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IBM Security Secret Server vs Symantec Privileged Access Manager 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)
20th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Symantec Privileged Access ...
Ranking in Privileged Access Management (PAM)
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Privileged Access Management (PAM) category, the mindshare of IBM Security Secret Server is 1.3%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Privileged Access Manager is 1.7%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Privileged Access Management (PAM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Symantec Privileged Access Manager1.7%
IBM Security Secret Server1.3%
Other97.0%
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.
Muzi Lubisi - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior technical Consultant at CA Africa
Secure management of sensitive servers and seamless applications with direct linking
The credential injection feature is highly valued, particularly for RDP sessions. A majority of customers use it for RDP, and a couple for Linux servers. The broader capabilities, including access to multiple systems, web-based applications, and clustering, have never posed an issue. The threat analytics aspect is also a robust feature that analyzes all pertinent information.

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."
"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."
"One of the most valuable features is scalability, and how it allows you to scale it without affecting the underlying core components."
"Access to privileged, shared credentials is simplified by optimizing the whole workflow and approval processes."
"It is one of the most well-known names in this field."
"Stability-wise, I think it is a very good solution."
"Centralized Password Management: Our client has more than 400 geographical locations and approximately ten employees work at each location."
"The live recording is a very useful feature."
"When we started analyzing different products, CA was really good."
"The solution has the capability to address hybrid eco-systems, both on-premises and cloud services, and integration with the AD RBAC model is also a great feature, as we can tie it to the central repository."
"The most important feature is that we do not need to know the passwords any more; just having access to the end point; and that it’s easy to manage users and the account."
"If I remember correctly, it was the two factor authentication, and the single most important capability was it supported PIV and CAC as one of the two factors."
"The system is very stable."
"Comprehensive coverage of the required features for the PAM solution."
"CA PAM has session recording, which is a very valuable feature."
"Now, all the privileged access is tunneled through PAM."
 

Cons

"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."
"The newer interface is more difficult to use than the previous one, and consequently, new users might need more training."
"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 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."
"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."
"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 nonclustered index is working in an area with a problem that needs improvement."
"So far, with the functionality of what we had, there has not been much improvement at this point of time."
"Bring more technology into the portfolio and being able to collapse those products into a much more integrated way."
"The first setup was complex. The implementation, to me, was very bad."
"Technical support was good when CA handled it. After Broadcom took over, it's not as good."
"They need to do a little bit more on the mainframe side.​"
"I would like it to support more types of integration."
"There are currently other tools on the market which are much cheaper than PAM. They can do almost all of what PAM does, and even do it better."
"The user interface and dependence on applets and Windows could use some improvement."
 

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."
"Appliances are relatively cheap, don’t skimp. Make sure you have redundancy, high availability, and enough appliances to manage the concurrent workload."
"The version we are using is affordable compared to BeyondTrust, which is maybe three to four times as expensive, but it depends on the features."
"It is reasonably priced."
"Pricing is fair compared to other top vendors."
"Don’t go with an agent model. Don’t go with a model that has you buying a thousand different parts. Go with PAM that gives you everything, or you’ll just be paying costs of implementing another tool that PAM would have just given you up front."
"Cost-wise, CA was better compared to others in the market. ​"
"I would prefer better licensing options for the 20-100 users we have at a given time."
"The prices are not low, but one can ask for a discount. It’s not the cheapest PAM solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Insurance Company
19%
Construction Company
10%
Performing Arts
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Construction Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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 Business14
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise30
 

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 Symantec Privileged Access Manager?
Due to the nature of the solution, it is hard to gauge, but compared to competitors, the pricing is very good. I would rate it as an eight and a half out of ten.
What needs improvement with Symantec Privileged Access Manager?
Recent releases need improvement in webpage management. For instance, navigating through a webpage that acts like a wizard, where I proceed to the next page and enter more information, is not handl...
What is your primary use case for Symantec Privileged Access Manager?
With the customers that I have so far, I help them broker RDP sessions to sensitive servers, particularly those that manage aspects like physical access. I have also done it for backend databases, ...
 

Also Known As

IBM Secret Server, Secret Server, IBM Security Privileged Identity Manager
CA PAM, Xceedium Xsuite, CA Privileged Access Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
NEOVERA, Telesis, eSoft
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Secret Server vs. Symantec Privileged Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
899,324 professionals have used our research since 2012.