IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs McAfee Vulnerability Manager for Databases [EOL] comparison

IBM and McAfee are both solutions in the Database Security category. Additionally, 85% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of McAfee users who would recommend it.

IBM Security Guardium Data ...

Read 80 IBM Security Guardium Data Protection reviews

4,973 Views
4,128 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

McAfee Vulnerability Manage...

Read 3 McAfee Vulnerability Manager for Databases [EOL] reviews

100% willing to recommend

IBM Security Guardium Data ...

McAfee Vulnerability Manage...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM Security Guardium Data Protection and McAfee Vulnerability Manager for Databases [EOL] 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: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Database Security

January 2026

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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

IBM Security Guardium Data ...

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Database Security (1st)

McAfee Vulnerability Manage...

Average Rating

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

David Plazer

Chief Executive Officer at Kipustec

Ensures data security and compliance with reliable alerts and protections

The manuals should be clearer. There needs to be an online course or tutorial for faster management training. The maintenance was slightly complicated. I had to read the manuals carefully and even failed the Guardium certification exam due to insufficient information or time. Improving the tool learning process would be beneficial.

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Wahidur Rahman

Senior Executive Officer at United Commercial Bank Limited

The solution's activity monitoring is valuable, but it should have more integrations and updates overall

Our primary use case for this solution is activity, authentication, and scans for audit purposes and priority assessments The feature I have found most valuable is activity monitoring. McAfee has not had many legacy features. They are not updating their value adjustment.In the next feature, I'd…

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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

"I like the reporting mechanism. It's very good."

"Its ability to find data."

"You could easily throw it onto a VM or add additional hardware. One central manager supports about a hundred managed units, so scalability is excellent."

"It has been very difficult to analyze all the network traffic with something else. Guardium provides that feature, it's heuristic. So we have rule-based algorithms in place to take care of that."

"Our main focus for IBM Guardium is to support security initiatives and compliance policies within our organization. We use the DPD product for monitoring, especially for GDPR, SOX regulations and, of course, the vulnerability assessment that we use to make sure we're keeping up with our patches, making sure things are configured, making sure we're following the best practices."

"I think IMB's technical support is good."

"The solution supports a lot of databases."

"From the perspective of analysis and prevention, this product is pretty accurate."

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection pros

"The support is very good. They are very quick to respond when we have issues."

"The technical support is good; they are knowledgeable."

"The feature I have found most valuable is activity monitoring."

Cons

"Could be more user friendly; deployment is a little complex."

"I have already mentioned to IBM that a primary need is to improve the number of records in the reports above 65,535."

"It will not go as fast as you want. "

"Guardium's storage capabilities could use some improvement. I'd also like to have some better integration using digital technology or a connector."

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

"The ability for Central Managers to talk to one another could be improved. I have 26 Central Managers and 26 silos which are independent."

"Can't be used for a NoSQL database, which is limiting."

"An area for improvement would be the user interface - currently, it takes around two to three months to become comfortable using it."

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection cons

"In the next feature, I'd like to see more integrations and updates overall, specifically bottom tech."

"Technical support could be more responsive."

"The UI needs to be improved."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is good for the quality of the solution."

"It is a very costly product."

"IBM Guardium Data Protection charges you based on the number of users, e.g. based on the number of licenses, and it's either on a per-license or a per-data basis."

"Guardium has not saved us time or money."

"The product's pricing is reasonable and affordable. It is in the moderate range."

"The cost depends on the number of databases. You can purchase advanced licenses, but the standard license is calculated based on the number of databases you have to onboard."

"Guardium won mostly because of our scope and scale. It was able to perform at the scale that we wanted to use it. "

"Guardium's pricing is quite high, but it gives good value for money for all sizes of enterprises, especially for partners."

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection pricing and cost advice

"It's not expensive compared to other products that are available."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

26%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	28
Midsize Enterprise	17
Large Enterprise	44

No data available

Questions from the Community

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.

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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.

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Comparisons

Imperva Data Security Fabric vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 54% of the time

Oracle Audit Vault vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 15% of the time

DataSunrise Database Security vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 4% of the time

IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 3% of the time

Oracle Database Vault vs IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Security Guardium Data Protection Competitors

No data available

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection

January 2026

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection report

Download IBM Security Guardium Data Protection product report

Buyer's Guide

Database Security

January 2026

McAfee Vulnerability Manager for Databases [EOL] report

Download McAfee Vulnerability Manager for Databases [EOL] product report

Also Known As

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium

No data available

Overview

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection offers automatic discovery and classification of sensitive data, real-time monitoring, and advanced analytics to identify unusual activities around data.

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is designed to safeguard sensitive data across enterprises with real-time activity monitoring and comprehensive security features. Its capabilities include data discovery, classification, and compliance automation with pre-built templates for regulations like PCI, SOX, HIPAA, and CCPA. Supporting a variety of platforms, it facilitates seamless monitoring, making it a valuable asset for diverse environments in maintaining data security and compliance.

What are the key features?

Real-Time Monitoring: Provides alerts for unauthorized activities.
Data Masking: Protects data through masking techniques.
Access Control: Ensures only authorized users gain access.
Query Rewriting: Alters queries to maintain data integrity.
Platform Support: Monitors across multiple environments.

Why consider this for ROI?

Ease of Deployment: Simplifies the setup process for enterprises.
Robust Reporting: Enhances transparency through detailed audit trails.
Compliance Automation: Streamlines compliance with regulatory requirements.
Risk Management: Identifies and mitigates potential risks efficiently.

Industries like banking and finance utilize IBM Security Guardium Data Protection to enhance database security and compliance efforts. Enterprises employ it to detect incidents and manage vulnerabilities, focusing on protecting customer data and maintaining privacy standards. The technology aids in incident detection and supports adherence to security regulations.

IBM

McAfee Vulnerability Manager for Databases automatically discovers databases on your network, determines if the latest patches have been applied, and tests for common weaknesses.

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM, Imperva, Oracle and others in Database Security. Updated: January 2026.

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