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Cleanup vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Cleanup
Ranking in Database Security
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Mainframe Security (11th)
IBM Security Guardium Data ...
Ranking in Database Security
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of Cleanup is 1.7%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 26.4%, down from 32.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection26.4%
Cleanup1.7%
Other71.9%
Database Security
 

Featured Reviews

it_user350628 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
It looks forward in the database, so if it’s not showing any activity, you can get rid of that profile. But, if I give someone access to it, I can’t control the scope of what they can see.
It presents problems. The problem is, if I give someone access to it, I can’t control the scope of what they can see. They can see everything. I want to make the information available and more integrated with other security components, and I want it to be more reliable. It also needs acknowledgement that clean-up data can come from temporary cloned environments that somehow need to be incorporated into enterprise view of usage.
Marylennis Franco - PeerSpot reviewer
Jefe De Continuidad Operacional at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees
Has improved data visibility and streamlined compliance reporting across multiple database platforms
The best feature is how many databases we can protect with one solution because it has compatibility with different databases, including Oracle, SQL, and DB2. The data activity monitoring feature is very good because we can check the PDS and have the information for that. We can schedule the reporting and receive it by email, which provides very important information for different areas of the company. We don't need to have a seat and a case or access to the portal, we just receive the report. The user-friendly interface is very good.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Technical support is good, and they're great once they agree there’s a problem."
"We would recommend this solution to others, as it is a good solution at a good price and your data is invaluable."
"Our internal audit is keeping an eye out, and making sure that we're in compliance. Having the Guardium solution and its reporting helps us get through that process a lot more quickly and efficiently."
"Our primary use case for IBM Guardium Data Protection is audit logging, and we monitor transactions and access particular tables in the database with it."
"We used to use cobbled-together scripts, different products and different pieces on different platforms, and this solution automated all that and made it such that the security administrators can run it themselves and not involve us, saving time, money, and people effort."
"All the features are useful for the customer and they have many use cases, especially for DB protection."
"We now have the ability to begin to understand how people, applications, and service accounts are interacting with data to better protect it."
"Detailed and customizable reports with real-time alerts for the full vision of database and files activity."
"Efficiency is key and IBM Guardium provides information in a heartbeat, but protects the data with military grade encryption."
 

Cons

"Use it as an indication of data, not as gospel. Don’t take action based solely on it."
"Initial setup is very complex. Once you start interacting with people's databases, they get very hesitant. Then, the amount of social tasks to socialize the solution ensuring people are comfortable with it became a much heavier lift."
"IBM should add more database security features to Guardium. They could add user profiling, anomaly detection, and machine learning. IBM has user profiling, but they need to strengthen it. It should make sense for the users. It should remove most of the false positives."
"More predictive, using Watson AI would be good."
"I would like them to support cloud services."
"The manuals should be clearer. There needs to be an online course or tutorial for faster management training."
"Guardium has not saved us time or money."
"The biggest complaint that I hear from customers and users is that using this solution requires database skills, yet it is a security and monitoring tool."
"Guardium's storage capabilities could use some improvement. I'd also like to have some better integration using digital technology or a connector."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"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."
"For IBM Guardium, licensing is very simple and straightforward. There are no issues I can speak of."
"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."
"The tool is not cheap, but it is not expensive."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"It's an expensive solution"
"It is not an expensive product. We purchase its yearly license."
"The price is good for the quality of the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
23%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Insurance Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise44
 

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...
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.
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.
 

Also Known As

CA Cleanup
InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Standard Bank of South Africa
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM, Imperva, Oracle and others in Database Security. Updated: May 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.