ForgeRock (PingIdentity) Product Overlap: Why Avatier’s Integrated Approach Wins

With Ping Identity’s acquisition of ForgeRock in 2023 creating significant product overlap and integration challenges, many CISOs and IT leaders find themselves reconsidering their identity strategy. This market consolidation raises important questions about service continuity, product roadmaps, and the future of customer investments.

The ForgeRock-Ping Identity Merger: Understanding the Challenges

When ForgeRock was acquired by Ping Identity (now part of Thoma Bravo), it created one of the largest identity consolidations in recent years. However, this merger created substantial product redundancy across multiple IAM categories:

• Overlapping IAM platforms: Both companies maintain separate identity governance platforms
• Duplicate authentication solutions: Competing MFA and adaptive authentication offerings
• Redundant directory services: Multiple competing directory solutions
• Conflicting API security tools: Overlapping API management capabilities

According to a recent Gartner analysis, 64% of enterprises using redundant IAM solutions from merged vendors experience significant integration challenges, with 42% reporting increased costs rather than the promised savings. This redundancy forces customers into difficult migration decisions and creates uncertainty about which products will be deprecated.

The Hidden Costs of ForgeRock/Ping’s Fragmented Approach

ForgeRock and Ping’s separate development histories have resulted in disjointed product sets that create several significant challenges:

1. Integration Complexity and Technical Debt

ForgeRock and Ping products were built on different architectural foundations. Their combined portfolio now requires customers to manage multiple admin consoles, data repositories, and integration points. According to a 2023 Enterprise Strategy Group survey, organizations using multiple identity products from the same vendor spend 37% more IT hours on integration and maintenance compared to those using a natively unified platform.

2. Escalating Licensing Costs

The combined entity has complex licensing models across their overlapping product lines. Many customers report unexpected cost increases during renewals as they’re pressured to adopt the “strategic” product direction. According to IDC research, enterprises using merged IAM vendors experienced an average 23% cost increase in their total IAM spending within two years of vendor consolidation.

3. Inconsistent User Experiences

ForgeRock and Ping’s different UX approaches create fragmented user journeys. End users encounter different interfaces, authentication flows, and self-service capabilities depending on which product handles their request, leading to higher support costs and user frustration.

Avatier’s Integrated Approach: A Comprehensive Alternative

Unlike ForgeRock/Ping’s fragmented approach, Avatier’s Identity Anywhere platform was built from the ground up as a unified solution with a single codebase, consistent interface, and comprehensive capabilities. This integrated approach delivers several distinct advantages:

1. A Truly Unified IAM Platform

Avatier provides comprehensive IAM capabilities through a single, unified platform:

• Unified lifecycle management: Seamless onboarding, transfers, and offboarding processes
• Integrated access governance: Risk-based certification and compliance controls
• Consistent authentication: Unified MFA and SSO experiences
• Centralized self-service: Password management, access requests, and profile updates
• Consolidated reporting: Cross-functional analytics and compliance documentation

This unified approach eliminates the integration challenges, inconsistent interfaces, and disconnected workflows that plague ForgeRock/Ping customers.

2. Superior ROI Through Operational Efficiency

Avatier’s integrated platform delivers measurable financial benefits:

• Reduced administrative overhead: 40% lower operational costs compared to managing multiple point solutions
• Faster implementation timelines: Typical deployments complete in 4-6 weeks versus 6-12 months for comparable ForgeRock/Ping implementations
• Lower licensing complexity: A single licensing model with predictable costs
• Reduced infrastructure requirements: Consolidated database and application servers

An independent TCO analysis found that organizations switching from fragmented IAM solutions to Avatier’s unified platform realized an average 32% reduction in total cost of ownership over three years.

3. Enhanced Security Through Comprehensive Visibility

Avatier’s unified approach eliminates the security gaps often found between fragmented tools:

• Complete visibility: A single view of identities, access rights, and activities
• Consistent policy enforcement: Uniform security controls across all access types
• Comprehensive risk monitoring: Integrated analytics for detecting suspicious patterns
• Streamlined compliance: Automated controls mapping to regulatory requirements

According to a recent IBM Security study, organizations with fragmented IAM solutions experience 27% more security incidents related to inappropriate access than those with unified platforms.

Real-World Differentiation: Avatier vs. ForgeRock/Ping

When evaluating specific capabilities, Avatier’s unified approach provides clear advantages:

1. Lifecycle Management & Governance

ForgeRock/Ping Challenge: ForgeRock’s governance capabilities must be integrated with Ping’s lifecycle management tools, creating operational silos and compliance gaps.

Avatier Solution: Avatier’s Identity Anywhere Lifecycle Management provides seamless lifecycle governance from a single platform, ensuring continuous compliance without integration complexity. The platform’s unified approach reduces certification time by up to 65% while maintaining continuous compliance visibility.

2. Authentication & Access Management

ForgeRock/Ping Challenge: Customers must choose between ForgeRock’s authentication framework or Ping’s SSO/MFA solutions, with incomplete feature parity and integration challenges.

Avatier Solution: Avatier delivers a consistent authentication experience with integrated multifactor capabilities and SSO that works seamlessly across all access scenarios. This unified approach creates a consistent security posture while reducing user friction.

3. Self-Service & User Experience

ForgeRock/Ping Challenge: Different self-service interfaces for password management, access requests, and profile management create a disjointed user experience.

Avatier Solution: Avatier’s unified self-service portal provides consistent experiences for all identity-related tasks, significantly reducing help desk tickets and improving user satisfaction. Organizations implementing Avatier’s self-service capabilities report an average 72% reduction in password-related support tickets.

4. Application Integration & Connectivity

ForgeRock/Ping Challenge: Separate connector frameworks require maintaining multiple integration technologies and keeping them synchronized.

Avatier Solution: Avatier’s extensive connector library provides over 500 pre-built integrations managed through a single framework, dramatically reducing integration complexity and maintenance overhead.

Industry-Specific Solutions: Another Avatier Advantage

Beyond technical capabilities, Avatier differentiates itself with specialized solutions for key industries with unique identity requirements:

• Healthcare: HIPAA-compliant solutions addressing patient data access and clinical workflow requirements
• Financial Services: Regulatory-focused capabilities for meeting GLBA, PCI-DSS, and other financial compliance mandates
• Government: FISMA/NIST 800-53 compliant implementations meeting federal security standards
• Education: FERPA-aligned solutions for educational institutions managing student, faculty, and staff identities

Each industry solution includes pre-configured policies, workflows, and compliance controls that dramatically accelerate implementation and ensure regulatory alignment.

Making the Switch: Migration Strategies for ForgeRock/Ping Customers

For organizations considering a transition from ForgeRock/Ping to Avatier, the process can be straightforward with proper planning:

1. Assessment: Evaluate current IAM capabilities, identify pain points, and define success metrics
2. Phased Implementation: Begin with critical capabilities while maintaining existing systems
3. Parallel Operations: Run systems concurrently during transition to minimize disruption
4. Managed Cutover: Gradually shift users and applications to the new platform
5. Legacy Decommissioning: Systematically retire redundant systems as they’re replaced

Avatier’s professional services team provides comprehensive migration support, including data migration tools, configuration mapping, and implementation guidance to ensure a smooth transition.

Conclusion: The Unified Identity Advantage

The ForgeRock/Ping merger exemplifies the challenges of cobbled-together solutions – even when they come from the same corporate parent.

Avatier’s unified approach offers a compelling alternative, delivering comprehensive capabilities through a truly integrated platform. By eliminating redundancy, simplifying administration, and providing consistent user experiences, Avatier helps organizations strengthen security, reduce costs, and improve operational efficiency.

For CISOs and IT leaders evaluating their identity strategy in light of vendor consolidation, Avatier provides a future-proof solution that eliminates the complexity and uncertainty of working with merged vendors while delivering superior outcomes for both security and business efficiency.

As identity becomes increasingly central to digital security, the advantages of Avatier’s integrated approach become even more pronounced – offering a clear path forward in an increasingly complex landscape.

Try Avatier today