ACF2 vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection comparison

Broadcom and IBM are both solutions in the Database Security category. Broadcom is ranked #15, while IBM is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.4. Broadcom holds a 1.3% mindshare in DS, compared to IBM’s 28.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Broadcom users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 86% of IBM users who would recommend it.

ACF2

Read 6 ACF2 reviews

639 Views
179 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Security Guardium Data ...

Read 80 IBM Security Guardium Data Protection reviews

5,845 Views
4,910 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

ACF2

IBM Security Guardium Data ...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection and ACF2 are competitors in data security. IBM Security Guardium Data Protection has a slight advantage due to its advanced analytical tools and streamlined deployment.

Features: IBM Security Guardium Data Protection offers robust data encryption, real-time monitoring, and automated compliance capabilities. It also provides comprehensive security through database activity monitoring and firewall features, making it adaptable to various environments. ACF2 focuses on strong access control, efficient multi-factor authentication, and seamless mainframe integration, appealing to those prioritizing system integration.

Room for Improvement: For IBM Security Guardium Data Protection, areas of improvement include enhancing user interface intuitiveness, expanding cloud compatibility, and reducing complexity in advanced feature deployment. ACF2 could benefit from improving the user experience for non-mainframe experts, expanding feature richness beyond integration, and enhancing its analytical tools to compete directly with IBM's offerings.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both products offer effective deployment models, but IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is notably more streamlined, reducing implementation time. IBM's customer support is perceived as more accessible and responsive, whereas ACF2 may require specialized mainframe knowledge for support.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Security Guardium Data Protection has a higher initial setup cost but delivers significant long-term ROI through its comprehensive protection features. ACF2 presents competitive pricing but achieves a slightly lower ROI due to its focus on integration over feature richness. IBM offers better financial value concerning data protection expenditure.

To learn more, read our detailed ACF2 vs. IBM Security Guardium Data Protection Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

ACF2 vs. IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

March 2026

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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

15th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Mainframe Security (5th)

IBM Security Guardium Data ...

Ranking in Database Security

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of ACF2 is 1.3%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 28.0%, down from 32.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection	28.0%
ACF2	1.3%
Other	70.7%

Database Security

Featured Reviews

reviewer1077621

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.

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David Plazer

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The NOACCESS by default is another very good feature. Also, access rules are straightforward, and easy to understand."

"We use this tool to quickly assign privileges to different users as soon as they come in."

"I am deeply impressed with the quality and depth and breadth of security and functionality in CA’s ACF2 and Top Secret products."

"Excellent real-time reporting that saves time and resources."

"I love their support. The support is great. They are number one."

"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."

"The most valuable feature is strict and reliable access control to CICS Resources."

"Logging and monitoring are most valuable. It is for the mainframe environment, and it is at the forefront for security and resilience."

More ACF2 pros

"he solution offers trouble-free access."

"I think IMB's technical support is good."

"Helps us define and monitor critical data in the environment, even when stored in RDBMS, big data, or unstructured files."

"I rate Guardium 10 out of 10 for data activity monitoring and nine for vulnerability assessment. It's easy to implement and does its job. But I would rate it seven out of 10 in terms of advanced features."

"Has a great Big Data Intelligence feature."

"The most valuable feature is the visualization of data and the ability to monitor our databases."

"It can help with PCI compliance. It includes features like data masking, especially during queries, which supports compliance efforts."

"The ability to collect the data without database administers being able to modify it."

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection pros

Cons

"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."

"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."

"Initial setup could be complex if you rely on contractors to help with implementation."

"It needs longer rules. The max rule is 32K."

"The integration part of the present solution is very complex and tedious. Plus it gives a lot of false positives which need to be eradicated over time."

"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."

"It was extremely complex. Without IBM support it would take years for you to setup infrastructure."

"Reporting has always been a weakness, but it has improved across the versions."

"Initially it did not have support external applications like, say, Tableau, ServiceNow, Remedy, and the like. They have started growing into it, but I would like to have more and more integration with outside applications."

"It needs an integration with Optum."

"More automation, user guides, and tips would make this solution better."

"The Guardium licensing is based on PVU and as a result, the solution became a bit costly."

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Reasonable cost but could be lower."

"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."

"If you are researching this type of solution, work with IBM."

"Guardium's pricing is quite high, but it gives good value for money for all sizes of enterprises, especially for partners."

"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."

"Its cost is good. With the new metric of licensing, such as PDO not being available now, customers are expecting a good price for the solution."

"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."

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

24%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	28
Midsize Enterprise	17
Large Enterprise	44

Questions from the Community

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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...

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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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 28% of the time

Top Secret vs ACF2

Compared 25% of the time

Precisely Ironstream vs ACF2

Compared 12% of the time

Cleanup vs ACF2

Compared 12% of the time

IBM Security zSecure vs ACF2

Compared 10% of the time

More ACF2 Competitors

Imperva Data Security Fabric vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 54% of the time

Oracle Audit Vault vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 13% of the time

DataSunrise Database Security vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 4% of the time

Cyera vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 3% of the time

Oracle Database Vault vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Mainframe Security

March 2026

Download ACF2 product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

March 2026

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection report

Download IBM Security Guardium Data Protection product report

Also Known As

CA ACF2

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium

Overview

CA ACF2™ for z/OS provides innovative, comprehensive security for your business transaction environments—including Linux, UNIX and z/OS on System z—helping you realize the reliability, scalability and cost-effectiveness of the mainframe. CA ACF2 provides an Advanced Authentication Mainframe feature, system entry validation, resource control, auditability, accountability, and administrative control. In conjunction with distributed security solutions from CA Technologies, CA ACF2 provides mobile-to-mainframe enterprise class security and compliance management.

ACF2 Features

ACF2 offers some of the following features:

Authentication: ACF2 is used for authenticating users and granting them access to profiles and various resources on the mainframe.
Access Control: The solution provides resource control, allowing administrators to control who can access specific mainframe resources.
Logging and Monitoring: Organizations can easily track and monitor activities on the mainframe. This feature enables the creation of audit trails for follow-up and helps with security analysis.
Metrics and Reporting: ACF2 allows the configuration of tools to produce different types of metrics and reports. These can then be used by senior management for making informed security decisions.
Comprehensive Security: The solution provides comprehensive security for mainframe environments, ensuring the protection of valuable data assets. It offers advanced authentication, system entry validation, and administrative control.
Streamlined Administration: It simplifies the administration of mainframe security by providing streamlined management capabilities. ACF2 also enables administrators to monitor and adjust security policies and accommodate various organizational structures.
Scalability: ACF2 offers reliable and scalable security, allowing businesses to expand their mainframe environments while maintaining a high level of protection.
Compliance Management: Organizations can meet compliance requirements by providing auditability, accountability, and comprehensive security controls.
Integration: ACF2 can integrate with distributed security solutions from CA Technologies, providing enterprise-class security and compliance management for mobile-to-mainframe environments.
Flexibility: ACF2 allows flexibility in adapting security policies to accommodate different organizational structures and requirements.

ACF2 Benefits

Some of the benefits that ACF2 provides are:

Enhanced security and resilience
Streamlined administration
Reliable and scalable security
Comprehensive audit capabilities
Cost-effectiveness
Integration with other security solutions
Simplified identity and access management
Compliance management
Efficient monitoring and reporting

Reviews from Real Users

According to an IT Examiner at a financial services firm with 10,000+ employees, "ACF2 is extremely beneficial for the mainframe environment, and it is at the forefront for security and resilience."

Broadcom

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection offers automatic discovery and classification of sensitive data, real-time monitoring, and advanced analytics to identify unusual activities around data.

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is designed to safeguard sensitive data across enterprises with real-time activity monitoring and comprehensive security features. Its capabilities include data discovery, classification, and compliance automation with pre-built templates for regulations like PCI, SOX, HIPAA, and CCPA. Supporting a variety of platforms, it facilitates seamless monitoring, making it a valuable asset for diverse environments in maintaining data security and compliance.

What are the key features?

Real-Time Monitoring: Provides alerts for unauthorized activities.
Data Masking: Protects data through masking techniques.
Access Control: Ensures only authorized users gain access.
Query Rewriting: Alters queries to maintain data integrity.
Platform Support: Monitors across multiple environments.

Why consider this for ROI?

Ease of Deployment: Simplifies the setup process for enterprises.
Robust Reporting: Enhances transparency through detailed audit trails.
Compliance Automation: Streamlines compliance with regulatory requirements.
Risk Management: Identifies and mitigates potential risks efficiently.

Industries like banking and finance utilize IBM Security Guardium Data Protection to enhance database security and compliance efforts. Enterprises employ it to detect incidents and manage vulnerabilities, focusing on protecting customer data and maintaining privacy standards. The technology aids in incident detection and supports adherence to security regulations.

IBM

Sample Customers

Sky, Rogers Communications

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

ACF2 vs. IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

March 2026

Free Report: ACF2 vs. IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

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