Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs IDERA SQL Compliance Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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 Security Guardium Data ...
Ranking in Database Security
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IDERA SQL Compliance Manager
Ranking in Database Security
12th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 31.6%, up from 31.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IDERA SQL Compliance Manager is 0.6%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Security
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmer Faisel Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers mature agents, compliance reporting and reliable database security
The solution should allow the data to shift to a centralized repository with elastic servers and big data infrastructure. If a customer searches for old logs for retention purposes, there are limitations on appliances once they are set with specific hardware, so they can only be changed by uninstalling or reinstalling the hardware. The solution's aggregator feature allows data aggregation, but for instance, if a customer wants a project ready in two years, having an Elasticsearch in DB or the capacity to store huge amounts of data would be beneficial in data investigation or evaluation at an affordable cost. Some AI features should be added to IBM Security Guardium Data Protection. For example, the AI features implemented in the solution can be anomaly detection or suspicious activity identification.
reviewer1659528 - PeerSpot reviewer
A valuable independent view of elevated access but the solution could be more organized
Our primary use case for this solution is for controls, which we deploy on-premises The independent view of elevated access and elevated instructions sent to our SQL are very valuable because they act as a secondary pair of eyes. The solution could be improved by using the proper filtration,…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Audit Process Builder – Workflow generator to enhance audit tasks and compliance workflows."
"The most valuable features of this product are activity monitoring on the database servers, discovery capabilities, and vulnerability scanning."
"Database logging and audit functions are the most valuable features."
"The front-end works very well."
"Supports security initiatives and ensures compliance policies."
"What I like about IBM Guardium Data Protection is that some of its features were deployed by collectors during the installation phase. The solution has collector and aggregator features, license installation, and even server patches that you won't find in other security providers. I like the collector-aggregator capabilities of IBM Guardium Data Protection where you install each component on separate servers, then on the aggregator, you collect all the logs on a central server or central console."
"One of the most valuable features is the accelerator. It has a predefined report for PCI SOX compliance and other compliances."
"Guardium does a great job of capturing data and having the ability of trying to pull it out and make sense of it. Using it for business applications is its biggest capability."
"The ability to track activity including the SQL statements is definitely valuable. I really like how the database is laid out. It's straightforward. I can query the back-end tables. I've made a few of my own email alerts based on the data and the tables. It's accessible."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"The tool can track logins and login failures. I made my own alert so that if there is a certain number of login failures for a server, it emails me. That is really useful. If I want logins to automatically lock out after a certain number of failed attempts, I can know when that happens."
 

Cons

"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."
"The most important requirements for us are integration with new database solutions and the ability to manage things like Jailbreak or something like that. Its reduction feature can also be improved. It has a functionality called reduction, which is like masking data, but it is just a replacement of characters. Sometimes the customer needs more than this. It would be good if it was more advanced or complete. We also have a problem with this solution because the IBM aggregator isn't working very well. IBM has created big data intelligence for Guardium, and occasionally, customers need three or four months of data, but they can't run it from the collectors. It can have a better dashboard and more pre-defined use cases for those customers who don't have any idea about data protection or don't have expert personnel in this area. For example, they can include five use cases for banks and five use cases for retail."
"Guardium's storage capabilities could use some improvement. I'd also like to have some better integration using digital technology or a connector."
"It was difficult implementing it, configuring it, getting it up and running and in production. However, since then, I believe it has stabilized."
"The analysis part of this product could be improved. It's a very comprehensive product, so the features it has complement customer requirements. But I would like to see more emphasis on analytics, and it would be great if they added machine learning. They already have analysis insights, but a comprehensive analytical feature that's already incorporated into the solution would be very helpful."
"Could be more user friendly; deployment is a little complex."
"The solution should allow the data to shift to a centralized repository with elastic servers and big data infrastructure"
"Sometimes the connectors to the databases need to be manually updated and we have to configure them again, which is something that should be improved."
"What would really a good thing is if you could refer to an external list or table for filtering on, say, certain applications, IP addresses, or host names; or perhaps even combinations of host name and application name."
"Its filtration and navigation are not the best."
"There is an agent that collects the data on SQL Server. Sometimes it will stop collecting. I'm not exactly sure what's happening but I have to go in and manually restart the agent. It would be nice if the central collection server could send a request to the agent to restart."
"The set up is kind of clunky, in my opinion. It's not really intuitive. If they had either a smoother install or better instructions, that would be nice."
"I submitted a ticket (last year) about archiving/grooming of old records because the GUI functionality was not working. Per their recommendation, I ended up using a command line to do it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We haven't talked much about pricing and licencing. But it is not cheap for sure"
"It is not an expensive product. We purchase its yearly license."
"My company purchased IBM Guardium Data Protection in a package, so I'm unable to give its exact licensing cost, but for the package of three IBM solutions, it wasn't very expensive. I'd rate the pricing for all three solutions three out of five. When my team deployed IBM Guardium Data Protection, all features were included."
"Guardium has not saved us time or money."
"Guardium won mostly because of our scope and scale. It was able to perform at the scale that we wanted to use it. ​"
"The price is good for the quality of the solution."
"IBM Guardium Data Protection charges you based on the number of users, e.g. based on the number of licenses, and it's either on a per-license or a per-data basis."
"​If you are researching this type of solution, work with IBM."
"It's a good price value... The other tools weren't cheaper."
"The product is cheaper than other products I checked but it is still a good idea to check again and compare."
"The pricing is pretty good."
"I feel the product's pricing is a good value."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Database Security solutions are best for your needs.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
IDERA SQL CM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Hanger; AmerisourceBergen; CMS Energy; Manulife Financial; Patterson Companies; Pfizer; Rockwell Automation; TrialCard; Unum; Verizon Communications; Skygen USA; Calpine Energy Solutions; Standard Chartered PLC; TrialCard, Inc.; Raffles Hospital; Houston Methodist; Community America Credit Union; Noble Americas Energy Solutions LLC; QuikTrip Corporation; HUK COBURG; OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.