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Microsoft Identity Manager vs SAP Identity Management 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
SAP Identity Management
Ranking in Identity Management (IM)
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Identity Management (IM) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Identity Manager is 2.0%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Identity Management is 2.3%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Management (IM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Identity Manager2.0%
SAP Identity Management2.3%
Other95.7%
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.
FM
Sales Executive at Minsait
Identity management enhances connectivity and productivity with streamlined access and robust security, offering time-saving processes and facilitating seamless integration with other BI tools
One area that could be improved with SAP Identity Management, other than support, is user engagement from an implementation perspective. It would be beneficial for SAP to extend their events and workshops that are currently performed for partners to their final customers, as many customers want to know what's new and what else they can do without solely depending on the partners. For SAP support in Brazil, everything is in English, which poses a difficulty for many customers. The support could be improved for the specific needs in Brazil, as many customers have difficulty accessing the support center due to the language barrier. This feedback is specific to Brazil, though it's unclear if SAP receives similar feedback from other countries. It could certainly be enhanced with Portuguese documents, among other improvements.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The concept is primarily for the people in the business. In business, you can discuss how integrating all the services and resources within the company can bring numerous benefits."
"The features of Microsoft Identity Manager that have been most impactful in improving security and compliance include the granular policies, report, and the ability to gain end-to-end visibility for each user."
"The integration with other Microsoft ecosystems, such as Graph API, is really cool."
"The tool's only feature that is generating value for us is the login process for our clients."
"MIM's most valuable feature is its connectivity with Exchange."
"With Microsoft Identity Manager, most of the time the organizations actually agree that it is a primary benefit to use them."
"It is one of the easiest products to implement, which is one of the main advantages, and the integration is easy."
"The integration with other Microsoft ecosystems, such as Graph API, is really cool."
"NW IDM is extremely flexible, and with a small amount of effort you can integrate the basic provisioning for most of the commonly used modern systems."
"What I like about SAP Identity Management is that it's stable for experienced users and suitable for access management, not just for SAP accounts, but for Active Directory, including file sharing and process sharing."
"The most valuable feature is the user experience for managing information."
"What I found most valuable in SAP Identity Management is process automation."
"What I found most valuable in SAP Identity Management is process automation. The solution also gives transparency about what is happening and why which I find beneficial. Another feature I found valuable in SAP Identity Management is integration. It has very good integration."
"IBM really gives you the power to implement a lot of functionality outside the current implementation if you know how to build the functionality you want."
"What's most valuable in SAP Identity Management is that it's easily an out-of-the-box solution for connectivity with SAP applications. We do not have to do any customizations, and this makes the solution very compatible with most SAP applications. SAP Identity Management is also very user-friendly."
"What's most valuable in SAP Identity Management is that it's easily an out-of-the-box solution for connectivity with SAP applications."
 

Cons

"MIM's reliability could be improved."
"They have to improve the User Entity and Behavioral Analysis."
"The security could be slightly improved."
"In terms of the identity and access management solution for on-premises environment, I think Microsoft needs to eliminate or minimize the number of workloads for the solution to run in on-premises environment."
"All actions require logging in to the server."
"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."
"Microsoft Identity Manager has shown a strong focus on cloud solutions, but it could improve its support for legacy products and on-premise infrastructure. Legacy applications or solutions are often not fully supported, which can be a limitation for customers with existing on-premise setups. The emphasis on cloud-based solutions is beneficial for modernization as it is crucial to address customers' needs relying on legacy systems. Microsoft should address the gap in support for legacy products to ensure a more comprehensive and inclusive approach."
"From my view, Microsoft doesn't invest much in this product and it can take a while to resolve any issues."
"It needs to have the SSO for the HANA modules that SAP is releasing."
"The standard one is not friendly and very time-consuming for elementary operation."
"I find SAP Identity Management complicated to use. Maintaining it is also complex."
"The current functionality allows you only to change one user at a time. There is no option to maintain the business roles from the UI using standard validation or imports, so you have to build your business roles one by one."
"One of the areas for improvement in the solution is its user interface which needs to be up-to-date and fancier, in particular, have better visualization in terms of the tabs and buttons."
"I have encountered issues with the host authentication feature."
"SAP Identity Management can improve risk analysis and authority checks."
"I believe they could make a lot of improvements on SAP IDM. There is also a lack of startup connectors to different systems, and they could have better cloud integration connectors for SAP IDM."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is included in the Microsoft E3 license and premium subscriptions of Azure AD."
"My rating for the pricing of Microsoft Identity Manager is average, neither too expensive nor too cheap."
"When comparing the cost, Microsoft Identity Manager is the best solution because it is free if you have an Azure P2 license."
"The prices can always be improved. I'd rate it a 4 out of 10 in terms of pricing."
"The solution is expensive."
"It is an expensive tool."
"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."
"MIM is free with a Microsoft Azure license."
"When evaluating the price of any product, I first look at how it meets my business requirements and if it meets requirements adequately and predictively. Currently, I don't see this from SAP Identity Management, so pricing for it is expensive, in my opinion."
"The licensing cost varies depending on the specific requirements and deployment size."
"I rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Educational Organization
7%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Energy/Utilities Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

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 Business4
Midsize Enterprise3
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 SAP Identity Management?
One area that could be improved with SAP Identity Management, other than support, is user engagement from an implementation perspective. It would be beneficial for SAP to extend their events and wo...
What is your primary use case for SAP Identity Management?
The use cases for SAP Identity Management include the logistics company, and we also have a beverage company that is using SAP Identity Management. We did not make the migration for them, but we im...
What advice do you have for others considering SAP Identity Management?
My clients use SAP Identity Management for managing access rights efficiently based on user roles. I have experience with other IAM tools, having worked for Oracle three or four years ago, but I ca...
 

Also Known As

MIM, Forefront Identity Manager, FIM, MS Identity Manager
SAP NetWeaver Identity Management, NetWeaver Identity Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Whole Foods Market
State of Indiana, Automotive Resources International (ARI), Alliander N.V., Chemion Logistik GmbH, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH)
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Identity Manager vs. SAP Identity Management and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.