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IBM Security Secret Server vs StrongDM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

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)
20th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
StrongDM
Ranking in Privileged Access Management (PAM)
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Access Management (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Privileged Access Management (PAM) category, the mindshare of IBM Security Secret Server is 1.4%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of StrongDM is 2.4%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Privileged Access Management (PAM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
StrongDM2.4%
IBM Security Secret Server1.4%
Other96.2%
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
 

Featured Reviews

AsifIqbal - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Information Security Officer at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees
Privileged access monitoring has strengthened identity control and improved security posture
I find the monitoring and recording parts of IBM Security Secret Server to be the most valuable features. Password vaulting is somewhat typical, but I rate monitoring and recording as very good features, along with ease of deployment. The reporting tools in IBM Security Secret Server have helped me identify vulnerabilities. From the monitoring part, you can somewhat cover the identity vulnerability aspect. However, for identity vulnerability, I think the best approach is to use IAM rather than PAM. It is easy to integrate IBM Security Secret Server with cybersecurity frameworks, which is a very important aspect. When we are improving our attack surface, identity is the most important thing that we need to cover, and PAM will play a very crucial role in improving our cybersecurity framework and architecture. The main benefits that IBM Security Secret Server provides for me include complete control over the privileged identities, which are the main sources that can have the privilege to make numerous changes on the system. If we protect these identities through PAM and provide elevation on their accounts when required, then we can improve our security posture and infrastructure security.
MX
Dev Ops Engineer And Solution Architect at Scania
Centralized access has improved privileged control and now provides strong audit visibility
I believe StrongDM can improve its initial setup and onboarding experience for larger enterprise environments like Scania, where we have a lot of processes. Integrating different teams, access policies, and existing identity workflows requires substantial planning. Additionally, I think the dashboard customization and reporting could be more flexible for operational teams, though new teams find it manageable. Once the platform is fully integrated, it provides significant value. Apart from the onboarding experience, I would also mention that the templates for enterprise onboarding and policy setup could benefit from innovative thinking tailored to organizations managing large AWS and Kubernetes workloads. Enhanced customization in dashboards and reporting would further ease operations and provide better insights.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The main benefits that IBM Security Secret Server provides for me include complete control over the privileged identities, which are the main sources that can have the privilege to make numerous changes on the system, and if we protect these identities through PAM and provide elevation on their accounts when required, then we can improve our security posture and infrastructure security."
"Centralized Password Management: Our client has more than 400 geographical locations and approximately ten employees work at each location."
"As a PAM solution, Secret Server performs all the use cases in our environment."
"It is one of the most well-known names in this field."
"Access to privileged, shared credentials is simplified by optimizing the whole workflow and approval processes."
"StrongDM positively impacts our organization in many ways, mainly in cost savings from the time saved, and it has significantly improved both security and operational efficiency for us."
"All of the logging is handled for us, including for auditing purposes. Looking through the audit logs is not a painful experience."
"StrongDM replaced the puzzle of different solutions with one single product, which made managing resources more efficient."
"By adopting StrongDM, we have achieved benefits such as eliminating our weekend outages, streamlining ongoing on-call workflows, enabling seamless migration with POC transitions directly into production with minimal effort, allowing our engineers to use their preferred SQL clients like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Workbench, and facilitating compliance through detailed session logs and query capture for SOC 2 and ISO audits."
"Since using StrongDM, I estimate around a 60% reduction in effort compared to other PAM tools."
"StrongDM has positively impacted my organization by saving me a lot of time as a security auditor, because I have to navigate settings and configurations to check the presence of certain security controls in place."
"The best features in StrongDM are that it is the easiest product in the market for this situation with easy access."
"We primarily used StrongDM for access to resources on private networks like EC2 machines, Kubernetes clusters, and various databases."
 

Cons

"It would be preferable if the full proxy was included in the IBM Security Secret Server."
"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."
"If you have a hosted PIM in your local environment and you plan to migrate it to some cloud-based environment, then migration will become a painful task."
"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."
"Unfortunately, the technical support is not very responsive because we purchased it from IBM; however, the actual support comes from Thycotic."
"I mention that password vaulting and password rotation in IBM Security Secret Server are basically the same thing, and it becomes somewhat complex when integrating a different system with them because it requires API development."
"The newer interface is more difficult to use than the previous one, and consequently, new users might need more training."
"The newer interface is maybe confusing old customer that using previous one from their point of views, I think they will need little pass of time to be familiar with."
"My thoughts on the pricing of StrongDM is that it is expensive."
"I believe StrongDM can improve its initial setup and onboarding experience for larger enterprise environments like Scania, where we have a lot of processes."
"We've had a few issues with the stability of this product in the past."
"I rate the stability of the product five out of ten because crashes sometimes happen when we are working on it."
"It would be beneficial to have better control and alignment between frequent updates and improved communication regarding possible negative effects on existing customer bases."
"StrongDM lacks the capability for web application injections or password injections, so we need to rely on other tools such as HashiCorp for non-human accounts or DevOps scenarios."
"Integration, however, is something which admins configure with StrongDM, and in that area, it can be improved."
"StrongDM lacks the capability for web application injections or password injections, so we need to rely on other tools such as HashiCorp for non-human accounts or DevOps scenarios."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"My rating for the IBM Security Secret Server pricing is seven out of ten. It could be cheaper."
"I believe that we paid 35,000 or 40,000 US dollars for it."
"The licensing is per user per month."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Insurance Company
19%
Construction Company
13%
Performing Arts
8%
Outsourcing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM Security Secret Server?
I believe there is not much that can be improved for IBM Security Secret Server. Providing local support and local vendor availability would be beneficial so we are not dependent on international s...
What is your primary use case for IBM Security Secret Server?
IBM Security Secret Server serves multiple use cases for us, including the monitoring of privileged users, as well as the recording and password vaulting of their accounts, passwords, and need-base...
What advice do you have for others considering IBM Security Secret Server?
I mention that password vaulting and password rotation in IBM Security Secret Server are basically the same thing, and it becomes somewhat complex when integrating a different system with them beca...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for StrongDM?
I cannot disclose the pricing details, but I find it competitive compared to other solutions.
What needs improvement with StrongDM?
StrongDM can be improved in many ways. For example, the access approval workflow could be faster. We face a challenge where we sometimes need temporary access to production but have to wait for an ...
What is your primary use case for StrongDM?
In our environment, we have managed Linux servers, cloud resources, and production systems, and we use StrongDM as a privileged access management solution. StrongDM authenticates users through the ...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Secret Server vs. StrongDM and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.