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IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs Oracle Database Vault 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
Oracle Database Vault
Ranking in Database Security
5th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 31.7%, up from 31.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database Vault is 2.6%, up from 0.5% 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.
AjayKumar13 - PeerSpot reviewer
Setup challenges and user experience issues persist
I primarily use Oracle Database Vault for encryption during data transit. The data is encrypted as it travels across the network, and I have previously used it for backup purposes I use Oracle Database Vault mainly for encryption at transit. It encrypts data traveling across the network.…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use IBM Guardium to support security initiatives and combine policies within the organization."
"The most valuable features are the reporting and data-level access control."
"Supports security initiatives and ensures compliance policies."
"Guardium does a great job of capturing data and having the ability of trying to pull it out and make sense of it. Using it for business applications is its biggest capability."
"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 provides a comprehensive security for databases, both on-prem and on the cloud. Among the advanced features we use automatic backups, DR."
"Audit Process Builder – Workflow generator to enhance audit tasks and compliance workflows."
"The most valuable feature of the solution for the customers is the monitoring and full log of the database activity of privileged users."
"Oracle Database Vault has been valuable for database security in maritime companies and ports."
"The product is easy to use and provides good performance."
"It encrypts data traveling across the network."
"The product is fairly easy to implement."
"I haven’t seen any other database perform as well as Oracle."
 

Cons

"An area for improvement would be the user interface - currently, it takes around two to three months to become comfortable using it."
"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."
"Guardium's storage capabilities could use some improvement. I'd also like to have some better integration using digital technology or a connector."
"The backup and recovery is very resource-hungry and requires a huge amount of storage capacity."
"I would like to see streamlining of some of the agent features, some of the patches; make it a little bit more user-friendly on the documentation."
"I would like them to support cloud services."
"It needs an integration with Optum."
"Right now we're having some issues where it's using a high CPU, we don't know why. So, better testing before the product is ready would help."
"Oracle's technical support could be improved."
"Oracle Database Vault is not easy to set up, and if I lose the key, it can lead to significant issues."
"The solution is relatively expensive."
"The product's cost could be better."
"The solution is excessively expensive. There is a lot of room for improvement, considering the pricing model of the solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 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."
"It's an expensive solution"
"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."
"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."
"It is not an expensive product. We purchase its yearly license."
"I rate the product's pricing a ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"The product is more costly than its competitors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
29%
Computer Software Company
12%
Retailer
10%
Government
10%
 

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.
What is the cost of Oracle Database Vault?
The cost of Oracle Database Vault depends on the number of processors and users. You can find more information about the pricing on the Oracle website. Pros: Oracle Database Vault is a powerful ...
What do you like most about Oracle Database Vault?
The product is easy to use and provides good performance.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Database Vault?
I do not handle pricing, so I am not aware of pricing details related to Oracle Database Vault.
 

Also Known As

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Oracle Database Vault and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.