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One Identity Safeguard 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

One Identity Safeguard
Ranking in Privileged Access Management (PAM)
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (6th), Non-Human Identity Management (NHIM) (4th)
Symantec Privileged Access ...
Ranking in Privileged Access Management (PAM)
18th
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 2025, in the Privileged Access Management (PAM) category, the mindshare of One Identity Safeguard is 3.9%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Privileged Access Manager is 1.6%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
 

Featured Reviews

Martin Ajayiobe - PeerSpot reviewer
Th password vault feature has proven to be most effective for managing privileged access
One Identity Safeguard now prevents unauthorized access to servers by eliminating privileged passwords and requiring all connections to go through a PAM-authorized process. This means no one, including hackers, can access servers without explicit approval, significantly enhancing overall security. One Identity Safeguard is easy to use with a good partner to support you, and it can be up and running within a few days. We have successfully integrated One Identity Safeguard with cloud targets, and the process was straightforward. One Identity Safeguard has improved our incident response time by 300 percent.
Muzi Lubisi - PeerSpot reviewer
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

"There are numerous valuable data protection features, including the content and information that offer us more scalable protection as needed."
"I like the discovery functionality and the change password feature through the check-in. I also like the bulk import with the help of templates that come with it out of the box. With the help of these few features, my tasks are made easier."
"The implementation time was quick. It was basically up and running within a week."
"It provides secure and centralized access to both on-prem and cloud servers, which we did not have before. Previously, there were myriad ways to access our servers, so this centralizing feature is beneficial."
"The monitoring system is very good."
"I like Safeguard's snapshot feature that enables us to review the last time an application was opened and by whom. If there are any issues, we can look behind the scenes to see what has been done. We can suspend a user's access or close off a server."
"There is ease of implementation."
"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."
"We have received good support from the tech support team."
"For me, it is the robust API which is the most valuable feature. This allows for low maintenance costs and allows applications to automatically connect. This is great to automate security of the DevOps pipeline for shared secrets across environments. Also, being on Linux and a virtual appliance is great."
"The credential injection feature is highly valued, particularly for RDP sessions."
"It's easy to use and easy to configure."
"The system is very stable."
"We can check the activities in the server for fragile files and documents in case of any issues."
"Whoever built it from the ground up, they understand how an organization is laid out."
"Comprehensive coverage of the required features for the PAM solution."
 

Cons

"We would like to have the option of importing assets by using the CSV file. It was available in the earlier versions, but it is not available now."
"The deployment affects our privileged users because it takes a long time for them to request privileges, which impacts the SLA."
"For some users, the physical appliance has been a bit buggy."
"Our experience with technical support has been disappointing. We require more prompt and faster response times. We require answers to our questions right away but we haven't received that level of support."
"The main point regarding the user experience is that Safeguard has two separate management consoles."
"The SPS could be a lot easier to administrate and the parts should be unified, from a design perspective, so that I can recognize the systems as being part of the same package. They feel like they have been forced together."
"The automated change of the passwords, which is now integrated, could be improved to be more flexible regarding different systems."
"The high availability function of the box requires a long time to switch over from one appliance to another."
"It'd be great if you just stuck in your PIV card and Windows popped up, asked you for your password. You typed it in, then it remembered your credentials."
"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 handled well by the system."
"I wish it could create local accounts on desktops."
"What I hope happens with the new product CA PAM is to keep all the useful features that exist in PA, but what I’ve noticed with many new products is the UI gets polished but systems lags stability and performance or it adds additional complexity instead of simplifying the user experience."
"The management console could be improved."
"They need to have zero tier and active-active setup ​with zero minimum downtime, which they are working on it. ​"
"We have to do a lot of manual work to automate features."
"Broadcom has neglected product development since acquiring Symantec, and nothing major has been added to PAM."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"It was definitely cheaper than the other two products that we evaluated."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing depends on our perspective, our budget, and, of course, the competitors we are taking into account."
"It is cheaper than CyberArk. Its price is fair."
"One Identity Safeguard is expensive and the cost goes up as we scale."
"Setup cost, pricing and licensing are all very expensive."
"Cost-wise, CA was better compared to others in the market. ​"
"Pricing is fair compared to other top vendors."
"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 more expensive than other solutions on the market."
"Appliances are relatively cheap, don’t skimp. Make sure you have redundancy, high availability, and enough appliances to manage the concurrent workload."
"It is reasonably priced."
"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."
"I would prefer better licensing options for the 20-100 users we have at a given time."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
25%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Energy/Utilities Company
6%
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What do you like most about Symantec Privileged Access Manager?
We can check the activities in the server for fragile files and documents in case of any issues.
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...
 

Also Known As

No data available
CA PAM, Xceedium Xsuite, CA Privileged Access Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cavium
NEOVERA, Telesis, eSoft
Find out what your peers are saying about One Identity Safeguard vs. Symantec Privileged Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.