OpenText | NetIQ

OpenText is a globally leading software vendor headquartered in Canada and ranks among the largest companies in the field of Enterprise Information Management. In 2023, OpenText acquired the British vendor Micro Focus - and with it, the established security portfolio of NetIQ, which originally emerged from Novell's development.

With this acquisition, OpenText became one of the most important providers of cybersecurity solutions in regulated and complex IT environments. For IPG, the focus is on the Security & Identity domain. Other OpenText product families, such as Enterprise Content Management, Analytics, DevOps, or Application Modernization, are not part of IPG's offering.

OpenText describes its Identity & Access Management portfolio as a comprehensive suite for identity-based security. This includes, among other things, Access Management, Identity Governance & Administration, Privileged Access Management, and Policy Orchestration. Within the OpenText portfolio, IPG focuses specifically on the following products from the Identity & Access Management area, marketed under the NetIQ brand:

• NetIQ Identity Manager - automated user and access rights management

NetIQ Identity Manager helps organizations automate the management of identities and permissions across various target systems. User accounts, roles, groups, and access rights can be centrally controlled and connected to existing HR, directory service, business, and target systems.

OpenText describes Identity Manager as a solution for managing, provisioning, and deprovisioning identities within the enterprise and extending into cloud environments. This makes the solution particularly suitable for organizations that want to ensure up-to-date identity information, reduce administrative effort, and automate identity processes in a controlled manner.

• NetIQ Identity Governance - access transparency and recertification

NetIQ Identity Governance helps organizations analyze, review, and manage access rights in a compliant manner. The solution helps provide visibility into who has access to which systems, applications, and data, and whether these permissions are still appropriate.

OpenText positions NetIQ Identity Governance as a solution for automating reviews, approvals, and policy enforcement. The goal is to ensure that only authorized users gain access to critical resources, while reducing security risks and manual errors.

This makes NetIQ Identity Governance particularly relevant for Identity Governance & Administration, Access Reviews, and Recertifications.

• NetIQ Advanced Authentication - strong multi-factor authentication

NetIQ Advanced Authentication enables secure authentication through modern multi-factor mechanisms. OpenText describes the solution as a way to go beyond username and password, protecting sensitive information more effectively through multi-factor authentication.

Organizations can use different authentication methods for various user groups, applications, and access scenarios. Especially in regulated environments, for remote access, or when accessing business-critical applications, strong authentication is an important part of the security architecture.

• NetIQ Access Manager - web access management and single sign-on

NetIQ Access Manager supports web access management and single sign-on for internal and external applications. OpenText describes the solution as an access management tool that authenticates users and controls authorization levels based on defined conditions.
The solution is suitable for organizations that want to secure classic data center applications, web applications, portals, and hybrid access scenarios. This makes it possible to combine user-friendliness and access security.

• NetIQ Privileged Access Manager - protection of privileged access

NetIQ Privileged Access Manager helps organizations protect privileged user accounts and administrative access. Privileged activities can be controlled, monitored, and documented in a traceable manner.

This makes the solution particularly suitable for companies that want to strengthen the protection of critical systems, administrator access, and sensitive permissions. Combined with identity management, governance, and strong authentication, this creates an integrated security concept for regular and privileged access.

These solutions provide a robust, scalable, and highly integrable platform for managing identities, access rights, authentication processes, and access control. They are particularly widespread in organizations with heterogeneous infrastructures - for example, a mix of legacy systems, Active Directory, SAP, and cloud components.

OpenText's NetIQ products are particularly suitable for organizations that need robust IAM solutions in complex and heterogeneous IT landscapes. Typical use cases include:

• Automated user and access rights management across various systems
• Secure authentication through modern MFA mechanisms for different user groups
• Web access management with SSO for internal and external applications
• Protection of privileged user accounts through Privileged Access Management (PAM)
• Compliant recertifications and auditing in accordance with ISO 27001, NIS2, or DORA

OpenText NetIQ helps organizations automate identity processes, centrally manage access, strengthen authentication, and control permissions in a traceable way. This makes the portfolio suitable for both classic data center environments and hybrid architectures with cloud components.

In regulated organizations, it is essential to manage identities, permissions, and access in a traceable manner. Organizations must be able to demonstrate who has access to which systems and data, how permissions were granted, and whether they are reviewed regularly.

OpenText NetIQ supports these requirements through automated identity processes, governance functions, strong authentication, access management, and privileged access management. This improves auditability, traceability, and access security.

These solutions are particularly relevant for organizations with requirements arising from ISO 27001, NIS2, DORA, or industry-specific security standards. In addition, IPG's article on Compliance and Regulatory Requirements provides a good foundation for placing Identity Governance in a regulatory context.

OpenText NetIQ stands out due to its long market presence, technical depth, and strong integration capability in heterogeneous IT landscapes. While many modern IAM platforms are heavily geared toward cloud-first approaches, NetIQ continues to offer major strengths in complex hybrid environments where legacy systems, traditional directory services, SAP, Active Directory, and cloud components run in parallel.

A key advantage lies in the robustness of the solutions. NetIQ products have been used for many years in security- and compliance-critical organizations and are therefore designed for stability, scalability, and integration capability. For companies operating infrastructures that have grown over the long term, this is an important factor.

The modular combination of Identity Manager, Identity Governance, Advanced Authentication, Access Manager, and Privileged Access Manager is also a differentiating feature. Organizations can deploy individual functional areas in a targeted way and gradually expand toward a more comprehensive IAM architecture.

OpenText NetIQ is particularly relevant for organizations that want not only to secure new cloud applications but also to continue, modernize, and ensure regulatory compliance for existing IAM architectures. This makes NetIQ especially suitable for companies where investment protection, technical integration, and long-term operational security are key requirements.

OpenText's NetIQ products are licensed on a modular basis. Depending on the product, the licensing model is based on the number of managed identities, authentication mechanisms, access channels, or functional areas deployed.

Depending on the starting situation, both traditional perpetual licenses and subscription models are available. This allows organizations to continue with existing licensing models or adopt new operating and procurement models.

OpenText NetIQ is suitable for classic on-premises environments as well as hybrid architectures with cloud components. Many organizations use NetIQ in existing data center environments where there are high demands on control, integration capability, and operational security.

At the same time, NetIQ solutions can be integrated with modern cloud and SaaS systems. This makes it possible to continue leveraging existing IAM investments and adapt them gradually to new requirements.

IPG has been an official partner of the original NetIQ solutions since 2014 - spanning the stages of Novell and Micro Focus, and continuing today under the OpenText umbrella. As an experienced IAM partner, IPG combines many years of NetIQ experience with comprehensive IAM consulting and hands-on implementation expertise.

Our expertise is based on more than a decade of experience implementing complex projects with Identity Manager, Identity Governance, Advanced Authentication, Access Manager, and other NetIQ security solutions. Our collaboration is characterized by technical depth, vendor-close consulting, and a deep understanding of hybrid infrastructures, regulatory requirements, and customer-specific security architectures.

IPG has implemented OpenText's NetIQ products in numerous mid-sized and large enterprises. The solutions are particularly common in regulated industries such as financial services, public administration, industry, and energy supply.

Customer projects frequently focus on topics such as Identity Manager, Governance, Advanced Authentication, Access Management, multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, recertification, and the integration of heterogeneous system landscapes.

A concrete practical example is the IPG reference XXXLutz (available in German), which shows how IPG supports organizations in demanding Identity & Access Management projects.

Are you already using NetIQ technology or planning a project involving Identity Governance, Access Management, Privileged Access Management, or multi-factor authentication?

IPG supports you from architecture through to operations - practical, regulatory-compliant, and with technical excellence. Contact us for a consultation, a product demo, or a quick check of your existing OpenText NetIQ landscape.