F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Symantec Siteminder comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) and Symantec Siteminder based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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Featured Review
Umair (Abu Mohaymin) Akhlaque
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Stickiness is the most valuable feature of the product.""We have seen a return on investment from F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager. It provided access at a time when we didn't have it.""This is a product that is easy to install and integrate, and it is simple to use.""The product allows us to create customized portals for your users.""The most valuable feature is the virtual IP creation. It's our most frequently used feature.""The tool is reliable and easy to configure.""The solution is stable and reliable.""The load balancing features are valuable."

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"SAML is the best thing we're using right now because there is no need for creating an external account.""You can quickly deploy the entire product with a basic config within couple of hours.""The solution is easy to use for our managers.""It has considerably reduced the amount of time that new users would take to join into the organization. Previously, it was a lengthy, manual process because it's a very secure environment, where they need to verify the user before they can actually grant him a user-ID and password. Integrating with the built-in custom application, and exposing CA Single Sign On to the internet, we were able to get the employees onboard. The time that we gained was: previously it would generally take from four to eight weeks for each employee, we brought it to one to two days.""The most valuable feature is the integration with the Active Directory.""All of our applications get a point, click, and you are in, while we increase security at the same time.""A valuable feature of Siteminder is the way it handles bulk traffic. The features it has, in terms of routing the traffic and load balancing, are good.""The Directory is secure. It's our user store, and it's important to keep our members safe. The product does well with that."

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Cons
"Cloud services are something that F5 Access Policy Manager could do better""The initial setup was complex.""F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager has room for improvement in integration with other products.""The solution is quite costly.""Integrating identity providers and single sign-on solutions can simplify user authentication and access control.""In my opinion, the GUI side needs some improvement based on my usage. Sometimes, it doesn't work as efficiently as the CLI side.""The operational deployment is not great.""F5 BIG-IP APM disconnects when you leave it for long enough, but that is natural for IT solutions to do. That's a little bit frustrating."

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"We would like to the OAuth be more stable, more issues being fixed rather than not.""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.""I would prefer to see their SAML integration be a more streamlined and easier interface.""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.""Some of the new protocols, like OAuth 2.0, could be improved.""I'd like to see a rework of the user directory configuration.""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.""As we are moving in to the mobility space, this is where we really see SiteMinder and their other product really come together to provide a solution base to a different area where the IoT is coming, the different business communications are happening. All of those things require authentication and we really want to see this product grow into that role."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Recently, they have simplified the licensing"
  • "The product is very expensive."
  • "The tool is a little bit expensive."
  • More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The price is quite comparable to the other enterprise-level solutions in that market."
  • "I recommend conducting a PoC on every available product before choose one."
  • "CA solutions are generally expensive but for the customer the ROI is big."
  • "Symantec Siteminder is expensive; they could definitely do better on the price."
  • "The licensing is fair for this solution."
  • "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."
  • More Symantec Siteminder Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:The most valuable feature is the virtual IP creation. It's our most frequently used feature.
    Top Answer:The tool is a little bit expensive. I rate the pricing a six out of ten.
    Top Answer:In my opinion, the GUI side needs some improvement based on my usage. Sometimes, it doesn't work as efficiently as the CLI side. Feature-wise, sometimes when I log in to the GUI and want to see the… more »
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    Ranking
    9th
    out of 36 in Access Management
    Views
    1,400
    Comparisons
    1,169
    Reviews
    9
    Average Words per Review
    348
    Rating
    8.1
    16th
    out of 36 in Access Management
    Views
    1,865
    Comparisons
    1,416
    Reviews
    0
    Average Words per Review
    0
    Rating
    N/A
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    F5 Access Policy Manager
    Single Sign-On, SiteMinder, CA SSO, Layer7 SiteMinder
    Learn More
    Overview

    F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is an access management proxy solution for managing global access to the enterprise networks, cloud providers, applications, and application programming interfaces (APIs). Through a single management interface, BIG-IP APM consolidates remote, mobile, network, virtual, and web access. 

    BIG-IP APM can also serve as a bridge between modern and classic authentication and authorization protocols and methods. For applications which are unable to support modern authentication and authorization protocols, like SAML and OAuth with OIDC, but which do support classic authentication methods, BIG-IP APM converts user credentials to the appropriate authentication standard supported by the application.

    BIG-IP APM Benefits:

    • Ease of use
    • Flexibility
    • Ability to integrate with other systems
    • Security features
    • Granular access control
    • Responsive and helpful support team

    BIG-IP APM Features:

    • Support for Identity Aware Proxy (IAP) enabling Zero Trust application access
    • Context-based authorization with dynamic L4/L7 ACLs
    • Integration with third-party MFA solutions
    • DTLS 2.0 mode for delivering and securing applications
    • SAML 2.0 identity federation support
    • Support for OAuth 2.0 authorization protocol
    • SSO support for classic authentication (Kerberos, header- based, etc.), credential caching, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0, and FIDO2 (U2F)
    • AAA server authentication and high-availability
    • Integration with leading IAM vendor products (Microsoft, Okta, Ping Identity)
    • BIG IP Edge Client and F5 Access integrate with VMware Horizon ONE (AirWatch), Microsoft Intune and IBM MaaS360
    • Risk-based access leveraging third-party UEBA and risk engines (HTTP Connector)

    Reviews from Real Users

    Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by BIG-IP APM users.

    Mahmmoud Rabie, Senior Site Reliability Engineer, writes that BIG-IP APM is "A highly stable solution for load balancing, but the initial setup is complex."

    Clyde LivingstonSenior Process Specialist at Telstra, says that BIG-IP APM is "Easy to use, useful access remotely, but lacking stability."

    Chris LamSenior Solution Consultant at Macroview Telecom Limited, states that BIG-IP APM is "Useful for remote access VPN and VPI integration with VMware.

    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.

    Sample Customers
    City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
    British Telecom, CoreBlox, DBS, HMS, Itera ASA and Simeo
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider27%
    Media Company18%
    Computer Software Company18%
    Financial Services Firm18%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Government12%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm39%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Healthcare Company7%
    Retailer7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm33%
    Insurance Company11%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business46%
    Large Enterprise54%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business17%
    Midsize Enterprise13%
    Large Enterprise70%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business8%
    Midsize Enterprise4%
    Large Enterprise88%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business12%
    Midsize Enterprise6%
    Large Enterprise82%
    Buyer's Guide
    Access Management
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Auth0, Okta and others in Access Management. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is ranked 9th in Access Management with 12 reviews while Symantec Siteminder is ranked 16th in Access Management. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is rated 8.2, while Symantec Siteminder is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) writes " Facilitates packet inspection, modification, and offloading and offers visibility and troubleshooting capabilities, allowing for pre-production server testing". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Symantec Siteminder writes "Easy to implement and customize and very stable". F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is most compared with Citrix Gateway, CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, Ivanti Connect Secure and Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine), whereas Symantec Siteminder is most compared with PingFederate, ForgeRock, Okta Workforce Identity, PingID and Microsoft Entra ID.

    See our list of best Access Management vendors.

    We monitor all Access Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.