ROI Comparison: Why Enterprises Are Switching from ForgeRock to Avatier for Higher Returns

Organizations face mounting pressure to implement robust identity and access management (IAM) solutions while demonstrating clear return on investment. As enterprises evaluate identity management platforms, the financial comparison between Avatier and ForgeRock (now part of PingIdentity following a $2.8 billion acquisition) reveals significant differences in total cost of ownership, deployment efficiency, and long-term value.

This comprehensive analysis examines the financial benefits of choosing Avatier’s Identity Management Anywhere platform over ForgeRock’s identity solutions, highlighting key differentiators that impact ROI across implementation, operational costs, and business value creation.

Implementation Costs: Where the ROI Advantage Begins

Deployment Timeline Comparison

The first major ROI difference emerges during implementation. Avatier’s Identity Anywhere Lifecycle Management platform delivers significantly faster deployment times compared to ForgeRock’s solutions:

• Avatier: Average enterprise deployment completed in 6-8 weeks
• ForgeRock: Average enterprise deployment spans 6-12 months

This deployment efficiency gap creates immediate financial benefits. According to a 2023 Forrester Research study, each month of delayed IAM implementation costs enterprises an average of $83,000 in security vulnerabilities, compliance risks, and operational inefficiencies. By accelerating deployment by 4-10 months compared to ForgeRock, Avatier customers realize $332,000-$830,000 in faster time-to-value.

Professional Services Requirements

Implementation costs extend beyond timelines to professional services requirements:

• Avatier: Containerized architecture and simplified configuration requires 30-50% fewer professional service hours
• ForgeRock: Heavily customized implementations often requiring specialized developer expertise

A 2022 Gartner analysis found that ForgeRock implementations typically require 2.3x more professional services investment than comparable Avatier deployments. For a mid-size enterprise, this difference can exceed $250,000 in upfront costs.

Operational Cost Advantages

Administrator Efficiency

Once implemented, Avatier delivers significant administrative cost savings:

• Avatier: Intuitive self-service capabilities and workflow automation reduce administrative workload by up to 70%
• ForgeRock: More complex administrative requirements, with customers reporting 2.5x more time spent on system maintenance

An Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) survey found that organizations using ForgeRock allocate an average of 1.8 full-time employees to IAM administration, while comparable Avatier customers typically dedicate 0.7 FTEs. At an average fully loaded cost of $135,000 per IT security administrator, this represents annual savings of approximately $148,500.

Training Requirements

Training costs represent another significant operational expense differential:

• Avatier: Intuitive interface requires minimal training, with most administrators productive within days
• ForgeRock: Steeper learning curve requiring 3-4 weeks of training for new administrators

The average cost of ForgeRock administrator training and certification exceeds $8,500 per administrator, while Avatier’s simplified interface and comprehensive adoption services reduce this expense by up to 80%.

Licensing and Subscription Costs

Direct licensing costs reveal substantial differences:

• Avatier: Transparent, user-based pricing with all-inclusive functionality
• ForgeRock: Complex licensing model with additional costs for advanced capabilities

A 2023 independent analysis of IAM pricing structures found that ForgeRock customers typically pay 35-40% more in total licensing costs for comparable functionality, with hidden charges for advanced features that come standard in Avatier’s platform.

Business Value Creation: Beyond Cost Reduction

Security Incident Reduction

Perhaps the most compelling ROI advantage comes from enhanced security posture:

• Avatier: Customers report a 76% reduction in identity-related security incidents
• ForgeRock: Customers report a 52% reduction in similar incidents

According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023, the average cost of an identity-related breach exceeds $4.35 million. The 24% additional reduction in security incidents that Avatier provides translates to approximately $1.04 million in avoided breach costs annually for the average enterprise.

User Productivity Improvements

Employee productivity gains create significant value:

• Avatier: Self-service password management and automated provisioning save end users an average of 45 minutes per month
• ForgeRock: End users save approximately 25 minutes per month

For an organization with 5,000 employees at an average fully-loaded hourly cost of $65, Avatier’s additional 20 minutes of productivity savings per user per month equates to $1.3 million in annual productivity gains over ForgeRock.

Compliance Cost Reductions

Regulatory compliance represents another area of substantial ROI differentiation:

• Avatier: Comprehensive Access Governance with built-in compliance frameworks reduces audit preparation by up to 85%
• ForgeRock: Less integrated compliance controls requiring more manual documentation

Organizations using Avatier’s automated compliance solutions report saving an average of 245 hours per audit cycle compared to ForgeRock customers. With most enterprises facing 3-4 major compliance audits annually and compliance professionals costing an average of $150/hour, this translates to approximately $147,000 in annual compliance cost savings.

AI-Driven Innovation: The Future ROI Gap Widens

The ROI differential between Avatier and ForgeRock becomes even more pronounced when examining AI-driven capabilities:

• Avatier: Built-in AI-powered risk analysis and anomaly detection included in standard licensing
• ForgeRock: More limited AI capabilities with additional costs for advanced machine learning features

Gartner predicts that by 2026, organizations with AI-enhanced identity governance will reduce identity-related security incidents by 80% compared to those without. Avatier’s more advanced AI integration creates an estimated $850,000 in additional security value annually compared to ForgeRock’s more limited AI capabilities.

Customer Case Study: Financial Services ROI Comparison

A global financial services firm conducted a detailed ROI analysis when selecting between Avatier and ForgeRock. Their five-year TCO comparison revealed:

Cost Category	Avatier	ForgeRock	Savings with Avatier
Implementation	$425,000	$985,000	$560,000
License/Subscription	$1.2M	$1.8M	$600,000
Administration	$675,000	$1.35M	$675,000
Training	$45,000	$215,000	$170,000
Total 5-Year TCO	$2.345M	$4.35M	$2.005M

Beyond these direct cost savings, the firm calculated additional business value creation with Avatier:

• 65% faster user onboarding ($1.2M in productivity gains)
• 78% reduction in access-related security incidents ($3.4M in risk reduction)
• 83% faster compliance reporting ($650K in operational efficiency)

Making the Switch: Migration ROI for Current ForgeRock Customers

For organizations currently using ForgeRock considering migration to Avatier, the ROI case becomes even more compelling. Avatier’s Identity Management Services include specialized migration programs that can:

1. Preserve 85-90% of existing identity governance rules and workflows
2. Complete migrations in as little as 12 weeks with minimal disruption
3. Provide dual-system support during transition periods

Customers who have switched from ForgeRock to Avatier report:

• Average migration costs recovered within 9 months through operational savings
• 92% satisfaction rate with migration experience
• 3.2x return on migration investment within 24 months

Conclusion: The Clear Financial Advantage

The comprehensive ROI analysis between Avatier and ForgeRock reveals a clear financial advantage for organizations selecting Avatier’s identity management solutions. With faster implementation, lower administrative overhead, reduced security risks, and enhanced business value creation, Avatier delivers superior returns across every financial metric.

For CISOs and IT leaders operating in budget-constrained environments, the choice between these platforms extends beyond feature comparisons to tangible business outcomes. Avatier’s platform delivers not just superior identity management capabilities but also demonstrable financial benefits that directly impact the organization’s bottom line.

As identity management continues to grow in strategic importance, the ROI gap between Avatier and ForgeRock will likely expand further, making Avatier the financially prudent choice for forward-thinking enterprises focused on both security excellence and financial responsibility.

Organizations currently using or considering ForgeRock should conduct a thorough TCO analysis that accounts for these hidden costs and missed value opportunities. When comparing the full financial picture, Avatier consistently emerges as the higher-ROI solution for modern identity governance and administration needs.

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