IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs Imperva SecureSphere Database Security comparison

IBM and Imperva are both solutions in the Database Security category. IBM is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7, while Imperva is ranked #2 with an average rating of 7.5. IBM holds a 32.0% mindshare in DS, compared to Imperva’s 30.7% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Imperva users who would recommend it.

IBM Security Guardium Data ...

Read 78 IBM Security Guardium Data Protection reviews

4,738 Views
2,295 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Imperva SecureSphere Databa...

Read 55 Imperva SecureSphere Database Security reviews

3,520 Views
2,286 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

IBM Security Guardium Data ...

Imperva SecureSphere Databa...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Imperva SecureSphere and IBM Security Guardium Data Protection compete in the database security market. Imperva holds an edge due to its comprehensive security alerts and real-time monitoring capabilities.

Features: Imperva SecureSphere provides advanced threat alerts, a robust Database Activity Monitoring (DAM) module, and seamless data classification. It also includes a web application firewall and offers integration with third-party systems. IBM Guardium excels in vulnerability assessments, supports a wide range of databases, and integrates well with IBM's own security suite. It is renowned for its accurate vulnerability assessments and comprehensive database protection.

Room for Improvement: Imperva SecureSphere could improve integration with mainframe environments, reporting capabilities, and support for cloud-hosted databases. Users report challenges with its user interface and scalability. IBM Guardium should enhance its file activity monitoring, refine its user interface, and improve deployment flexibility for complex environments. Both solutions need more intuitive licensing models and better support experiences.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Imperva SecureSphere is mainly deployed on-premises, though it offers some cloud integrations, necessitating advanced administrative knowledge for setup. Customer support experiences vary, from prompt assistance to inconsistent service. IBM Guardium supports on-premises, private, and hybrid cloud deployments, generally receiving positive feedback for its customer service, though technical assistance could improve in responsiveness.

Pricing and ROI: Imperva SecureSphere is seen as expensive but offers flexible licensing that can suit different enterprise needs, ensuring a high ROI through reduced losses and compliance risk. IBM Guardium traditionally has complex pricing due to PVU-based licensing, although new server-based models aim to simplify this. Organizations appreciate its ROI for robust security insights and compliance, though need to evaluate budget constraints for cost-effectiveness.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Imperva SecureSphere Database Security Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

April 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

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Imperva SecureSphere Databa...

Ranking in Database Security

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 32.0%, up from 30.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Imperva SecureSphere Database Security is 30.7%, down from 32.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Security

Featured Reviews

Ahmer Faisel Khan

Director | CTO at COMMTEL

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.

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Andrew_Kampolo

Senior Manager at Zamtel (Zambia Telecommunications Company Limited)

The fine-grained auditing available on the platform makes life easier and helps explain anything happening in your database

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. For example, it will tell you how many rows they were trying to select on which table, and you get the OS information, network details, IPs, and the user. That fine-grained auditing available on the platform makes life easier and helps explain anything happening in your database.

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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

"Provides a unified key management system to help simplify encryption key management."

"It protects sensitive data and blocks unauthorized access to the data."

"Easy to set up data activity monitoring solution that provides competent technical support. Scalable, stable, and has good performance."

"It has been very difficult to analyze all the network traffic with something else. Guardium provides that feature, it's heuristic. So we have rule-based algorithms in place to take care of that."

"Audit Process Builder – Workflow generator to enhance audit tasks and compliance workflows."

"Guardium is easily integrated with other IBM solutions, a significant advantage and a key reason we chose Guardium. Both platforms share the IBM infrastructure, enhancing compatibility and integration. Additionally, Guardium offers a vulnerability analyzer, which is another compelling feature of the platform."

"It's allowing us to be more proactive than reactive on alerts and access rights and types of resources that are being hit. Before, there were a lot of different solutions, but this expanded that out and made it a more holistic solution. It provides centralization of monitoring, instead of multiple, disparate applications. It definitely allows more economies of scale, streamlining, less fragmented use."

"Accelerators is one of the big functions they have out there. It gives you canned reports that you don't have to make yourself, they're out there by being part of the patch. You just have to fill your information in to some of the already built groups, for your environment, and it automates a lot of that. That has definitely helped improve things."

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection pros

"The cyber intelligence feature is the most valuable."

"Database reporting features are valuable to us."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the database security policy."

"We use it for database security, vulnerability analysis, discovery, and handling requests from applications and users."

"It is very effective, and we are using four main features. The first feature is cluster management, which allows me to redirect an agent to another gateway if one goes down."

"I like Imperva SecureSphere platform forms. Imperva SecureSphere is the foundation for SecureSphere data, file and web application solutions."

"It has a lot of different components that cover the needs of our customers."

"Flexible reporting allows for customization that keeps the admins from having to interact with system automation."

More Imperva SecureSphere Database Security pros

Cons

"I'd like to see a smoother GUI interface for the CAS agent - CAS does configurations on the database - to interface better with the vulnerability assessments."

"We have had some issues with patches breaking things unexpectedly in our environments."

"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."

"More automation, user guides, and tips would make this solution better."

"The solution lacks control over database security."

"Needs nore cloud support."

"Can't be used for a NoSQL database, which is limiting."

"Initially it did not have support external applications like, say, Tableau, ServiceNow, Remedy, and the like. They have started growing into it, but I would like to have more and more integration with outside applications."

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection cons

"Some cloud versions are not supported by the agent."

"The agent does not monitor databases in the containers."

"Imperva needs to improve their cloud capabilities."

"Database security from the access management perspective could be better."

"There is sometimes lost communication and it can take a lot of troubleshooting to solve."

"Integration with other databases or third-party products would be useful."

"Performance can be slow under heavy loads, but this should be adjusted by scaling."

"It is very expensive. Its price can be better."

More Imperva SecureSphere Database Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Guardium is most suitable for large scale enterprises because the pricing model is better if you are implementing a large number of databases."

"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."

"It is a very costly product."

"If you are researching this type of solution, work with IBM."

"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 product's pricing is reasonable and affordable. It is in the moderate range."

"One of the deployments that I know of had three databases, and the yearly fees are approximately $50,000 USD."

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection pricing and cost advice

"The product’s price is reasonable compared to other products."

"They have introduced new price models, which makes the product more affordable now."

"The pricing is reasonable and competitive."

"The price of the solution is reasonable and it requires a license."

"Its pricing could be cheaper for the African countries or developing economies. The British pound is valued way more than the currency of most African countries. A better or cheaper pricing model for Nigerian and African customers would be better. It has a per-year subscription model. You pay exactly for what you need. That's all. You don't have to buy what you don't need."

"Pricing is low and scalable to add features and volume."

"It is quite expensive. We wanted it in my former organization, but the price was very high. So, we couldn't purchase it. I moved to a different organization, and this organization has purchased it."

"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."

More Imperva SecureSphere Database Security pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

30%

Computer Software Company

11%

Insurance Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

28%

Computer Software Company

14%

Insurance Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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...

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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.

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Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?

My recommendation is Imperva.

See all answers

What do you like most about Imperva SecureSphere Database Security?

The tool's pricing is flexible and affordable for small and medium enterprises.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Imperva SecureSphere Database Security?

It is not cheaper, but based on the feature, it is okay.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 5% of the time

Trustwave DbProtect vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 3% of the time

IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 3% of the time

Voltage SecureData Enterprise vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection Competitors

Oracle Audit Vault vs Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

Compared 21% of the time

DataSunrise Database Security vs Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

Compared 8% of the time

Trustwave DbProtect vs Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

Compared 5% of the time

Imperva DDoS vs Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

Compared 2% of the time

jSonar vs Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

Compared 2% of the time

More Imperva SecureSphere Database Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

May 2025

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection report

Download IBM Security Guardium Data Protection product report

Buyer's Guide

Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

May 2025

Imperva SecureSphere Database Security report

Download Imperva SecureSphere Database Security product report

Also Known As

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium

No data available

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

Imperva SecureSphere Database Security:

Audits all access to sensitive data.
Alerts or blocks database attacks and unauthorized activities, in real time.
Detects and virtually patches database vulnerabilities.
Identifies excessive user rights and dormant users, and enables a complete rights review cycle.
Accelerates incident response and forensics investigations with advanced analytics.

Imperva

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

BlueCross BlueShield, eHarmony, EMF Broadcasting, GE Healthcare, Metro Bank, The Motley Fool, Siemens

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

April 2025

Free Report: IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

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