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IBM Security Secret Server vs WALLIX Bastion 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)
18th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
WALLIX Bastion
Ranking in Privileged Access Management (PAM)
8th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Privileged Access Management (PAM) category, the mindshare of IBM Security Secret Server is 1.0%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WALLIX Bastion is 8.4%, up from 8.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
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.
Herve Choupot - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhancing administration security with critical feature improvements needed
My primary use case is to make a training about Active Directory security. In my experience, I work with Bastion. I emphasize the importance of having a good knowledge of Bastion to avoid vulnerabilities It helps by providing some security features for administration, although it's crucial to be…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Stability-wise, I think it is a very good solution."
"The live recording is a very useful feature."
"As a PAM solution, Secret Server performs all the use cases in our environment."
"One of the most valuable features is scalability, and how it allows you to scale it without affecting the underlying core components."
"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 setup process was simple, and the solution can be implemented within less than one day."
"Bastion provides a kind of isolation between the administration laptop and the server you want to administer."
"I like that it's Linux-based, and you don't need to have separate implementations, extra database licenses, or enterprise licenses. I think because it's Linux-based, it's more seamless than Windows. I also like the access manager, which I think is a super tool. Everything is browser-based, and you don't need a VPN. So, that's a great thing."
"Bastion provides a kind of isolation between the administration laptop and the server you want to administer."
"WALLIX Bastion's most valuable feature is the Access Manager because you can use it and access the data center without any client VPN."
"The most valuable feature of WALLIX Bastion is its password management capability, which is central to safeguarding sensitive information."
"We use WALLIX Bastion to provide access and to monitor sessions."
"The support is great. They offer 24/7 support, but the specific level of support depends on your subscription. There's a weekday-only option, and a 24/7 option that covers all days of the week. They also have offices in different regions, including West Africa, so people there can easily get support. There's no need to worry about getting assistance."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"It would be preferable if the full proxy was included in the IBM Security Secret Server."
"The nonclustered index is working in an area with a problem that needs improvement."
"The newer interface is more difficult to use than the previous one, and consequently, new users might need more training."
"The scalability of WALLIX Bastion is rated seven out of ten. While it meets our current needs, scaling up the solution is not as easy, and improvements could be made in this area."
"There should be more effort to increase the level of security."
"It would be better if I could manage multiple accounts in one place, like CyberArk. With WALLIX, you can only manage one account, and you are given a separate category. You have to click on each connection to do anything. For example, CyberArk might give three options for one connection if you want to have an interactive user-level experience. But with WALLIX, you have to click three times to get that access. Also, the biggest disadvantage of WALLIX is the reporting. I feel like it's very weak in reporting when compared to the other solutions. As a solution, they're good and stable. But they need to make their reports neater and better. Right now, we're going to the console and then pressing buttons every single time."
"The password management needs improvement. Management of Access Manager should be improved as well."
"The product doesn't have behavior analytics. They promised to develop this, but only for the cloud, not for on-premise versions."
"For me, the main issue has to do with the system performance itself."
"The main problem of Bastion, CyberArk, and WALLIX is that they have the same interface for both administration and users, which is not a good idea from a security perspective."
"Reporting requires improvement; it is basic, allowing only CSV file extraction with no analytics features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 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."
"Some extra price needs to be paid for license."
"The solution's pricing is comparable to that of other products."
"The solution's price is mid-ranged."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
22%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Retailer
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Security Secret Server?
Stability-wise, I think it is a very good solution.
What needs improvement with IBM Security Secret Server?
The nonclustered index is working in an area with a problem that needs improvement. In some cases, when they create some index in the tool, you may face some problems with the parallelism and some ...
What is your primary use case for IBM Security Secret Server?
I use the tool for dynamic services, integration services, and reporting services. I have years of working experience with the tool. I am a DBA and a support administrator for SQL Server, and also ...
What do you like most about WALLIX Bastion?
The support is great. They offer 24/7 support, but the specific level of support depends on your subscription. There's a weekday-only option, and a 24/7 option that covers all days of the week. The...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for WALLIX Bastion?
The price of WALLIX Bastion is rated five out of ten, positioning it in the middle. The cost is justified by the features and capabilities we receive.
What needs improvement with WALLIX Bastion?
The auditing and reporting features of WALLIX Bastion could be improved. Customizable reports could be introduced to generate dynamic reports based on our requirements. Adding flowcharts for the re...
 

Also Known As

IBM Secret Server, Secret Server, IBM Security Privileged Identity Manager
Bastion
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
RTBF, Pharmagest, Michelin Group, Niort Hospital
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security Secret Server vs. WALLIX Bastion and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.