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Delinea Secret Server vs IBM Security Secret Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 6, 2024

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

Delinea Secret Server
Ranking in Privileged Access Management (PAM)
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Password Managers (5th)
IBM Security Secret Server
Ranking in Privileged Access Management (PAM)
29th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Privileged Access Management (PAM) category, the mindshare of Delinea Secret Server is 8.4%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Security Secret Server is 1.0%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
 

Featured Reviews

Avinash Gopu. - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective for password rotation policies triggered by audit requirements, it helps maintain compliance standards and seamless integration with third-party tools
The "App to App" feature has been most impactful. It allows secure communication between applications without requiring direct user access, which is crucial for several applications. Additionally, working in the finance department, we are heavily focused on enhancing audit reporting and compliance. So, the GRC (Governance, Risk & Compliance) capabilities of Delinea Secret Server have also been crucial for us. We implemented a custom reporting system that can automatically send reports to auditors daily, weekly, or according to your organization's needs. We also upgraded the audit role within Secret Server, allowing auditors to access and analyze the reports directly. Additionally, Secret Server provides comprehensive logging capabilities. Auditors can see what data users access, their access levels, and their activities, including check-in and check-out times. Furthermore, Secret Server helped us manage privileged, elevated access, which we call "K2K." As the lead for this project, I could identify users with the highest access levels and implement specific policies to monitor their activity on servers.
AsifIqbal - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to set up and manage and has good scalability and stability, but its technical support team needs to be more aggressive in solving issues
What needs improvement in IBM Security Secret Server is support. The local partner provides good support, but IBM itself doesn't. Most of the time, the IBM support team does not aggressively resolve issues reported through chat or the IBM website. In the next version of IBM Security Secret Server, I want to see more lightweight recording, architecture, or infrastructure requirements. Currently, it's heavy, so I want it reduced to make adapting IBM Security Secret Server much more effortless.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The "App to App" feature has been most impactful. It allows secure communication between applications without requiring direct user access, which is crucial for several applications."
"It works for us."
"Delinea's network integration is the most useful. For example, I use a Check Point firewall connect to SmartConsole, so I need to do a lot of configuration in Delinea Secret Server. Native integration with Check Point is valuable. You can also go download whatever API you need from the cloud, whether you're using Check Point, Palo Alto, etc. Enriched discovery is another good feature. If you are dealing with several kinds of systems, you can see which system requires privileged access to my network."
"Provides us with the ability to control access [to secrets] by groups."
"The tool has many models. The tool also has a good cloud version. Also, the customers need not control any components on the solution side. The product's licensing model is also good since customers can choose a price that is most useful for them. The solution also supports password management for the users in your organization."
"Its most valuable feature is its main purpose - the password changing and the Heartbeat so the user has access to only their SVN and does not have access to any other. Thycotic's access privileged management tool allows you to grant access to users for a specific period of time and with specific attributes and privileges."
"It offers the possibility of secure administration of hardware devices, as well as Linux systems administration from a Windows environment."
"Delinea Secret Server is a cost-effective solution."
"Stability-wise, I think it is a very good solution."
"What I like best about IBM Security Secret Server is its single-access console. It's also easy to manage and fulfills the requirements with the least resistance."
"As a PAM solution, Secret Server performs all the use cases in our environment."
"One of the most valuable features is scalability, and how it allows you to scale it without affecting the underlying core components."
"The live recording is a very useful feature."
 

Cons

"The integration with the ticketing system ServiceNow is complex."
"I'd prefer a better commercial model that includes partners and options for consulting around it. Where I've worked with my customers, we've only been able to use their professional services, and that has been a risk and constraint."
"Although the password policy was interesting, the default setting was inadequate."
"What needs improvement? The product can be improved by reducing the number of updates provided."
"The challenge for me with Delinea is that I may not be able to pitch it to an account with a low budget for PAM."
"I formerly used only one service: the remote server. For example, I connected to the Active Directory user and the computer's console. But now, I need to do a remote connection to the domain controller. Maybe it only connects to that tool, the Active Directory users, and the computer management console, but not to the domain controller. Another thing Delinea could add is multi-factor authentication."
"In many PAM tools, when users request a password checkout, they need to provide justification. However, in my experience across four organizations, nobody actually reads the justifications. Users can simply type anything and get the password. This becomes a risk and compliance issue. There needs to be continuous improvement in this area, focusing on problem identification and mitigation strategies."
"I would like to see improvement with the integration with Azure Active Directory. This would mean that we can have support on multiple platforms such as Windows, Linux, and Mac."
"Secret Server should have the ability to discover privileged accounts in the servers, like the administrator or users, from SQL and Oracle without having to import a script."
"What needs improvement in IBM Security Secret Server is support. The local partner provides good support, but IBM itself doesn't. Most of the time, the IBM support team does not aggressively resolve issues reported through chat or the IBM website."
"The nonclustered index is working in an area with a problem that needs improvement."
"The newer interface is more difficult to use than the previous one, and consequently, new users might need more training."
"It would be preferable if the full proxy was included in the IBM Security Secret Server."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have an enterprise license as well as a user license and a support license."
"Pricing is comparable to competing products."
"Secret Server is expensive when compared to the cost to some alternatives."
"The pricing is standard in this business and we have no complaints about it."
"It would be beneficial if it were reduced."
"It is very expensive, and its price should be lower."
"Most customers opt for a yearly license."
"There is an annual license needed to use Delinea Secret Server."
"I believe that we paid 35,000 or 40,000 US dollars for it."
"The price could be better. I think it's a good price for the on-premises environment and the high availability for enterprises the solution provides."
"My rating for the IBM Security Secret Server pricing is seven out of ten. It could be cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Looking for recommendations and a pros/cons template for software to detect insider threats
This is an inside-out --- outside-in --- inside-in question, as an insider can be an outsider as well. There is no short answer other than a blend of a PAM tool with Behavioral Analytics and Endpo...
What do you like most about Delinea Secret Server?
The privileged access management module is the most reliable feature.
What needs improvement with Delinea Secret Server?
The integration with the ticketing system ServiceNow is complex. That can be enabled with an API-based out-of-the-box consumption. We have customized it, and the features cannot be used without cus...
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Also Known As

Thycotic Secret Server, Delinea Password Reset Server
IBM Secret Server, Secret Server, IBM Security Privileged Identity Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Secure-24, University of San Diego, International Rescue Committee, San Francisco Ballet, Perkins Coie, University of San Diego, D.S.S. Limited, Turbo's Hoet, Eclipse Computing, Cathay Bank, Stellarise, J&R Consulting
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Find out what your peers are saying about Delinea Secret Server vs. IBM Security Secret Server and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
863,331 professionals have used our research since 2012.