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Head of IT at Flash.co
Real User
Top 20
Cost-effective and helpful for compliance and preventing unauthorized access
Pros and Cons
  • "I feel that CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has a very well-stabilized connection, and the user interface is very good. The monitoring and data retrieval services are easy to understand."
  • "CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has saved us 60% to 70% of our cost."
  • "When we are implementing it, it is quite tricky. It could be less complex for new users. The learning curve could be a little better."
  • "I feel that the customization complexity requires training for new users. When we are implementing it, it is quite tricky."

What is our primary use case?

We are currently using CyberArk Privileged Access Manager for managing and securing privileged accounts. It provides us with an exceptional way to prevent unauthorized access. That is the main purpose we are using it for.

By implementing CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, we wanted to ensure security and compliance. We found it to be the best solution in the market.

How has it helped my organization?

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has improved compliance and risk management in our organization. It has also improved internal operational efficiencies by almost 35% to 40%.

What is most valuable?

I feel that CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has a very well-stabilized connection, and the user interface is very good. The monitoring and data retrieval services are easy to understand. 

I also appreciate the integrations, including AD, cloud platforms, and third-party integrations. Everything can be done with it as it has robust features. The cost is very good.

What needs improvement?

I feel that the customization complexity requires training for new users. When we are implementing it, it is quite tricky. It could be less complex for new users. The learning curve could be a little better.

Buyer's Guide
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about CyberArk Privileged Access Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used the solution for two and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

After one update back in 2024, CyberArk Privileged Access Manager was not working efficiently. We spoke with the technical support team, and they resolved the issues within a couple of hours. I would rate it an eight out of ten for stability. Due to that incident, I am deducting two points. Apart from that, it has been very good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is 100% scalable. We are currently using it only at the Bangalore location. We have 50 to 70 users.

How are customer service and support?

I would rate them a ten out of ten only because the problem I faced at that time was resolved in a couple of hours.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

Before this, we were not using any other vendor.

How was the initial setup?

We have a hybrid deployment. The initial deployment was very easy for us. It took three weeks to learn everything. We had discussions with their service specialist team. Overall, it took six to seven weeks, from what I remember.

It does not require much maintenance from our side. They provide updates regularly.

What was our ROI?

We have saved a lot of costs on data security, compliance, and risk management. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has saved us 60% to 70% of our cost.

It has saved a lot of time. It has saved 25% to 30% of time and resources.

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

Its cost is fair.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

While doing the evaluation, we considered other platforms as well, such as Broadcom, BeyondTrust, and Delinea. CyberArk has a very good image in the market. Its cost-effectiveness drove our decision towards it.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend CyberArk Privileged Access Manager to others because it serves the purpose, and it complies with the policies. Their support system is very good. The cost is very good. The initial integration and configuration are very good. I can definitely recommend it to others due to these features and capabilities.

I would rate CyberArk Privileged Access Manager a nine out of ten.

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.
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Senior Cybersecurity Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
The log and audit files are very helpful when we have to investigate an incident
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager are its robust functionality and reliability."
  • "CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is very powerful and customizable."
  • "The graphical user interface could be simplified and harmonized for better usability. It should be consistent. Its GUI is very confusing."
  • "Its GUI is very confusing."

What is our primary use case?

I use CyberArk Privileged Access Manager for privileged access management for our IT administrative team. It helps in managing access to IT systems.

By implementing this solution, we wanted to monitor and manage access. We wanted to control who can log into which machine.

How has it helped my organization?

Our administrators no longer have to save the passwords or credentials in a file or spreadsheet to share with colleagues. Everything is organized in a vault. We have logs on which credentials were used and at what time on a machine.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is very powerful and customizable. We are able to customize it as per our needs. 

It has been stable over the last four years, and we have a good overview of the usage of every credential on hosts and endpoints. Our infrastructure consists of many solutions and pieces, and CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is one of the important pieces. 

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has not helped us reduce the number of privileged accounts, but it certainly helps us manage our privileged accounts. Without it, it would not be possible to manage them.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager assists us in meeting compliance and regulatory requirements from the government, the European Central Bank, and our customers. It is hard to measure the time saved on satisfying compliance requirements related to financial services by implementing CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, but without it, it would not be possible for us to meet these requirements.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager are its robust functionality and reliability. 

It has reduced the mean time to respond, but it is hard to provide any metrics. Its log and audit files are very helpful when we have to investigate an incident.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager helps ensure data privacy because we now know who is using which credentials and at what time.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager did not have much effect on our operational efficiency because it is a new tool for us. Any new tool means more work. It has also not saved us costs, but without it, we would not be able to meet the requirements for operating our bank.

We were able to realize its benefits immediately after the deployment.

What needs improvement?

The graphical user interface could be simplified and harmonized for better usability. It should be consistent. Its GUI is very confusing.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using CyberArk Privileged Access Manager for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Overall, the stability of the solution is high. I would rate it a nine out of ten for stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Currently, it meets my organization's capacity requirements. I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability.

We have about 6,000 employees at different locations. We have different operating systems, database systems, and decentralized infrastructure.

How are customer service and support?

Their technical support is good, but it can be better. Even if we provide everything required along with the ticket, we get a standard response asking for the logs. They do not go into analyzing the issue. They just ask for the log files. I would rate their support a six out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

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

We did not use any solution before CyberArk Privileged Access Manager. This is the first solution we are using for Privileged Access Management.

How was the initial setup?

Its implementation took us a year because we have a complicated infrastructure. It requires support from a consultant or an implementation partner. You cannot install it yourself. The automatic onboarding of the privileged accounts is a lot of work.

It requires maintenance because if your infrastructure changes, you have to take care of all the new credentials. If you also have a cloud setup, you need to figure out how to connect everything. There is a lot of work involved in maintaining it. It is not easy.

What about the implementation team?

We took the help of a third party for deployment and customization.

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

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is on the expensive side.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend CyberArk Privileged Access Manager to other users. It is one of the leaders in Gartner's Quadrant. It is stable. 

My overall rating for the solution is an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
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.
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Buyer's Guide
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about CyberArk Privileged Access Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer2619633 - PeerSpot reviewer
Contractor at a pharma/biotech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
The Privileged Session Manager feature provides visibility into user activities, audit ability, and traceability
Pros and Cons
  • "One of the best features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is the capability of Privileged Session Manager (PSM) because it provides visibility into user activities, audit ability, and traceability."
  • "CyberArk Privileged Access Manager’s ability to safeguard credentials is very important."
  • "One area for improvement is the plug-in development challenge. Although CyberArk provides a plug-in generator utility, it does not fully meet our needs, particularly for web-based applications. The plug-in generator currently works only for Telnet and SSH connections. We cannot generate a plug-in for web-based applications."
  • "One area for improvement is the plug-in development challenge. Although CyberArk provides a plug-in generator utility, it does not fully meet our needs, particularly for web-based applications."

What is our primary use case?

We have traditional use cases for Windows, Unix, and Linux-based systems. Additionally, we have use cases involving AWS, Oracle, SQL, and Postgres databases.

We also plan to bring in more use cases for VMware vCenter, VMware VxRail, and iDRAC. We aim for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager to be an integral part of all our infrastructures in accessing and securing credentials, particularly in restricted environments. It is a life science project. There are certain places restricted for the users.

We are still trying to get everything driven through CyberArk. We are trying to restrict direct RDPs to a particular target or doing an SSH outside of CyberArk. The adaptability is about 60% at this time, but we want to make it 100%.

How has it helped my organization?

Authentication is the key to protecting sensitive data. Integration with SAML or Okta prevents intrusions to a great extent.

We were able to realize its benefits immediately after the deployment, and we are happy with it.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has not helped reduce the number of privileged accounts, but they all are being vaulted now. We do not have any privileged accounts that are not vaulted in CyberArk.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager’s ability to safeguard credentials is very important. The paradigms are changing. The data is at threat when it is online. Anything digital needs to be secured. CyberArk has been the leader in the PAM product market. Our client made a good decision by taking CyberArk as their PAM tool.

The features that CyberArk Privileged Access Manager provides are good. It helps to meet the compliance and regulatory requirements to a large extent.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has helped to improve the incident response mean times. We have notifications configured from CyberArk. We have integrated CyberArk with ServiceNow and Splunk SIEM. We get notified pretty easily. The notification part works very well with CyberArk. There is about 85% improvement.

What is most valuable?

One of the best features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is the capability of Privileged Session Manager (PSM) because it provides visibility into user activities, audit ability, and traceability. 

The integration with most other technologies is also excellent. We expect more plug-ins, but it already includes plug-ins for password management with other technologies, offering a robust mechanism for credential safety and management.

What needs improvement?

One area for improvement is the plug-in development challenge. Although CyberArk provides a plug-in generator utility, it does not fully meet our needs, particularly for web-based applications. The plug-in generator currently works only for Telnet and SSH connections. We cannot generate a plug-in for web-based applications.

Moreover, integration with ServiceNow ticketing supports change requests or incidents but lacks support for service requests. Introducing service request support could prevent the overhead of raising unnecessary incidents or changes. There have been a lot of votes for this feature, but I am not sure why CyberArk has not yet introduced it. This is one of the features that we have been waiting for.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used CyberArk for over six years, and the client I am working with has been using it for over four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate its stability an eight out of ten. There are occasional bugs where while installing the product, it behaves differently on different servers, especially during patch upgrades. Such issues have been more noticeable since we moved from version 12.6 to higher versions. This could be because they have done a lot of UI changes and enhancements in these versions.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is good, and I would rate it around an eight out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

They are fast. In some cases, they typically respond within one to two days. However, the response time can vary depending on the priority and volume of cases they receive.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

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

We previously used BeyondTrust but are transitioning everything to CyberArk, as it offers better integration and enhancements.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy. I was not part of the organization during the initial setup phase. It probably took around six months.

There are other vendors that handle the maintenance for us. CyberArk comes into the picture if issues are not resolved by our vendors.

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

The pricing for CyberArk is on the higher side compared to other Privileged Access Management products. Something should be done regarding enterprise licensing for long-standing customers.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise trying CyberArk as it offers a wide range of integrations, plug-ins, and enhancements compared to other solutions. However, it is expensive.

Overall, I would rate CyberArk Privileged Access Manager an eight out of ten.

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.
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Technical Support Analyst at Capgemini
Real User
Offers comprehensive session monitoring and is worth the price
Pros and Cons
  • "Session monitoring includes recordings of all activities performed."
  • "It is a leading solution and one of the best SaaS solutions in the market."
  • "Their support can be better. Their SLA timings are higher than others."
  • "Their support can be better. Their SLA timings are higher than others."

What is our primary use case?

The use cases include end-to-end privileged access and session management and complete password rotations. All the privileged accounts are secured within the vault, monitored, and rotated from there.

How has it helped my organization?

It helps manage non-human or application accounts used in scripting or containers. All can be managed in CyberArk. They have Secrets Manager as well.

What is most valuable?

Session monitoring includes recordings of all activities performed. For instance, if I connect to a server, whether it is Windows or Linux, and perform some activities, all actions are recorded. It is a video recording.

It can integrate with Splunk, SNMP, and other solutions and technologies. We have integrated it with Splunk for the audit logs.

What needs improvement?

Its price might be high for some people, but the quality is top-notch.

Their support can be better. Their SLA timings are higher than others. If Delinea has an SLA time of three days, CyberArk is going to have an SLA time of five days. They do not breach the SLA. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for around eight years.

How are customer service and support?

Support is available through different models, depending on the license agreement. Dedicated customer support personnel can be assigned to specific clients. Additionally, professional service hours are available for purchase.

Typical case resolution can take between a week and two weeks, although priority cases may be resolved in a day. There are different levels of support. Initially, a case goes to a level one engineer. If unresolved, it escalates to level two and then to R&D if needed.

CyberArk has a large number of customers. If you compare it to other vendors, they are doing better than CyberArk because their numbers are less, so they are able to support in a better way. With CyberArk, we have a longer waiting time.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

There are two models: on-premises and cloud. For on-premises, we have virtual machines hosted on Hyper-V, but physical servers are recommended by CyberArk. Installation requires technical expertise.

SaaS deployment is faster than on-premises because most of the components are handled by CyberArk. The deployment is faster in SaaS, but the cost of SaaS is a bit high. They have different licensing costs.

What was our ROI?

From my perspective, the capabilities the tool provides match the investment. For small businesses, the price is fair compared to other tools. While the cost may be higher, I believe it is a top-tier solution.

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

It is a leading solution and one of the best SaaS solutions in the market. CyberArk is good at what they do, and the price reflects that. You have to pay the price for the same.

The price can vary based on the capabilities you need. We are paying a fair price for our environment. Compared to other solutions, its price can be high, but you are getting the best solution available in the market.

For 1,000 SaaS licenses, 100K euros might be required.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Technical Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
MSP
Top 10
Simplified access to credentials with continuous updates for better security
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is very good for protecting full levels of data privacy."
  • "The most beneficial feature in CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is its simple user interface."
  • "I would like to see an easier way to define delegated roles within the administration of the core product."
  • "We have had some performance and stability issues. We have had instances where things weren't as they should be, however, we worked closely with the development support teams once the issues were escalated and managed to find either a resolution or a workaround to stabilize the solution."

What is our primary use case?

We use CyberArk Privileged Access Manager to provide a protective layer for our infrastructure, as well as for our customers. 

Additionally, the audit functionality that it provides is used as protection for our employees. It offers evidence, so if there's any question about wrongdoing, there's proof that the job was done correctly.

How has it helped my organization?

It's predominantly addressing challenges around reducing open access to critical infrastructure and providing a mechanism to control who can get to what and with what credentials.

It's improved the organization by making it easier to access privileged accounts. There are so many accounts needed by most people now and to have a a tool that can not only store those credentials for you, but manage them and give you easy access to them, has made life a lot easier. The removal of the need to manage and maintain those credentials and cycling passwords regularly is a pain for anybody. The tool manages all of that for you whilst giving you a simple means to use them.

What is most valuable?

The most beneficial feature in CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is its simple user interface. It is definitely advantageous. I also appreciate the enhancements that come along with the continual updates that are provided. 

It has improved the organization by making it simpler to gain access to privileged credentials. There are so many accounts needed by most people now, and having a tool that can not only store those credentials for you but also manage them and give you easy access has made life a lot easier. The tool manages credential cycling, which is typically a pain for anybody, while providing a simple means to use them.

The solution is very good for protecting full levels of data privacy. We silo out different parts of the solution for access to to different types of infrastructure in the same way we would to our customers so that we can restrict who can get to something. In combination with our IM processes, we can be quite granular about who has access to what.

We can stay updated on regulations. The updates that are coming through help to keep the product secure and also add in updates and enhancements that give greater functionality and keep it relevant in terms of requirements.

The controls are fairly granular. We can control who can administrate it and who can use it and what they can use when they're using it. It has positively impacted visibility. As we leverage the product for administration of the product, we're able to be much more granular in how we provide the access. The audit controls allow us to see who is doing what, and when, it should be required.

It safeguards credentials. This is very important. The ability to have the product manage and maintain credentials and only provide them to authorized individuals, whilst not actually allowing them to retrieve those credentials, has become more paramount as we look to increase the security based on sort of ongoing real-world threats. 

It's helping with compliance, specifically around securing and hardening of infrastructure. It allows us to harden while still maintaining usability. 

In terms of operational efficiency, it depends on where you're coming from. Some things are more efficient, some things are a little less efficient yet more secure. It's that ongoing balancing act between operation efficiency and security that we must deal with.

We've been able to reduce the number of privileged accounts in the organization with the ability to have shared accounts. Since the credentials are not specific to a user and they're made available to a user for the duration of their session, we can reduce the number of privileged accounts we have within the organization. We've reduced the accounts by a half to a third between ourselves and our customers. 

What needs improvement?

I would like to see an easier way to define delegated roles within the administration of the core product. There is granularity within the tool, however, it is not simple to define those specific delegated roles.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used the solution for about nine years; it's been quite a while.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have had some performance and stability issues. We have had instances where things weren't as they should be, however, we worked closely with the development support teams once the issues were escalated and managed to find either a resolution or a workaround to stabilize the solution. Typically, it is fairly stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Initially, we found some issues with scalability, however, over time, the guidelines and recommendations from the vendor have changed. By working closely with the available guidelines, the scalability is absolutely fine.

How are customer service and support?

The customer service is generally quite good, although if it's more complicated, you have to wait for it to be passed back to their dev support, which can take more time. For simpler issues, the turnaround is relatively quick. If more complicated, it can take longer to get the right level of support. 

However, the support they provide is usually good, particularly their dev guys, who certainly know what they're talking about.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

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

Before CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, we didn't have a PAM product itself. We were using Citrix to provide remote access, but the need to move into the PAM space arose to provide extra security and audit control. 

Although I wasn't involved with the process, there was a competition to define which product would be used, and the CyberArk Privileged Access Manager product came out on top.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is relatively straightforward once you've done it. It is certainly a lot easier to repeat. We have multiple instances of the on-prem deployed, so we've done it a few times now.

What about the implementation team?

The deployment involved approximately four or five people, based on role separation. In a smaller organization, it could likely be done with one or two people. However, due to the need to separate functions for design, implementation of the service, product implementation, network and firewall requirements, and IAM processes for all accounts, several people are required to ensure these functions are covered.

What was our ROI?

From a security perspective, we started seeing value right away because we didn't have a PAM solution at the time. Over the next sort of months and years, we settled into the product and started to look at how we could make it work for us. This has been an ongoing process over the years, particularly with product enhancements and new features, which provide additional benefits against the incurred costs.

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

I'm not involved in the pricing. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

About a year ago, we started looking at potential alternatives. There were two others that were considered and were ruled out for various reasons before looking at additional proof of concepts to see what other features could be leveraged from CyberArk Privileged Access Manager that we weren't using. It managed to pass all of the requirements.

What other advice do I have?

We have customers for various industries and use the product internally ourselves. We are in the IT sector and provide services to organizations in a variety of sectors. 

It's definitely worth looking at as a PAM tool. I would steer towards the SaaS version since everything suggests that it is potentially a better way to go than on-prem. However, on-prem would still be suitable for those who must control and own their data. 

It's still worthwhile implementing, and overall, I'd probably give it an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
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.
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DerrickAkankwasa - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber Security Engineer at Isolutions Associates Ltd (ISOLS)
Reseller
Top 5Leaderboard
Improved security infrastructure and reduced risks through comprehensive credential management
Pros and Cons
  • "I find the discovery feature, which includes credential management, session management, monitoring, and remediation within a session, to be very valuable."
  • "CyberArk is a pioneer for PAM; they've always been the leader in terms of research and development and bringing new capabilities to the PAM."
  • "Improved user-friendliness, granularity, and functionality would enhance the product further."

What is our primary use case?

My company partners with CyberArk. I come from a service provider standpoint, so I don't use CyberArk within my company, however, I implement and support it for customers. 

Through the CyberArk partnership, I am certified in CyberArk. I perform activities such as demonstrations, presentations, deployments on-premises, and cloud solutions. 

CyberArk is now a comprehensive identity security solution. My interaction with CyberArk is mostly on the implementation side for our customers, focusing on design and integrating it into customer environments.

It's used in industries such as banking and finance. 

What is most valuable?

I find the discovery feature, which includes credential management, session management, monitoring, and remediation within a session, to be very valuable. It can remediate bad activities occurring in sessions. It offers good management and monitoring as well as good remediating within a session to help users remediate within managed sessions. There's good auditing and activity monitoring.

The session monitoring helps enhance security protocols. With it, users can have more control over what's happening within the session. You have more visibility and can restrict certain activities from happening, such as someone running a malicious command or someone trying to open or edit some sort of platform configurations. You can also send notifications and remediate or terminate sessions. Monitoring helps you build in polices around how to build polices around what's happening within a session.

The implementation of CyberArk impacted our customers' compliance with the regulatory standards in a positive way. Now customers are very happy since they can ensure credentials are compliant. In terms of password management complexity, since they're managing everything through CyberArk, they're able to create complex passwords. The user doesn't really need to remember passwords since the session is entirely being launched through CyberArk. That means that they're able to have much more compliant account management within an organization. They're also able to run reports as well as activity and compliance reports in terms of data related to accounts. It is much easier when you have a tool that manages that. Before CyberArk, having reporting and visibility around usage of accounts was really tricky. In terms of compliance, it's able to cover that by giving just a whole overview of accounts within the organization. 

CyberArk incorporates AI to improve Privileged Access Management. It's consistently improved as well. They do have a previous threat analysis analytics engine, which also can ingest logs from a SIEM solution if it's in place at the customer site. It's able to ingest this information and then give much more correlated security events. This module, the privileged analytics, is able to utilize behavior analytics and AI-related capabilities to be able to give security alerts to the teams. They can action alerts, or even automate to be able to have things blocked or terminated. For example, if someone changes their location. It has a geolocation that's able to then trigger maybe a password or QR code or email with a verification code to check it's that person. It utilizes AI capabilities or behavior analytics capabilities to have capabilities like that enforced.

It has the most plug-ins. Maybe thousands. So in terms of integration within different customer environments, it's much easier compared the competition. CyberArk a pioneer for PAM. They've always been the leader in terms of research and development and bringing new capabilities to the PAM. It will be able to cover 99.9% of most use cases.

What needs improvement?

In terms of improvement, since I am familiar with the product, there are no major issues. 

However, customer feedback suggests that unless it's on-premises, complaints about resources are justified as it enhances security with multiple functionalities. The managed cloud deployment option by CyberArk is easier to manage. Resource issues could be mitigated by choosing this option. 

I suggest adding more plugins and systems, which are often introduced later. Essentially, as long as capable personnel manage it, the solution works well. 

They should continue refining it and adding more dashboards and reporting features. Improved user-friendliness, granularity, and functionality would enhance the product further.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for maybe four or five years. I would say it's closer to four years.

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

At the moment, I work with CyberArk mostly. I haven’t interacted much with other solutions like Imperva, as other engineers have taken over those responsibilities.

What about the implementation team?

We are resellers, working ideally with partners, and I am certified with CyberArk. I am a certified delivery engineer for CyberArk PAM, and my experience is vast with the projects and teams I've been involved with.

What was our ROI?

When looking at Privileged Access Monitoring, many IT administrators have access to numerous privileged accounts, which increases the attack surface. CyberArk's PAM solution manages these credentials, providing value by reducing risks like data breaches or financial losses. The return on investment lies in improved security infrastructure, addressing over-privileged access, and reducing the risk of credential compromise, which is a major source of data breaches.

What other advice do I have?

We're a service provider and offer services to customers that acquire CyberArk. I come from a design perspective for those implementing CyberArk. 

The company is open and shares information with partners. They inform us about new versions and allow enhancement requests through a portal. Many enhancements have come through this channel. If they keep going this way, everything will be good with CyberArk. 

I'd recommend the solution to others. 

Overall, I would rate the product nine out of ten. They've been the leader in PAM for maybe six years.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
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Consultant at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
Reseller
Top 10Leaderboard
Helps monitor activities and rotate passwords, also it's very customizable
Pros and Cons
  • "The features that are most effective, like every PAM solution, include monitoring and password rotations."
  • "The solution is very stable."
  • "There are some options in the web portal where they can improve the user experience. For example, in remote, there is a parameter called 'access to remote machine.' When we put host names in that field, we are not able to search it. It"
  • "There is a lot of complexity if we are installing the solution on-premises."

What is our primary use case?

Our main use cases are to monitor all privileged accesses. It can be HTTPS, LDAP, SSH, or SQL management, so anywhere we have privileged access, we want to monitor it and place it under CyberArk.

How has it helped my organization?

Its monitoring capabilities are good. Whenever the end users start their session, it quickly allows you to monitor. However, if there are no firewall rules, it creates a video, but it does not take all the audit logs. For audit logs, you need firewall rules. It is very well described in their documentation. At the start, they communicate this to clients. The documentation is well-defined.

What is most valuable?

The features that are most effective, like every PAM solution, include monitoring and password rotations. 

The best thing about this solution, especially on-premises, is that we can interact with it directly. If we need to develop something, we are allowed or can do it by ourselves, which is most effective for us as administrators. It is not a black box. We have the ability to customize, especially the connection components.

What needs improvement?

There are some options in the web portal where they can improve the user experience. For example, in remote, there is a parameter called 'access to remote machine.' When we put host names in that field, we are not able to search it. It would be useful if a search feature was there to check if a machine is already onboarded. When we onboard a few machines in the same domain using just one account, we put the domain name in the address field and host machine names in the remote access parameter. However, we are not able to search within that field, which makes it difficult for us as admins to know if a machine has already been onboarded.

Other than that, I do not have any areas for improvement. Whenever we find any bugs or have a need for a feature, we open a ticket with them. They usually work on that if the same request has also come from other people. They are already good at doing that.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with CyberArk for almost six to seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. If you install the solution with CyberArk's guidelines, it remains stable. I also offer 24/7 services, and in three years, I have received two or three calls from clients indicating the solution was not working. It means the solution is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. If a client has 100 users and wants to add 100 more users, it is possible. They can make it bigger and smaller, depending on their needs.

Our clients are medium enterprises.

How are customer service and support?

Their technical support is good. They provide solutions and also the documentation if you ask. If you cannot find something, they point you to the right documentation. With support, I have never found any problems.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

There is a lot of complexity if we are installing the solution on-premises. On the cloud, there is no such complexity, but on-premises, it is complex because there are different components like Vault, PVWA, PSM, and CPM. There are many components, and we need to follow a sequence to install these products. One needs a good knowledge of these components to install because we cannot just follow the documentation and install it. The documentation is vast. First, we need to read all of it. For first-time users, it is a bit difficult, but with experience, it is not a big deal. In terms of ease of use, I would rate it a six out of ten for on-premises and a nine out of ten for the cloud.

The deployment model depends on the clients. Our clients from banks usually use it on-premises. Clients in other fields do not want to install the machines on-premises because that is resource-consuming, so they go for the cloud deployment.

With the cloud deployment model, the clients need to deploy fewer components in their infrastructure. Vault and PVWA are already in the cloud, but other components like PSM, CPM, and PSMP are on-premises. It is not that all the infrastructure is on the cloud. There are a few components that are on-premises. However, in the case of on-premises, all the components are on-premises inside the infrastructure of the client, and they are responsible for maintaining that.

What was our ROI?

Our clients have seen an ROI.

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

If you want a Ferrari, it will cost you. The solution is really nice, so it costs the client, but in the long run, it is very good. If you buy a solution that costs a lot to maintain because it is not stable, and you are frequently asking for consultant support, it costs more. It is better if the client spends a little more money initially. In the long run, it is very good.

What other advice do I have?

My recommendation depends on your needs and what you want to achieve. If you just want SSH, LDAP, and basic monitoring, you can consider other solutions like Wallix or One Identity, which cost less. If you need a lot of customization, such as you want to put in a lot of HTTPS ports and change the passwords of internal applications, this solution is much better than others. 

I would rate it a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
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Thabiso Muzi Mbatha - PeerSpot reviewer
CyberSecurity Engineer at Performanta
Real User
Top 20
Enhanced my organizational capabilities by providing important security reporting features
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager include its search capabilities."
  • "I would recommend CyberArk Privileged Access Manager because it is a leading solution for privileged access management."
  • "My concern and area for improvement revolves around reporting."
  • "Customer support is somewhat lacking. They are often unavailable on Fridays, and the support process, such as raising a call or case, can take too long."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is within the IT security industry. It manages privileged access and generates reports, particularly for clients in sectors like finance. The system facilitates account management, enables the generation of on-demand reports, and helps maintain security protocols for these clients.

How has it helped my organization?

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has enhanced my organizational capabilities by providing important security reporting features.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager include its search capabilities. Searching was previously a challenge, especially with Windows servers. When searching, we could only search based on the account name itself, as the system couldn't identify which accounts had access to which systems. This functionality caught my attention. Another standout feature is CyberArk Compass, which is planned for an upcoming release or has potentially already been released for Prisma Cloud. Finally, managing user accounts through the PWA is quite helpful. When a user is suspended, we can activate the account using the PWA instead of the private client.

The ability to manage user accounts and suspend them with ease through Password Vault Web Access rather than a client is a significant feature.

I like the integration with tools like Compass and the ability to search based on account names and systems.

What needs improvement?

My concern and area for improvement revolves around reporting. I even submitted an enhancement request to CyberArk Software, suggesting that they include a dedicated dashboard page within either Privileged Cloud or their self-hosted PAM solution. This dashboard could feature visual elements like pie charts to display metrics such as account compliance percentages. For example, it could show PTA alerts to visualize security events occurring within a month, quarter, or year. Having such a feature would allow for on-the-spot report generation. Currently, we rely on the REST API to invoke and pull the necessary information. We then have to manually copy the data, convert it from JSON to Excel, and generate the desired report and dashboard. This process is time-consuming and sometimes leads to inconsistencies in the information provided.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using CyberArk Privileged Access Manager for six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is generally good. Minor issues may arise, but they are typically manageable and not major. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the stability an eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

My deployment of CyberArk is scalable, although the scalability differs depending on whether it's on-premises or cloud.

How are customer service and support?

Customer support is somewhat lacking. They are often unavailable on Fridays, and the support process, such as raising a call or case, can take too long. On a scale of zero to ten, I would rate their support as six out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

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

Before using CyberArk, I interacted with BeyondTrust. BeyondTrust features, such as their reporting simplicity, made it easier for me to generate reports. The switch was primarily motivated by cost considerations.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was detailed and required steps to ensure security measures were aligned with standards. Efficient sequencing, working with redundancy, and cooperation with load-balancing teams were crucial parts of the process.

The deployment took one week to complete because of the redundancy.

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

The solution is expensive but not excessively so. Discussions with clients have revealed that costs, especially for Privileged Cloud, are a concern. Improved support could enhance the solution's overall value.

I would rate the cost of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager seven out of ten with ten being the most expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend CyberArk Privileged Access Manager because it is a leading solution for privileged access management. Although it has room for improvement, particularly in areas like reporting and support, it remains a solid option. I rate it an eight out of ten.

We have deployed CyberArk Privileged Access Manager using various configurations. For instance, active components are located in one location, while passive components reside in another. This is determined by the route to the virtual machine, as the components operate as virtual machines. The primary vault is situated in a separate location, and the disaster recovery vault is placed in another distinct location. Currently, we have a PAM license for 800 users, but we are utilizing it for 650 users.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager maintenance addresses security bulletins and involves several key steps. We ensure the admin utilizes the security bulletin during maintenance, which begins with raising a change request. Before the change is approved and implemented in production, it is thoroughly tested in a test environment to verify its functionality. Deployment to production follows successful testing. Application-specific maintenance for CyberArk follows the product roadmap, ensuring we remain at most one version behind the latest release. We also promptly apply necessary security patches from security bulletins. Furthermore, from an OS perspective, we maintain alignment with the latest Microsoft patches, ensuring all systems are up-to-date and secure.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
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. The reviewer's company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free CyberArk Privileged Access Manager Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free CyberArk Privileged Access Manager Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.