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IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs Protegrity’s Data Protection Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 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
8.0
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Protegrity’s Data Protectio...
Ranking in Database Security
7th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Data Governance (18th), Data Masking (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 32.0%, up from 31.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Protegrity’s Data Protection Platform is 0.7%, down from 1.0% 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.
Vinoth Raj Prabhakaran - PeerSpot reviewer
Beneficial data security, good support, and straightforward initial setup
The initial setup of Protegrity Data Security was straightforward. However, we had a few problems, it's not multi-tenanted. It does not have a hierarchy of roles and differential priorities. To have the initial sandbox version of Protegrity Data Security up and running, took approximately one week. However, it needed to be set up in a resilient way because if it fails, then it is going to be a challenge bringing back the lost information. We have to be particular in terms of architecting it correctly which is taking us a bit of time. We are anticipating anywhere between four to six weeks to be finished.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The possible number of databases and database servers which can be monitored by Guardium is high. For me, this is a differentiator of IBM."
"Security policy enforcement of policy-based encryption and centralized encryption key management allows us to maintain data in a secure environment."
"Easy to set up data activity monitoring solution that provides competent technical support. Scalable, stable, and has good performance."
"It allows us to put in controls to make sure that only the right persons access the proper records in the database."
"From the perspective of analysis and prevention, this product is pretty accurate."
"The reporting side is also very, very good, especially its flexibility which allows you to tailor the reports to whatever information you want."
"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."
"The most valuable feature is the visualization of data and the ability to monitor our databases."
"The most valuable feature of Protegrity Data Security is the reduction of information being exposed."
"Its technical support team is helpful."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"The product is stable."
 

Cons

"More automation, user guides, and tips would make this solution 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 to see a lot of additional reporting and analytics features. They have basic outlier detection, but I would love to see that go further, and model it after analytics tools like Splunk."
"The solution lacks control over database security."
"The backup and recovery is very resource-hungry and requires a huge amount of storage capacity."
"I would like them to support cloud services."
"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."
"IBM should add more database security features to Guardium. They could add user profiling, anomaly detection, and machine learning. IBM has user profiling, but they need to strengthen it. It should make sense for the users. It should remove most of the false positives."
"Protegrity is using a different OS which has some bugs. Sometimes it's causing an initialization error."
"The solution's UI could be better."
"Protegrity Data Security could improve by having more integration."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"​If you are researching this type of solution, work with IBM."
"We haven't talked much about pricing and licencing. But it is not cheap for sure"
"It's an expensive solution"
"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."
"Guardium is most suitable for large scale enterprises because the pricing model is better if you are implementing a large number of databases."
"Guardium's pricing is quite high, but it gives good value for money for all sizes of enterprises, especially for partners."
"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."
"The product's pricing is reasonable and affordable. It is in the moderate range."
"We pay for a few additional services apart from its licenses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
36%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

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?
The pricing is good, and I have no problem with it. Although there is no flexibility to compete with other products, it generally costs between one hundred and three hundred thousand per year depen...
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.
What needs improvement with Protegrity Data Security?
Protegrity is using a different OS, which has some bugs. Sometimes, it's causing an initialization error.
What is your primary use case for Protegrity Data Security?
We use the solution to encrypt sensitive data like PII data. Any unauthorized person cannot find the exact sensitive value in case of data issues. We are using that tool to protect sensitive data.
 

Also Known As

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
Protegrity Data Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
A $4 billion retail conglomerate and holding company
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Protegrity’s Data Protection Platform and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.