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IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs Trustwave DbProtect 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
7.0
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Trustwave DbProtect
Ranking in Database Security
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 27.5%, down from 33.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trustwave DbProtect is 3.8%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection27.5%
Trustwave DbProtect3.8%
Other68.7%
Database Security
 

Featured Reviews

DP
Chief Executive Officer at Kipustec
Ensures data security and compliance with reliable alerts and protections
The manuals should be clearer. There needs to be an online course or tutorial for faster management training. The maintenance was slightly complicated. I had to read the manuals carefully and even failed the Guardium certification exam due to insufficient information or time. Improving the tool learning process would be beneficial.
Marcelo Raza - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber Security Architect at Oakmount
A tool that offers a proper view and division of all databases while also allowing users to do continuous monitoring
I have seen that the tool's installation phase has some problems regarding the versions, specifically the version of SQL. Trustwave DbProtect doesn't accept some versions of SQL. Some credentials when you are installing give some problems, but all of them did pass through the installation phase but gave a certain amount of hard work to be done during the installation phase. The aforementioned area needs to be considered for improvement. The pain points with Trustwave DbProtect were about the installation and problems with the different versions not being accepted. A more compatible version of the product with other databases and operating systems should be possible.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It tests security to support SOX compliance."
"The most valuable feature for me, in my role as systems DBA, is the expediting of internal and external audits."
"Our ability to see when users are accessing sensitive data."
"The reporting side is also very, very good, especially its flexibility which allows you to tailor the reports to whatever information you want."
"The maturity of the agent is the most valuable feature of the solution"
"We also use IBM Guardium to support security initiatives and compliance policies. For example, our audit area can verify if someone has access to information that they shouldn't have, for their regular job functions."
"The most valuable feature I have found is the performance of client monitoring. The other competitors are unable to do this."
"Encryption is not straightforward, but Guardium made the setup easy for us."
"Transfer and vulnerability scanning are the most valuable features of this product."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that you can have a good view which is provided with a proper division of all your databases, which you can see in Trustwave DbProtect."
"This solution helps our clients to monitor their database use, and detect violations of the policy."
 

Cons

"An area for improvement would be the user interface - currently, it takes around two to three months to become comfortable using it."
"The manuals should be clearer. There needs to be an online course or tutorial for faster management training."
"The deployment is complex and requires expertise to deploy."
"The price of this solution is quite high for smaller organizations, so they should release a version that is affordable for small and medium-sized businesses."
"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."
"The improvement needed relates to encryption capabilities. Currently, it doesn't use encryption for IBM i, because it's impossible."
"There are features like end-to-end and S-TAP mapping, and the ability to install policies for your configuration builder. They're not there, but we'd like to see them in the next version."
"Guardium's storage capabilities could use some improvement. I'd also like to have some better integration using digital technology or a connector."
"The product does not have encryption or data masking."
"We have not been able to integrate this product with a lot of standard incident response solutions, so an open API would help in this regard."
"I have seen that the tool's installation phase has some problems regarding the versions, specifically the version of SQL."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is low price, and ten is very high price, I rate the solution's pricing a nine out of ten."
"IBM solutions have fair price strategy, and operates on a yearly basis. If it's a SaaS solution, then you can opt for yearly basis."
"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."
"Reasonable cost but could be lower."
"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."
"The product's pricing is reasonable and affordable. It is in the moderate range."
"Guardium is most suitable for large scale enterprises because the pricing model is better if you are implementing a large number of databases."
"It is a very costly product."
"The licensing fees, including support, are approximately $5,000 USD per database, per year."
"I rate the pricing a five on a scale from one to ten, where one is the lowest and ten is the highest."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Insurance Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise44
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.
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Also Known As

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
Application Security DbProtect
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Pax World Investments, Crest Savings Bank, Magnolia Hotels
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Trustwave DbProtect and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.