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IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs Trustwave DbProtect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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 ...
Ranking in Database Security
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Trustwave DbProtect
Ranking in Database Security
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 31.6%, up from 31.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trustwave DbProtect is 4.3%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Security
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmer Faisel Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers mature agents, compliance reporting and reliable database security
The solution should allow the data to shift to a centralized repository with elastic servers and big data infrastructure. If a customer searches for old logs for retention purposes, there are limitations on appliances once they are set with specific hardware, so they can only be changed by uninstalling or reinstalling the hardware. The solution's aggregator feature allows data aggregation, but for instance, if a customer wants a project ready in two years, having an Elasticsearch in DB or the capacity to store huge amounts of data would be beneficial in data investigation or evaluation at an affordable cost. Some AI features should be added to IBM Security Guardium Data Protection. For example, the AI features implemented in the solution can be anomaly detection or suspicious activity identification.
Marcelo Raza - PeerSpot reviewer
A tool that offers a proper view and division of all databases while also allowing users to do continuous monitoring
I have seen that the tool's installation phase has some problems regarding the versions, specifically the version of SQL. Trustwave DbProtect doesn't accept some versions of SQL. Some credentials when you are installing give some problems, but all of them did pass through the installation phase but gave a certain amount of hard work to be done during the installation phase. The aforementioned area needs to be considered for improvement. The pain points with Trustwave DbProtect were about the installation and problems with the different versions not being accepted. A more compatible version of the product with other databases and operating systems should be possible.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The vulnerability assessment is a valuable feature."
"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."
"It is very easy to obtain reports and manage the reporting interface."
"The product has proven to be flexible"
"Good data encryption and data masking features."
"Efficiency is key and IBM Guardium provides information in a heartbeat, but protects the data with military grade encryption."
"Gathering ​the data works very well. ​"
"The most valuable features of this product are activity monitoring on the database servers, discovery capabilities, and vulnerability scanning."
"Transfer and vulnerability scanning are the most valuable features of this product."
"This solution helps our clients to monitor their database use, and detect violations of the policy."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that you can have a good view which is provided with a proper division of all your databases, which you can see in Trustwave DbProtect."
 

Cons

"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."
"An area for improvement would be the user interface - currently, it takes around two to three months to become comfortable using it."
"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."
"One of the limitations that everyone who uses Guardium knows is its ability for back-end reporting. The ability to collect it sometimes is easier than the ability to retrieve it, use it, or give a good representation of it for incidence response or questions which come from the different people who want to use the data."
"They could enable the out-of-the-box feature to track application user activity."
"More automation, user guides, and tips would make this solution better."
"The solution lacks control over database security."
"We deal with updates manually on Sundays and sometimes face bugs with the newer versions."
"We have not been able to integrate this product with a lot of standard incident response solutions, so an open API would help in this regard."
"I have seen that the tool's installation phase has some problems regarding the versions, specifically the version of SQL."
"The product does not have encryption or data masking."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"I would suggest to review the type of data, need for security, and if the organizational structure needs the options IBM Guardium provides."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"IBM solutions have fair price strategy, and operates on a yearly basis. If it's a SaaS solution, then you can opt for yearly basis."
"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."
"The price of Guardium is higher than the main competitor, Imperva. In addition, it's complex as the calculation of the licensing is done by Processor Value Unit (PVU). However, before purchasing a DAP solution, it is important to analyze specific points to evaluate the cost-benefit of each tool. For example: Does the environment to be monitored have mainframes? If so, it's a point for Guardium. If not, a point for Imperva. Note: IBM is looking into a new licensing policy and reducing the price of Guardium."
"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."
"For IBM Guardium, licensing is very simple and straightforward. There are no issues I can speak of."
"I rate the pricing a five on a scale from one to ten, where one is the lowest and ten is the highest."
"The licensing fees, including support, are approximately $5,000 USD per database, per year."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
10%
Insurance Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Government
11%
Healthcare Company
9%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
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.
What do you like most about Trustwave DbProtect?
The most valuable feature of the solution is that you can have a good view which is provided with a proper division of all your databases, which you can see in Trustwave DbProtect.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Trustwave DbProtect?
Price-wise, Trustwave DbProtect falls in the mid-range category in Portugal. Many solutions similar to Trustwave DbProtect are expensive in the market. I rate the pricing a five on a scale from one...
What needs improvement with Trustwave DbProtect?
I have seen that the tool's installation phase has some problems regarding the versions, specifically the version of SQL. Trustwave DbProtect doesn't accept some versions of SQL. Some credentials w...
 

Also Known As

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
Application Security DbProtect
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Pax World Investments, Crest Savings Bank, Magnolia Hotels
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Trustwave DbProtect and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.