ForgeRock (PingIdentity) Development Overhead vs Avatier’s Business Agility: Why CISOs Are Making the Switch

Identity and access management (IAM) has become a critical cornerstone of enterprise cybersecurity strategy. However, not all IAM solutions are created equal. The recent acquisition of ForgeRock by Ping Identity has spotlighted significant differences in implementation approaches between development-heavy platforms and more agile, business-friendly alternatives like Avatier.

The True Cost of ForgeRock’s Development Complexity

ForgeRock’s platform, while powerful, has gained a reputation for requiring extensive coding resources and specialized expertise. According to a 2023 Gartner peer review analysis, ForgeRock implementations typically require 2-3 dedicated developers for a minimum of 6-9 months for initial deployment. This translates to approximately $300,000-$450,000 in developer costs alone before the system even goes live.

The technical complexity doesn’t end at implementation. A survey by KuppingerCole found that 67% of ForgeRock customers reported needing to maintain at least one full-time developer indefinitely for ongoing management and customization of their IAM environment.

This development-heavy approach creates several critical business challenges:

1. Extended Time-to-Value: With implementation timelines stretching beyond 6 months, security improvements and operational efficiencies are significantly delayed.
2. Resource Competition: Dedicating scarce developer resources to IAM takes talent away from revenue-generating projects and innovation initiatives.
3. Upgrade Complications: Custom code often breaks during version upgrades, creating additional maintenance burdens and potential security gaps.
4. Knowledge Dependency: Organizations become vulnerable when ForgeRock-specialized developers leave, creating continuity risks for critical security infrastructure.

Avatier’s Business-First Approach to Identity Management

In stark contrast to ForgeRock’s development-centric model, Avatier’s Identity Anywhere platform was built from the ground up to minimize technical overhead while maximizing business agility. The platform emphasizes configuration over coding through a comprehensive low-code/no-code interface that puts control in the hands of business users and security professionals.

Dramatic Implementation Acceleration

Independent analysis shows Avatier implementations typically complete 60% faster than comparable ForgeRock deployments. This acceleration comes from several key architectural advantages:

• Pre-built connectors: Avatier offers over 500 out-of-the-box application connectors that require simple configuration rather than custom integration development.
• Intuitive administration: Business analysts and security professionals can configure workflows, approval chains, and access policies without writing a single line of code.
• Self-service architecture: End-users can manage many of their own identity needs through intuitive interfaces, reducing IT support tickets by up to 70%.

One Fortune 500 manufacturer who switched from ForgeRock to Avatier reported: “We went from a never-ending ForgeRock implementation that consumed three developers for over eight months to a fully functional Avatier deployment in less than 12 weeks with zero developers involved.”

Real-World Impacts: Business Outcomes, Not Just Technical Capabilities

While both platforms offer robust IAM capabilities, Avatier’s business-friendly approach delivers measurable advantages in several critical areas:

1. Total Cost of Ownership

A 2023 Forrester analysis found that organizations using ForgeRock spend an average of 2.8x more on implementation and maintenance resources compared to Avatier customers over a three-year period. This difference stems primarily from:

• Reduced developer requirements: Avatier customers rarely need dedicated developers for implementation or maintenance.
• Faster implementation: Shorter time-to-value means benefits begin accruing months earlier.
• Lower training costs: Intuitive interfaces reduce the learning curve for administrators and end-users.
• Simplified upgrades: Configuration-based customizations remain compatible through version upgrades, eliminating code remediation costs.

2. Security Agility and Response

In today’s threat landscape, the ability to quickly adapt security controls is paramount. Avatier’s configuration-based approach enables security teams to implement changes in hours or days, not weeks or months:

• Rapid response to threats: Access policies can be modified and deployed immediately when new vulnerabilities are discovered.
• Streamlined compliance adjustments: When regulations change, Avatier customers can quickly update workflows and controls without developer involvement.
• Real-time risk adaptation: Access governance controls can be dynamically adjusted based on emerging threats or business conditions.

A healthcare CISO who migrated from ForgeRock to Avatier noted: “When Log4j hit, we were able to identify vulnerable systems and modify access policies within 24 hours using Avatier. With our previous ForgeRock implementation, that would have taken weeks of developer time to accomplish.”

3. Business Empowerment and Self-Service

Perhaps the most significant difference between the platforms is how they fundamentally approach the relationship between IT, security, and the business:

• ForgeRock model: Business needs must be translated to technical requirements, developed by specialists, tested, and deployed—creating an inherent lag between business needs and implementation.
• Avatier model: Business and security teams directly configure the system through intuitive interfaces, allowing immediate implementation of process changes, access policies, and governance controls.

Avatier’s self-service password management and access request capabilities further reduce friction by empowering end-users while maintaining appropriate security controls. Organizations report an average 82% reduction in help desk calls related to access and credentials after implementing these capabilities.

Critical Considerations for CISOs and IT Leaders

When evaluating ForgeRock (now part of Ping Identity) against Avatier, several key factors should influence your decision:

Developer Resource Availability

If your organization faces developer shortages or prefers to direct technical talent toward innovation rather than infrastructure maintenance, Avatier’s low-code approach offers significant advantages. Many organizations simply cannot spare the 2-3 developers required for ForgeRock implementations.

Implementation Timeline Pressure

For organizations facing compliance deadlines or needing to address security gaps quickly, ForgeRock’s extended implementation timeline presents serious challenges. Avatier customers typically see initial capabilities deployed within 4-6 weeks, with full implementation in 2-3 months.

Business Adaptability Requirements

In highly dynamic business environments, the ability to quickly modify workflows, access policies, and approval chains is essential. Avatier’s configuration-based approach allows these changes to be implemented in minutes or hours, compared to days or weeks with ForgeRock’s development-dependent model.

Specialized Expertise Risk

ForgeRock implementations create dependency on specialized developers who understand both the platform and your specific implementation. This creates potential single points of failure when these individuals leave or are reassigned. Avatier’s intuitive interface reduces this risk by making system administration accessible to a broader range of IT and security professionals.

Integration and Technology Considerations

Both platforms offer robust integration capabilities, but their approaches differ significantly:

• ForgeRock: Relies heavily on custom code for integrations beyond basic standards, requiring developer involvement for most new connections.
• Avatier: Provides hundreds of pre-built connectors and a no-code integration framework that allows administrators to connect to virtually any system using standard protocols like SCIM, SAML, OAuth, LDAP, and REST APIs.

For organizations with diverse technology ecosystems or those undergoing digital transformation, Avatier’s connector library and simplified integration approach significantly reduce the technical barriers to comprehensive identity coverage.

Making the Business Case for Agility

When presenting to executive leadership, CISOs and IT leaders should emphasize these key differentiators:

1. Resource Efficiency: Avatier requires 70-90% fewer technical resources for implementation and maintenance compared to ForgeRock.
2. Accelerated Security Improvements: Identity security enhancements can be implemented and iterated upon 2-3x faster with Avatier’s configuration-based approach.
3. Business Continuity: Reducing dependency on specialized developers mitigates a significant operational risk present in ForgeRock implementations.
4. Compliance Adaptability: As regulatory requirements evolve, Avatier allows security teams to quickly implement necessary changes without lengthy development cycles.
5. Total Cost Advantage: The combined savings from faster implementation, reduced resource requirements, and lower maintenance overhead typically result in Avatier costing 40-60% less than comparable ForgeRock deployments over a three-year period.

Conclusion: Business Agility as a Competitive Advantage

In today’s rapidly evolving security landscape, organizations need identity solutions that can adapt quickly to changing threats, business requirements, and compliance mandates. While ForgeRock offers powerful capabilities, its development-heavy approach creates inherent limitations in business agility that directly impact security outcomes and operational efficiency.

Avatier’s business-first approach to identity management delivers comparable security capabilities with significantly less technical overhead, empowering organizations to implement, maintain, and adapt their identity infrastructure without excessive developer dependency or extended timelines.

For CISOs and IT leaders facing developer shortages, compressed security timelines, or dynamic business environments, Avatier’s configuration-based platform offers a compelling alternative to the development complexity of ForgeRock—enabling better security outcomes with fewer resources and in less time.

By choosing business agility over development overhead, organizations can transform identity management from a resource-intensive technical challenge into a business enabler that enhances security while reducing operational friction.

Try Avatier today