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Microsoft Identity Manager vs RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle 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

Microsoft Identity Manager
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
RSA Identity Governance and...
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
20th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Identity Manager is 2.0%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle is 1.1%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Management (IM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Identity Manager2.0%
RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle1.1%
Other96.9%
Identity Management (IM)
 

Featured Reviews

RameshKumar9 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at IOM - UN Migration
Supports reliable identity management and custom policy design
Microsoft Identity Manager can be improved by integrating it with Entra ID as a SaaS application or by having a cloud-based connector, as it is currently limited to on-prem scenarios, and a combination of both would be a great solution compared to competitors such as SailPoint or One Identity Manager. While the initial setup of Microsoft Identity Manager is not completely complex, migrating or upgrading to a new version can be complex and requires multiple backups to ensure it goes smoothly.
Harshul Nayak - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Project Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Streamline identity lifecycle management with intuitive interfaces and robust policy features
The functions of RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle, especially the IGA, are quite strong with their custom forms and workflows integrated. The user interface is very friendly and easy to use, making it a good product overall. However, it still has to be on-premise and the cloud version is not easily accessible, as dedicated instances are required and machines cannot be shared as multi-tenant for various customers. The advanced policy features of RSA definitely help in defining certain policies such as segregation of duties. That's particularly useful along with creating different access reviews. Regarding access control in simplifying access management, RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle has strong foundations of groups and roles, which help in defining all policies very easily. This makes it very easy to integrate with other access management tools or privileged access management tools.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most crucial feature of Microsoft Identity Manager is integration, especially with Office 365. A specific scenario where automation provided by the identity manager was crucial is when customers use hybrid clouds, with resources both locally and in the cloud. They require an easy identity solution across workspaces, local and cloud, integrating cloud identity with local identity sources, supporting single sign-on and authorizations, and ensuring security across applications.Microsoft Identity Manager integrates such local and cloud identity sources, supporting numerous applications."
"The most valuable feature is that it provides protection for our company documents."
"The feature that I find most valuable is the security layer of the identity and access management solution. The ability to secure on-premises and cloud-based workloads and to provide seamless authentication into hybrid workloads, which is also both on-premises and in cloud environments."
"The features that we find most valuable are security, mobility, and Single Sign-On."
"The synchronization tool is very powerful and when compared to other vendors the license fees are great - it comes free with the Windows Server license."
"The best features of Microsoft Identity Manager are its 100% compatibility with Active Directory, the ability to customize IAM policies as required, and its simplicity in design."
"The product allows us to track the logins easily."
"I would recommend Microsoft Identity Manager to others anytime."
"All of the features in this product are good and this is a product that I recommend."
"The data collection is excellent and easy to do."
"Soft and hard tokens for two factor authentication has been introduced."
"RSA Identity Governance and lifecycles are good for the access certification and auditing sections."
"The data collection is excellent and easy to do. It does not require a lot of configuration nor does it require rules to be written like other competitors do."
"It improved security."
"Roles, connectors for provisioning and re-accreditation or reviews help greatly to govern user access."
"With the tool in place, you need to hire fewer people to provide access, and you have control over your processes."
 

Cons

"Instead of using the connectors from the third-party companies, they should make the Microsoft templates available with this product. If Microsoft would increase the number of the box connectors that would be helpful to all the customers who use it daily."
"Integration with third parties and enhanced policy management could be improved. The current policy management features are limited, and custom, flexible policies would be ideal."
"The product could be more friendly for non-native English speakers. It would also be better if it were more intuitive and visually attractive."
"Some valuable features might go unused because they are not well-documented or connected clearly in user guides."
"The information that is available for the Active Directory portal is segregated here and there."
"It requires a lot of improvements. Microsoft is killing this product and migrating some of the features to Azure AD."
"It would be good if Microsoft Identity Manager Maybe could be integrated with Azure Active Directory directly and made as a cloud platform."
"The product's setup phase was difficult."
"Technical support in Pakistan can be improved."
"If you use the appliance version then it won't handle a huge database volume."
"There are scalability issues. This product does not scale very well. It is not a good product for load balancing / active–active architecture."
"This product is missing a lot of features which other competitors are providing. One of the key features that are missing right now is risk scoring. Additionally, there is not much scope for customization - everything is hard-coded and predefined, so it does not allow the developers to make many modifications."
"It was expensive initially, but day to day costs are minimal."
"RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle could improve out-of-the-box customization."
"Application and appliance stability needs improvement."
"We were excited that the self-provision feature was now built into the box but disappointed at the implementation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My rating for the pricing of Microsoft Identity Manager is average, neither too expensive nor too cheap."
"The solution is included in the Microsoft E3 license and premium subscriptions of Azure AD."
"The solution is expensive."
"The prices can always be improved. I'd rate it a 4 out of 10 in terms of pricing."
"When comparing the cost, Microsoft Identity Manager is the best solution because it is free if you have an Azure P2 license."
"Microsoft Identity Manager comes with the premium or community license. If the customer doesn't have a premium license, the reseller who sells the licenses of Microsoft to the enterprise can extend the license for the client."
"The tool's price is low for my company."
"MIM is free with a Microsoft Azure license."
"We are using the cloud platform, but we don't find it compatible to be served as a multi-tenant platform. This is a large drawback. It becomes expensive because it is then an all-dedicated solution. You have to have a separate tenant for each client, which increases the cost. The overall unit pricing can be less expensive than how it is right now."
"Pricing varies based on user count/number of modules you need."
"I rate the product's price a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Identity Manager?
Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Identity Manager, it has a couple of cloud connectors that can sync directly with the O365 admin center, which is good enough, but Entra I...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Identity Manager?
Microsoft Identity Manager could be improved in several areas. The solution uses a batching process that executes at scheduled times, which differs from other vendor solutions. It is missing capabi...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Identity Manager?
Microsoft Identity Manager is used primarily in the retail business. The implementation is enterprise-level within a national company, specifically at JCPenney, which is a large organization.
What needs improvement with RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle?
There is room for improvement with RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle. As the size becomes larger, the collections and unifications of the IDs process become quite slow, which can be improved fu...
What is your primary use case for RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle?
We provide RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle as a service, mainly to oversee the digital identity lifecycle, from the initiation to the off-boarding at the end of that digital identity. Our cli...
What advice do you have for others considering RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle?
Overall, I would rate RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle at an eight out of ten.
 

Also Known As

MIM, Forefront Identity Manager, FIM, MS Identity Manager
SecurID
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Whole Foods Market
NTT Com Asia, Virgin Blue, Bank of Uganda, EMEA Telecommunications Company, LAit (Lazio Innovazione Tecnologica), NyNet, OTP Bank, Red Bull Racing, Rupert House School, Signify, UK Local Authority, Bancolombia, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (BPPR), TIVIT, Array Services, International Computerware, KPMG LLP, Moffitt Cancer Center
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Identity Manager vs. RSA Identity Governance and Lifecycle and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.