CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs Palo Alto Networks VM-Series comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between CyberArk Privileged Access Manager and Palo Alto Networks VM-Series based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Report (Updated: September 2019).
745,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The credentials management capability is key to ensuring that the credentials are kept secure and that access to them is done on a temporary and event-driven basis.""I found it valuable that CyberArk Privileged Access Manager can be integrated with PTA (privileged threat analytics), and this means that it will tell you if there's a risk to the logins and signs of risk and if risky behavior is observed. It's a good feature. Another good feature is the CPM (central password manager) because it helps you rotate the passwords automatically without involving the admins. It can go and update the scheduled tasks and the services. At the same time, if there's an application where it cannot do all of these, CPM will trigger an automatic email to the application owners, telling them that they should go ahead and change the password. This allows you to manage the account password that CyberArk cannot manage, which helps mitigate the risk of old passwords, where the password gets compromised, and also allows you to manage the security of the domain.""The product is an important security measure against credential theft. It ensures session isolation and password rotation including pushing passwords to the endpoints.""I find value in notifications from CyberArk when passwords fail verification and have other issues.""CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is stable.""The established sessions on the target systems are fully isolated and the privileged account credentials are never exposed to the end-users or their client applications and devices.""The product has allowed us to improve both the management and access to privileged credentials, while also creating a full audit trail of all activities happening within isolated sessions of all tasks and activities taking place within the solution.""I'm no longer the product owner for PAM, but I can say that the most useful feature is the vault functionality, which keeps all your passwords secure in a digital vault."

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"We can monitor the traffic manually and detect threats. Additionally, we can block different IP addresses and URLs.""The main advantage of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series stems from the fact that you can access it with the help of cloud services.""It is an easy-to-scale product.""The VM-Series reports how much bandwidth a particular IP is using. You don't need to regularly log into a website, like a Cisco command, to see what kind of ACL it's getting. There isn't an ACL use portal event. You can go there and see how much my ACL has been getting me.""The tool's cloud version makes application migration easy.""Palo Alto Networks VM-Series's most valuable feature is the visibility of the environment.""Centralized management is valuable because it allows us to configure settings in one location and apply them across all three locations.""With the improved visibility we now have, the traffic is being properly monitored, which means that we are better able to manage it. These are improvements that we saw very quickly."

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Cons
"The initial setup of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager difficulty depends on the environment that you are implementing it into. However, it typically is simple.""The turnaround time for technical support is lengthy.""There is a lot of room for improvement in the report section. I also work on other tools, such as Thycotic, which allows you to create customized reports for your organization's needs. In CyberArk, there are limited reports, whereas in Thycotic or some of the other PAM tools, because the database is different, you can customize the report based on your needs through SQL queries.""There is room for improvement in the pricing model.""The tool’s pricing and scalability can be better.""One thing that could be improved is to create of a better alternative for fixing group policy fees. We currently use Microsoft, but they have introduced new policies that may not be compatible.""The continuous scanning of the assets is limited to Windows and Unix. We like to have the solution scan any databases, network devices, and security devices for privileged accounts. That would be very helpful.""It can be made user-friendly, in the sense of the console is pretty outdated."

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"The product's AIOps process needs improvement.""It would be helpful if we had a direct number for the support manager or the supporting engineer. That would be better than having to email every time because there would be less wait.""Palo Alto Networks VM-Series needs to improve its order process.""Palo Alto should update their documentation to make it more readable and provide easier-to-follow instructions through videos.""We feel that the setup was complex. So, we asked the tech team about the setup process. They explained how to deploy it in the right way, which made it very simple.""The utilization monitoring and GUI have room for improvement.""With Palo Alto Networks VM-Series, it is hard for me to manage its network configuration part.""The web interface is very slow, and it needs to be faster."

More Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It is in line with its competitors, but all such solutions cost too much money."
  • "CyberArk DNA is free if you purchase the CyberArk solution. There is no additional charge for CyberArk DNA, which is great."
  • "The main problem for the tool is its licensing. I work for a really big company. When you try to develop this as a service, usually you work with leverage teams who are formed with dozens of members. You might dedicate one FTE, or less, for something, e.g., an antivirus administrator. You might have half an FTE's effort dedicated to administering the antivirus, but then you have a team of about 30 users who might access that ticket. The problem is that CyberArk eliminated the possibility of concurrent users years ago. This is a big problem for companies who work with leverage teams. You need to pay for everyone. 40 licenses are used by 20 or 30 people. This is a big problem because licenses are not precisely cheap."
  • "It's expensive, certainly. But CyberArk is the leader in the market with regards to privileged access management. You pay a lot, but you are paying for the value that is being delivered."
  • "Previously, the pricing was very meager. They started publicizing and advertising the solution, growing CyberArk, as an organization. They also changed their pricing with that growth, e.g., the pricier the product, the more people who will purchase it."
  • "Generally, I don't get involved in the licensing or the purchasing side of it, but I do know that the licenses are expensive."
  • "CyberArk is one of the best PAM solutions and one of the most expensive, but it works better than the others, so the pricing is fair."
  • "The price of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is expensive. There are no other fees other than the standard licensing fees."
  • More CyberArk Privileged Access Manager Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Palo Alto definitely needs to be more competitive compared to other products. The problem that I have faced is that the price of licensing is very high and not very competitive."
  • "Initially, pricing was high. Later on, we were able to negotiate the pricing and get something that fits our budget."
  • "This is not the cheapest firewall but it's not the most expensive of the options on the market."
  • "Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is notably cheaper than other firewall vendors, except Fortigate."
  • "The product's most valuable feature is pricing."
  • "It is an expensive product."
  • "The solution is expensive. I rate its pricing a three out of ten."
  • "I rate Palo Alto Networks VM-Series pricing an eight out of ten."
  • More Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer: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… more »
    Top Answer:Licensing may sometimes seem a little complicated. A good partner from CyberArk can work it out.
    Top Answer:In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it kind of depends what you value most PA is good at app control, web filtering and… more »
    Top Answer:Both products are very stable and easily scalable The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the overall cost is reasonable. Azure Firewall offers a solid threat awareness, can… more »
    Top Answer:The main advantage of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series stems from the fact that you can access it with the help of cloud services.
    Ranking
    Views
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    Reviews
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    Average Words per Review
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    Rating
    8.9
    9th
    out of 54 in Firewalls
    Views
    9,133
    Comparisons
    6,072
    Reviews
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    Average Words per Review
    736
    Rating
    8.6
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    CyberArk Privileged Access Security
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    CyberArk
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    Overview

    CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is a next-generation solution that allows users to secure both their applications and their confidential corporate information. It is extremely flexible and can be implemented across a variety of environments. This program runs with equal efficiency in a fully cloud-based, hybrid, or on-premises environment. Users can now protect their critical infrastructure and access it in any way that best meets their needs.

    CyberArk Privileged Access Manager possesses a simplified and unified user interface. Users are able to manage the solution from one place. The UI allows users to view and manage all of the information and controls that administrators need to be able to easily access. Very often, management UIs do not have all of the controls and information streamlined in a single location. This platform provides a level of visibility that ensures users will be able to view all of their system’s most critical information at any time that they wish.

    Benefits of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager

    Some of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager’s benefits include:

    • The ability to manage IDs and permissions across a cloud environment. In a world where being able to work remotely is becoming increasingly important, CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is a very valuable tool. Administrators do not need to worry about infrastructure security when they are away from the office. They can assign and manage security credentials from anywhere in the world.
    • The ability to manage the program from a single centralized UI. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager’s UI contains all of the system controls and information. Users now have the ability to view and use all of their system’s most critical information and controls from one place.
    • The ability to automate user management tasks. Administrators can save valuable time by assigning certain management tasks to be fulfilled by the system itself. Users can now reserve their time for tasks that are most pressing. It can also allow for the system to simplify the management process by having the platform perform the most complex functions.

    Reviews from Real Users

    CyberArk Privileged Access Manager’s software stands out among its competitors for one very fundamental reason. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is an all-in-one solution. Users are given the ability to accomplish with a single platform what might usually only be accomplished with multiple solutions.

    PeerSpot users note the truly all-in-one nature of this solution. Mateusz K., IT Manager at a financial services firm, wrote, "It improves security in our company. We have more than 10,000 accounts that we manage in CyberArk. We use these accounts for SQLs, Windows Server, and Unix. Therefore, keeping these passwords up-to-date in another solution or software would be impossible. Now, we have some sort of a platform to manage passwords, distribute the inflow, and manage IT teams as well as making regular changes to it according to the internal security policies in our bank."

    Hichem T.-B., CDO & Co-Founder at ELYTIK, noted that “This is a complete solution that can detect cyber attacks well. I have found the proxy features most valuable for fast password web access.”

    Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is a highly effective advanced threat protection (ATP) solution and firewall that can be hosted on cloud computing technologies designed by many different companies. It decreases the amount of time that it will take administrators to respond to threats. Users that deploy VM-series have 70% less downtime than those who use similar firewalls. Neither protection nor efficiency are concerns when this next-generation firewall is in play.

    Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Benefits

    Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by choosing to deploy Palo Alto Networks VM-Series include:

    • Deployment flexibility. VM-Series can be deployed to protect both public and private cloud environments. This level of flexibility empowers organizations to run the environment or environments that best meet their needs without worrying that they are going to be exposed to digital threats due to the environment that they chose. 
    • Ease of use. In the public cloud, users of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series can automate their deployment and dynamically scale up their environment while experiencing a consistent level of protection. This dynamic scalability means that they also integrate their security into their DevOps workflows so that their security can keep up with their activities and requirements. Users of private cloud environments can set up security policies that can be automated to be provisioned as the need arises. Organizations don’t need to slow down when they deploy VM-Series because it makes the task of defending them so simple that they can set their defenses and forget that they are even there.
    • Detect and stop even the trickiest threats. Users gain a deep level of visibility when they deploy Palo Alto Networks VM-Series. App-ID technology enables organizations to see their network traffic on the application level and spot threats that might be trying to sneak in through vulnerable points in their defenses. It also leverages Palo Alto Networks WildFire and advanced threat protection to block the threats before they can escalate.

    Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Features

    Some of the many features Palo Alto Networks VM-Series offers include:

    • Central management system.  It comes with a central management system that enables users to set up and control their security operations from one location. Users don’t need to search for the tools that they need. This system allows for security consistency and complete control without requiring businesses to spend large periods of time to do so.
    • Blacklisting and whitelisting. Organizations can utilize blacklisting and whitelisting tools to ensure that their network traffic only contains the type of traffic that they want to be present. These tools make it possible for them to set specific web traffic sources as being either undesirable and thus blocked from entering their network or desirable and thus allowed to enter. 
    • Automation feature. The product’s automation feature can automate many critical functions that users would otherwise have to handle manually. Security policy updates are an example of a function that users can automate.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is a solution that stands out when compared to other similar solutions. Two major advantages that it offers are its ability to protect users without degrading the efficiency with which their networks perform and its centralized management system. 

    Jason H., the director of information technology at Tavoca Inc, writes, “There is no noticeable trade-off between security and network performance. In fact, so far, we've not seen any negative network performance with it. We're very impressed in that regard.”

    An information technology manager at a tech services company says, “We use Palo Alto’s Panorama centralized management system. We have an on-prem firewall where Panorama is very good for pulling logs in from the cloud so we can see what is going on. It gives us visibility into that as well as shows us what attacks are coming in. Palo Alto’s Panorama centralized management system simplifies our security posture based on our requirements. Instead of manually pulling logs, then generating them into readable formats, it gives us the console in a readable format to view.”

    Offer
    Learn more about CyberArk Privileged Access Manager
    Learn more about Palo Alto Networks VM-Series
    Sample Customers
    Rockwell Automation
    Warren Rogers Associates
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm24%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Insurance Company12%
    Healthcare Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization28%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    Government5%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company18%
    Manufacturing Company18%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Government14%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Government7%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business21%
    Midsize Enterprise13%
    Large Enterprise66%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise37%
    Large Enterprise49%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business39%
    Midsize Enterprise27%
    Large Enterprise34%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business24%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise61%
    Buyer's Guide
    CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series
    September 2019
    Find out what your peers are saying about CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series and other solutions. Updated: September 2019.
    745,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is ranked 1st in Privileged Access Management (PAM) with 49 reviews while Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is ranked 9th in Firewalls with 13 reviews. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is rated 8.8, while Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager writes "Lets you ensure relevant, compliant access in good time and with an audit trail, yet lacks clarity on MITRE ATT&CK". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series writes "Many features are optimized for troubleshooting real-time scenarios, saving a lot of time". CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is most compared with Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine), Microsoft Entra ID, Delinea Secret Server, WALLIX Bastion and Zscaler Internet Access, whereas Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is most compared with Azure Firewall, Fortinet FortiGate, Fortinet FortiGate-VM, Cisco Secure Firewall and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. See our CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series report.

    We monitor all Privileged Access Management (PAM) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.