OpenText Identity Manager vs Symantec Identity Governance and Administration comparison

OpenText Identity Manager vs. Symantec Identity Governance and Administration

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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

OpenText Identity Manager

Ranking in User Provisioning Software

9th

Ranking in Identity Management (IM)

15th

Ranking in Identity Governance Administration (IGA)

7th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Symantec Identity Governanc...

Ranking in User Provisioning Software

8th

Ranking in Identity Management (IM)

18th

Ranking in Identity Governance Administration (IGA)

8th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Identity Governance Administration (IGA) category, the mindshare of OpenText Identity Manager is 3.9%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Identity Governance and Administration is 5.6%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Identity Governance Administration (IGA) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
OpenText Identity Manager	3.9%
Symantec Identity Governance and Administration	5.6%
Other	90.5%

Identity Governance Administration (IGA)

Featured Reviews

reviewer2401464

Architect at a consultancy with 51-200 employees

Updates systems quickly and does not have a limit on the number of users

NetIQ does not have a limit on the number of users. The tool is secure by nature. It can have more than one billion users. Event-based systems know what has to be changed. SQL-based systems can only change using time and date. Event-based systems provide immediate results, while SQL-based systems need time to sync. It is totally different from a security perspective. Event-based systems can update all the systems in seconds or minutes. Other systems do it within 24 hours. The basic event-based system is AI-driven. It has some kind of robotics and programming. Other tools need programming. I like systems that have prebuilt ideas of security. NetIQ has been in the market for a long period. It has all the systems and connectors. There is not much coding. We just need to configure the products. We need not do any programming. I haven't seen any other product that needs only configuration to do the job. Most products in the market are SQL-based. They need programming. Some service providers who sell other products to customers do not sell NetIQ because they can make more money by selling solutions that need more consultancy and programming. More hours lead to more money.

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reviewer2183661

Managing Director at a consultancy with 1-10 employees

Has an easy initial setup process, but its technical support services need improvement

The product's technical support could be better. The integration project requires a lot of technical details, so we need to find it quickly and easily. There was a large community of knowledge in the past. We kept it together and got the results. The community that works around the particular technical issue is shrinking. It used to be a specialized community that would help with the process. These particular areas need improvement. Broadcom is still using a hybrid cloud model, with some workloads on-premises and some in the cloud. They must start with the cloud adoption and move as many workloads to the cloud as possible. The on-premises environment is becoming stable. They need to rebuild that cost and the software. The product's pre-sales, technical support, and installation could also improve.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The stability of the NetIQ Identity Manager is good."

"The access request management has improved significantly in terms of its user interface. What sets it apart from competitors like SailPoint is that it's an event-based solution rather than schedule-based. That's a key differentiator."

"It's a very flexible tool, so you can synchronize multiple sources of data and you have multiple connections to various kinds of systems."

"Identity and access management processes have developed to become automatic and fast."

"The most valuable features are Password Reset Alerts, Password Sync, and SQL connectors."

"The Identity Engine is event-based and provides real-time synchronization and password synchronization to more than 40 different applications and services."

"It's a solid product, it's a mature product."

"The identity vault, password syncing and self service Password Reset are valuable features, and NetIQ does a good job with password syncing among directories."

More OpenText Identity Manager pros

"It allowed local departments to manage the people in their own groups, without any help from the IT department."

"Allows individual users to work in a controlled and secure environment, whereby user authentication, access control, password administration, and smooth workflow are ensured."

"The valuable features are the speed and the ability to provision all of our employees, and I like the usability as well."

"It scales fine; it's one of the better products out there."

"The support's been good from CA."

"It has improved our user management. It is definitely streamlined."

"The product is relatively easier to use than other identity management products."

"This solution was implemented for a Financial Client to automate account provisioning across various disparate systems (more than 80 systems across 5 countries)."

More Symantec Identity Governance and Administration pros

Cons

"Areas for improvement are further enhancing the access granting process to reduce time and improve accuracy."

"The vendor must provide an easier console for configuring things for smaller customers."

"The problem is the ecosystem. There's not a lot of people that know the product, so it's hard to find someone to work with the product."

"The integrations must be made easier."

"The user facing interfaces are not too friendly and they are also fairly hard to configure."

"NetIQ Identity Manager could improve by updating the user portal, it is out of date."

"There's no huge thing missing, because it's already comprehensive. Now and then, however, there might be a minor issue."

"Scalability becomes an issue if the vision changes from the initial implementation. Not being flexible and having to rewrite quite a bit of code for even a simple added feature makes it difficult."

More OpenText Identity Manager cons

"It was a journey because when we started the project, we had trouble. We couldn't get the system easily installed, up and running but over the time we installed a different project from CA which really enabled us to get things smooth, up and running and for the past 6 months we haven't had any defaults in the system."

"Although the capabilities are there, the user interface needs to be redesigned and the opportunities for integration should be improved."

"Because it's software on our network, there are sometimes load-balancing issues or latency delays."

"The technical support for this particular product is really poor and needs a lot of work."

"Subsequent functionality within CA IM is not appropriately documented creating issues."

"An improvement that we would like to see in a later version is taking it to the cloud."

"We found that if you create a certification with a high number of objects, the portal runs slowly."

"They should easier and better integration with other software."

More Symantec Identity Governance and Administration cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You just need to be aware that the more systems you connect, the more license fees you have to pay."

"The solution is quite affordable."

"It would easily help them in getting more market and more customers if more consultants knew about their software. If they could keep it free for schools for teaching purposes, it would be good. I had to pay myself to get it and use it for training. Their competitors are giving it for free. I had to pay for it myself. They are losing market to their competitors."

"I would rate the pricing a two out of ten, with one being low price and ten being high price. It is significantly more cost-effective than the major players in the market."

"Micro Focus is flexible when it comes to price. The cost varies from customer to customer. There are no additional costs, though. Everything is included."

"The price of the solution is a bit high and could be reduced."

"The product has a good price in competition with another product with the same solution."

"Symantec keeps increasing the price. I rate its pricing a seven on a scale of ten."

"The connector is free, and bundled with the product."

"Pricing and licensing models are adequate and reasonable."

"Compared to other options, CA products are not that expensive."

"The price is flexible for our existing customers."

"I do not recall the approximate prices or licensing models, although I do so that it was priced per user number."

"The price is based on the number of users."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Outsourcing Company

Manufacturing Company

University

Financial Services Firm

12%

Construction Company

11%

Marketing Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	23
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	45

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetIQ Identity Manager?

The pricing depends on whether we buy the solution as a service or a license. The license is expensive. If we buy it as a service for a large number of users, it is the cheapest tool we can get. Th...

What needs improvement with NetIQ Identity Manager?

The tool is used mostly in big systems to understand what is happening. There are not many technicians who know how to use the product. The vendor must provide an easier console for configuring thi...

What is your primary use case for NetIQ Identity Manager?

NetIQ Directory is the main function of the product. As far as I know, it is the only event test directory that exists. It has all the potential for event-based testing. It has rules, connectors, a...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Identity Governance and Administration?

The pricing has been very reasonable, but licensing costs vary based on the customer. It follows a user-based licensing model.

What needs improvement with Symantec Identity Governance and Administration?

Symantec should develop a SaaS solution for cloud environments to make the solution available in various marketplaces for easy deployment. It should also offer bundle installation instead of one by...

What is your primary use case for Symantec Identity Governance and Administration?

I am a consultant and we consult for identity and network management. We work with Symantec, which is owned by Broadcom, and also with Microsoft and Oracle. Additionally, we work with open-source s...

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Product Reports

OpenText Identity Manager

Download OpenText Identity Manager product report

Symantec Identity Governance and Administration

Download Symantec Identity Governance and Administration product report

Symantec Identity Governance and Administration report

Also Known As

Novell Identity Manager

CA Identity Suite, Symantec IGA, Layer7 Identity Suite, CA Identity Manager (CA IDM), CA Identity Minder, CA IAM, CA Identity Manager (CA IDM), CA Identity Governance

Overview

OpenText Identity Manager provides event-driven capabilities with real-time synchronization and integration across multiple systems. Known for its flexibility, it offers features like password sync, access management, and directory synchronization.

OpenText Identity Manager is a comprehensive identity management platform, designed to support role-based provisioning and seamless integration of external systems. Its notable features include the Designer and Analyzer tools and robust self-service password management, enhancing its usability. Organizations leverage its event-driven architecture for real-time synchronization and detailed tracing, facilitating efficient identity management across different data sources. However, enhancements in Windows OS compatibility, user interface modernization, and cloud support are needed. Training remains crucial, given the system's complexity and unique language.

What are the Key Features of OpenText Identity Manager?

Real-time Synchronization: Event-driven architecture enables instant updates across systems.
Role Based Provisioning: Streamlines managing roles and permissions within organizations.
Flexible Integration: Connects with multiple data sources, enhancing system interoperability.
Password Synchronization: Simplifies password management across platforms.
Access Management: Offers tools to manage permissions and security with ease.

Why Consider OpenText Identity Manager in Reviews?

Comprehensive Support: Offers identity lifecycle management, enhancing user experience.
Security Enhancements: Improves compliance management and access control.
Scalability: Efficiently supports large-scale enterprise environments.
Integration Capabilities: Connects seamlessly with existing infrastructure.

In industries ranging from large corporations to local banks, OpenText Identity Manager supports account provisioning and access management, primarily through Active Directory integration. By connecting with applications like Oracle, PeopleSoft, and Office 365, it facilitates lifecycle and compliance management. Its deployment aids training and real-world application with single sign-on options for internal applications, providing a comprehensive identity management solution for diverse environments.

OpenText

Symantec Identity Governance and Administration offers automated management for identity lifecycles, provisioning, and entitlements, featuring easy integration, flexibility, role-based access, and strong compliance support.

This software provides effective identity lifecycle automation, entitlement management, provisioning, and access control while offering codeless customization through Policy and Identity Xpress technology. The integration with multiple applications supports regulatory compliance efforts, enhancing security and operational efficiency with a user-friendly interface. Users appreciate its ease of customization, though challenges in integrating with cloud services and external systems remain. Improvements are needed in technical support, reporting capabilities, and workflows. Its comprehensive identity solutions target sectors like retail, financial, and government, emphasizing risk management and compliance while integrating with HR systems.

What key features does it offer?

Automated Identity Lifecycle Management: Simplifies creating, modifying, and removing identities.
Provisioning and Entitlement Management: Manages permissions and entitlements efficiently.
Role-Based Access: Facilitates access control through defined user roles.
Policy and Identity Xpress: Enables codeless customization.
Regulatory Compliance Support: Assists in meeting compliance standards.

What benefits and ROI can be expected?

Increased Operational Efficiency: Reduces manual workload with automation.
Enhanced Security: Protects access and identity data effectively.
Improved Integration Capabilities: Connects with existing applications seamlessly.
Customizability: Adapts to specific needs without extensive coding.
Strong Compliance Assurance: Supports adherence to industry regulations.

Organizations in retail, financial, and government sectors utilize this software to streamline identity management and standardize user accounts. Businesses focus on user creation, privilege management, and compliance certification by aligning access with business rules. Integration with HR systems for identity solutions is achieved through technical customizations.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Sheetz

Acciona, Core Blox, DBS

OpenText Identity Manager vs. Symantec Identity Governance and Administration