Ping Identity has long been considered a leading provider of enterprise-grade Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions. It has been consistently named a "Leader" in analyst reports from firms like Gartner and Forrester, and its platform is well-regarded for its strong federation (SSO) and security capabilities, including multi-factor authentication (MFA) and adaptive access controls for a Zero Trust security model.
Founded in 2002, Ping has been a pioneer in the IAM market for over two decades. However, the IAM landscape is changing rapidly. The explosive growth of applications like ChatGPT highlights the increasing need for solutions that prioritize user experience and scalability, and can adapt to new authentication methods for AI agents and bots. As a result, some organizations are exploring alternatives to Ping.
Here are some of the top reasons why customers are leaving Ping Identity:
Ping Considerations: Cost
Ping's licensing costs are often seen as a premium, which can be a barrier for high-growth organizations that need to expand their user base securely and affordably.
"Unfortunately, our previous provider raised prices for a sub-standard solution. Overly complicated documentation, poor support, and little direct control to change, forced us to seek alternatives."
Ping Considerations: Scale
Delays and disruptions during peak traffic can be detrimental to user experience. Some Ping Identity customers have reported issues with scaling, which can degrade the experience at the most critical moments.
"By December when we really started moving traffic on our internal system, we were up around 300 million (weekly) actives. Now, before we've even completed, we've already added another 100 million."
"Ory enabled us to transition away from our self-hosted solution, giving us scalability and reliability under the most rigorous traffic demands."
- Robert Blanck, Chief Product Officer (CPO), Axel Springer - View case study
Ping Considerations: User Experience (UX)
User experience is paramount for both administrators and end-users. A clunky or difficult experience can lead customers and partners to seek alternatives with minimal switching costs. Organizations must weigh the security benefits of a Ping solution against the risk of alienating their users.
"We would highly recommend Ory to organizations seeking to modernize their identity and access management systems. Ory gave us the freedom to customize and control how we deliver logins to our different audiences. Other commercial alternatives were simply too limiting and expensive."
Ping Considerations: Complexity
Complexity can hinder momentum. Whether it's the initial setup, ongoing maintenance, or making a quick change, if a task requires professional services or a dedicated team, it may not be worth the effort. Many customers report that Ping is a complex platform to manage.
"Changing Auth providers is usually a painful experience — It was great that we could setup Ory quickly and there weren't any issues."
Ping Considerations: Vendor Lock-in
As a proprietary vendor, Ping's goal is to integrate customers into its entire ecosystem, which can force them to deliver IAM in a way that aligns with the vendor's vision rather than their own. Open-source-based alternatives, like Ory, offer greater transparency and flexibility.
"We would recommend Ory because it doesn’t lock you into their way and offers flexibility of cloud or on-premises deployment, dedicated and responsive support, strong developer experience, and a reasonable price compared to other vendors."
Conclusion
Ping remains a robust solution with a strong presence among Fortune 1000 customers. The acquisition of ForgeRock may be a move toward a more modern direction. As the IAM market evolves to include authentication and authorization of AI agents, all vendors are facing a new world of identity challenges.
If you are currently dissatisfied with your Ping implementation, consider exploring alternatives. Solutions like Ory offer the flexibility to own your processes, the simplicity to get started quickly, and the modernization to deploy in the way that best suits your needs.
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