Why Avatier Costs Less Than ForgeRock (PingIdentity) for Complete IAM

Identity and access management (IAM) solutions are critical investments for enterprises of all sizes. However, not all IAM platforms deliver the same value, especially when comparing their total cost of ownership (TCO). As organizations evaluate options between industry players like ForgeRock (acquired by PingIdentity) and Avatier, understanding the true cost implications becomes increasingly important.

The Real Cost of ForgeRock vs. Avatier: Beyond License Fees

When comparing IAM solutions, the sticker price is just the beginning. According to a Forrester Research report, implementation and ongoing management costs typically account for 70% of the total cost of ownership for identity solutions, far exceeding the initial license fees.

License Structure Differences

ForgeRock’s pricing model is typically based on per-identity costs that can quickly escalate as your organization grows. Their enterprise licensing can start at $15-25 per user annually for basic functionality, with comprehensive solutions potentially reaching $45-65 per user annually.

Avatier, by contrast, offers more flexible licensing options with predictable costs that don’t penalize company growth. With options for concurrent user licensing rather than named users, organizations can often achieve 30-40% cost savings compared to ForgeRock’s per-identity model.

Implementation Costs: The Hidden Expense

The implementation phase is where cost disparities become most apparent:

• ForgeRock: Implementations typically require specialized consultants at rates of $175-250 per hour, with enterprise deployments taking 6-12 months and requiring multiple full-time consultants.
• Avatier: The average implementation is completed in 1-3 months, with many customers self-implementing using Avatier’s container-based deployment and intuitive configuration tools. This represents a potential savings of 60-75% on implementation costs alone.

A financial services firm that switched from ForgeRock to Avatier reported: “We reduced our implementation timeline from an estimated 9 months to just 8 weeks, saving approximately $450,000 in consultant fees and internal resource time.”

Technical Innovations Driving Avatier’s Cost Efficiency

Containerization: Industry’s First Identity-as-a-Container

Avatier pioneered the Identity-as-a-Container (IDaaC) approach, which fundamentally transforms how IAM solutions are deployed and managed. While ForgeRock has since adopted containerization for some components, Avatier’s Docker container architecture offers several cost advantages:

• Deployment Speed: Avatier containers can be deployed in minutes rather than days or weeks
• Infrastructure Requirements: 60-70% lower server requirements than traditional deployments
• Operational Efficiency: Reduced need for specialized IAM administrators

A healthcare system that implemented Avatier’s containerized solution reported: “We reduced our infrastructure costs by approximately 65% compared to our previous ForgeRock deployment, while also cutting administrative overhead by half.”

Self-Service Capabilities That Actually Work

Both vendors offer self-service capabilities, but their effectiveness varies dramatically:

• ForgeRock: Complex configuration requirements often result in low adoption rates (industry average: 35-45% for similar platforms)
• Avatier: Intuitive self-service interfaces drive adoption rates of 70-85%, significantly reducing help desk costs

According to HDI research, each help desk password reset costs an organization approximately $70 when accounting for staff time and lost productivity. For a 5,000-employee company, the difference between 40% and 80% self-service adoption represents annual savings of approximately $126,000 on password resets alone.

Automation That Reduces Administrative Overhead

Automation capabilities significantly impact ongoing operational costs:

• ForgeRock: While offering robust API capabilities, implementing advanced workflows often requires custom development
• Avatier: Pre-built automation workflows for common scenarios and a no-code workflow designer reduce customization requirements by 40-60%

Deployment Flexibility: On-Premises, Cloud, and Hybrid Options

The flexibility to choose deployment models based on business needs rather than vendor limitations can significantly impact both short and long-term costs:

• ForgeRock: Their strategic emphasis on cloud-based deployments can result in higher costs for organizations preferring on-premises or hybrid approaches
• Avatier: Supports all deployment models equally, with identical functionality across on-premises, private cloud, public cloud, or hybrid environments

This deployment flexibility allows organizations to optimize costs based on their existing infrastructure investments rather than being forced into potentially costlier deployment models.

Integration Capabilities and Associated Costs

Enterprise IAM systems must integrate with numerous applications and systems. The cost and complexity of these integrations vary significantly between vendors:

• ForgeRock: While offering extensive connectors, many integrations require custom development at costs ranging from $10,000-$50,000 per complex integration
• Avatier: Provides over 500 pre-built connectors with standardized configuration interfaces that reduce integration costs by 50-70% for most common enterprise applications

Operational Efficiency: Resource Requirements

The resources required to manage an IAM solution significantly impact its total cost of ownership:

• ForgeRock: Typically requires specialized administrators with specific ForgeRock certification, commanding salaries 15-25% higher than general IAM administrators
• Avatier: Can be effectively managed by general IT staff with minimal specialized training, reducing personnel costs and dependencies on hard-to-find specialists

According to recent IT salary surveys, ForgeRock specialists command annual salaries of $120,000-$150,000, while general IAM administrators average $95,000-$120,000. This difference, multiplied across multiple administrators in larger organizations, represents significant ongoing savings.

Scalability Without Penalty

As organizations grow, IAM solution costs should scale reasonably:

• ForgeRock: Per-identity pricing means costs increase linearly with organization growth
• Avatier: Concurrent user licensing and efficient architecture allow costs to scale more gradually than user growth

A manufacturing company that switched from ForgeRock to Avatier reported: “As we doubled in size through acquisition, our ForgeRock costs were projected to double. With Avatier, we managed the same growth with only a 30% increase in IAM costs.”

Compliance and Risk Management Cost Considerations

Both solutions provide compliance capabilities, but their approaches to governance, risk and compliance impact overall costs:

• ForgeRock: Comprehensive compliance capabilities often require additional modules and professional services
• Avatier: Integrated access governance and compliance features are included in core licensing, with pre-configured compliance policies for common regulations

Independent analysis suggests that organizations typically spend 15-20% less on compliance-related professional services when using Avatier compared to ForgeRock.

Customer Support and Professional Services

The quality and cost of ongoing support and professional services significantly impact long-term satisfaction and costs:

• ForgeRock: Support tiers can represent 20-25% of annual license costs, with variable response times
• Avatier: Simplified support model with consistent response times across all customers, typically representing 15-20% of annual costs

Additionally, Avatier’s professional services teams average hourly rates 20-30% lower than ForgeRock’s specialized consultants, further reducing costs for customization and advanced implementations.

Case Study: A Financial Services Company’s Cost Analysis

When a mid-sized financial services firm with 7,500 employees compared ForgeRock and Avatier, their five-year TCO analysis revealed:

ForgeRock:

• Initial licensing: $1.4 million
• Implementation: $850,000
• Annual support and maintenance: $280,000/year
• Administrative staff requirements: 4 FTEs
• Five-year TCO: $4.65 million

Avatier:

• Initial licensing: $1.1 million
• Implementation: $320,000
• Annual support and maintenance: $220,000/year
• Administrative staff requirements: 2.5 FTEs
• Five-year TCO: $2.87 million

This represented a 38% reduction in five-year TCO, with the most significant savings coming from implementation costs and reduced administrative overhead.

Making the Right IAM Investment Decision

When evaluating IAM solutions, organizations should consider:

1. Total Cost of Ownership: Look beyond initial licensing to implementation, integration, and operational costs
2. Deployment Flexibility: Choose a solution that fits your infrastructure strategy rather than forcing architectural changes
3. Self-Service Effectiveness: Evaluate actual adoption rates rather than feature lists
4. Administrative Requirements: Consider the specialized skills and headcount required for ongoing management
5. Scalability Costs: Understand how costs will increase as your organization grows

Conclusion: The Avatier Advantage

While ForgeRock (PingIdentity) offers a comprehensive IAM platform with extensive capabilities, organizations frequently discover that Avatier delivers comparable or superior functionality at significantly lower total cost of ownership. Through innovative approaches like containerization, superior self-service adoption, and flexible deployment options, Avatier has established itself as the cost-effective choice for organizations seeking enterprise-grade identity management without enterprise-grade pricing.

For organizations reevaluating their identity management investments or considering alternatives to ForgeRock, Avatier provides a compelling combination of functionality, flexibility, and cost-efficiency that deserves serious consideration.

Try Avatier today