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IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs Imperva SecureSphere Database Security comparison

IBM and Imperva are both solutions in the Database Security category. IBM is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7, while Imperva is ranked #2 with an average rating of 7.7. IBM holds a 32.1% mindshare in DS, compared to Imperva’s 30.5% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Imperva users who would recommend it.
IBM Security Guardium Data ...
Read 77 IBM Security Guardium Data Protection reviews
  • 5,259 Views
  • 2,562 Comparison Views
85% willing to recommend
Imperva SecureSphere Databa...
Read 55 Imperva SecureSphere Database Security reviews
  • 4,095 Views
  • 2,614 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

Imperva SecureSphere Database Security and IBM Security Guardium Data Protection offer comprehensive solutions in the database security category. IBM Security Guardium appears to have the upper hand due to its feature-rich capabilities that justify the higher cost.

Features: Imperva SecureSphere is noted for its customizable dashboards, strong real-time monitoring, and alerting functions. IBM Security Guardium is admired for its extensive audit capabilities, integration with IBM products, and scalability.

Room for Improvement: Imperva could improve its integration with non-traditional databases, threat detection speed, and broadened compatibility. IBM Security Guardium may need easier configuration, faster patch updates, and a more intuitive interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Imperva SecureSphere is known for easy deployment and responsive customer service. IBM Security Guardium involves a steeper learning curve but benefits from comprehensive support.

Pricing and ROI: Imperva SecureSphere offers competitive pricing with positive ROI due to lower initial costs. IBM Security Guardium's higher price correlates with its advanced features, with users acknowledging good ROI where its capabilities are maximized.

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To learn more, read our detailed IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Imperva SecureSphere Database Security Report (Updated: December 2024).
Buyer's Guide
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Imperva SecureSphere Database Security
December 2024
Download the complete report
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Categories and Ranking

IBM Security Guardium Data ...
Ranking in Database Security
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Imperva SecureSphere Databa...
Ranking in Database Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 32.1%, up from 30.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Imperva SecureSphere Database Security is 30.5%, down from 31.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Security
 

Featured Reviews

DevidharsanJ - PeerSpot reviewer
It's easy to implement at scale and has strong vulnerability assessment features
IBM should add more database security features to Guardium. They could add user profiling, anomaly detection, and machine learning. IBM has user profiling, but they need to strengthen it. It should make sense for the users. It should remove most of the false positives. Anomaly detection would help. Let's say you had a thousand anomalies and 990 are false positives. Who will take care of this? People will simply ignore all 1,000. They need to improve a lot in this area. They're coming out with a new product called Guardium Insights. It will be able to store more data, and its algorithm will be stronger. That will probably fix all my concerns. They have yet to release the beta version.
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PrashantParab - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides cluster management and has the ability to receive alerts if anyone tries to tamper a database
It would be more efficient if we could manage the consoles of management servers from a single location. Currently, if the management server for our DR environment is separate from the production management server, we have to log in to each server individually. For example, to check the status of production servers integrated with Infowa, I need to log in to the production management server. Similarly, I have to log in to the DR management server to check the status of the DR servers. Connecting both servers and managing them through a single console would make it easier to handle all alerts in one place.
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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the solution for the customers is the monitoring and full log of the database activity of privileged users."
"It has automated a bunch of manual tasks, giving us insights into activities that we would not otherwise be able to capture."
"Our ability to see when users are accessing sensitive data."
"Good data encryption and data masking features."
"It sends out an immediate alert when there's suspicious activity."
"The most valuable feature for me, in my role as systems DBA, is the expediting of internal and external audits."
"We have integrated IBM Guardium​ with IBM Watson Curator. They access Curator to identify and correlate other actions the user is doing to determine if this is a legitimate action or not."
"You could easily throw it onto a VM or add additional hardware. One central manager supports about a hundred managed units, so scalability is excellent.​"
More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection pros
"The solution is very stable."
"Currently, we have audit features for auditing databases, for example, granular auditing, which we really enjoy. We've been using it to check what users do."
"The discovery module provides good visibility."
"The tool happens to be very intelligent when it comes to processing policies and sounding alerts. It allows us to implement policies and measure actions against them, raising alerts accordingly."
"The most valuable feature is the Data Masking."
"The integration with CounterBreach is great."
"The beauty of it is that it provides segregation of duties. Typically, in the traditional environment, DBAs administer the database, and they have too much access. We are in the process of implementing other Oracle solutions, and it brings some kind of segregation. Just because someone is a DBA does not mean that he or she should have access to all of the data. Some of the data can be masked so that privacy and security are enhanced, especially when it is customer data for an institution like a bank."
"The integration is great."
More Imperva SecureSphere Database Security pros
 

Cons

"Guardium's storage capabilities could use some improvement. I'd also like to have some better integration using digital technology or a connector."
"The solution could be improved for NoSQL databases."
"​It will not go as fast as you want. ​"
"The analysis part of this product could be improved. It's a very comprehensive product, so the features it has complement customer requirements. But I would like to see more emphasis on analytics, and it would be great if they added machine learning. They already have analysis insights, but a comprehensive analytical feature that's already incorporated into the solution would be very helpful."
"Sometimes the connectors to the databases need to be manually updated and we have to configure them again, which is something that should be improved."
"The biggest complaint that I hear from customers and users is that using this solution requires database skills, yet it is a security and monitoring tool."
"We are currently facing a challenge because it does not offer data encryption by default, only data masking."
"I have already mentioned to IBM that a primary need is to improve the number of records in the reports above 65,535."
More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection cons
"I would like to see integration such that there is support for different kinds of environments, such as on-premises versus cloud."
"The solution is expensive."
"Imperva SecureSphere Database Security can improve something in all the versions I have used."
"Reporting could be improved."
"The solution needs local support."
"Some cloud versions are not supported by the agent."
"I'd like to see some sort of solution for storage."
"Technical support for this solution needs improvement."
More Imperva SecureSphere Database Security cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"The price of the solution could be better."
"We haven't talked much about pricing and licencing. But it is not cheap for sure"
"It's an expensive solution"
"IBM Guardium Data Protection charges you based on the number of users, e.g. based on the number of licenses, and it's either on a per-license or a per-data basis."
"The price is good for the quality of the solution."
"Its cost is good. With the new metric of licensing, such as PDO not being available now, customers are expecting a good price for the solution."
"It is not an expensive product. We purchase its yearly license."
More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection pricing and cost advice
"Imperva SecureSphere Database Security was quite expensive several years ago, but now they provide a subscription plan for licensing. It is available now for smaller and medium-sized companies, not only large enterprises."
"The price is very high but compared to the price of the overall solution, then I think it's a good deal because the solution itself is great."
"Imperva is too expensive for small and medium-sized enterprises. They're missing out on technology that helps them manage their data security better. Data security is essential because even the strongest network may be attacked from the inside without it."
"The setup and license are quite expensive."
"The price of the solution is reasonable. The cost of the solution depends on the customer, they have the flex protect licensing which can vary in price."
"It is very expensive."
"We have all the licenses, which we pay for annually. The price is a little high, but the product is good."
"They have introduced new price models, which makes the product more affordable now."
More Imperva SecureSphere Database Security pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
28%
Computer Software Company
15%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Guardium Data Protection?
The pricing is good, and I have no problem with it. Although there is no flexibility to compete with other products, it generally costs between one hundred and three hundred thousand per year depen...
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What do you like most about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection?
The features I like are the robust policies, which allow us to create customized monitoring based on specific activities.
See all answers
Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
My recommendation is Imperva.
See all answers
What do you like most about Imperva SecureSphere Database Security?
The tool's pricing is flexible and affordable for small and medium enterprises.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Imperva SecureSphere Database Security?
It is not cheaper, but based on the feature, it is okay.
See all answers
 

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection
December 2024
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection reportDownload IBM Security Guardium Data Protection product report
Buyer's Guide
Imperva SecureSphere Database Security
December 2024
Imperva SecureSphere Database Security reportDownload Imperva SecureSphere Database Security product report
 

Also Known As

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
No data available
 

Learn More

IBM
Imperva
 

Overview

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection automatically discovers and classifies sensitive data from across the enterprise, providing real-time data activity monitoring and advanced user behavior analytics to help discover unusual activity around sensitive data.

Deploy the solution to help discover regulated data in your data stores and use pre-built templates for regulations such as PCI, SOX, HIPAA, CCPA and many more, to streamline and automate compliance workflows.

Imperva SecureSphere Database Security:

  • Audits all access to sensitive data.
  • Alerts or blocks database attacks and unauthorized activities, in real time.
  • Detects and virtually patches database vulnerabilities.
  • Identifies excessive user rights and dormant users, and enables a complete rights review cycle.
  • Accelerates incident response and forensics investigations with advanced analytics.
 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
BlueCross BlueShield, eHarmony, EMF Broadcasting, GE Healthcare, Metro Bank, The Motley Fool, Siemens
Buyer's Guide
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Imperva SecureSphere Database Security
December 2024
Free Report: IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Imperva SecureSphere Database Security
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Imperva SecureSphere Database Security and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
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