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Senior Security Manager at SMU
Real User
Reliable, scalable, and easy to install but the pricing could be better as it's expensive
Pros and Cons
  • "Its' quite stable."
  • "They need to provide better training for the System Integrator."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for ID purposes. When we remove a user from the server, we need a privileged ID password.

We are a University. It's a large organization.

What is most valuable?

It's not very different when compared with other products.

What needs improvement?

From what I can see, the Systems Integrator is useless. When I ask for the information, nothing is given to me. They need to provide better training for the System Integrator.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for two years.

Buyer's Guide
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about CyberArk Privileged Access Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,660 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Its' quite stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable solution but could be improved. On a scale of one to five, I would rate it a four.

How are customer service and support?

I have not used technical support.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty easy. It is not complex.

What about the implementation team?

We used a reseller, integrators, but they were useless to me.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Pricing is quite high and it could be improved.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate CyberArk Privileged Access Security a six out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Cyber Security Manager at a hospitality company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Improved our processes in terms of efficiency when it comes to creating accounts
Pros and Cons
  • "CyberArk has been easy for us to implement and the adoption has been good. We've been able to standardize a bunch of things. We've been able to standardize relatively easily with the use of the platforms and managing the policies."
  • "There is a bit of a learning curve, but it's a pretty complex solution."

What is our primary use case?

So far, CyberArk has done everything that we've needed it to. We are growing and moving into the cloud. We have a pretty complex environment. Everything that we've needed it to do in terms of managing our privileged accounts, it has done.

How has it helped my organization?

We have been able to really transform how all of our sysadmins manage all our infrastructure. Before, it was like the Wild West. Everybody was way over privileged and had access to everything all the time. Now, we finally have everybody into least privileged and auditing through PSM, which has been fantastic. We also have implemented dual control and just-in-time. So, it's moved the ability to manage a lot of our privileged users to where we need them to be.

CyberArk has been easy for us to implement and the adoption has been good. We've been able to standardize a bunch of things. We've been able to standardize relatively easily with the use of the platforms and managing the policies.

What is most valuable?

I like how thorough and complex it is. We have a solution, and it meets the needs that we need.

The most recent improvement with the user interface upgrade was really nice. It makes the end users very happy. It is way more intuitive. The information that they need to have is now available to them. So, I appreciate that as an update.

What needs improvement?

The user interface was a previous problem that has been overcome. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have implemented our own redundancy into the product. That has worked for us very well.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have been able to find a nice process for implementing CyberArk in terms of user adoption and onboarding. It's been pretty slick, and it works very well for us.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were lucky to have a board of directors who really embraced security. With their support, we were able to establish the need for a PAM solution. 

How was the initial setup?

When we originally implemented CyberArk, we did so incorrectly. With the help of CyberArk Professional Services, we were able to reorganize, reinstall, and upgrade within a week, then apply best practices to the implementation of CyberArk. So, I would say that it took us about a week to get setup correctly.

At first, the integration of CyberArk into our IT environment was a bit rough. People didn't want to give up the rights and privileges that they had. But, we were able to show them how easy it was for them. We even layered in multi-factor authentication to access the accounts that they needed, which were privileges for appropriate functions. Once we were able to show them how they could quickly and smoothly get the access that they needed, it was not a bad thing, as they found out.

What was our ROI?

The return of investment for the CyberArk implementation within our organization has come from the reduction of risk. That is a little tricky to quantify, but it's definitely there. 

We have improved our processes in terms of efficiency when it comes to creating accounts, managing the privileged ones and providing the correct access at the right time.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

After evaluating several vendors, we found that CyberArk met our needs.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate CyberArk an eight point five on a scale of one to 10 because it has done everything that we have asked of it. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it's a pretty complex solution. They do have ways to make it easier, but it's easy to fall down the rabbit hole when you're going into a deep dive. However, if you follow the trail, you will find some pretty cool stuff.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about CyberArk Privileged Access Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,660 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Technica06b9 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical consultant at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Consultant
Gives us the flexibility to integrate with other technologies and applications
Pros and Cons
  • "The flexibility of integrating with other technologies is important because of a lot of applications - a lot of COTS products - are not supported when we are bringing the application IDs. The CyberArk platform provides a lot of opportunities to do customization."
  • "CyberArk has a lot on the privileged access side but they have to concentrate more on the application side as well."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for all application IDs to onboard into CyberArk. So far, the performance is good because we have onboarded more than 40,000 accounts, and it's growing every day.

We plan to utilize CyberArk's secure infrastructure application running in the cloud. We are conducting workshops with CyberArk on this. So it is planned but not yet confirmed. We are not using CyberArk's secure application credentials and endpoints.

How has it helped my organization?

Previously, we didn't have any password rotation policy for application IDs. Once we implemented CyberArk, we created a policy. It's good to rotate the passwords every two weeks. That is the biggest value for us.

It gives us one place to store the keys to the kingdom, so if there is any breach we know where it is and what to do.

What is most valuable?

The flexibility of integrating with other technologies is important because of a lot of applications - a lot of COTS products - are not supported when we are bringing the application IDs. The CyberArk platform provides a lot of opportunities to do customization.

What needs improvement?

CyberArk has a lot on the privileged access side but they have to concentrate more on the application side as well.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, we haven't seen any major hurdles. We haven't had any downtime because of CyberArk.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate scalability at seven or eight out of 10. There is a need to improve the usage on for the consumer side. I hope in the upcoming product, the version may fulfill this.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is good but the problem is when we are using the application side. The support people have a security background, so they may not know the application technology, so it's a challenge right now. Once they understand, then they make progress but, until then, we have to educate them.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before CyberArk we had a number of solutions, CA and IBM products, but CyberArk meets our requirements regarding application password management.

How was the initial setup?

I was involved in the initial setup and I actually used CyberArk's Professional Services. It was straightforward. We didn't have any hurdles during the setup.

What was our ROI?

It's very hard to quantify because previously we didn't have anything like this. You can imagine, there was a policy not to rotate the passwords, but now after implementing CyberArk, every two weeks we are rotating the password without business impact, so that is the biggest ROI, even though we cannot quantify it.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Thycotic and one other.

What other advice do I have?

If you want to use it as an application password management cloud solution, think about it not as a security person but as an application person. If CyberArk does not meet your requirements, it has a way to meet them through customization.

Our most important criteria when selecting a vendor include scalability and stability as well meeting our security requirements for applications

From the application perspective, I would rate it at eight out of 10 because it's very easy to use and stable.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
CyberArk Consultant at a hospitality company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Helped us to identify, store, protect, and monitor usage of privileged accounts
Pros and Cons
  • "CyberArk has helped us to identify, store, protect, and monitor the usage of privileged accounts."
  • "The Vault offers great capabilities for structuring and accessing data."
  • "Central Password Manager is useful for agentless automated password management through AD integration as well as endpoints for different devices."
  • "Online help needs to be looked into with live agent support."
  • "The product documentation has to be more precise in certain aspects with explanations for functionality limitations along with reference material or screenshots."
  • "New functionalities and discovered bugs take longer to patch. We would greatly appreciate quicker development of security patches and bug corrections."

What is our primary use case?

Managing and securing the access to the environment.

I have worked with CyberArk solutions/applications for more than three years.

I have completed several implementations, proofs of concept, operational, and development activities. I have also worked with or checked most CyberArk releases since version 8.7.

How has it helped my organization?

Much stricter rotation of credentials.

Unmanaged and highly privileged accounts increase risks that can be exploited. The security controls defined by the organization require protection of the privileged account passwords. CyberArk has helped us to identify, store, protect, and monitor the usage of privileged accounts.

What is most valuable?

  • Controlled access and rotation of credentials.
  • The Vault offers great capabilities for structuring and accessing data. 
  • Central Password Manager is useful for agentless automated password management through AD integration as well as endpoints for different devices.
  • Privileged Session Manager is for provisioning, securing, and recording sessions.

What needs improvement?

  • The product documentation has to be more precise in certain aspects with explanations for functionality limitations along with reference material or screenshots. 
  • New functionalities and discovered bugs take longer to patch. We would greatly appreciate quicker development of security patches and bug corrections.
  • Online help also needs to be looked into with live agent support.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Identity and Access Management System Administrator Sr. at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Increased our insight into how privileged accounts are being used and distributed within our footprint
Pros and Cons
  • "Our go-to solution for securing against the pass the hash attack vector and auditing privileged account usage."
  • "Increased our insight into how privileged accounts are being used and distributed within our footprint."
  • "Areas the product could be improved are in some of the reporting capabilities and how the reports are configured."

What is our primary use case?

CyberArk PAS is our go-to solution for securing against the pass the hash attack vector and auditing privileged account usage.

How has it helped my organization?

The CyberArk PAS has greatly increased our insight into how privileged accounts are being used and distributed within our footprint.

What is most valuable?

  • Ease of use
  • The auditing capabilities
  • The great support of their customer success teams

What needs improvement?

Areas the product could be improved are in some of the reporting capabilities and how the reports are configured.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
CyberArk PAS Solution Professional | Project Manager at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Provides automatic password management. We can monitor, record, and control sessions.

What is most valuable?

All features of the CyberArk PAS solution are valuable.

The Digital Vault is one of the key components of the solution along with many other great benefits. The highly secured vault stores the privileged account passwords and data files using encryption. In version v9.7, CyberArk has introduced the Cluster Vault feature, which enhances high availability of the Vault server.

Other important features:

  • Automatic password management
  • Monitor, record, and control privileged sessions
  • Flexible architecture
  • Clientless product
  • Custom plug-ins for managing privileged accounts and sessions

How has it helped my organization?

Unmanaged, highly privileged accounts increase risks that can be exploited by attackers. The security controls defined by the organization require protection of the privileged account passwords. CyberArk helps organizations to identify, store, protect, and monitor the usage of privileged accounts.

What needs improvement?

An immediate improvement was the implementation of security controls to protect, control and monitor privileged accounts through CyberArk solution.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used CyberArk for over two and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It’s a very stable product. I haven’t encountered any stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I haven’t encountered any scalability issues. All the components are scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

I would give technical support a rating of 4.5/5.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

This is the first PAM product that I have used.

How was the initial setup?

The initial installation was straightforward. The configuration or integration can be complex depending on the requirements, design, and infrastructure of the organization.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing and licensing depend on many factors and on the components considered for implementation.

What other advice do I have?

The PAM solution brings cultural change and adds a layer to the way IT administrators access the privileged accounts before implementing the PAM tool. A great, valuable product like CyberArk requires good planning and time to implement all the features.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user674049 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Technical Services at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
Gives us the ability to isolate sessions to protect the target system.
Pros and Cons
  • "Automates password management to remove the human chain weakness."
  • "The web interface has come a long way, but the PrivateArk client seems clunky and not intuitive. It could use an update to be brought up to speed with the usability of PVWA."

How has it helped my organization?

With the ability to better control access to systems and privileged accounts, we no longer need to manage privilege accounts per user. We are able to manage privilege accounts for the service, which is automatically managed by the CPM as part of the solution. Allowing access to systems by group membership, via safe access, makes controlling actual access much simpler than traditional mapping via the Active Directory.

What is most valuable?

  • The ability to isolate sessions to protect the target system.
  • Automates password management to remove the human chain weakness.
  • Creates a full audit chain to ensure privilege management is responsibly done
  • Creates an environment in which privilege accounts are used, without exposing the password, on target systems.
  • Performs privilege functions, without undue exposure, whilst maintaining the ability to audit, where anything suspicious, or unfortunate, may have occurred.

What needs improvement?

The web interface has come a long way, but the PrivateArk client seems clunky and not intuitive. It could use an update to be brought up to speed with the usability of PVWA.

Whilst the client is completely functional, it's been around for a long time and is reminiscent of XP, or even Windows 95. It could use an aesthetic update, with some of the wording and functions needing to be updated to be more representative of what is found in similar configuration from within the PVWA.

To go into more detail- The old PrivateArk client is simply that, old. Looking at the recently released Cluster Manager quickly reminds us of that. Also, the way in which objects are handled within the old client is similar to how objects were handled in older versions of Windows. The PrivateArk client could do with easier to follow links to configuration items and the ability to perform searches and data relevant tasks in an easier to follow process, there may even be room for inclusion of the server management component (lightweight even) and cluster manager components to be made available via the same client, should permissions permit such. As much as the client remains stable and functional, I believe it is time for an update, even if only aesthetically.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Some improvements could be made to the PSM service. However, this could also be a problem with how Microsoft RDS functions, rather than the PSM services.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This product scales amazingly well.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support works with customers and partners to resolve issues in a timely way.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

No previous solutions were used.

How was the initial setup?

The manual reads like a step-by-step guide. The installation, although complex, can be achieved by following the installation guide.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don’t work with pricing, but licensing is dependent on the needs and requirements of each customer.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated alternatives, but nothing compares.

What other advice do I have?

Make sure you understand your business objects and your technical objects. Plan to scale out to the entire organization, but start small, and grow organically.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are a Platinum Partner.Performanta, the global purple tribe, delivering the bedrock of quality managed cyber security services and consulting to our customers, enabling them to do business safely. With a consultative approach to people, process and technology, Performanta focuses on cyber security projects in line with adversarial, accidental and environmental business risk. We measure Governance, Risk and Compliance with a kill chain resilience and technology mapping service, Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) technical support and products to deliver intelligence and customer value to ensure control over the threat landscape. Securing Your World, Together. 16 May, 2017: At the CyberArk Impact EMEA 2017 conference, Performanta received the winning award for ‘Best Solution Partner of the Year’ for UK/Ireland, which they describe as: “The Solution Partner of the Year award recognises Performanta, in region, as having made a significant contribution to the CyberArk business; they understand our offering, can articulate that well into the prospect and customer community and have proven themselves technically capable on a regular basis during the last 12 months.”
PeerSpot user
reviewer1513359 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Consultant at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
Top 20
Resource and administration costs are less but support needs to improve knowledge and quality
Pros and Cons
  • "The accounts are maintained automatically. Hence, resource and administration costs are less."
  • "CyberArk Enterprise Password Vault's deployment is complex for resources with little experience. Tech support needs to be improved as well based on quality and knowledge."

What is most valuable?

The accounts are maintained automatically. Hence, resource and administration costs are less. 

What needs improvement?

CyberArk Enterprise Password Vault's deployment is complex for resources with little experience. Tech support needs to be improved as well based on quality and knowledge. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with the product for more than five years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is very stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

CyberArk Enterprise Password Vault is scalable. 

How was the initial setup?

CyberArk Enterprise Password Vault's deployment can be done with two to three resources. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free CyberArk Privileged Access Manager Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free CyberArk Privileged Access Manager Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.