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IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs Trustwave DbProtect 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
Trustwave DbProtect
Ranking in Database Security
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Database Security category, the mindshare of IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is 32.0%, up from 30.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trustwave DbProtect is 4.5%, down from 5.0% 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.
Marcelo Raza - PeerSpot reviewer
A tool that offers a proper view and division of all databases while also allowing users to do continuous monitoring
I have seen that the tool's installation phase has some problems regarding the versions, specifically the version of SQL. Trustwave DbProtect doesn't accept some versions of SQL. Some credentials when you are installing give some problems, but all of them did pass through the installation phase but gave a certain amount of hard work to be done during the installation phase. The aforementioned area needs to be considered for improvement. The pain points with Trustwave DbProtect were about the installation and problems with the different versions not being accepted. A more compatible version of the product with other databases and operating systems should be possible.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Setting up Guardium was easy and straightforward."
"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.​"
"Its ability to find data."
"Being an IBM product it really offers security integration capabilities and robust features. Over the years, it has satisfactory met the requirements of our customers which makes it a very reliable and versatile solution."
"The most valuable feature is the GUI, the interface. It also interfaces well with REST API, if you want to automate some of the commands."
"I think it scales pretty well. It can run on most of the database platforms currently out there. That is something we really like as a feature, because we try to hit everything in our environment to make sure we're meeting those regulations."
"The most valuable features have been how easy it is to deploy and use, as well as the comprehensive monitoring options. These are a few things that customers like most about this product."
"The reporting side is also very, very good, especially its flexibility which allows you to tailor the reports to whatever information you want."
"Transfer and vulnerability scanning are the most valuable features of this product."
"This solution helps our clients to monitor their database use, and detect violations of the policy."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that you can have a good view which is provided with a proper division of all your databases, which you can see in Trustwave DbProtect."
 

Cons

"More predictive, using Watson AI would be good."
"It would be helpful, and convenient to improve the Chat support."
"​It will not go as fast as you want. ​"
"The ability for Central Managers to talk to one another could be improved. I have 26 Central Managers and 26 silos which are independent."
"I have already mentioned to IBM that a primary need is to improve the number of records in the reports above 65,535."
"Setup can be complex. The documentation is in so many different locations, and a lot of times we have to leverage support and higher level resources to figure out the right steps to take."
"There could be a feature to integrate and protect multiple databases. The local support services need improvements as well."
"Needs easier integration with custom applications."
"I have seen that the tool's installation phase has some problems regarding the versions, specifically the version of SQL."
"We have not been able to integrate this product with a lot of standard incident response solutions, so an open API would help in this regard."
"The product does not have encryption or data masking."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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's pricing is quite high, but it gives good value for money for all sizes of enterprises, especially for partners."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is low price, and ten is very high price, I rate the solution's pricing a nine out of ten."
"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."
"We haven't talked much about pricing and licencing. But it is not cheap for sure"
"One of the deployments that I know of had three databases, and the yearly fees are approximately $50,000 USD."
"Guardium won mostly because of our scope and scale. It was able to perform at the scale that we wanted to use it. ​"
"The licensing fees, including support, are approximately $5,000 USD per database, per year."
"I rate the pricing a five on a scale from one to ten, where one is the lowest and ten is the highest."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Computer Software Company
11%
Healthcare Company
10%
Insurance Company
8%
 

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 do you like most about Trustwave DbProtect?
The most valuable feature of the solution is that you can have a good view which is provided with a proper division of all your databases, which you can see in Trustwave DbProtect.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Trustwave DbProtect?
Price-wise, Trustwave DbProtect falls in the mid-range category in Portugal. Many solutions similar to Trustwave DbProtect are expensive in the market. I rate the pricing a five on a scale from one...
What needs improvement with Trustwave DbProtect?
I have seen that the tool's installation phase has some problems regarding the versions, specifically the version of SQL. Trustwave DbProtect doesn't accept some versions of SQL. Some credentials w...
 

Also Known As

InfoSphere Guardium, Guardium, IBM Guardium
Application Security DbProtect
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Pax World Investments, Crest Savings Bank, Magnolia Hotels
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs. Trustwave DbProtect and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.