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IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs Protegrity’s Data Protection Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 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
Protegrity’s Data Protectio...
Ranking in Database Security
5th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Data Governance (17th), Data Masking (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 29.2%, down from 32.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Protegrity’s Data Protection Platform is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection29.2%
Protegrity’s Data Protection Platform1.4%
Other69.4%
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.
Vinoth Raj Prabhakaran - PeerSpot reviewer
Beneficial data security, good support, and straightforward initial setup
The initial setup of Protegrity Data Security was straightforward. However, we had a few problems, it's not multi-tenanted. It does not have a hierarchy of roles and differential priorities. To have the initial sandbox version of Protegrity Data Security up and running, took approximately one week. However, it needed to be set up in a resilient way because if it fails, then it is going to be a challenge bringing back the lost information. We have to be particular in terms of architecting it correctly which is taking us a bit of time. We are anticipating anywhere between four to six weeks to be finished.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Accelerators is one of the big functions they have out there. It gives you canned reports that you don't have to make yourself, they're out there by being part of the patch. You just have to fill your information in to some of the already built groups, for your environment, and it automates a lot of that. That has definitely helped improve things."
"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."
"Guardium lets you centrally manage aggregators and collectors."
"Gathering ​the data works very well. ​"
"Ability to define reports based on SQL query, especially when you have complex report criteria."
"The possible number of databases and database servers which can be monitored by Guardium is high. For me, this is a differentiator of IBM."
"It is very easy to obtain reports and manage the reporting interface."
"Setting up Guardium was easy and straightforward."
"The most valuable feature of Protegrity Data Security is the reduction of information being exposed."
"Its technical support team is helpful."
"The product is stable."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
 

Cons

"The analysis part of this product could be improved. It's a very comprehensive product, so the features it has complement customer requirements. But I would like to see more emphasis on analytics, and it would be great if they added machine learning. They already have analysis insights, but a comprehensive analytical feature that's already incorporated into the solution would be very helpful."
"We deal with updates manually on Sundays and sometimes face bugs with the newer versions."
"The ability for Central Managers to talk to one another could be improved. I have 26 Central Managers and 26 silos which are independent."
"More predictive, using Watson AI would be good."
"The integration part of the present solution is very complex and tedious. Plus it gives a lot of false positives which need to be eradicated over time."
"I would like to be able to upgrade appliances within major versions without needing to rebuild the appliance."
"I would like them to support cloud services."
"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."
"Protegrity Data Security could improve by having more integration."
"Protegrity is using a different OS which has some bugs. Sometimes it's causing an initialization error."
"The solution's UI could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Guardium is higher than the main competitor, Imperva. In addition, it's complex as the calculation of the licensing is done by Processor Value Unit (PVU). However, before purchasing a DAP solution, it is important to analyze specific points to evaluate the cost-benefit of each tool. For example: Does the environment to be monitored have mainframes? If so, it's a point for Guardium. If not, a point for Imperva. Note: IBM is looking into a new licensing policy and reducing the price of Guardium."
"I would suggest to review the type of data, need for security, and if the organizational structure needs the options IBM Guardium provides."
"The product's pricing is reasonable and affordable. It is in the moderate range."
"The price of the solution could be better."
"Reasonable cost but could be lower."
"It is not an expensive product. We purchase its yearly license."
"IBM solutions have fair price strategy, and operates on a yearly basis. If it's a SaaS solution, then you can opt for yearly basis."
"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."
"We pay for a few additional services apart from its licenses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
28%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
37%
Computer Software Company
12%
Healthcare Company
8%
Insurance Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise45
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 needs improvement with Protegrity Data Security?
Protegrity is using a different OS, which has some bugs. Sometimes, it's causing an initialization error.
What is your primary use case for Protegrity Data Security?
We use the solution to encrypt sensitive data like PII data. Any unauthorized person cannot find the exact sensitive value in case of data issues. We are using that tool to protect sensitive data.
 

Also Known As

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
Protegrity Data Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
A $4 billion retail conglomerate and holding company
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Protegrity’s Data Protection Platform and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.