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IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs IDERA SQL Compliance Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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 ...
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
IDERA SQL Compliance Manager
Ranking in Database Security
12th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 31.6%, up from 31.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IDERA SQL Compliance Manager is 0.6%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Security
 

Featured Reviews

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.
reviewer1659528 - PeerSpot reviewer
A valuable independent view of elevated access but the solution could be more organized
Our primary use case for this solution is for controls, which we deploy on-premises The independent view of elevated access and elevated instructions sent to our SQL are very valuable because they act as a secondary pair of eyes. The solution could be improved by using the proper filtration,…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It provides us regulatory compliance proof and evidence for audit."
"I rate Guardium 10 out of 10 for data activity monitoring and nine for vulnerability assessment. It's easy to implement and does its job. But I would rate it seven out of 10 in terms of advanced features."
"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."
"Good data encryption and data masking features."
"It allows us to put in controls to make sure that only the right persons access the proper records in the database."
"Has a great Big Data Intelligence feature."
"Audit Process Builder – Workflow generator to enhance audit tasks and compliance workflows."
"The ability to track activity including the SQL statements is definitely valuable. I really like how the database is laid out. It's straightforward. I can query the back-end tables. I've made a few of my own email alerts based on the data and the tables. It's accessible."
"The tool can track logins and login failures. I made my own alert so that if there is a certain number of login failures for a server, it emails me. That is really useful. If I want logins to automatically lock out after a certain number of failed attempts, I can know when that happens."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
 

Cons

"​It will not go as fast as you want. ​"
"Guardium could be improved in the area of data encryption."
"I would like to see IBM Guardium have other encryption algorithms employed."
"Can't be used for a NoSQL database, which is limiting."
"The documentation could be better."
"I have already mentioned to IBM that a primary need is to improve the number of records in the reports above 65,535."
"The main issue I have with IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is the support. It's not good."
"The one thing that I would like to see improved, but I don't think it's going to be in the next release, is its reporting capabilities. I think that's been offloaded to another third-party product that I think IBM actually endorses for that."
"I submitted a ticket (last year) about archiving/grooming of old records because the GUI functionality was not working. Per their recommendation, I ended up using a command line to do it."
"Its filtration and navigation are not the best."
"What would really a good thing is if you could refer to an external list or table for filtering on, say, certain applications, IP addresses, or host names; or perhaps even combinations of host name and application name."
"There is an agent that collects the data on SQL Server. Sometimes it will stop collecting. I'm not exactly sure what's happening but I have to go in and manually restart the agent. It would be nice if the central collection server could send a request to the agent to restart."
"The set up is kind of clunky, in my opinion. It's not really intuitive. If they had either a smoother install or better instructions, that would be nice."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Guardium won mostly because of our scope and scale. It was able to perform at the scale that we wanted to use it. ​"
"Reasonable cost but could be lower."
"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."
"Guardium's pricing is quite high, but it gives good value for money for all sizes of enterprises, especially for partners."
"The tool is not cheap, but it is not expensive."
"We haven't talked much about pricing and licencing. But it is not cheap for sure"
"Guardium is most suitable for large scale enterprises because the pricing model is better if you are implementing a large number of databases."
"I would suggest to review the type of data, need for security, and if the organizational structure needs the options IBM Guardium provides."
"It's a good price value... The other tools weren't cheaper."
"The pricing is pretty good."
"The product is cheaper than other products I checked but it is still a good idea to check again and compare."
"I feel the product's pricing is a good value."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
29%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
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...
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.
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Also Known As

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
IDERA SQL CM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Hanger; AmerisourceBergen; CMS Energy; Manulife Financial; Patterson Companies; Pfizer; Rockwell Automation; TrialCard; Unum; Verizon Communications; Skygen USA; Calpine Energy Solutions; Standard Chartered PLC; TrialCard, Inc.; Raffles Hospital; Houston Methodist; Community America Credit Union; Noble Americas Energy Solutions LLC; QuikTrip Corporation; HUK COBURG; OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. IDERA SQL Compliance Manager and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
864,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.