Item: Symantec SiteMinder
Rating: 8
Author: Joshua Jordan

Overall Satisfaction with Symantec SiteMinder

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Symantec SiteMinder as our local IDP for other vendors to connect to and establish SSO connections. We do this through creating various entities and federations within the Symantec SiteMinder console. This creates ease of use for customers and flexibility on what our various applications are able to offer. As password security is becoming increasingly tedious we are always looking for ways to securely establish connections through other methods such as Single Sign On

Pros and Cons

Pros

Federation Services
Detailed logging for troubleshooting
Console management is clear and easy to use for less experienced techs

Cons

Guided tutorials within the console
Visual connection testing
Support can be difficult to contact

Return on Investment

Extremely flexible/customizable partnership federations
Consolidation of SSO settings in one place
Requires more knowledge and therefore more time training

Usability

6.5
Symantec SiteMinder's usability is high but the barrier to entry can be intimidating for an unfamiliar user. Symantec SiteMinder support can be difficult to get a hold of when needed leading to situations where you're not sure how to proceed. Overall, if you have experience with SSO, federations, SAML, and IDP's, then you will be fine

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Entra ID Governance

We use Microsoft Windows Azure AD which can act similarly in comparison to Symantec SiteMinder. While this experience is somewhat narrow, Symantec SiteMinder seems to have more flexability/customization and caters to the crown that prefers to automate and work with linux. I am less familiar with Azure's automated abilities, however, Symantec SiteMinder allows to automate various factors that already line up with our existing Linux environment and setup

Key Insights

Do you think Symantec SiteMinder delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with Symantec SiteMinder's feature set?

Yes

Did Symantec SiteMinder live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Symantec SiteMinder go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Symantec SiteMinder again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Jenkins, Jira Software, Microsoft Teams

Likelihood to Recommend

We currently are working to set up Single Sign On and auto provisioning with a new vendor. Symantec SiteMinder visualizes things like SAML responses and assertion attributes within the console extremely clearly. This makes making adjustments on the Vendor's side or even working with Vendor support clear and effective. The only time I would avoid trying use Symantec SiteMinder as a local IDP would be when I am trying to minimize complexity or overhead troubleshooting needs.

Comments

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Symantec SiteMinder is Your Go-To for SSO Implementation