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BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management vs Symantec Privileged Access Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 6, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

BeyondTrust Endpoint Privil...
Ranking in Privileged Access Management (PAM)
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
Anti-Malware Tools (9th)
Symantec Privileged Access ...
Ranking in Privileged Access Management (PAM)
21st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Privileged Access Management (PAM) category, the mindshare of BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management is 4.2%, down from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Privileged Access Manager is 1.5%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
 

Featured Reviews

Prashant Uppuluri - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides critical application control and ensures security with a flexible setup process
Regarding the feedback scenario, it's a tough question as I have thoroughly gone through the entire partner portal and library of BeyondTrust, as well as BeyondTrust University. I have also interacted with support whenever a ticket is raised, ranging from P1 to P3 or P2. Most end users and partners seem happy and content with BeyondTrust. The deployment of the solution is generally easy, flexible, and scalable. However, it can be challenging in certain environments, especially regarding management. Improvements could focus on adding more AI features to automate processes that are currently manual or challenging for end users. In some cases of competition, I have noted specific use cases where the recording of sessions was an endpoint for BeyondTrust, providing an edge for higher management. The ability to view recorded live sessions of specific users is a crucial benefit.
Krishnan Srinivasan - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhances credential management and relatively inexpensive but needs feature improvements
I work for a service provider company, and we implement Symantec Privileged Access Manager solutions for our clients, which include various banking and mining clients We have implemented both the remote access and credential management features. The agent-based credential management solution…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The asset discovery feature is the solution's most valuable aspect. It's very easy to pull assets into the database of the solution manager."
"The notable aspect is its ability to capture the application's behavior comprehensively and this thorough analysis is crucial for effective policy management."
"The tool is easy to use and deploy. It has PAM capabilities like privilege access. The solution helps with the management of third parties and vendors. It is an effective solution compared to other alternatives."
"Reduces major vulnerabilities by removing local administrator privileges."
"Logs that get collected on the Privilege Management console from the agents are very good. They help us to identify the aspects from which we have to whitelist an application."
"It is straightforward. It is a good technology, and it is made to do one single thing."
"One of the valuable features is the absence of any local user in a unique system. All users are defined in the AD; communication is only between Unix and AD."
"I'm a BeyondTrust partner and I have multiple deployments, four or five banks right now. The features that give us quite an edge compared to what our competitors are offering - like IBM or Thycotic - are the Session Management, that is quite a big one; also the recording of keystrokes. In addition, there is the password vaulting and state-of-the-art Password Management, which I haven't seen in other products."
"Password Management and Session Recording. The simplicity and ease that it is to be up and running out-of-the-box is very much appreciated."
"We can enforce complicated password policies and very important frequent password changes."
"Stability is solid as a rock."
"The two factor authentication, and the single most important capability was it supported PIV and CAC as one of the two factors. That was pretty huge for us."
"The key benefits are we improve our governance. We ensure we can build more trust in the way we run and operate our environment, and most of all is the accountability."
"We found that the architecture is scalable and very resilient."
"Comprehensive coverage of the required features for the PAM solution."
"It reduces the viral attacks on my website. It also allows certain users access to see what happens daily."
 

Cons

"Improvements could focus on adding more AI features to automate processes that are currently manual or challenging for end users."
"There is room for improvement in having the solution align more with standards. We're always shoehorning the product into the standards. It's not that it doesn't work for standards, it does. But Quick Start Policies are pretty close to what we need. The vendor needs to keep looking at GDPR, 27001, and 27701. That's why our clients buy the product."
"A valuable enhancement could be the capability to deploy agents directly through the console."
"We faced some challenges with remote desktop sessions."
"The help system should be improved to provide a quick help guide with each tab within the solution, which explains what each particular function does."
"Reporting analytics is one of the areas that can be improved. It is a new cloud-based solution. So, many more specific reports can come out natively. Currently, we get all the events, and we put them in plug-ins. From there, we generate our own design of reports. If there is a much more solid or robust reporting analytics framework within the product itself, it would be helpful."
"The deployment process should be clarified or made simpler. It would be helpful if the solution had in-app tutorials for users to look at as they progress through the system. Sometimes we get lost and need to go back to check what exactly the function was. There should be small hints around major key functions. It would go a long way in speeding up the deployment process."
"What's bothering me, which is true of all of them, is that sometimes, the error codes that come up don't necessarily get reflected in the searches within their support sites or they're out of date. I would rather search by an error code than type in the text and search for it by text because the error code means that it is programmatic, and it is known. It might not be desired, but it at least is not unexpected. If you don't have an error code, you just get an anomalous error, and if it is lengthy, it can be difficult to search and find the specific instance you're looking for. This is something I would like all of them to improve. BeyondTrust, CyberArk, Centrify, and Thycotic could do some improvements in staying up to date and actually allowing you to search based on the product version. They are assuming that everybody is on their way to release. They put out a new release, but it is not reflected on the support site, which makes no sense to me, especially when they revamp all the error codes. They all have been guilty of this in some way."
"I’m no fan of Java as an application front-end, as it tends to have issues depending on what browser one’s using."
"We have to do a lot of manual work to automate features."
"They should include some assignments in the test environment to explore the product's features."
"The support for other remote assistance tools would be excellent. Free included tools in Windows (Remote Assist) and Microsoft SCCM Configuration Manager (ConMgr Remote Control) allow companies to reduce the amount of RDP connections and expand the usage of the tools are frequently used by companies to provide technical support for remote assistance."
"Broadcom has neglected product development since acquiring Symantec, and nothing major has been added to PAM."
"The management console could be improved."
"Instead of just giving passwords to the user based on job function, from auditing perspective, turn that cycle around. That would really help from an auditing standpoint."
"The setup is complex."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It was very expensive."
"The product’s licensing is different for Windows, Linux, and Mac. The tool’s licensing is yearly."
"It is relatively more cost-effective compared to the competing product."
"Its pricing and licensing are okay. We were in the perpetual model when it was on-prem, and now, with the SaaS service, we have a subscription model. As a customer, I would always like to see a lower price, but it seems to be priced at the right model currently, and we are trying to get the maximum benefits out of it."
"This solution is expensive compared to its competitors."
"I'm sure everyone should have the cluster environment, which means more expensive, anyway, cheaper than the other solutions."
"PowerBroker for a Mac client is three times the price of the Windows version."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"It is more expensive than other solutions on the market."
"Cost-wise, CA was better compared to others in the market. ​"
"Don’t go with an agent model. Don’t go with a model that has you buying a thousand different parts. Go with PAM that gives you everything, or you’ll just be paying costs of implementing another tool that PAM would have just given you up front."
"Appliances are relatively cheap, don’t skimp. Make sure you have redundancy, high availability, and enough appliances to manage the concurrent workload."
"I would prefer better licensing options for the 20-100 users we have at a given time."
"The prices are not low, but one can ask for a discount. It’s not the cheapest PAM solution."
"The licensing is simple and scalable."
"Pricing is fair compared to other top vendors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
12%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Looking for recommendations and a pros/cons template for software to detect insider threats
This is an inside-out --- outside-in --- inside-in question, as an insider can be an outsider as well. There is no short answer other than a blend of a PAM tool with Behavioral Analytics and Endpo...
What do you like most about BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management?
The solution's least privilege enforcement has helped us ensure access is given to only the required people.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management?
Setup costs vary depending on the scenario. Sometimes we win orders, and other times we lose due to partner preferences or deal scenarios. Customers may negotiate on price, understanding that quali...
What do you like most about Symantec Privileged Access Manager?
We can check the activities in the server for fragile files and documents in case of any issues.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Privileged Access Manager?
Symantec Privileged Access Manager is potentially cheaper than other solutions. I am not involved in the business side, so I do not have specific cost details.
What needs improvement with Symantec Privileged Access Manager?
Comparing Symantec Privileged Access Manager with market leaders like CyberArk and Delinea, CyberArk is the market leader. Delinea is better than Symantec Privileged Access Manager in terms of secu...
 

Also Known As

BeyondTrust PowerBroker, BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management for Windows, BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management for Mac, BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management for Linux, BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management for Unix, Avecto Defendpoint
CA PAM, Xceedium Xsuite, CA Privileged Access Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aera Energy LLC, Care New England, James Madison University
NEOVERA, Telesis, eSoft
Find out what your peers are saying about BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management vs. Symantec Privileged Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,533 professionals have used our research since 2012.