IBM Security Guardium Data Protection Reviews

We use it for activity monitoring and vulnerability assessments.

The features I like are the robust policies, which allow us to create customized monitoring based on specific activities. 

Also, the dynamic encryption and masking functionality is interesting. And the vulnerability assessment feature is comprehensive; we can scan for specific vulnerabilities.

The main issue I have with IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is the support. It's not good.  They're slow, and they don't seem to resolve issues effectively. We have an ongoing problem that they haven't been able to fix.

We had an issue with the setup that we've been trying to resolve. The reports are not coming out the way I want them to.

I'm not enjoying the support. They don't always resolve issues, and sometimes logged cases seem to disappear. The support is not good for me. They should resolve issues as they're escalated.

It's stable. However, it does require a lot of resources. 

I would rate the stability a six out of ten. 

The solution itself is straightforward. The implementation was fine.

We set up the central manager, the archive, agents on the database servers, and S-TAPs on the collectors. Then, we configured policies and reports.

I would recommend using it. It is good for database protection. 

The product itself is good, but the support is lacking. I'd rate it a seven out of ten.

We are resellers of this solution and IBM partners. I'm a manager of security solutions.

Data encryption is a good feature and I also like the data masking functions. This is a technically strong solution.

The only downside is that the deployment is complex and requires special expertise to deploy.

We've been using this solution for seven years. 

In terms of stability, this is one of the top solutions. Our customers are happy with it.

The solution is scalable; scalability depends on the number of databases more than number of users. Accounts can be expanded without any impact on performance. 

IBM do a good job in terms of technical support.  

Positive

The deployment requires trained people because it's complex. It's better to go with the vendor for implementation because they are specialized.  

I recommend this solution and rate it nine out of 10. 

We use IBM Security Guardium Data Protection to monitor our databases.

It helps us with the visualization of the data and to monitor our databases. We also use it to send the logs to QRadar. For our organization, it has been very helpful in locating and discovering sensitive information in the databases. This function is vital for us.

The most valuable feature is the visualization of data and the ability to monitor our databases. We regularly use it to send logs to QRadar, which is also a significant benefit.

One aspect that could be improved is the support for locating and discovering sensitive information in the databases. We also deal with updates manually on Sundays, and sometimes face bugs with the newer versions.

I have more than one year of experience with IBM Security Guardium Data Protection.

The scalability is good, although sometimes we need to create new aggregators because the log files on the database become too big. However, we have handled it easily since we have done it numerous times.

The support from IBM is pretty good. We are a big client, and we receive excellent support from them. I would rate it a ten.

Positive

Here, we use IBM Security Guardium Data Protection for some databases and audit tools from Oracle for others. The switch to Guardium was likely due to commercial reasons and security considerations.

The initial setup was straightforward. It involves setting up the aggregator and the agents on the databases. In a big environment, it doesn't take too long.

Three cybersecurity analysts maintain the solution, including myself. When the environment was created three years ago, I was not involved, but the deployment now is manageable with three people.

The return on investment is good for us. We use it almost every month due to our auditing needs, and it has helped us significantly.

I can't provide details on the pricing because I don't deal with the billing. We have a big package with QRadar, Guardium, and other tools.

I would recommend IBM Security Guardium Data Protection because it is a very good product.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

We have been using Guardium for data protection. In my company, we use it primarily to test the database for personal information protection. We also use it in conjunction with other data security measures.

We have seen benefits from using Guardium, including its ease of implementation and local support in our region. Many of our clients who previously used Imperva found it difficult to implement, and they have switched to Guardium.

The most valuable features of Guardium are its ability to discover data more efficiently compared to competitors and its comprehensive platform with many features. We appreciate its ease of implementation and the local support available for the product.

Guardium could be improved in the area of data encryption. We have encountered difficulties with encryption using IBM's platform, especially in comparison to alternative solutions.

I have had experience with Guardium for maybe two years.

We have found Guardium to be very stable.

The scalability of Guardium is very good, and the newer versions have shown significant improvements.

We have worked with IBM support for other products like IBM AI, and it has been very satisfactory with high-quality support.

Positive

We previously used Imperva. Our clients and we found it difficult to implement and continue using the solution.

The initial setup of Guardium was easy, and we found the implementation process straightforward.

I did not help deploy Guardium directly, but it was part of a project aiming to enhance data protection.

The return on investment is beneficial as we have one platform with many features, providing solutions to multiple problems for us.

The pricing of Guardium is similar to Imperva and includes licensing costs. Overall, it is considered reasonably priced for its capabilities.

We evaluated Imperva. The main differences we found were in the implementation experience and the support from the vendor. We found Guardium easier to implement and better supported.

We highly recommend Guardium for its application and data protection capabilities, especially with its strong local support.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

database security

We use it for security purposes, particularly because we have customers in financial sectors, banks, and other high profile industries.

The risk spotter which helps to get insight into user activities

The monitoring of Heterogeneous DBs

Entitlement Reports which helps to gain insight on user creation and privilege escalation.

Being an IBM product it offers data security capabilities with robust features. Over the years, it has satisfactorily met the requirements of our customers which makes it a very reliable and versatile solution.

Since we are resellers we do not have enough information about the technical aspects and the areas of improvement. However, one consistent report that we receive from our customers is that IBM does not offer timely support due to the size of the organisation. It would be great if they could improve their response time.

ActivEdge has been reselling IBM Security Guardium Data Protection for the past five years.

In terms of stability, it is also stable and there is no bugs and glitches that we have faced complaints about

On a scale of 10 I will rate it 8 as there are some issues that usually arise during deployment but are usually fixed by patch updates.

The product is very scalable and we deal with majorly enterprise client. Therefore we have to make sure that the product is scalable.

The process of installation and management of the solution is very easy. You can ask for IBM's expertise, since they have been using this for years. The implementation does not really need more than three months under normal conditions.

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.

While working with the solution, you have to be clear about your requirements. The solution offers different pricing based on different functionalities. If you are able to identify your requirements properly, you are going to do well with the price and get the best out of the product. So understanding the requirements is very important. I would rate this product 8 out of 10.

We are using the data protection module to look after the PML queries of our Oracle admin accounts. I'm the chief information security officer at a financial institution. 

The vulnerability assessment is a valuable feature for us. 

I've found that the backup and recovery is very resource-hungry and requires a huge amount of available storage capacity along with other components, such as processing the RAM. We have a need for 200 GB of data to restore. Reporting needs to be improved as does integration capability with the other DBs. From a technical perspective, reporting is good but not from the management perspective. Due to the legacy application, there is sometimes another version of the DB that is not supported and requires a restart which is a very technical aspect of running applications.

I've been using this solution for 18 months. 

The solution is stable. 

The solution is scalable

The support is not as good as it should be, and when it comes to backup or restoration activity, they can take months to respond. 

The deployment is not complex and we currently have four users of this product.

Licensing costs are higher than other solutions on the market. It's part of our concern and one of the reasons we are discontinuing the use of this solution. 

I don't feel that our local partners are fully equipped with the technical knowledge of the product. Whenever we need support that requires technical expertise, we go to the IBM support portal. As a result, we experience time delays in terms of support and it would be helpful if the local partner improved their knowledge. The other option would be for IBM to provide some management training for the on-prem engineers. 

I rate the solution five out of 10. 

It’s available as a hardware appliance as well as software. This provides flexibility as to how you want to deploy the tool.

It can automatically locate DBs, as well as discover and classify sensitive data.

Data Activity Monitor covers what appears to be every DB imaginable, even data warehouses and file shares.

It allows administrators to enforce trigger alerts built around predefined policies, so that any access to sensitive data can be tracked and blocked if necessary.

It helped control excessive administrator rights to databases and automated the compliance auditing process.

It located/discovered unknown databases and the sensitive data that existed in those databases.

There was a slight performance tax on the system and load balancing could be better. We would also like more robust reporting.

I have used Guardium for six months.

Once it was installed and implemented, it seemed to be a very stable product.

This is definitely a scalable product. You can build out a basic stand-alone architecture with one collector all the way to enterprise wide architecture that covers multiple datacenters and continents.

I never interacted with tech support.

No previous or different solution was used.

If I remember correctly, the setup was a bit complex; not so much the installation, but a lot of tweaking and tuning of policies, setting up traffic filters, whitelisting the traffic, and so on.

I was not privy to this information.

I wasn’t part of the evaluation for the tool.

Try to have a dedicated team. There are a lot of moving parts and you need take a hands-on approach. It doesn’t come configured out of the box.

We are resellers of IBM. Most of the use cases of IBM Guardium are to monitor the database activity. The first is to identify any abnormal activities like trying to access the database or trying to create or delete any scheme on the tables. 

The purpose of EBM Guardium is to monitor database activity and who is accessing it. This is the most valuable feature.

We have privileged users, like the DBAs, who are most often the ones accessing the database. We also have web services and application services that talk to the database. With IBM Guardium Data Protection we can see who the previous users were and what web or server actually connected to the data business. 

Secondly, any changes done by the DBAs are recorded so we know that the DB has changed in the data structure, scheme, or creation of a table or drop of a table. 

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.

This solution is stable, I don't believe there is another product that is more stable.

The solution is part of IP so you can scale it.

IBM Guardium Data Protection has one of the best supports out there.

The initial setup of IBM Guardium is straightforward. The deployment depends on the organization and types of servers. The only delay is when there are critical data servers that require a planned approach. 

You can deploy the solution by pushing it through a central aggregator or a collector.

We engage a consult to deploy the solution because it is not only installing the solution but also doing a report. 

The installation requires the involvement of a DBA, but it depends on the number of databases.

The licensing is much easier now. It's for IP, it is not part It's not part number of databases of schema, it's for the IP so it's much simpler now.

If you are considering IBM Guardian Data Protection you should be aware of your environment. For example, if you are in the banking sector you need to plan very well so it can be scaled accordingly.

It is important to hire a consultant when installing this solution. They can provide an analysis of what exactly needs to be done. Keep in mind that this is a data access management database, it's not only about data but also about files. 

I rate this solution a 9 out of 10.