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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

"Guardium is easily integrated with other IBM solutions, a significant advantage and a key reason we chose Guardium. Both platforms share the IBM infrastructure, enhancing compatibility and integration. Additionally, Guardium offers a vulnerability analyzer, which is another compelling feature of the platform."
"Guardium does a great job of capturing data and having the ability of trying to pull it out and make sense of it. Using it for business applications is its biggest capability."
"Every time an inquiry comes in, instead of it taking tens of hours, now it's taking minutes."
"IBM Guardium Data Protection is very good at keeping your database secure."
"The most valuable features are the reporting and data-level access control."
"It's made database monitoring more visible to the business, creating more conversations about how we should do it better."
"We are using IBM Guardium Data Protection for activity monitoring, blocking users, entitlement for knowing the privilege for users, and Guardium data features."
"IBM Guardium Data Protection has better integration options than most of the leading competitors on the market, and the price is always better."
"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

"Lower pricing would always be good but apparently we're getting our money's worth or we wouldn't be using it."
"It was difficult implementing it, configuring it, getting it up and running and in production. However, since then, I believe it has stabilized."
"There was a slight performance tax on the system and load balancing could be better."
"IBM Guardium Data Protection is a mature product. There is a lot of encryption that is not owned by IBM and is done by a third party and is not an integral part of the solution."
"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 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."
"IBM should add more database security features to Guardium. They could add user profiling, anomaly detection, and machine learning."
"Guardium has not saved us time or money."
"Having a single command to encrypt a table would be an improvement."
"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."
"It is really constrained as an environment because you cannot change something that would be useful."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We haven't talked much about pricing and licencing. But it is not cheap for sure"
"My company purchased IBM Guardium Data Protection in a package, so I'm unable to give its exact licensing cost, but for the package of three IBM solutions, it wasn't very expensive. I'd rate the pricing for all three solutions three out of five. When my team deployed IBM Guardium Data Protection, all features were included."
"​If you are researching this type of solution, work with IBM."
"One of the deployments that I know of had three databases, and the yearly fees are approximately $50,000 USD."
"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."
"Guardium is most suitable for large scale enterprises because the pricing model is better if you are implementing a large number of databases."
"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."
"Reasonable cost but could be lower."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
23%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Insurance Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Energy/Utilities Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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 needs improvement with IBM Security Guardium Data Protection?
There are areas that need improvement, such as the documentation. There is a lot of documentation, but you cannot search for it on Google. You must go to the IBM page and search on that page.
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: May 2026.
896,387 professionals have used our research since 2012.