Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Fortra's Vera 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

Fortra's Vera
Ranking in Database Security
10th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Cloud and Data Center Security (14th)
IBM Security Guardium Data ...
Ranking in Database Security
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of Fortra's Vera is 0.5%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 31.7%, up from 31.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Security
 

Featured Reviews

Brando Diego - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good encryption features
Vera encryption is the most valuable feature.  Additional improvement can be done as the issues are encountered.  I have been using Fortra's Vera for two years.  The stability is a nine out of ten.  The scalability is a nine. The clients are small enterprises.  The initial setup is an eight…
Ahmer Faisel Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers mature agents, compliance reporting and reliable database security
The solution should allow the data to shift to a centralized repository with elastic servers and big data infrastructure. If a customer searches for old logs for retention purposes, there are limitations on appliances once they are set with specific hardware, so they can only be changed by uninstalling or reinstalling the hardware. The solution's aggregator feature allows data aggregation, but for instance, if a customer wants a project ready in two years, having an Elasticsearch in DB or the capacity to store huge amounts of data would be beneficial in data investigation or evaluation at an affordable cost. Some AI features should be added to IBM Security Guardium Data Protection. For example, the AI features implemented in the solution can be anomaly detection or suspicious activity identification.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Vera encryption is the most valuable feature."
"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."
"There are different modules but the most valuable ones are firewalling and masking. Additionally, the auditing of the entire database is helpful, which includes all the activity of the database users and administrators. We can monitor everything and log as well."
"It's one of the first to encrypt DB2 databases."
"Has a great Big Data Intelligence feature."
"The vulnerability assessment is a valuable feature."
"It has automated a bunch of manual tasks, giving us insights into activities that we would not otherwise be able to capture."
"What I like about IBM Guardium Data Protection is that some of its features were deployed by collectors during the installation phase. The solution has collector and aggregator features, license installation, and even server patches that you won't find in other security providers. I like the collector-aggregator capabilities of IBM Guardium Data Protection where you install each component on separate servers, then on the aggregator, you collect all the logs on a central server or central console."
"It's made database monitoring more visible to the business, creating more conversations about how we should do it better."
 

Cons

"The additional improvement can be done as the issues are encountered."
"Additional improvement can be done as the issues are encountered."
"I would like to see a lot of additional reporting and analytics features. They have basic outlier detection, but I would love to see that go further, and model it after analytics tools like Splunk."
"The user interface could be improved and modernized."
"There could be a feature to integrate and protect multiple databases. The local support services need improvements as well."
"I'd like to see a smoother GUI interface for the CAS agent - CAS does configurations on the database - to interface better with the vulnerability assessments."
"More predictive, using Watson AI would be good."
"The ability for Central Managers to talk to one another could be improved. I have 26 Central Managers and 26 silos which are independent."
"Flexibility could be improved."
"It would be helpful, and convenient to improve the Chat support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The biggest challenge is the cost associated with the product, and the cost of maintaining. Everything is not translated directly to the benefits we see. There are benefits, yes, but if I were writing the check, would I buy Guardium? No."
"Reasonable cost but could be lower."
"The product's pricing is reasonable and affordable. It is in the moderate range."
"Guardium has not saved us time or money."
"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."
"The price of the solution could be better."
"Guardium's pricing is quite high, but it gives good value for money for all sizes of enterprises, especially for partners."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Database Security solutions are best for your needs.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortra's Vera?
Vera encryption is the most valuable feature.
What needs improvement with Fortra's Vera?
Additional improvement can be done as the issues are encountered.
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

No data available
InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Box
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM, Imperva, Oracle and others in Database Security. Updated: May 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.