product."

"The support team could work on their response time and overall competence."

More Symantec Siteminder cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't pay for it. Going by how I feel, I see the prices for any MFA solution going down because the more different alternatives there are, the cheaper things should be. Microsoft Authenticator app would be the preferred application, but there are too many ways to implement MFA. I don't know how much it cost, but the price should go down."

"The solution can be cheaper."

"The solution was fairly priced the last time I checked the costs."

"Its price is okay. It is easy to go from P1 to P2 license. It is not exactly a bargain, but I would recommend the P2 license."

"Our customers are looking for advanced features and processes for it to be cost-effective for their organizations. They see it as an overpriced product. They are enjoying using Azure Active Directory, but they are looking for better prices."

"Make sure that you get the most out of your Office 365 licenses for Azure AD. If you have additional concerns for users who don't have an Office 365 license, consider Azure AD Premium P1 and P2. Be aware that you have to evaluate your license usage beforehand."

"MFA and P2 licenses for two Azures for fully-enabled scenarios and features cost a lot of money. This is where Okta is trying to get the prices down."

"We have various levels of their licensing, which includes users on different levels of their enterprise offering."

More Microsoft Entra ID pricing and cost advice

"The price is quite comparable to the other enterprise-level solutions in that market."

"The licensing is fair for this solution."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"I recommend conducting a PoC on every available product before choose one."

"Siteminder is a little costly. You pay for licensing, and they offer packages, so if you have less users, then you have to buy different products at different prices. If you have more of a user base, then the package is different. They also include other features—for example, if you have a database and you're using Siteminder, then it's good to use a Semantic-specific database, but if you are using less, then you have to purchase the database separately. Whereas if you are going for a bigger license, then it comes within the package. It depends on which plan you are using."

"CA solutions are generally expensive but for the customer the ROI is big."

"The solution's pricing is competitive."

"Symantec Siteminder is expensive; they could definitely do better on the price."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

16%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

32%

Insurance Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Azure Active Directory?

It is very simple. The Active Directory functions are very easy for us. Its integration with anything is very easy. We can easily do third-party multifactor authentication.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?

Our experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Entra ID involves leveraging Microsoft 365 E5 licensing, so it's included. Being included in Microsoft licensing makes it mu...

See all answers

What do you like most about Symantec Siteminder?

It's agent-based. It's convenient to deploy and integrate.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Siteminder?

My experience with pricing is that it is all good.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Symantec Siteminder?

Symantec Siteminder needs to have adaptive authentication and multi-factor authentication as integrated features. Currently, multi-factor authentication is available as a separate solution, and it ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Google Cloud Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Intune vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 9% of the time

Okta Workforce Identity vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 6% of the time

Auth0 vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 5% of the time

Amazon Cognito vs Microsoft Entra ID

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Entra ID Competitors

Ping Identity Platform vs Symantec Siteminder

Compared 36% of the time

ForgeRock vs Symantec Siteminder

Compared 30% of the time

Okta Workforce Identity vs Symantec Siteminder

Compared 8% of the time

OpenText Access Manager with Managed Services vs Symantec Siteminder

Compared 4% of the time

Red Hat Single Sign On vs Symantec Siteminder

Compared 4% of the time

More Symantec Siteminder Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID

June 2025

Download Microsoft Entra ID product report

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Siteminder

June 2025

Download Symantec Siteminder product report

Also Known As

Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator

SiteMinder, CA SSO, Layer7 SiteMinder

Interactive Demo

Microsoft

Demo not available

Broadcom

Overview

Microsoft Entra ID is used for extending on-premises Active Directory to the cloud, managing application access, enabling multi-factor authentication, and single sign-on. It facilitates policy enforcement and secure access, ensuring centralized identity management across cloud and on-premises resources.

Organizations utilize Microsoft Entra ID for robust user and group management, identity synchronization, and conditional access. Its seamless integration with third-party apps, scalability, and support for remote work make it a preferred choice. The admin center streamlines identity and access tasks, enhancing efficiency and security with features like privileged identity management and audit logs.

What are the key features of Microsoft Entra ID?

Single Sign-On: Simplifies user access to multiple applications with one login.
Multifactor Authentication: Enhances security by requiring additional verification.
Conditional Access: Establishes policies that determine how users' access cloud apps.
Integration: Easily integrates with various third-party applications.
User Identity Protection: Safeguards user identities from threats.
Privileged Identity Management: Manages elevated access to sensitive resources.
Audit Logs: Provides thorough activity logs for oversight and compliance.

What benefits should users look for in Microsoft Entra ID reviews?

Enhanced Security: Offers strong multifactor authentication and identity protection.
Administrative Efficiency: Simplifies identity and access management tasks.
Scalability: Supports growing user bases and remote work environments.
Integration Capabilities: Compatible with numerous third-party applications.
User-Friendly Interface: Makes managing user identities straightforward.

Microsoft Entra ID implementation varies across industries. Tech firms leverage it for secure, scalable access management, while healthcare organizations utilize its identity protection features to safeguard patient data. Educational institutions adopt Entra ID for streamlined user management and policy enforcement, ensuring secure access for students and staff across on-premises and cloud resources.

Microsoft

Symantec® SiteMinder is designed to secure the modern enterprise through a unified access management platform that applies the appropriate authentication mechanism to positively identify users; provides single sign-on and identity federation for seamless access to any application; enforces granular security policies to stop unauthorized access to sensitive resources; and monitors and manages the entire user session to prevent session hijacking. Finally, Symantec SiteMinder is battle-tested and has been deployed in the largest IT environments in the world.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.

British Telecom, CoreBlox, DBS, HMS, Itera ASA and Simeo

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Entra ID vs. Symantec Siteminder

May 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Entra ID vs. Symantec Siteminder

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Entra ID vs. Symantec Siteminder and other solutions. Updated: May 2025.

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