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ACF2 vs Imperva Data Security Fabric comparison

 

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
13th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Mainframe Security (4th)
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) (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of ACF2 is 1.8%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Imperva Data Security Fabric is 24.8%, down from 31.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Imperva Data Security Fabric24.8%
ACF21.8%
Other73.4%
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

"We use this tool to quickly assign privileges to different users as soon as they come in."
"It is a good product."
"The most valuable feature is strict and reliable access control to CICS Resources."
"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."
"Logging and monitoring are most valuable. It is for the mainframe environment, and it is at the forefront for security and resilience."
"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."
"We are very satisfied with this product; it's simple to use, customize and administer, and installation is simple and easy, even on mainframe."
"This solution has helped secure our Internet-based services, protecting us against DoS and other types of web-based attacks."
"Imperva's most valuable features are ease of use and log correlation. I also like the ability to trace activity from the host machine to the server access, the user details, and the exact query that they executed. If a database administrator or application process executes a query on the database, people know exactly what was executed, including all the variables."
"All of Imperva’s features are extremely powerful, while a certain degree of knowledge is required to have a solid understanding of the product."
"When dealing directly with Imperva I had good experiences with the vendor, and real issues were escalated quickly and getting access to the relevant engineering sections of the vendor was possible."
"A solution which does what other name brand products do for a lower cost."
"It has a lot of different components that cover the needs of our customers."
"The most valuable features include a great level of automation, machine learning for attack validation, and a very flexible and comfortable management console."
 

Cons

"Initial setup could be complex if you rely on contractors to help with implementation."
"The user access review could also be improved. It produces a lot of false positives."
"Reporting can sometimes include false positives."
"They can work on its ability to work in a distributed environment."
"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."
"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.​"
"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."
"Data encryption. Yeah, Imperva needs to pull up on data encryption and make it a standard feature to allow maybe for tokenization, encryption of data, and things like that."
"I have worked with IBM before, and I prefer its ease of deployment and management. Imperva SecureSphere Database Security has tricky deployment, whereas IBM's deployment is straightforward because of the UI."
"This product needs a good team of UX people, because it's not always that understandable, and sometimes it's straight up confusing."
"SecureSphere activity log can be used with Imperva CounterBreach in an effort to protect enterprise data from theft and loss caused. Since such is core to its function, I would like to see future versions to integrate such options."
"The platform doesn’t support some newer databases."
"There is sometimes lost communication and it can take a lot of troubleshooting to solve."
"Imperva SecureSphere Database Security can improve something in all the versions I have used."
"The user interface is kind of a let-down. The graphics, tabs, and other various options are quite jumbled and confusing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The cost of support for this solution is very expensive."
"Licensing fees are on a yearly basis, and it is a good value for the money."
"The setup and license are quite expensive."
"I know it's not cheap."
"Pricing is low and scalable to add features and volume."
"The price is very high but compared to the price of the overall solution, then I think it's a good deal because the solution itself is great."
"The price of the solution is reasonable and it requires a license."
"They have introduced new price models, which makes the product more affordable now."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Retailer
7%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
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 Business27
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise32
 

Questions from the Community

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How does IBM Guardium Data Protection compare with Imperva SecureSphere Database Security?
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is a solution for database security from IBM that gives complete visibility, control, and analysis to secure sensitive data and comply with regulations. IBM S...
 

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: April 2026.
893,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.