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IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs IDERA SQL Compliance Manager comparison

IBM and IDERA are both solutions in the Database Security category. IBM is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7, while IDERA is ranked #12. IBM holds a 31.8% mindshare in DS, compared to IDERA’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IDERA users who would recommend it.
IBM Security Guardium Data ...
Read 78 IBM Security Guardium Data Protection reviews
  • 5,040 Views
  • 4,133 Comparison Views
85% willing to recommend
IDERA SQL Compliance Manager
Read 5 IDERA SQL Compliance Manager reviews
  • 212 Views
  • 208 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection and IDERA SQL Compliance Manager are competing in the data security solutions category. IBM Security Guardium Data Protection has the upper hand in comprehensive database activity monitoring, while IDERA SQL Compliance Manager excels in detailed compliance reporting and auditing features.

Features: IBM Security Guardium Data Protection includes real-time monitoring, comprehensive threat detection, and automated compliance. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager specializes in fine-grained auditing, detailed compliance reporting, and analyzing server activity.

Room for Improvement: IBM Security Guardium Data Protection could improve user interface intuitiveness, streamline integration with non-IBM systems, and enhance reporting detail level. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager may enhance scalability for larger databases, expand support beyond SQL Server, and improve user training resources.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Security Guardium Data Protection offers flexible deployment for various environments with robust customer support fitting complex infrastructures. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager provides simpler deployment tailored to SQL Server environments with focused customer assistance.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Security Guardium Data Protection has higher initial costs supported by extensive features and a comprehensive protection scope. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager offers competitive pricing and a strong ROI due to its targeted compliance functions, appealing to cost-conscious entities focusing on audit needs.

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To learn more, read our detailed IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager Report (Updated: July 2025).
Buyer's Guide
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager
July 2025
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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 August 2025, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 31.8%, up from 31.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IDERA SQL Compliance Manager is 0.7%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Security
 

Featured Reviews

Jared Ochieng - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for monitoring database activity and tracking databases
The response time could be improved. Navigating support for the solution can be challenging, especially when finding the right contact for specialized issues. Improvements could make raising tickets and identifying the correct support channels easier. While general support information is provided, specialized support may require contacting different teams. We guide our clients through this process to ensure they know where to turn for various needs. Typically, we are the first point of contact for any issues, big or small, and then direct them to the appropriate resources. The quality of technical support largely depends on the expertise of the partner who implemented the solution. If you have a partner who is well-versed in IBM, the technical support is usually excellent. If not, support might be less reliable.
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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,…
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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Compliance Quick Start – Quick, GUI, step-by-step guide to automate compliance and give the customer a quick ROI."
"Satisfies audit requests, to give us an idea if anybody is accessing our privileged user IDs without our knowledge."
"You could easily throw it onto a VM or add additional hardware. One central manager supports about a hundred managed units, so scalability is excellent.​"
"Database logging and audit functions are the most valuable features."
"The most valuable features have been how easy it is to deploy and use, as well as the comprehensive monitoring options. These are a few things that customers like most about this product."
"The product has proven to be flexible"
"One of the most valuable features is the accelerator. It has a predefined report for PCI SOX compliance and other compliances."
"It provides us regulatory compliance proof and evidence for audit."
More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection pros
"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."
"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."
 

Cons

"The documentation could be better."
"Right now, we're in the development phase for IBM Guardium Data Protection, so I don't have any recommendations about additional features and room for improvement in the solution. We're very excited to work on IBM Guardium Data Protection because we are new to the solution, and we're still exploring product features. We're very excited about integrations and use case creation, and it's only after six to eight months that I'll be able to share my recommendations in terms of additional features the solution should have. We did find some difficulty in deploying IBM Guardium Data Protection here in Pakistan because of the lack of resources."
"I would like them to support cloud services."
"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."
"The ability for Central Managers to talk to one another could be improved. I have 26 Central Managers and 26 silos which are independent."
"IBM Guardium Data Protection is a mature product. There is a lot of encryption that is not owned by IBM and is done by a third party and is not an integral part of the solution."
"Sometimes the performance is not good, and also sometimes we have sudden bugs causing difficulties."
"Could be more user friendly; deployment is a little complex."
More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection cons
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Its filtration and navigation are not the best."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For IBM Guardium, licensing is very simple and straightforward. There are no issues I can speak of."
"Guardium has not saved us time or money."
"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."
"I would suggest to review the type of data, need for security, and if the organizational structure needs the options IBM Guardium provides."
"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."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"Its cost is good. With the new metric of licensing, such as PDO not being available now, customers are expecting a good price for the solution."
"The biggest challenge is the cost associated with the product, and the cost of maintaining. Everything is not translated directly to the benefits we see. There are benefits, yes, but if I were writing the check, would I buy Guardium? No."
More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection pricing and cost advice
"It's a good price value... The other tools weren't cheaper."
"I feel the product's pricing is a good value."
"The pricing is pretty good."
"The product is cheaper than other products I checked but it is still a good idea to check again and compare."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
28%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
6%
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...
See all answers
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.
See all answers
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.
See all answers
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Comparisons

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Compared 4% of the time
IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection Logo
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Compared 3% of the time
More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection Competitors
No data available
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection
August 2025
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection reportDownload IBM Security Guardium Data Protection product report
Buyer's Guide
IDERA SQL Compliance Manager
August 2025
IDERA SQL Compliance Manager reportDownload IDERA SQL Compliance Manager product report
 

Also Known As

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
IDERA SQL CM
 

Overview

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection automatically discovers and classifies sensitive data from across the enterprise, providing real-time data activity monitoring and advanced user behavior analytics to help discover unusual activity around sensitive data.

Deploy the solution to help discover regulated data in your data stores and use pre-built templates for regulations such as PCI, SOX, HIPAA, CCPA and many more, to streamline and automate compliance workflows.

IBM

SQL Compliance Manager helps database administrators to monitor, audit, and alert on SQL Server user activity and data changes. Unlike its competition, it provides quick configuration of audit settings, a broad list of regulatory guideline templates for audit settings and reports, before and after data values for both regulatory compliance and forensic data investigations, differentiation of data access and between regular and privileged users and applications, easy specification of and reporting on sensitive data columns access and changes, and extensive customization of audit settings for databases and servers.

IDERA
 

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.
Buyer's Guide
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager
July 2025
Free Report: IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
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