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ACF2 vs Imperva Data Security Fabric comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 22, 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 Database Security
11th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Mainframe Security (5th)
Imperva Data Security Fabric
Ranking in Database Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (14th), Data Security Platforms (DSP) (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of ACF2 is 2.1%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Imperva Data Security Fabric is 24.4%, down from 25.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Imperva Data Security Fabric24.4%
ACF22.1%
Other73.5%
Database 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.
GO
Group Head of Information Security at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Automated monitoring and real-time alerts improve security incident response and compliance tasks while customizable controls need enhancements
The Imperva SecureSphere Database Security offers excellent functionalities, with numerous best features from my perspective.The simplicity of Imperva SecureSphere Database Security comes out of the box. I have utilized the detailed audit logs feature in the Imperva SecureSphere Database Security, and it has proven to be highly effective. The Imperva SecureSphere Database Security has significantly aided my organization in forensic investigations and compliance audits. The real-time alerts and remediation actions available in Imperva SecureSphere Database Security have helped me promptly address security incidents. Their customizable security controls in Imperva SecureSphere Database Security have tailored the protection level for my organization's specific needs. The automated monitoring and reporting features of the Imperva SecureSphere Database Security have contributed to simplifying compliance with regulatory standards for my organization.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The NOACCESS by default is another very good feature. Also, access rules are straightforward, and easy to understand."
"Without the product, extracting this information may take us as much as several days; instead, we can get it in real time."
"Excellent real-time reporting that saves time and 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."
"I am deeply impressed with the quality and depth and breadth of security and functionality in CA’s ACF2 and Top Secret products."
"We use this tool to quickly assign privileges to different users as soon as they come in."
"The most valuable feature is strict and reliable access control to CICS Resources."
"The discovery module provides good visibility."
"Flexible reporting allows for customization that keeps the admins from having to interact with system automation."
"The tool's pricing is flexible and affordable for small and medium enterprises."
"The immediate return is that we are saving money by having a lower cost for the same functionality."
"Scalability is one of the most powerful features of Imperva."
"The integration with CounterBreach, which is the anomalous behavior detection feature, is the coolest thing and it's quite user friendly as far as the console goes."
"Imperva Security Sphere is something that I recommend any day, anytime because they are very much focused on security as a passion."
"There are three major main use cases of this solution. The first one is to fulfill compliance regulations. Customers—especially the banks, health sector, and manufacturing—need to comply with the regulations in different countries. They have to fulfill compliance regulations around the privacy of data. In order to fulfill those requirements, they're using Imperva. It helps them to fulfill these requirements, and they are not fined by the regulators. That is the first use case why people buy Imperva."
 

Cons

"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. 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."
"Initial setup could be complex if you rely on contractors to help with implementation."
"They can work on its ability to work in a distributed environment."
"Reporting can sometimes include false positives."
"I think the biggest challenge with their product is the management of it; it requires a lot of upkeep and deployment of a lot of servers that require regular updating, and if you want to make any changes it's a lot of work to get things moving."
"Capacity management is a major issue with the application."
"Once we read the activity logs on the platform, we cannot open them anywhere else as they are stored in a proprietary format."
"There is sometimes lost communication and it can take a lot of troubleshooting to solve."
"This is an expensive solution and the price should be reduced."
"The solution is expensive."
"Database security from the access management perspective could be better."
"Areas of Imperva Data Security have room for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"There is an annual licensing fee for upgrading the device."
"The pricing is reasonable and competitive."
"The pricing over-all depends on the entry level. For example, if support and maintenance are about $20,000 - $25,000, the initial cost can be five times more. It is less expensive for the company to maintain the client than to make the deployment."
"I know it's not cheap."
"This is an expensive solution and the price should be reduced."
"The price of the solution is reasonable. The cost of the solution depends on the customer, they have the flex protect licensing which can vary in price."
"They have introduced new price models, which makes the product more affordable now."
"It is quite expensive. We wanted it in my former organization, but the price was very high. So, we couldn't purchase it. I moved to a different organization, and this organization has purchased it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Educational Organization
9%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

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 Business28
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise32
 

Questions from the Community

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What needs improvement with Imperva SecureSphere Database Security?
There are several aspects of the Imperva SecureSphere Database Security that could be improved or enhanced.There are specific missing features in the Imperva SecureSphere Database Security that I w...
 

Also Known As

CA ACF2
Imperva SecureSphere Database Security, jSonar, Imperva's Data Security Posture Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Sky, Rogers Communications
BlueCross BlueShield, eHarmony, EMF Broadcasting, GE Healthcare, Metro Bank, The Motley Fool, Siemens
Find out what your peers are saying about ACF2 vs. Imperva Data Security Fabric and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.