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Symantec Privileged Access Manager pros and cons

Vendor: Broadcom
3.9 out of 5

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

A2A integration feature allows custom scripts to run outside Symantec Privileged Access Manager to retrieve passwords and perform additional tasks.
The robust API enables low maintenance costs and automates security across different environments, benefiting the DevOps pipeline.
Two-factor authentication supports PIV and CAC, enhancing access security for privileged users.
Symantec Privileged Access Manager offers comprehensive governance improvement, scalability, and strong resilience, accommodating large enterprise needs.
Stable and scalable architecture supports concurrent sessions, multiple devices, and complex password policies, reducing viral attack risks.

CONS

Stability issues occur after every patch upgrade, and improvement is needed in this area.
Service account management functionality should be extended to application pools, SQL database, PowerShell scripts, and service account discovery.
Recent releases require enhancements in webpage management, particularly in navigation.
Technical support quality has decreased since Broadcom's acquisition of Symantec.
The response time for support could be faster, and more secure cloud-based features should be added.
 

Symantec Privileged Access Manager Pros review quotes

it_user351294 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Director at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Nov 17, 2015
The access control component is solid, adding another layer of security beyond the basic OS security of Linux and Windows while keeping administration costs the same across different operating systems.
it_user526257 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Solutions Architect, at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Oct 5, 2016
Technical support is very good.
it_user479766 - PeerSpot reviewer
CIO/Management Consultant at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Oct 10, 2016
The CA PAM’s ability to seamlessly integrate and provide a demarcation between users and systems is the most attractive aspect.
Learn what your peers think about Symantec Privileged Access Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user558024 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director Of Information Security at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Dec 1, 2016
So all the different roles (such as database admin, Unix admin, network administrator), are now centralized into one system.
it_user558579 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Infrastructure Director at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Dec 8, 2016
CA PAM has session recording, which is a very valuable feature.
it_user572856 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Engineer at EarthLink
Dec 16, 2016
The reason we chose CA PAM is it worked in the scenarios that we wanted it to, and it just worked without problems.
it_user589527 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Infrastructure Manager at a tech services company
Feb 1, 2017
The most important feature is that we do not need to know the passwords any more; just having access to the end point; and that it’s easy to manage users and the account.
it_user595743 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Solutions Architecture Manager at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Feb 1, 2017
We do not have to authenticate users due to automatic authentication, so this allows us to be much more secure.
it_user599001 - PeerSpot reviewer
Co Founder & Chief Operating Officer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Jan 31, 2017
The most valuable feature is the general concept of securing privileged passwords.
it_user613575 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Security Analyst at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feb 21, 2017
Xceedium/CA PAM support has been excellent and that is one of the main reasons we have stuck with this solution.
 

Symantec Privileged Access Manager Cons review quotes

it_user351294 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Director at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Nov 17, 2015
The rule management portion and reporting is very weak on its own.
it_user526257 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Solutions Architect, at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Oct 5, 2016
Reporting is very limited.
it_user479766 - PeerSpot reviewer
CIO/Management Consultant at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Oct 10, 2016
I believe continued expansion of integration to multiple systems including SSO and SAML technologies will provide a more-expansive, enterprise view of access orchestration, which will in turn strengthen the security of the environment.
Learn what your peers think about Symantec Privileged Access Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user558024 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director Of Information Security at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Dec 1, 2016
I would like to see better integration with Security Incident Management solutions, a SIM, like a Splunk.
it_user558579 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Infrastructure Director at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Dec 8, 2016
The basic reporting that comes with it is basic.
it_user572856 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Engineer at EarthLink
Dec 16, 2016
A better discovery interface of accounts. It does do discovery of accounts for Windows servers, and you could do UNIX servers as well, but it's kind of clunky how it does it.
it_user589527 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Infrastructure Manager at a tech services company
Feb 1, 2017
The first setup was complex. The implementation, to me, was very bad.
it_user595743 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Solutions Architecture Manager at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Feb 1, 2017
The demonstration and consideration portion does not work the best. It's not that intuitive.
it_user599001 - PeerSpot reviewer
Co Founder & Chief Operating Officer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Jan 31, 2017
I don't really know much on the pricing side.
it_user613575 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Security Analyst at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feb 21, 2017
We have encountered stability issues at various software and hardware versions, but we worked with the support team to quickly stabilize our environment.