Fortra's Vera vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection comparison

Fortra and IBM are both solutions in the Database Security category. Fortra is ranked #10 with an average rating of 9.0, while IBM is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.8. Fortra holds a 0.4% mindshare in DS, compared to IBM’s 32.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Fortra users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Fortra's Vera

Read 1 Fortra's Vera review

66 Views
25 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Security Guardium Data ...

Read 78 IBM Security Guardium Data Protection reviews

4,901 Views
2,342 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Fortra's Vera

IBM Security Guardium Data ...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Fortra's Vera and IBM Security Guardium Data Protection based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM, Imperva, Oracle and others in Database Security.

To learn more, read our detailed Database Security Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Database Security

April 2025

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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

Fortra's Vera

Ranking in Database Security

10th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

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

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of Fortra's Vera is 0.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 32.0%, up from 30.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Security

Featured Reviews

Brando Diego

System Engineer/Consultant at Notable Frontier Sdn Bhd

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…

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Ahmer Faisel Khan

Director | CTO at COMMTEL

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.

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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

"Vera encryption is the most valuable feature."

"The front-end works very well."

"The most valuable feature is using the capture operation mode “S-TAP/K-TAP agent”, because all activities in the database are captured, including direct access to the database server by privileged users. This is useful because, even if the database server logs were deleted, the Guardium Collector has already stored such data to enable traceability of access."

"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 supports our audit compliance."

"It protects sensitive data and blocks unauthorized access to the data."

"The reporting side is also very, very good, especially its flexibility which allows you to tailor the reports to whatever information you want."

"The most valuable feature I have found is the performance of client monitoring. The other competitors are unable to do this."

"The ability to collect the data without database administers being able to modify it."

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection pros

Cons

"The additional improvement can be done as the issues are encountered."

"Additional improvement can be done as the issues are encountered."

"The technical support is very poor."

"Guardium Data Protection is far better in terms of external integration. But in terms of firewall features, like when you're blocking activities, it's as if Oracle AVDF simply has superior features. This is just from third-party observations, but the users of Oracle AVDF are saying that when it comes to the firewall and protection functionality, they're much more inclined to AVDF."

"I would like to see IBM Guardium have other encryption algorithms employed."

"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."

"Deployment process is very complicated as you need to now all advanced parameters. Almost not possible to figure out for yourself."

"The solution should allow the data to shift to a centralized repository with elastic servers and big data infrastructure"

"Needs easier integration with custom applications."

"Personally, I would not recommend this product."

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection cons

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."

"We haven't talked much about pricing and licencing. But it is not cheap for sure"

"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."

"If you are researching this type of solution, work with IBM."

"It is a very costly product."

"The price of the solution could be better."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"Guardium is most suitable for large scale enterprises because the pricing model is better if you are implementing a large number of databases."

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

30%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortra's Vera?

Additional improvement can be done as the issues are encountered.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Fortra's Vera?

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

See all answers

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...

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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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Comparisons

No data available

Imperva SecureSphere Database Security vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 52% of the time

Oracle Audit Vault vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 19% of the time

DataSunrise Database Security vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 5% of the time

Trustwave DbProtect vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 3% of the time

IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Database Security

April 2025

Download Fortra's Vera product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

April 2025

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection report

Download IBM Security Guardium Data Protection product report

Also Known As

No data available

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium

Overview

The Vera platform enables businesses of all sizes to protect any kind of data, and then track, audit and manage the policies securing files in real-time, no matter how far they travel.

Fortra

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection automatically discovers and classifies sensitive data from across the enterprise, providing real-time data activity monitoring and advanced user behavior analytics to help discover unusual activity around sensitive data.

Deploy the solution to help discover regulated data in your data stores and use pre-built templates for regulations such as PCI, SOX, HIPAA, CCPA and many more, to streamline and automate compliance workflows.

IBM

Sample Customers

Box

Information Not Available

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM, Imperva, Oracle and others in Database Security. Updated: April 2025.

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