What is our primary use case?
In my daily operations, I rely on One Identity Safeguard for administrator requests for access through One Identity Safeguard, which are approved via workflows. Once approved, sessions are launched, ensuring security without revealing passwords, and all activities are recorded for auditing purposes.
In our environment, there were multiple administrators using shared privilege accounts, which created accountability and security risks. With One Identity Safeguard, we implemented password vaulting where passwords are automatically rotated and never exposed to users, ensuring secure access and eliminating shared credential risks.
In our daily operations, One Identity Safeguard is primarily used to manage and control privilege access to critical systems such as servers, network devices, and databases. Administrators and users request access through One Identity Safeguard, which follows an approval-based workflow. Once access is approved, users can securely connect to the target system without directly viewing or knowing the privilege credentials. All sessions are proxied through One Identity Safeguard, ensuring that passwords are never exposed. Additionally, every session is monitored and recorded, allowing security teams to review activities when required. We also use One Identity Safeguard for automated password rotation, ensuring that privileged account passwords are regularly updated without manual intervention. Overall, it acts as a centralized platform for security, secure access management, auditing, and compliance in our environment.
How has it helped my organization?
The implementation of One Identity Safeguard has had a significant positive impact on our organization's security and operational efficiency, reducing the risk of credential misuse by eliminating shared privilege accounts and enforcing secure password vaulting with automated rotation. One Identity Safeguard improves security by eliminating shared credentials, enhancing visibility through session monitoring, simplifying compliance, and streamlining privilege access management.
After implementing One Identity Safeguard, we achieved several measurable improvements in our environment. We eliminated the use of shared privilege accounts, significantly improving accountability and reducing security risks. Privileged password exposure was reduced to zero, as all credentials are securely stored and managed through the vault with automatic rotation. Audit and compliance processes became faster and more efficient, as we could provide complete session logs and recordings whenever required. We implemented shared account management, achieved zero password exposure, improved audit readiness, reduced access management time, and gained full visibility into privileged activities.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of One Identity Safeguard are its strong privilege access control and session security capabilities. One key feature is password vaulting with automated rotation, which ensures that privileged credentials are never exposed to users and are regularly updated. Key features include password vaulting with rotation, session monitoring and recording, secure remote access without exposing credentials, approval-based workflows, and seamless integration with Active Directory.
One Identity Safeguard integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Active Directory, simplifying user authentication and access management. The integration provides centralized authentication, group-based access control, and automated management of privileged domain accounts, reducing manual efforts and improving security.
Additional features include session proxy access, granular policy control, threat detection, detailed audit logs, multifactor authentication, and high availability support.
What needs improvement?
While One Identity Safeguard is a strong privilege access management solution, there are some areas where improvements can be made. The initial deployment and configuration can be complex, especially in a large enterprise environment with multiple integrations. The user interface can be improved to make navigation more intuitive, particularly for new users and administrators. Reporting and customization options could be more flexible, as generating tailored reports sometimes requires additional effort. Integration with third-party tools, although supported, can be time-consuming and may require deeper technical expertise. Additionally, performance tuning may be required in high-load environments to ensure optimal session handling response times. Areas for improvement include complex initial setup, UI enhancement, more flexible reporting, and easier third-party integration.
Improvements can be made in areas such as simplifying the deployment and initial configuration process, especially for large complex environments. The user interface could be made more intuitive and user-friendly, making it easier for new users and administrators to navigate. Reporting capabilities can be enhanced with more customization options and easier report generation. Streamlining integration with third-party tools and platforms could reduce implementation efforts and time. Additionally, improved performance optimization for high-load environments would help ensure smoother session handling and a better user experience.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using One Identity Safeguard for the last one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
One Identity Safeguard is stable in my environment and has been reliable in our production environment. We have not experienced any major downtime or critical issues after the initial deployment and configuration phase. The solution performs reliably for daily privilege access operations, including session management and password vaulting. With proper sizing and high availability configuration, the system handles multiple concurrent sessions efficiently, making it a dependable and stable platform suitable for enterprise environments.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
One Identity Safeguard is highly scalable and well-suited for enterprise environments. The solution can handle a growing number of privileged accounts and target systems without significant performance impact when properly sized, supporting horizontal scaling by adding additional appliances, allowing organizations to expand capacity as needed.
How are customer service and support?
One Identity's customer support is knowledgeable and provides helpful guidance for troubleshooting and configuration-related issues. For standard issues, the response time is responsive and the resolutions are effective. For more complex or critical issues, response time can sometimes vary, but overall, my support experience has been satisfactory. Documentation and knowledge base resources are also useful for resolving common issues and understanding product features, making customer support reliable and meeting enterprise expectations.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before implementing One Identity Safeguard, we relied on manual methods and basic access control mechanisms to manage privileged accounts. In some cases, privileged credentials were shared among administrators, and password management was handled manually, increasing security risks and reducing accountability. We moved to One Identity Safeguard for better security, centralized control, and session visibility.
How was the initial setup?
The deployment of One Identity Safeguard in our environment took approximately four to six weeks. The initial setup of the physical appliance was straightforward, but the overall implementation required careful planning, especially for integration with Active Directory and onboarding the target systems. One of the main challenges was defining and configuring access policies and approval workflows according to the organization's requirements, but the solution is stable after implementation.
What about the implementation team?
The training required for One Identity Safeguard was moderate. For administrators, detailed training is needed to understand policy configuration, password vaulting, session management, and integration. It typically took a few days of hands-on sessions along with initial setup implementation support. For end-users, minimal training is required as the access request and approval workflow is straightforward and user-friendly. Overall, with proper initial training and documentation, the team quickly adapts to the solution in daily operations.
What was our ROI?
I believe One Identity Safeguard delivers a strong return on investment by significantly reducing security risks and improving operational efficiency. ROI is achieved through reduced security risks, lower manual efforts, faster audits, and improved operational efficiency.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
One Identity Safeguard is priced at a premium level, typical for enterprise-grade privilege access management solutions. The licensing is generally based on the number of privileged accounts, users, or appliances, depending on the deployment model and components used. The initial setup cost includes the appliance cost, implementation efforts, and integration with existing systems, such as Active Directory and other infrastructure components.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before finalizing on One Identity Safeguard, we evaluated other privilege access management solutions, such as CyberArk and BeyondTrust. CyberArk is a strong market leader with advanced features, but it can be complex to implement and manage. BeyondTrust also offers good capabilities, especially for endpoint privilege management and remote access, but we found One Identity Safeguard to be more aligned with our requirements in terms of ease of use and deployment flexibility. We chose One Identity Safeguard because it provides a good balance between security, usability, and integration capabilities, particularly with Active Directory.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, my experience with One Identity Safeguard has been very positive. It is a reliable and secure privilege access management solution that effectively protects sensitive accounts and provides full visibility into administrator activity, with minor improvements needed in terms of UI and reporting enhancements.
Before implementing One Identity Safeguard, I advise clearly defining your privilege access management strategy and identifying all critical systems and accounts. Plan integrations in advance, especially with Active Directory and other security tools, to ensure a smooth deployment. Focus on designing proper access policies and approval workflows, as these play a key role in effective implementation. Provide adequate training to administrators so they can fully utilize features like session monitoring, password vaulting, and reporting. Starting with a phased deployment approach, onboarding critical systems first and then gradually expanding across the environment is beneficial. Overall, proper planning and user training are key to maximizing the benefits of the solution.
One Identity Safeguard is a mature and enterprise-ready privilege access management solution that provides a strong balance between security and usability. The key value of the solution lies in its ability to centralize privilege access control while maintaining full visibility and auditability for user activities, making it a mature and reliable PAM solution that balances security and usability with strong long-term value for enterprise environments. I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner