IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management comparison

IBM and Qualys are both solutions in the Vulnerability Management category. IBM is ranked #45 with an average rating of 5.0, while Qualys is ranked #8 with an average rating of 9.2. IBM holds a 0.5% mindshare in VM, compared to Qualys’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 66% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Qualys users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment and Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management compete in cybersecurity, with IBM Guardium leading in data protection and Qualys dominating asset management.

Features: IBM Guardium is equipped with advanced threat analytics, sensitive data monitoring, and provides a stable vulnerability assessment. It supports seamless integration with enterprise systems and offers custom rule creation for comprehensive traffic monitoring. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management excels with real-time asset visibility, extensive inventory management with tagging features, and offers dynamic risk identification and management, making it effective in monitoring both on-premises and cloud environments.

Room for Improvement: IBM Guardium could benefit from enhanced scalability, a simpler user interface, and increased automation capabilities. It can also improve integration with non-IBM systems for better adaptability. Qualys might improve by offering more user-friendly interfaces, faster reporting features, and enhanced integration with third-party tools. There is room to optimize its cloud-based solutions for even more seamless operation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Guardium offers excellent integration facilities and dedicated support that enhances deployment and operational efficiency. It provides tailored customer service focusing on enhancing data protection. On the other hand, Qualys’ cloud-based approach allows for rapid deployment and scalability along with responsive customer support, enabling quick adaptation and operational flexibility.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Guardium requires a considerable initial investment but promises substantial long-term value through enhanced security and data protection metrics. In contrast, Qualys provides a more cost-effective entry through its subscription model, offering a compelling ROI by minimizing risks with thorough asset visibility and management. Qualys’s pricing allows businesses to manage cybersecurity expenses while ensuring broad asset management and risk reduction.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

July 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

Zafran Security

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Zafran Security is 0.9%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment is 0.5%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is 1.1%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Vulnerability Management

Featured Reviews

Israel Cavazos Landini

Associate Director IT Security Operations at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees

Weekly insights and risk analysis facilitate informed security decisions

I appreciate the weekly insights Zafran provides, which include critical topics for networks and IT security, allowing us to evaluate which insights apply to our environment. The organization score feature is valuable to keep the leadership team updated on how our infrastructure fares security-wise. The applicable risk level versus base risk level feature is beneficial because prior to Zafran, we only used the base risk level, but now understand that risk depends on the asset itself. Zafran is an excellent tool.

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Dr. Sajid Latif

Guardium Administrator at Interactive Group

Improvements sought in database optimization while benefiting from robust security monitoring

We use the analytical functionality of Guardium, but the analytical functionality is not so powerful or flexible because it does not include the application user ID. It only includes the database user ID. To identify risky users, it does not support end users, so IBM must incorporate this feature into the built-in analytical engine of the Guardium. There is only one problem I experienced while using Guardium: the internal database of the collector is MySQL, which is not so powerful or flexible. When you make a query in a MySQL database, it takes too much time to respond. IBM should replace this MySQL database with a more powerful internal database for the logging mechanism so that Guardium can collect logging data flexibly and ensure optimization. My overall experience with Guardium is good. The only problem is that IBM must replace the internal DB, MySQL, with a more powerful enterprise-level database because enterprises use it at an enterprise level, and MySQL does not support optimally.

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Scott Frederick

Director of Vulnerability Management at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Well-integrated with our vulnerability scanning utilities and efficient in asset tagging and identification

Our favorite features are the tagging and the ability to quickly find assets in the portal. Additionally, I do like the fact that Qualys CSAM is integrated with the rest of our vulnerability scanning utilities. We use the full suite from Qualys. The fact that it is integrated makes it very easy to understand. It shares tagging information with VMDR. That is very nice. Qualys CSAM has discovered assets not previously covered by our vulnerability management program. Primarily, if we have assets without vulnerabilities, they become less visible, but Qualys CSAM alerts us to them because they have IP addresses and are attached to our network. It could discover everything from printers to servers to endpoints. It could discover UPSs, network devices, and across all operating systems. It discovers our security badge readers and digital signage. We have to feed that the IP address ranges, but beyond that, it finds everything in our internal network. We were able to realize its benefits within the first quarter of installing it. We did have to take some time to learn it and understand how to operationally leverage what it was telling us, but it was very quick. In addition to vulnerabilities, Qualys CSAM helps identify other risk factors to a degree. For instance, we can see if servers or assets have incorrect naming standards. We have our network segmented into development model, test, and production, and we have server naming standards that identify which management they should be in. If a production server has the naming standard of a development model server, we can find that. That is one area we have used it for. We are not fully using TruRisk, but we are using the Qualys detection score that is central to our corporate risk prioritization approach. It has completely replaced our homegrown one.

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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

"Zafran is an excellent tool."

"We are able to see the real risk of a vulnerability on our environment with our security tools."

"Zafran has become an indispensable tool in our cybersecurity arsenal."

"We saw benefits from Zafran Security almost immediately after deploying it."

"Overall, we have seen about eighty-seven percent reduction of the number of vulnerabilities that require urgency to remediate, specifically the number of criticals."

"The reporting features are good and there are many built-in reports that can be quickly configured."

"The most valuable feature is that it provides a simple English recommendation on actions that you need to take once a vulnerability is discovered."

"It helped with some of the regulatory requirements. It also helped with some of the security analytics and analysis. It was worthwhile from that perspective."

"The Vulnerability Assessment feature is quite stable and helps identify numerous vulnerabilities in databases."

"Qualys CSAM is valuable for providing end-of-life and end-of-sale information. It gives me visibility into the number of products or hardware items that are end-of-life."

"Our favorite features are the tagging and the ability to quickly find assets in the portal."

"The most valuable features of Qualys CSAM include the ability to manage authorized and unauthorized applications efficiently. This feature helps in validating applications and maintaining a secure environment."

"I recommend Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management due to its superior asset information collection capabilities, including comprehensive hardware and software inventorying."

"The most valuable aspect we receive from Qualys is the remediation."

"The most valuable feature is the real-time visibility Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management provides into all assets across our development and operational environments."

"The fact that it is integrated makes it very easy to understand."

"I would rate Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management ten out of ten."

More Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management pros

Cons

"Initially, we were somewhat concerned about the scalability of Zafran due to our large asset count and the substantial amount of information we needed to process."

"I think the ability to have some enhanced reporting capabilities is something they can improve on, as they have good reports but we have asked for some specific reporting enhancements."

"The dashboarding and reporting functionality of Zafran Security is an area that definitely could use some improvements."

"There is only one problem I experienced while using Guardium: the internal database of the collector is MySQL, which is not so powerful or flexible."

"It was not as easy to use. The user-friendliness of it was somewhat lower than what I was expecting. It was also lacking in terms of the ease of the setup. There should be an automatic agent for deployment."

"Building policies is not that easy. There are some things that are turned off by default, for example, displaying values."

"The interface could be improved by having sub-groups of tests, ultimately making the process of collecting tests faster."

"Some areas that would be helpful are more comprehensive tagging and the ability to set up better dynamic rules."

"It is automatically exporting the vulnerabilities and the assets. However, it would be useful to have the ability to select or to filter which we would like to export."

"The scanning function could be improved."

"One improvement that they can make in the EASM module is the scan frequency. After EASM is configured the first time, it allows you to do the complete configuration, but if you want to reconfigure it, it will not ask or provide any option for scan frequency. For that, you need to raise a case with Qualys and talk to the Qualys team."

"The Qualys CAPS service requires further exploration and improvement, particularly in its handling of protocols and reactivity with MAC and IP addresses for CAP agents."

"The main aspect that needs improvement is the user interface, which should be more intuitive."

"In my opinion, the area that needs improvement is the role-based access control (RBAC). The access privilege management needs to be more robust and streamlined to enhance user access management."

"The only minor issue is occasionally being redirected to multiple teams, causing slight delays."

More Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"One thing not advantageous for it was that it was a little bit more expensive. I would rate it one out of five in terms of pricing."

"The pricing is reasonable relative to the features provided, as it collects all module data and operates as a main, centralized inventory, making it a cost-effective solution."

"The pricing for Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management is reasonable, with an annual subscription costing around $1,000 per year or a monthly subscription starting at approximately $72 per month, depending on the specific package and features included."

"The pricing is fair. I would love to see the price come down a little bit, but we do get a lot of value out of it. We are squeezing every ounce of value we can out of the tool."

"The cost for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is high."

"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management can be expensive, especially if we already have VMDR."

"Though the solution is considered expensive, if bundled with other services such as VMDR or cloud agents, its value would significantly increase. It is currently a bit costly, but with bundling, it could become attractive to more customers."

"It is cost-effective because, in a single tool, we are getting everything. All the solutions come in a single license or price."

"The pricing for Qualys CSAM is nominal."

More Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

37%

Insurance Company

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zafran Security?

Since we stood Zafran Security up in our private cloud, we handle the maintenance on our side. As we opted not to use...

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What needs improvement with Zafran Security?

In terms of areas for improvement, Zafran Security is doing a really great job as a new and emerging company. Oftenti...

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What is your primary use case for Zafran Security?

My use cases for Zafran Security revolve around two primary areas. One is around vulnerability management and priorit...

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What needs improvement with IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment?

We use the analytical functionality of Guardium, but the analytical functionality is not so powerful or flexible beca...

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What is your primary use case for IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment?

We are still using IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment. We only use IBM Guardium Data Protection and monitoring, da...

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What advice do you have for others considering IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment?

We do not use IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment for data encryption or any other tool for analytics, or identity ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?

The pricing is reasonable relative to the features provided, as it collects all module data and operates as a main, c...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management helps us prioritize assets according to operating system, kernel version, insta...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?

We are using Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management for daily activities such as identifying new assets through networ...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Zafran Security

July 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Vulnerability Management

August 2025

IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment report

Download IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment product report

Buyer's Guide

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

August 2025

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management report

Download Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management product report

Overview

Zafran Security integrates with existing security tools to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities effectively, proving that most critical vulnerabilities are not exploitable, optimizing threat management.

Zafran Security introduces an innovative operating model for managing security threats and vulnerabilities. By leveraging the threat exposure management platform, it pinpoints and prioritizes exploitable vulnerabilities, reducing risk through immediate remediation. This platform enhances your hybrid cloud security by normalizing vulnerability signals and integrating specific IT context data, such as CVE runtime presence and internet asset reachability, into its analysis. No longer reliant on patch windows, Zafran Security allows you to manage risks actively.

What are the key features of Zafran Security?

Threat Exposure Management: Utilizes existing tools to prioritize vulnerabilities and manage threats.
Integrative Analysis: Combines security data with IT context for precise vulnerability management.
Real-time Risk Reduction: Enables immediate risk management without waiting for patches.
Hybrid Cloud Compatibility: Functions across diverse cloud environments for comprehensive security.

What benefits can users expect from Zafran Security?

Improved Security: Enhances protection by efficiently identifying and mitigating risks.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces unnecessary patching expenses by confirming non-exploitable vulnerabilities.
Time Savings: Frees developers to focus on root causes by handling immediate threats.
Comprehensive Insight: Offers a holistic view of security threats and vulnerabilities.

In industries where security is paramount, such as finance and healthcare, Zafran Security provides invaluable protection by ensuring that only exploitable vulnerabilities are addressed. It allows entities to maintain robust security measures while allocating resources efficiently, fitting seamlessly into existing security strategies.

Zafran Security

IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment scans data infrastructures (databases, data warehouses and big data environments) to detect vulnerabilities, and suggests remedial actions. The solution identifies exposures such as missing patches, weak passwords, unauthorized changes and misconfigured privileges.

IBM

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management provides advanced real-time asset visibility, dynamic tagging, and External Attack Surface Management. It streamlines asset discovery and management using cloud agents and IP-based scanning, enhancing risk management and software lifecycle tracking.

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management offers a comprehensive solution for managing asset inventories and tracking software lifecycle states. It facilitates network visibility and supports zero-day vulnerability solutions, enhancing security posture through efficient monitoring. Users benefit from its cloud-based interface, which provides in-depth asset configurations and insights. Key features include automated vulnerability scanning and unauthorized software management, reducing manual efforts. The platform also emphasizes the importance of timely remediation and ongoing risk mitigation across multiple environments. Despite its strengths, users note the need for enhanced integration with additional CMDBs beyond ServiceNow, as well as cost efficiency improvements. Requests also include better report customization, more scan control, and a simplified UI.

What are the key features of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?

Real-time Visibility: Offers continuous insight into asset status and condition.
Dynamic Tagging: Allows for flexible organization and assessment of assets.
External Attack Surface Management: Identifies potential threats from external sources.
Automated Vulnerability Scanning: Reduces manual scanning efforts and identifies vulnerabilities instantly.
Unauthorized Software Management: Detects and manages software not approved for use.
Asset Purge Rule: Automates the removal of obsolete assets from the inventory.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Enhanced Security Posture: Gains stronger defense through effective asset monitoring.
Efficient Risk Management: Identifies threats quickly, enabling timely resolutions.
Improved Compliance: Assists in meeting industry standards and regulations.
Reduced Manual Effort: Automates repetitive tasks, saving time and resources.
Comprehensive Insight: Provides detailed data for informed decision making.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and manufacturing, Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management enhances asset control by offering visibility into hardware and software configurations. It aids in maintaining security compliance and identifying unauthorized software, crucial for sectors with strict regulatory requirements.

Qualys

Buyer's Guide

IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

July 2025

Free Report: IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Guardium Vulnerability Assessment vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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