ACF2 vs IDERA SQL Compliance Manager comparison

Broadcom and IDERA are both solutions in the Database Security category. Broadcom is ranked #13, while IDERA is ranked #9. Broadcom holds a 2.1% mindshare in DS, compared to IDERA’s 2.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Broadcom users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IDERA users who would recommend it.

ACF2

Read 6 ACF2 reviews

1,167 Views
455 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IDERA SQL Compliance Manager

Read 5 IDERA SQL Compliance Manager reviews

842 Views
808 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

ACF2

IDERA SQL Compliance Manager

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

IDERA SQL Compliance Manager and ACF2 are competing products in the data management and security space. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager is often preferred for its competitive pricing and customer support, while ACF2 is chosen for its superior features in data protection.

Features: IDERA SQL Compliance Manager offers valuable features like comprehensive auditing, tracking SQL statements, and customizable alerts. Its straightforward database structure enhances usability for users requiring detailed compliance oversight. ACF2 provides robust features such as strict and reliable access control to CICS resources, excellent security quality in mainframe environments, and straightforward access rules for enhanced protection.

Room for Improvement: IDERA SQL Compliance Manager could improve by expanding its feature set beyond compliance to include more advanced security functions. Simplifying its database queries for even easier access would be beneficial, as well as enhancing automated reporting features. ACF2 could focus on simplifying its deployment process, reducing its complexity for quicker setup. Improving the interface for better usability and enhancing customer support for smoother troubleshooting would be advantageous.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IDERA SQL Compliance Manager is noted for its straightforward deployment and responsive customer support, making it accessible to organizations of various scales. In contrast, ACF2 involves a more complex deployment model requiring more time and expertise, potentially complicating setup and troubleshooting interactions.

Pricing and ROI: IDERA SQL Compliance Manager attracts budget-conscious buyers with its cost-effective pricing and favorable ROI, making it a viable option for organizations focusing on compliance management. ACF2, while more expensive initially, delivers strong ROI through its advanced security features, appealing to entities prioritizing data protection at a higher cost.

To learn more, read our detailed ACF2 vs. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

ACF2 vs. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager

August 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

13th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Mainframe Security (4th)

IDERA SQL Compliance Manager

Ranking in Database Security

9th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

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 IDERA SQL Compliance Manager is 2.9%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
IDERA SQL Compliance Manager	2.9%
ACF2	2.1%
Other	95.0%

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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reviewer1659528

VP Enterprise Data Management at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees

A valuable independent view of elevated access but the solution could be more organized

Our primary use case for this solution is for controls, which we deploy on-premises The independent view of elevated access and elevated instructions sent to our SQL are very valuable because they act as a secondary pair of eyes. The solution could be improved by using the proper filtration,…

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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

"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."

"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."

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

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

"Without the product, extracting this information may take us as much as several days; instead, we can get it in real time."

"It is a good product."

More ACF2 pros

"It's nice to have Idera where it clicks everything into central Repository, a central server, and you can just query that."

"The ability to track activity including the SQL statements is definitely valuable. I really like how the database is laid out. It's straightforward. I can query the back-end tables. I've made a few of my own email alerts based on the data and the tables. It's accessible."

"The independent view of elevated access and elevated instructions sent to our SQL are very valuable because they act as a secondary pair of eyes."

"Compliance Manager really was the only product, at that point, that was exactly doing what it was promising."

"The initial setup was straightforward."

"The tool can track logins and login failures. I made my own alert so that if there is a certain number of login failures for a server, it emails me. That is really useful. If I want logins to automatically lock out after a certain number of failed attempts, I can know when that happens."

"Peace of mind - you can't really place a price tag on that."

"It's cheaper than other applications I researched and it has the auditing capabilities needed for SOX compliance."

Cons

"Reporting can sometimes include false positives."

"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."

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

"The user access review could also be improved. It produces a lot of 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."

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

"I submitted a ticket (last year) about archiving/grooming of old records because the GUI functionality was not working. Per their recommendation, I ended up using a command line to do it."

"The set up is kind of clunky, in my opinion. It's not really intuitive. If they had either a smoother install or better instructions, that would be nice."

"There is an agent that collects the data on SQL Server. Sometimes it will stop collecting. I'm not exactly sure what's happening but I have to go in and manually restart the agent. It would be nice if the central collection server could send a request to the agent to restart."

"There is an agent that collects the data on SQL Server. Sometimes it will stop collecting."

"What would really a good thing is if you could refer to an external list or table for filtering on, say, certain applications, IP addresses, or host names; or perhaps even combinations of host name and application name."

"We have a lot of problems that have existed for a very long time. We have a lot of feature requests and several bugs that haven't been fixed for more than a year now."

"The solution is good, but its filtration and navigation are not the best and could be improved."

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"It's a good price value... The other tools weren't cheaper."

"The pricing is pretty good."

"The product is cheaper than other products I checked but it is still a good idea to check again and compare."

"I feel the product's pricing is a good value."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Educational Organization

10%

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing 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

No data available

Comparisons

Top Secret vs ACF2

Compared 21% of the time

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs ACF2

Compared 18% of the time

IBM Resource Access Control Facility vs ACF2

Compared 16% of the time

Cleanup vs ACF2

Compared 13% of the time

IBM Security zSecure vs ACF2

Compared 8% of the time

More ACF2 Competitors

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs IDERA SQL Compliance Manager

Compared 28% of the time

Imperva Data Security Fabric vs IDERA SQL Compliance Manager

Compared 26% of the time

Oracle Audit Vault vs IDERA SQL Compliance Manager

Compared 26% of the time

Trustwave DbProtect vs IDERA SQL Compliance Manager

Compared 12% of the time

Fortra's Vera vs IDERA SQL Compliance Manager

Compared 7% of the time

More IDERA SQL Compliance Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Mainframe Security

July 2026

Download ACF2 product report

Buyer's Guide

IDERA SQL Compliance Manager

August 2026

Download IDERA SQL Compliance Manager product report

Also Known As

CA ACF2

IDERA SQL CM

Overview

ACF2 offers robust access control and security management for mainframe environments, supporting quick rule adjustments and effective monitoring, aiding in resource allocation and system resilience.

ACF2 is designed for the mainframe, providing stringent access control for CICS resources and effective user security management. Known for its default NOACCESS setup and straightforward access rules, it enables real-time log reporting and efficient monitoring. The platform supports quick rule changes, minimizing resource allocation time, which enhances security and resilience. Despite its strengths, ACF2 can improve by enhancing its Eclipse and browser interfaces and reducing manual processes. Desired improvements include flexible rules, better support for distributed environments, longer rule capabilities, and enhanced cloud deployment options. Organizations primarily use ACF2 to secure z/OS operating systems, manage user authentication, and access profiles and resources, maintaining updated versions for optimal security and efficiency.

What are the key features of ACF2?

Strict Access Control: Securely manages access to CICS resources with default NOACCESS.
User Security Management: Provides robust control over user privileges and security.
Swift Privilege Assignment: Enables quick assignment of user privileges for efficiency.
Real-Time Event Logging: Facilitates comprehensive log reporting and monitoring.
Rule Modification: Quickly adjusts rules to meet evolving security needs.

What benefits should users expect from ACF2?

Enhanced Security: Strengthens mainframe application security through strict access management.
Operational Efficiency: Reduces resource allocation time with swift rule changes.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Supports efficient logging and event reporting for security oversight.
Resource Resilience: Contributes to system resilience by optimizing resource allocation and control.

In industries relying on mainframes, such as finance and telecommunications, ACF2 is implemented for safeguarding z/OS environments by managing access and authentication processes securely. Companies maintain the latest version to ensure stringent protocol adherence, maximizing operational efficiency.

Broadcom

IDERA SQL Compliance Manager is an efficient auditing tool focusing on tracking and storing SQL activities for compliance and security purposes.

IDERA SQL Compliance Manager offers a comprehensive database tracking approach, allowing for custom queries and email alerts. It effectively retains trace data for monitoring applications, aiding in security and SOX compliance by providing insights into elevated access. Its reports and cost-effectiveness stand out, although improvements are needed in data collection reliability, installation process, and rule creation flexibility.

What are the key features of IDERA SQL Compliance Manager?

Activity Tracking: Monitors SQL statements and database activities.
Custom Queries: Allows tailored queries for specific auditing needs.
Email Alerts: Notifies users of significant events via email.
Trace Data Storage: Maintains trace data for thorough application monitoring.
Report Generation: Provides valuable insights through detailed reports.

What benefits and ROI should be considered?

Cost-Effectiveness: Offers a competitive pricing advantage.
Security: Enhances database security through comprehensive auditing.
Compliance Support: Aids in meeting SOX compliance standards.
Customizability: Offers flexibility in reporting and query creation.

IDERA SQL Compliance Manager is widely used in industries for auditing non-admin database activities and tracking changes by database administrators. Audit teams focus on auditing critical tables with sensitive data to ensure SOX compliance. By employing custom counters and risk assessments, organizations can identify potential issues, supported by tools like IDERA SQL Secure and Diagnostic Manager to ensure system integrity.

IDERA

Sample Customers

Sky, Rogers Communications

Hanger; AmerisourceBergen; CMS Energy; Manulife Financial; Patterson Companies; Pfizer; Rockwell Automation; TrialCard; Unum; Verizon Communications; Skygen USA; Calpine Energy Solutions; Standard Chartered PLC; TrialCard, Inc.; Raffles Hospital; Houston Methodist; Community America Credit Union; Noble Americas Energy Solutions LLC; QuikTrip Corporation; HUK COBURG; OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd.

Buyer's Guide

ACF2 vs. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager

August 2026

Free Report: ACF2 vs. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager

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