Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

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 28.0%, down 32.8% compared to last year.
Oracle Advanced Security, on the other hand, focuses on Endpoint Encryption, holds 2.8% mindshare, up 1.4% since last year.
Database Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection28.0%
Imperva Data Security Fabric26.7%
Oracle Audit Vault10.8%
Other34.5%
Database Security
Endpoint Encryption Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Oracle Advanced Security2.8%
Microsoft BitLocker20.1%
ESET Endpoint Encryption9.8%
Other67.3%
Endpoint Encryption
 

Featured Reviews

DP
Chief Executive Officer at Kipustec
Ensures data security and compliance with reliable alerts and protections
The manuals should be clearer. There needs to be an online course or tutorial for faster management training. The maintenance was slightly complicated. I had to read the manuals carefully and even failed the Guardium certification exam due to insufficient information or time. Improving the tool learning process would be beneficial.
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

"Audit Process Builder – Workflow generator to enhance audit tasks and compliance workflows."
"IBM Guardium Data Protection is very good at keeping your database secure."
"It allows us to put in controls to make sure that only the right persons access the proper records in the database."
"The maturity of the agent is the most valuable feature of the solution"
"We appreciate its ease of implementation and the local support available for the product."
"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."
"Setting up Guardium was easy and straightforward."
"It has been very difficult to analyze all the network traffic with something else. Guardium provides that feature, it's heuristic. So we have rule-based algorithms in place to take care of that."
"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."
 

Cons

"It would be helpful, and convenient to improve the Chat support."
"The price of this solution is quite high for smaller organizations, so they should release a version that is affordable for small and medium-sized businesses."
"The solution lacks control over database security."
"There could be a feature to integrate and protect multiple databases. The local support services need improvements as well."
"We are currently facing a challenge because it does not offer data encryption by default, only data masking."
"The main issue I have with IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is the support. It's not good."
"More predictive, using Watson AI would be good."
"Many clients inquire if the solution includes a database firewall, which it doesn’t."
"Having a single command to encrypt a table would be an improvement."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is not an expensive product. We purchase its yearly license."
"I would suggest to review the type of data, need for security, and if the organizational structure needs the options IBM Guardium provides."
"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."
"The biggest challenge is the cost associated with the product, and the cost of maintaining. Everything is not translated directly to the benefits we see. There are benefits, yes, but if I were writing the check, would I buy Guardium? No."
"We haven't talked much about pricing and licencing. But it is not cheap for sure"
"Reasonable cost but could be lower."
"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."
"​If you are researching this type of solution, work with IBM."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Database Security solutions are best for your needs.
883,448 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
24%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Energy/Utilities Company
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.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

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: February 2026.
883,448 professionals have used our research since 2012.