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ACF2 vs DataSunrise Database Security 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

ACF2
Ranking in Database Security
13th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Mainframe Security (4th)
DataSunrise Database Security
Ranking in Database Security
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.2
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of ACF2 is 2.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of DataSunrise Database Security is 5.2%, down from 5.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
DataSunrise Database Security5.2%
ACF22.1%
Other92.7%
Database Security
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1077621 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Examiner at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
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.
Sajith Krishnan - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Cloud Engineer at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Rule-based monitoring has strengthened real-time protection against SQL injection attacks
I believe the product features are good so far, but I experienced some issues. When I upgraded to a newer version, there were some bugs found that were not resolved. Therefore, I would assume that DataSunrise can improve their quality checks before releasing a new version. I would like to see improvements mainly in support and documentation, as whenever I contact DataSunrise support, the support team is not fully aware of the new features or version revision histories. The documentation has been vague and not well done. I think DataSunrise as a product is still in the initial stage where there are many improvements that can be made regarding documentation and support.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use this tool to quickly assign privileges to different users as soon as they come in."
"Know that this tool is a great tool, a good tool to use, because you can quickly automate, quickly provision, and deprovision new users, which is essential when you are bringing new people onboard."
"By providing a high level of access control to the z/OS systems, ACF2 allows us to maintain tight controls on dataset and system access and helps us keep unauthorized users from accessing PHI or PII data."
"I am deeply impressed with the quality and depth and breadth of security and functionality in CA’s ACF2 and Top Secret products."
"The most valuable feature is strict and reliable access control to CICS Resources."
"I love their support. The support is great. They are number one."
"It is a good product."
"Logging and monitoring are most valuable. It is for the mainframe environment, and it is at the forefront for security and resilience."
"We have a law in Turkey similar to the GDPR in the European Union. It's almost like a replica. Complying with this law is crucial, and the service plays a significant role. Many customer inquiries revolve around not retaining their data. The service addresses this by providing functionality for masking data within the databases. So, if a user requests data deletion, we can remove any information we have on them within the database, ensuring compliance with the law."
"DataSunrise Database Security has positively impacted my organization, as it acts as a proxy."
"The most valuable feature of DataSunrise Database Security is Dynamic Masking. You don't need to build copies of the database and is highly customizable. It is a very good unique feature. It also has built-in algorithms, or machine learning, which is quite helpful, because it understands the user's behaviors and patterns to apply certain policies."
"My advice to others considering DataSunrise Database Security is that it is a good and unified tool."
 

Cons

"The user access review could also be improved. It produces a lot of false positives."
"It needs longer rules. The max rule is 32K."
"Initial setup could be complex if you rely on contractors to help with implementation."
"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."
"They can work on its ability to work in a distributed environment."
"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.​"
"I believe there's room for improvement in their distributor network, especially in Turkey. This is why I was exploring alternatives to DataSunrise Database Security. However, the product itself is quite good. One suggestion for enhancement could be adding an encryption module on top of the masking features, perhaps a more permanent form of preservative encryption."
"DataSunrise Database Security comes out with new builds every time we have a small issue. This has made the solution not always stable."
"The solution has many features but I would like to see vulnerability assessments in the next release."
"I would like to see improvements mainly in support and documentation, as whenever I contact DataSunrise support, the support team is not fully aware of the new features or version revision histories."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The product is expensive."
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909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Educational Organization
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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Earn 20 points
What needs improvement with DataSunrise Database Security?
I believe the product features are good so far, but I experienced some issues. When I upgraded to a newer version, there were some bugs found that were not resolved. Therefore, I would assume that ...
What is your primary use case for DataSunrise Database Security?
I use DataSunrise Database Security mainly for rule-based blocking of SQL injection, which provides a profound level of data security when it comes to securing the database. For example, I was usin...
What advice do you have for others considering DataSunrise Database Security?
I would advise others looking into using DataSunrise Database Security to consider it a good product. I rated this review an eight out of ten.
 

Also Known As

CA ACF2
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Sky, Rogers Communications
Amplify, Ivanti, Kreditech, CloudAlly
Find out what your peers are saying about ACF2 vs. DataSunrise Database Security and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.