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F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Imperva Data Security Fabric comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.9
Users experienced mixed returns from F5 BIG-IP, praising deployment and security, despite some criticisms of pricing and cloud transitions.
Sentiment score
6.6
Imperva Data Security Fabric offers high ROI and efficiency, saving hours and boosting productivity for large organizations.
The major return on investment is the security of our data.
IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital
My thoughts on the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of the Imperva SecureSphere Database Security are that it could be more competitive.
Group Head of Information Security at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Customer service is generally praised for professionalism and expertise, but some experience delays and inconsistent response quality.
Sentiment score
6.1
Imperva offers moderate to excellent customer support; response times vary, though users find their assistance knowledgeable and reliable.
Overall, my experience with F5 is very good compared to Radware.
Project Manager at IBM
I would rate the technical support of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) nine out of ten.
IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital
Local vendors provide on-ground support, and if issues cannot be resolved, a support ticket is raised to the OEM via a portal.
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Regarding customer support, I would like to see improvements in response time.
Group Head of Information Security at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
F5 BIG-IP LTM offers scalable solutions with flexible deployment, efficiently managing large environments, preferred for modular growth and adaptability.
Sentiment score
6.8
Imperva Data Security Fabric is scalable, with flexible deployment, efficient for various sizes, but has infrastructure management and licensing challenges.
The scalability of the Imperva SecureSphere Database Security in accommodating the organization's growth and database security needs is excellent.
Group Head of Information Security at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
The solution works well for large organizations and enterprise levels if appropriately sized during the setup.
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
F5 BIG-IP LTM is stable and resilient, with users rating its reliability high despite occasional hardware or update issues.
Sentiment score
7.0
Imperva Data Security Fabric is largely stable, though initial challenges and maintenance needs can affect performance under specific conditions.
It is important to manage it correctly by performing health checks with the vendor.
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
I rate the stability of Imperva SecureSphere Database Security as nine because there are ongoing integration processes between Imperva and Thales.
BDM at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
 

Room For Improvement

F5 BIG-IP LTM faces criticism for high costs, inflexible licensing, complex management, and needing improved UI, synchronization, and security.
Imperva Data Security Fabric faces interface challenges, lacks comprehensive reporting, struggles with integration, needs better performance, support, and documentation.
The pricing of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is on the higher side compared to competitors, but it is worth it.
Project Manager at IBM
We cannot be competitive by price alone, though in terms of quality, Imperva SecureSphere Database Security is the best compared to Russian import products and building products such as Garda, which attempt to copy Imperva's data activity monitoring and database firewall functionality.
BDM at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
The archiving functionalities should be enhanced to allow easy conversion of archived logs into CSV or Excel formats for data analysis.
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

F5 BIG-IP LTM is costly but offers performance benefits, with various licensing options and potential discounts to match competitors.
Imperva Data Security Fabric is costly but valued for robust features; consider trials to assess fit for your organization.
The price is high, but it is not as high as competitors like IBM, Guardian, and Oracle.
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

F5 BIG-IP LTM provides efficient traffic management, security features, and customization options with a user-friendly interface and robust performance.
Imperva Data Security Fabric offers robust data protection, monitoring, compliance, and integration features, making it ideal for sensitive data security.
The impact of SSL offloading on reducing server load and latency is very much positive because whatever traffic we receive, we encrypt at our F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) level, which has definitely reduced the additional load and SSL decryption load on the servers, so it has very much helped us and it is very smooth; it will not take much time and will not impact our regular traffic.
Project Manager at IBM
One of the most beneficial features of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is its ability to identify compromised traffic and its capabilities in authentication.
IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital
Imperva SecureSphere Database Security provides one of the best solutions to analyze data, maintain GDPR compliance, and help investigate any incidents.
BDM at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
The real-time alerts and remediation actions available in Imperva SecureSphere Database Security have helped me promptly address security incidents.
Group Head of Information Security at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
If something malicious occurs, I can set a policy to block it, review the action, and decide whether to release it if it's found not to be malicious.
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Man...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
123
Ranking in other categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (2nd)
Imperva Data Security Fabric
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
Database Security (2nd), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and Imperva Data Security Fabric aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is designed for Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) and holds a mindshare of 15.3%, up 15.3% compared to last year.
Imperva Data Security Fabric, on the other hand, focuses on Database Security, holds 25.0% mindshare, down 32.2% since last year.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)15.3%
NetScaler13.2%
HAProxy9.9%
Other61.6%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
Database Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Imperva Data Security Fabric25.0%
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection26.4%
Oracle Audit Vault12.1%
Other36.5%
Database Security
 

Q&A Highlights

MK
Network/System Engineer at NA
May 11, 2020
 

Featured Reviews

Bonieber  Orofeo - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital
Identifying compromised traffic and securing data has been a significant advantage
One of the most beneficial features of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is its ability to identify compromised traffic and its capabilities in authentication. Additionally, the security aspect of it provides a significant advantage as it helps us secure our data, which is a major investment and benefit for us. Before using this system, we had difficulties in storing our data and managing the traffic that comes in and out.
Samuel Adeyemi - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real-time data monitoring and policy-based activity blocking enhance security and awareness
The development mode on the platform needs improvement. For example, the archiving functionalities should be enhanced to allow easy conversion of archived logs into CSV or Excel formats for data analysis. When I need to investigate with archived data, the inability to export to these formats can be limiting. Making this process easier would be beneficial for reviews.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise32
Large Enterprise85
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise32
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP?
The pricing of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is on the higher side compared to competitors, but it is worth it.
What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP?
Our main use cases involve multiple applications, so we are using F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) services, and we are using WAF and ASM services to secure those applications and load balance...
How does IBM Guardium Data Protection compare with Imperva SecureSphere Database Security?
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is a solution for database security from IBM that gives complete visibility, control, and analysis to secure sensitive data and comply with regulations. IBM S...
 

Also Known As

F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP
Imperva SecureSphere Database Security, jSonar, Imperva's Data Security Posture Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.
BlueCross BlueShield, eHarmony, EMF Broadcasting, GE Healthcare, Metro Bank, The Motley Fool, Siemens
Find out what your peers are saying about NetScaler, F5, HAProxy and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC). Updated: December 2025.
879,672 professionals have used our research since 2012.