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ACF2 vs CyberArk Privileged Access Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 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

ACF2
Ranking in Mainframe Security
6th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Database Security (16th)
CyberArk Privileged Access ...
Ranking in Mainframe Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
221
Ranking in other categories
User Activity Monitoring (1st), Enterprise Password Managers (2nd), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (1st), Operational Technology (OT) Security (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Mainframe Security category, the mindshare of ACF2 is 10.3%, down from 11.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is 1.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Mainframe Security
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1077621 - PeerSpot reviewer
A reliable, scalable product for security and auditing of our mainframe environment
It is a good product. It has been used for years. As long as it is configured correctly, it is a very stable product. It depends on how an institution or a company configures it. It depends on an institution's risk appetite. You need to make sure it is configured as per the concept of least privilege, and the logging features, detection and control mechanism, and other things like that are enabled. If you configure it to give access to the public, then there could be compromises. You should also have someone who independently checks it to make sure that it is configured keeping security in mind. If it has been configured for a while, when there are enhancements to the product or when you enhance it, you need to make sure that security is also looked at, and it is configured according to an institution's security policies. I would rate it a nine out of 10.
Lasantha Wijesinghe - PeerSpot reviewer
We have visibility and control through real-time user behavior analytics
It took us some time to realize its benefits because there was a learning curve for us. It took us about a year to get our heads around this product and start effectively using it. It is a journey. It takes at least five years for any company to make this product very useful and reach maturity. It is not only the product's fault. The company needs to have a vision, and the company culture needs to go with it. Senior leadership needs to support the vision. You need to have lots of ingredients for success. If everything is in place, you will see success after one year. In the first year, it is a struggle for everybody. My company was bought by a bigger company, and they were very new to privileged access management. Everybody was struggling. The advice I would give is to have a good vision for privileged access management. You need dedicated teams, senior management support, and proper company policies and standards before implementing the solution. Start building knowledge slowly and avoid jumping into the deep end without preparation. I would rate CyberArk Privileged Access Manager a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I love their support. The support is great. They are number one."
"We use this tool to quickly assign privileges to different users as soon as they come in."
"Logging and monitoring are most valuable. It is for the mainframe environment, and it is at the forefront for security and resilience."
"The NOACCESS by default is another very good feature. Also, access rules are straightforward, and easy to understand."
"Excellent real-time reporting that saves time and resources."
"CyberArk has the ability to change the credentials on every platform."
"The solution is stable."
"I would recommend implementing CyberArk Privileged Access Manager as it is the best so far."
"CyberArk Privileged Access Manager’s ability to safeguard credentials for our organization is very important because it helps in managing the keys to the kingdom, especially the privileged access for various platforms."
"It has a centralized page where you can manage everything. This makes work easier. You don't have to remember different module URLs or browser applications. It is very easy to get all the secure identities of other environments into a single page, which is very important for us as it helps a lot in terms of operations, e.g., reduces management time. This is a single page where you can manage all accounts and onboard them to the CyberArk. You can then secure and see passwords from everywhere. So, there is a single pane of glass where you can manage all the identities across environments as well as across different types of identities."
"The main feature of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is the ability to manage who has access to what and when, especially with shared accounts."
"You can easily manage more than 4000 accounts with one PSM."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
 

Cons

"It needs longer rules. The max rule is 32K."
"They can work on its ability to work in a distributed environment. It's a mainframe product. As many companies move to the cloud, depending on what cloud models they choose, such as a public, hybrid, or private cloud, it should be deployable. I am not sure if it can be deployed on those platforms. It has been there since the '50s or '60s, and it's still scalable. It has survived all these years, and it's scalable to many platforms, but I don't know about the cloud."
"Reporting can sometimes include false positives."
"I would like my team and me to be able to use simple browsers, like Chrome, to be able to access mainframe data and provision users using the browser.​"
"Enhanced PSM support for Java based applications."
"CyberArk has a lot on the privileged access side but they have to concentrate more on the application side as well."
"The solution should be able to mitigate internal threats"
"I would like to see more integration with more tools, for more APIs."
"My concern and area for improvement revolves around reporting."
"More than the product itself, there is room for improvement in the documentation. The documentation should be very detailed and very structured. It has a lot of good information, on one level, but I feel that it could be more elaborate and more structured."
"It's a big program. To scale excessively, locally, on an on-prem application, takes a lot of servers."
"The initial setup of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager difficulty depends on the environment that you are implementing it into. However, it typically is simple."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It's an affordable platform."
"Compared to other solutions, it is costly."
"Its price can be reduced."
"The solution is cost-effective for the features."
"The price of this solution is expensive."
"The price of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager could be less expensive."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"CyberArk Enterprise Password Vault's pricing is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
33%
Computer Software Company
8%
Insurance Company
8%
Retailer
8%
Educational Organization
33%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is a good length for a password in ACF2 so it's safe?
A set length of 12 characters can ensure the safety of a system. Longer passwords provide an added layer of security, especially when combined with other password complexity requirements. With a le...
Is ACF2 suitable for beginners?
ACF2 can be suitable for beginners with the right guidance and support. While it may have a steep learning curve for many due to its complexity, it offers extensive documentation and resources that...
What types of auditing and reporting capabilities does ACF2 offer?
ACF2's reporting capabilities are highly valuable. It offers various predefined reports that provide insights into our system's security posture. These reports include information on user access pr...
How does Sailpoint IdentityIQ compare with CyberArk PAM?
We evaluated Sailpoint IdentityIQ before ultimately choosing CyberArk. Sailpoint Identity Platform is a solution to manage risks in cloud enterprise environments. It automates and streamlines the m...
What do you like most about CyberArk Privileged Access Manager?
The most valuable features of the solution are control and analytics.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager?
With the current model of licensing, for my use cases, sometimes it's hard to convince the management and get budget approvals for it. It's expensive and you're not getting anything new. It's just ...
 

Also Known As

CA ACF2
CyberArk Privileged Access Security, CyberArk Enterprise Password Vault
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Sky, Rogers Communications
Rockwell Automation
Find out what your peers are saying about ACF2 vs. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,963 professionals have used our research since 2012.