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IBM Resource Access Control Facility 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

IBM Resource Access Control...
Ranking in Mainframe Security
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
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 (2nd), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (1st), Operational Technology (OT) Security (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Mainframe Security category, the mindshare of IBM Resource Access Control Facility is 10.6%, down from 16.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Idira Privileged Access Manager is 5.7%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mainframe Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Idira Privileged Access Manager5.7%
IBM Resource Access Control Facility10.6%
Other83.7%
Mainframe Security
 

Featured Reviews

KC
Senior systems engineer at Unum
We're able to do role-based security so when new people join the company we're able to quickly add them to the proper security through role-based security groups.
It's completely secure. That's the best answer I can give you. We're able to do role-based security so when new people join the company we're able to quickly add them to the proper security through role-based security groups. Our resources are secured with this product I would welcome something…
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's completely secure."
"Perfectly integrated with the z/OS operating system and all the other products in the IBM z/OS family."
"Technical support is exceptional."
"The most valuable feature is Special Monitoring."
"The password rotation and cyber gateway have been quite useful."
"There are no issues with scalability, and our clients are very happy to use the product."
"It provides an accountability to the individuals who are using it, knowing that it is audited and tracked."
"Accounts are managed, passwords change frequently, and we have better audit logs!"
"The implementation of the PSM proxy has reduced the specific risk of "insider attacks" on our domain controllers and SLDAP servers by eliminating direct user login by an open secure connection on the user's behalf without ever revealing the privileged credentials."
"Enterprise Password Vault, Privilege Session Manager, and Application Identity Management have been very useful for our client environment."
"It supports lots of requirements in the privileged access management area."
 

Cons

"The way to pull security logs could be better."
"I would like the generation of RACF on-screen listings and reports to be more flexible."
"I would welcome something that is more easily integrated with distributor platforms."
"The initial setup was a bit complex."
"The installation process should be easier and more user-friendly so that you don't need to hire a third party to deploy it."
"The documentation is rather basic and it is missing many use cases."
"​It's hard to find competent resellers/support."
"Currently, in Secure Connect, an end user is required to enter account information manually, and cannot save any of this information for future use."
"The tool’s pricing and scalability can be better."
"It could be more user-friendly. Sometimes I encounter issues, and I do not know what the issue is. It takes a lot of time to find the error and fix it. Sometimes it gives an error, but I do not know what the error is. I have to find the documents, but it does not provide all the details needed to fix the error. This is one of the day-to-day issues with CyberArk."
"Stability is a huge concern right now. We are on a version which is very unstable. We have to upgrade to stabilize it. It is fine, but the problem is we have to hire CyberArk to do the upgrade. This costs money, and it is their bug."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"I'm aware that the organization had purchased licensing for almost all of CyberArk's solutions including licensing for PTA, EPM, and the Application Identity Manager. But when it comes to PSM, this is one of the components where there's an additional charge for any extra PSMs that you want to deploy. I believe that there's some rider where the vendor has a bit of leeway to, at times, charge a premium on whatever additional services you may require above the board."
"CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is on the expensive side. It is very expensive."
"The price of this solution is expensive."
"I do not have any opinions to add about the pricing of the product."
"With the current model of licensing, for my use cases, sometimes it's hard to convince the management and get budget approvals for it. It's expensive and you're not getting anything new. It's just a control, but in terms of risk, you are covering a big impact on the company. Improvement in the licensing prices is something I would want to have."
"The solution is available at a high price"
"Cost efficiency is the number one thing that can be improved in my mind. This would change lots of companies minds on purchasing the product."
"It costs us around $200 per user."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
24%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise42
Large Enterprise175
 

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

IBM RACF
CyberArk Privileged Access Security, CyberArk Enterprise Password Vault
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Rockwell Automation
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Resource Access Control Facility vs. Idira Privileged Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.