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ACF2 vs Idira Privileged Access Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 2, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

ACF2
Ranking in Mainframe Security
4th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Database Security (12th)
Idira Privileged Access Man...
Ranking in Mainframe Security
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
230
Ranking in other categories
User Activity Monitoring (1st), Enterprise Password Managers (3rd), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (1st), Operational Technology (OT) Security (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Mainframe Security category, the mindshare of ACF2 is 12.5%, up from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Idira Privileged Access Manager is 5.3%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mainframe Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager5.3%
ACF212.5%
Other82.2%
Mainframe Security
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1077621 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Examiner at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
A reliable, scalable product for security and auditing of our mainframe environment
It is a good product. It has been used for years. As long as it is configured correctly, it is a very stable product. It depends on how an institution or a company configures it. It depends on an institution's risk appetite. You need to make sure it is configured as per the concept of least privilege, and the logging features, detection and control mechanism, and other things like that are enabled. If you configure it to give access to the public, then there could be compromises. You should also have someone who independently checks it to make sure that it is configured keeping security in mind. If it has been configured for a while, when there are enhancements to the product or when you enhance it, you need to make sure that security is also looked at, and it is configured according to an institution's security policies. I would rate it a nine out of 10.
Atul-Gujar - PeerSpot reviewer
CyberArk manager at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Secures critical infrastructures with essential user session audit records
A potential area for improvement is enhancing support for cluster environments and distributed Vaults. Clients in multiple countries that need central access have different challenges that require better solutions from CyberArk. For financial services, CyberArk can improve incident response by ensuring fast support for critical priority tickets to meet compliance requirements. Providing more documentation on CyberArk is recommended for new team members to enhance their troubleshooting capabilities. I understand it's up to the client, but 99% fail to change the demo key, so it's crucial for CyberArk to emphasize changing the key and documenting it as part of the installation process.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a good product."
"The most valuable feature is strict and reliable access control to CICS Resources."
"By providing a high level of access control to the z/OS systems, ACF2 allows us to maintain tight controls on dataset and system access and helps us keep unauthorized users from accessing PHI or PII data."
"The NOACCESS by default is another very good feature. Also, access rules are straightforward, and easy to understand."
"I love their support. The support is great. They are number one."
"I am deeply impressed with the quality and depth and breadth of security and functionality in CA’s ACF2 and Top Secret products."
"Know that this tool is a great tool, a good tool to use, because you can quickly automate, quickly provision, and deprovision new users, which is essential when you are bringing new people onboard."
"Logging and monitoring are most valuable. It is for the mainframe environment, and it is at the forefront for security and resilience."
"I would rate CyberArk Privileged Access Manager nine out of ten."
"All of the features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager are valuable."
"The most valuable feature is that it always provides flexibility, password quality and one-time user check-in and check-out."
"It is a leading solution and one of the best SaaS solutions in the market."
"CyberArk is a solution to problems being faced by multiple companies and organizations, as it removes security threats and vulnerabilities from an organization in a secure way, and your credentials are handled in a secure way, so it solves this pain area in a company, and that is why I think they are one of the top tools."
"We know when passwords will be expiring so we can force users to change their passwords, as well as requiring specific password requirements for length, complexity, etc."
"What I found most valuable in CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is the Session Manager as it allows you to split the connection between the administrator site and the target site. I also found the Password Manager valuable as it lets you rotate the passwords of privileged users."
"CyberArk's capabilities and functionality outperform other solutions."
 

Cons

"Reporting can sometimes include false positives."
"They can work on its ability to work in a distributed environment. It's a mainframe product. As many companies move to the cloud, depending on what cloud models they choose, such as a public, hybrid, or private cloud, it should be deployable. I am not sure if it can be deployed on those platforms. It has been there since the '50s or '60s, and it's still scalable. It has survived all these years, and it's scalable to many platforms, but I don't know about the cloud."
"It needs longer rules. The max rule is 32K."
"I would like my team and me to be able to use simple browsers, like Chrome, to be able to access mainframe data and provision users using the browser.​"
"The user access review could also be improved. It produces a lot of false positives."
"They can work on its ability to work in a distributed environment."
"Initial setup could be complex if you rely on contractors to help with implementation."
"Customers also want CyberArk's pricing to be better so that they can implement it further and have more licenses."
"Perhaps improve the user registry integration. User registry integration is atypical in the sense that the product creates a copy of the user inside the product itself."
"Technical support from the vendor is the worst and that is one reason I stopped using CyberArk."
"Initial setup is complex. Lots of architecture, lots of planning, and lots of education and training are needed."
"On the UI level, things could be better."
"We would like to expand the usage of the auto discovery accounts feed, then on our end, tie in the REST API for automation."
"A greater number of out-of-the-box integrations with other vendors: They are working on it, but more is better!"
"CyberArk Privileged Access Manager could improve the integration with other solutions and ease of use. Additionally, there should be a feature to have remote connections without a VPN."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The solution is available at a high price"
"CyberArk DNA is free if you purchase the CyberArk solution. There is no additional charge for CyberArk DNA, which is great."
"Network and security licenses are currently being managed by other outsource vendors, so they are facing some type of problems in the digital aspect."
"Previously, the pricing was very meager. They started publicizing and advertising the solution, growing CyberArk, as an organization. They also changed their pricing with that growth, e.g., the pricier the product, the more people who will purchase it."
"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's not a cheap application. It's very expensive."
"I would rate the cost of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager seven out of ten with ten being the most expensive."
"The pricing for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is quite expensive, and the pricing varies from region to region. In APAC, CyberArk Privileged Access Manager can be obtained for less than in North America, according to my understanding."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Insurance Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise42
Large Enterprise174
 

Questions from the Community

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How does Sailpoint IdentityIQ compare with CyberArk PAM?
We evaluated Sailpoint IdentityIQ before ultimately choosing CyberArk. Sailpoint Identity Platform is a solution to manage risks in cloud enterprise environments. It automates and streamlines the m...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager?
My thoughts on the pricing of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager depend entirely on the vendors' requirements. If they want their things to be secure, they have to spend accordingly. We have four t...
What needs improvement with CyberArk Privileged Access Manager?
I believe account discovery and rolling support need to be improved. Account discovery is important when integrating with other systems, as other PAM solutions can perform account discovery and onb...
 

Also Known As

CA ACF2
CyberArk Privileged Access Security, CyberArk Enterprise Password Vault
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Sky, Rogers Communications
Rockwell Automation
Find out what your peers are saying about ACF2 vs. Idira Privileged Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
896,942 professionals have used our research since 2012.