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IBM Security Secret Server vs One Identity Safeguard comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 6, 2024

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 Secret Server
Ranking in Privileged Access Management (PAM)
29th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
One Identity Safeguard
Ranking in Privileged Access Management (PAM)
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (8th), Non-Human Identity Management (NHIM) (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Privileged Access Management (PAM) category, the mindshare of IBM Security Secret Server is 1.0%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of One Identity Safeguard is 3.6%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Privileged Access Management (PAM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
One Identity Safeguard3.6%
IBM Security Secret Server1.0%
Other95.4%
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
 

Featured Reviews

AsifIqbal - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to set up and manage and has good scalability and stability, but its technical support team needs to be more aggressive in solving issues
What needs improvement in IBM Security Secret Server is support. The local partner provides good support, but IBM itself doesn't. Most of the time, the IBM support team does not aggressively resolve issues reported through chat or the IBM website. In the next version of IBM Security Secret Server, I want to see more lightweight recording, architecture, or infrastructure requirements. Currently, it's heavy, so I want it reduced to make adapting IBM Security Secret Server much more effortless.
Tor Nordhagen - PeerSpot reviewer
Transparent mode for privileged sessions will greatly simplify our client's administrative situation
We're introducing the solution's transparent mode for privileged sessions. This is part of what the client hasn't used before. It will simplify their administrative situation greatly. So far, the rollout of this feature has been a seamless process, but we're still in the midst of rolling it out. The benefits will be on the risk side. Right now, the way accounts are managed, you don't necessarily know who is using an account. There's a shared admin account, and that's not a good thing. And those accounts are shared in wallets by several people. One of the real benefits of safeguarding here is that the client will have an absolute audit of who is using an administrative interface, whether it's server or network.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"As a PAM solution, Secret Server performs all the use cases in our environment."
"What I like best about IBM Security Secret Server is its single-access console. It's also easy to manage and fulfills the requirements with the least resistance."
"Stability-wise, I think it is a very good solution."
"The live recording is a very useful feature."
"One of the most valuable features is scalability, and how it allows you to scale it without affecting the underlying core components."
"We deployed it into our company for controlling a client's behavior in our data center. It is very useful to control their connections, such as RDP."
"The first feature I like about One Identity Safeguard is the live contact point for the VPNs. This has been working very well for us, as it's both highly available and reliable."
"From my experience, the features are best for monitoring and the usage of LDAP and SSH."
"It is easy to manage. There is a very logical, clear user interface. Also, the integration of scripts is thoughtfully implemented. Overall, it's a nice product to manage."
"The transparent mode for privileged sessions is one of the best things for customers, because they don't see the system in-between."
"Safeguard can define and update processes and procedures into the security framework of a company, including mobile. It allows us to change the policies and configurations on a mass scale in regards to security."
"The Transparent Mode is the number one advantage of the product."
"We use the solution’s “transparent mode” feature for privileged sessions. It is very easy because it is only a simple configuration for our users. We don't have to modify our network. We install it, configure it, and it works. So, it is super easy. The rollout for our users is seamless."
 

Cons

"What needs improvement in IBM Security Secret Server is support. The local partner provides good support, but IBM itself doesn't. Most of the time, the IBM support team does not aggressively resolve issues reported through chat or the IBM website."
"The nonclustered index is working in an area with a problem that needs improvement."
"Secret Server should have the ability to discover privileged accounts in the servers, like the administrator or users, from SQL and Oracle without having to import a script."
"The newer interface is more difficult to use than the previous one, and consequently, new users might need more training."
"It would be preferable if the full proxy was included in the IBM Security Secret Server."
"We have not had any issues with the core product itself, but there is an add-on called SCALUS, which is quite critical to the user experience, and that does not work. They have been having issues with that for quite a long time, like months. That is not great at all."
"The high availability function of the box requires a long time to switch over from one appliance to another."
"Transparent mode was too cumbersome, so I don't foresee us being able to use it. On paper when we were initially talking about it, it was definitely going to be the preferred method until we realized the burden it would be on our network guys. Then, we had to step back and reevaluate what we wanted to do. That's when we changed our approach to use the RD Gateway feature."
"The main thing that needs improvement is the slowness. Apart from that, the change password check-in feature also needs improvement because it is not working perfectly accurately."
"When we compare One Identity Safeguard with Cyberark, we know CyberArk has other tools or other features that are more complex and more useful for the customers. For example, I have one customer that wants to elevate the permission that is available in CyberArk."
"We can't review or audit HTTP and HTTPS. This functionality should be added so that we can review and audit HTTP and HTTPS."
"It needs more marketing."
"Even though we have two nodes, there's no way to do an upgrade without taking everything completely offline. It would be nice if they could improve that."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe that we paid 35,000 or 40,000 US dollars for it."
"My rating for the IBM Security Secret Server pricing is seven out of ten. It could be cheaper."
"The price could be better. I think it's a good price for the on-premises environment and the high availability for enterprises the solution provides."
"Its subscription cost is too much, and sometimes, it is very difficult to pitch the solution to the management for cost approval. If the cost is reduced a little bit, it would be easier. If its cost was less, many other organizations that currently cannot afford it would be able to use this technology. I'm sure many organizations around the globe are having issues with identity management, and it is a very difficult task for IT to manage privileged accounts."
"One Identity Safeguard is expensive and the cost goes up as we scale."
"The full license is expensive but if you plan to use it in a big organization then it is the best option because it is more flexible."
"We have a yearly license. The cost depends on how much a company wants to invest in technology. In our organization, we believe in modern digitization and automation processes so we found it affordable. One Identity was not that much less than other solutions and it is not a cheap solution. There were number of cheaper solutions. However, it's the most effective, according to our evaluation."
"As compared to other products, it is reasonable, but the training sessions are too expensive."
"Setup cost, pricing and licensing are all very expensive."
"The license is very expensive for us, partly due to inflation and partly because of the exchange rate between the Dollar and the Iranian Rial. We purchased a perpetual license that we've been using up until now, but I believe that we are not going to update it in the future. Instead, we plan to find another third-party to support us with the license, in the sense that we would have access to their license as a shared agreement."
"We bought their other products, so it was not that expensive. It is one of those where the more you buy, the cheaper it is."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
10%
Performing Arts
10%
Computer Software Company
22%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise19
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about One Identity Safeguard?
The identity discovery is good, and the performance is pretty good value.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for One Identity Safeguard?
The pricing of One Identity Safeguard is fairly priced and cheaper than other solutions of the same enterprise level. It provides a good cost-benefit ratio.
What needs improvement with One Identity Safeguard?
There is room for improvement in integration between modules. The native integration between SPP and SPS, which is currently based on a plugin, could be enhanced. Customization for lookup passwords...
 

Also Known As

IBM Secret Server, Secret Server, IBM Security Privileged Identity Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Secret Server vs. One Identity Safeguard and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
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