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IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs Oracle Advanced Security 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Security Guardium Data ...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Database Security (1st)
Oracle Advanced Security
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Encryption (12th), Data Masking (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Database Development and Management Tools solutions, they serve different purposes. IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is designed for Database Security and holds a mindshare of 26.4%, down 32.4% compared to last year.
Oracle Advanced Security, on the other hand, focuses on Endpoint Encryption, holds 3.0% mindshare, up 1.7% since last year.
Database Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection26.4%
Imperva Data Security Fabric24.8%
Oracle Audit Vault10.1%
Other38.699999999999996%
Database Security
Endpoint Encryption Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle Advanced Security3.0%
Microsoft BitLocker16.5%
Symantec Endpoint Encryption8.1%
Other72.4%
Endpoint Encryption
 

Featured Reviews

Marylennis Franco - PeerSpot reviewer
Jefe De Continuidad Operacional at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees
Has improved data visibility and streamlined compliance reporting across multiple database platforms
The best feature is how many databases we can protect with one solution because it has compatibility with different databases, including Oracle, SQL, and DB2. The data activity monitoring feature is very good because we can check the PDS and have the information for that. We can schedule the reporting and receive it by email, which provides very important information for different areas of the company. We don't need to have a seat and a case or access to the portal, we just receive the report. The user-friendly interface is very good.
reviewer1458726 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Good support, stable, and offers encryption at both the column and table level
The most valuable feature is the data encryption option for columns and tables. We are also getting the benefit of detection data. If I want to share data with another Oracle user then the data sharing is automatically detected. We don't need to modify anything. This is a complete security solution and all of the features that we are using are available off the shelf.

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 is the GUI, the interface. It also interfaces well with REST API, if you want to automate some of the commands."
"Overall, this is a wonderful product."
"It has made us more responsive and more productive, more efficient."
"IBM Guardium Data Protection has better integration options than most of the leading competitors on the market, and the price is always better."
"In the past we were doing a lot of manual checking, running our own reports, going through SMF data, but now Guardium does that reporting for us, which saves us time and money and satisfies critical audit and security requirements."
"It supports our audit compliance."
"The tech support is very knowledgeable."
"The most valuable feature is using the capture operation mode “S-TAP/K-TAP agent”, because all activities in the database are captured, including direct access to the database server by privileged users. This is useful because, even if the database server logs were deleted, the Guardium Collector has already stored such data to enable traceability of access."
"The most valuable feature is the data encryption option for columns and tables."
"The features that are the most used by the customers and partners are, at the moment, for GDPR, so obviously data encryption and data reduction. Our customers also like the partitioning option."
"Overall, it is a good solution and I can recommend it to anybody who wants to encrypt columnar data and protect it against theft."
"The features that are the most used by the customers and partners are, at the moment, for GDPR, so obviously data encryption and data reduction are the most valuable to them."
 

Cons

"Reporting has always been a weakness, but it has improved across the versions."
"Sometimes the performance is not good, and also sometimes we have sudden bugs causing difficulties."
"We did find some difficulty in deploying IBM Guardium Data Protection here in Pakistan because of the lack of resources."
"Right now, we're in the development phase for IBM Guardium Data Protection, so I don't have any recommendations about additional features and room for improvement in the solution. We're very excited to work on IBM Guardium Data Protection because we are new to the solution, and we're still exploring product features. We're very excited about integrations and use case creation, and it's only after six to eight months that I'll be able to share my recommendations in terms of additional features the solution should have. We did find some difficulty in deploying IBM Guardium Data Protection here in Pakistan because of the lack of resources."
"Guardium has limitations so most companies using advanced technologies have stopped using this tool because it doesn't have the capability to identify the PII data in flat files."
"IBM should add more database security features to Guardium. They could add user profiling, anomaly detection, and machine learning."
"Initially it did not have support external applications like, say, Tableau, ServiceNow, Remedy, and the like. They have started growing into it, but I would like to have more and more integration with outside applications."
"The initial setup was complex."
"It is really constrained as an environment because you cannot change something that would be useful."
"Encrypting a single column is straightforward, but encrypting at the table level requires more work and takes longer to complete."
"It is really constrained as an environment because you cannot change something that would be useful. It is a very good product because it is very similar to what you have on-premises. Yes, it is constrained, but it is expected because it is a platform as a service so it has to be constrained."
"Having a single command to encrypt a table would be an improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We haven't talked much about pricing and licencing. But it is not cheap for sure"
"Guardium won mostly because of our scope and scale. It was able to perform at the scale that we wanted to use it. ​"
"I would suggest to review the type of data, need for security, and if the organizational structure needs the options IBM Guardium provides."
"Guardium is most suitable for large scale enterprises because the pricing model is better if you are implementing a large number of databases."
"The cost depends on the number of databases. You can purchase advanced licenses, but the standard license is calculated based on the number of databases you have to onboard."
"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."
"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."
"For IBM Guardium, licensing is very simple and straightforward. There are no issues I can speak of."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
23%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
6%
Insurance Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise44
No data available
 

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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Guardium Data Protection?
I don't remember the exact prices, but Guardium is an expensive tool because it is targeted towards corporate enterprises.
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.
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Also Known As

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
IBVI, illycaffe, Scottish water, trueblue, AirAsia
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM, Imperva, Oracle and others in Database Security. Updated: May 2026.
892,611 professionals have used our research since 2012.