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Cleanup vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Cleanup
Ranking in Database Security
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Mainframe Security (11th)
IBM Security Guardium Data ...
Ranking in Database Security
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of Cleanup is 1.7%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 26.4%, down from 32.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection26.4%
Cleanup1.7%
Other71.9%
Database Security
 

Featured Reviews

it_user350628 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
It looks forward in the database, so if it’s not showing any activity, you can get rid of that profile. But, if I give someone access to it, I can’t control the scope of what they can see.
It presents problems. The problem is, if I give someone access to it, I can’t control the scope of what they can see. They can see everything. I want to make the information available and more integrated with other security components, and I want it to be more reliable. It also needs acknowledgement that clean-up data can come from temporary cloned environments that somehow need to be incorporated into enterprise view of usage.
Marylennis Franco - PeerSpot reviewer
Jefe De Continuidad Operacional at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees
Has improved data visibility and streamlined compliance reporting across multiple database platforms
The best feature is how many databases we can protect with one solution because it has compatibility with different databases, including Oracle, SQL, and DB2. The data activity monitoring feature is very good because we can check the PDS and have the information for that. We can schedule the reporting and receive it by email, which provides very important information for different areas of the company. We don't need to have a seat and a case or access to the portal, we just receive the report. The user-friendly interface is very good.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Technical support is good, and they're great once they agree there’s a problem."
"This is a textured product and the brand equity of IBM means it's reliable."
"IBM Guardium Data Protection is very good at keeping your database secure."
"In general, deploying this solution will cost very little compared to the cost of losing data."
"The reporting side is also very, very good, especially its flexibility which allows you to tailor the reports to whatever information you want."
"The ability to collect the data without database administers being able to modify it."
"Guardium has saved us time and money, mainly on the discovery process and senior management is aware of this, of course."
"Audit Process Builder – Workflow generator to enhance audit tasks and compliance workflows."
"Guardium lets you centrally manage aggregators and collectors."
 

Cons

"Use it as an indication of data, not as gospel. Don’t take action based solely on it."
"Needs nore cloud support."
"The blocking and dynamic data masking features need improvement."
"Sometimes the performance is not good, and also sometimes we have sudden bugs causing difficulties."
"If IBM Guardium Data Protection could find a way to not have a lot of coding and development required to get the solution up and running it would be an advantage. The information of the agent could improve, which is necessary for us to monitor the databases would be a great benefit."
"The price of this solution is quite high for smaller organizations, so they should release a version that is affordable for small and medium-sized businesses."
"The ability for Central Managers to talk to one another could be improved. I have 26 Central Managers and 26 silos which are independent."
"Needs easier integration with custom applications."
"The biggest complaint that I hear from customers and users is that using this solution requires database skills, yet it is a security and monitoring tool."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"It's an expensive solution"
"Reasonable cost but could be lower."
"One of the deployments that I know of had three databases, and the yearly fees are approximately $50,000 USD."
"I would suggest to review the type of data, need for security, and if the organizational structure needs the options IBM Guardium provides."
"We haven't talked much about pricing and licencing. But it is not cheap for sure"
"The price of Guardium is higher than the main competitor, Imperva. In addition, it's complex as the calculation of the licensing is done by Processor Value Unit (PVU). However, before purchasing a DAP solution, it is important to analyze specific points to evaluate the cost-benefit of each tool. For example: Does the environment to be monitored have mainframes? If so, it's a point for Guardium. If not, a point for Imperva. Note: IBM is looking into a new licensing policy and reducing the price of Guardium."
"The cost depends on the number of databases. You can purchase advanced licenses, but the standard license is calculated based on the number of databases you have to onboard."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
23%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Insurance Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise44
 

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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Guardium Data Protection?
I don't remember the exact prices, but Guardium is an expensive tool because it is targeted towards corporate enterprises.
What do you like most about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection?
The features I like are the robust policies, which allow us to create customized monitoring based on specific activities.
 

Also Known As

CA Cleanup
InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Standard Bank of South Africa
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM, Imperva, Oracle and others in Database Security. Updated: May 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.