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Symantec Privileged Access Manager vs Symantec VIP Access Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Symantec Privileged Access ...
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
Privileged Access Management (PAM) (16th)
Symantec VIP Access Manager
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (16th), Access Management (18th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Identity and Access Management solutions, they serve different purposes. Symantec Privileged Access Manager is designed for Privileged Access Management (PAM) and holds a mindshare of 1.5%, down 1.6% compared to last year.
Symantec VIP Access Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Authentication Systems, holds 1.6% mindshare, down 2.3% since last year.
Privileged Access Management (PAM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Symantec Privileged Access Manager1.5%
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager16.3%
Delinea Secret Server7.5%
Other74.7%
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
Authentication Systems Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Symantec VIP Access Manager1.6%
Microsoft Entra ID13.8%
Cisco Duo8.5%
Other76.1%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Berk Onur - PeerSpot reviewer
With its mobile application, this tool offers a convenient and user-friendly experience to its users
To improve the tool, I think that the solution should consider integrations with other cybersecurity and IT technologies, such as Privileged Access Management and Site Integration. Additionally, the implementation of second-factor authentication via Symantec VIP Access Manager, CyberArk, and Delinea, among other technologies, could be best for the product. While the existing technology is okay, improving the integration capabilities for Symantec VIP Access Manager would benefit the product. I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company. While many cybersecurity solutions can function independently, they often lack integration with our systems due to missed integration points. Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is great for identity governance."
"We know we can scale up with what we have, and we probably will not need to buy any further appliances down the road."
"Password Management and Session Recording. The simplicity and ease that it is to be up and running out-of-the-box is very much appreciated."
"CA PAM is working well for us."
"We found that the architecture is scalable and very resilient."
"It gives you list of servers, so you can see which users have access to which servers. This is really useful, so we can make sure nobody is getting extra access than what is needed."
"It is simple to implement and is suitable for medium to large-scale enterprises."
"We have received good support from the tech support team."
"The product is useful for providing user access from an in-built office server as we follow the work-from-home model."
"The VPN we are using is good and working quite well."
"Other than it provides us with remote access, so it's fairly easy to install, fairly easy to set up, and provides us the ability to get into our corporate environment."
"The two-factor authentication is most definitely valuable and moves us closer to being able to check off those important boxes for compliance."
"In this version 9.1, lots of changes are done for the dashboard, User Store etc."
"It is easy to use."
"It offers more platform support, like Apple, Android, and Microsoft."
"The tool has been very stable, in my experience. Also, I haven't faced any issues or problems with integration or connectivity."
 

Cons

"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."
"The setup is complex."
"Recent releases need improvement in webpage management."
"The service account management functionality needs to be extended to application pools, SQL database, PowerShell scripts, service account discovery, etc."
"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."
"Bring more technology into the portfolio and being able to collapse those products into a much more integrated way."
"We have to do a lot of manual work to automate features."
"The gateway server is a RADIUS server, but it lacks the functionality of returning RADIUS attributes other than those that are required for the gateway to authenticate the users."
"It is challenging to use when installing a new version."
"Geofencing needs improvement."
"The User Store synchronization part needs to improve. Also, the logs, reports, and dashboard can be improved."
"I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company...Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial."
"It gets out of sync with Active Directory or whatever it might be, whatever the authentication piece is on Active Directory, and they just reset it on the backend. I never have to contact the vendor."
"Maybe Symantec could consider providing a step-by-step guide for first-time users."
"If they had dashboards or a report for managers or executives, then it would allow them to see the status and have it make sense to them."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would prefer better licensing options for the 20-100 users we have at a given time."
"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."
"It is more expensive than other solutions on the market."
"Pricing is fair compared to other top vendors."
"Cost-wise, CA was better compared to others in the market. ​"
"The licensing is simple and scalable."
"Appliances are relatively cheap, don’t skimp. Make sure you have redundancy, high availability, and enough appliances to manage the concurrent workload."
"They offer per-device, per-user, or monthly and yearly licensing models."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
"There is a one-time setup fee plus the licenses are provided as per the number of users. For SMS and voice calls, the costs are separate."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
16%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Healthcare Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise30
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What do you like most about Symantec VIP Access Manager?
The product is useful for providing user access from an in-built office server as we follow the work-from-home model.
What needs improvement with Symantec VIP Access Manager?
The product's connection speed needs improvement. Sometimes, I need help connecting my mobile to the main office's system due to a version upgrade. It is challenging to use when installing a new ve...
What is your primary use case for Symantec VIP Access Manager?
We use the product to access a virtual computer, hosted by our IT sector while working remotely.
 

Also Known As

CA PAM, Xceedium Xsuite, CA Privileged Access Manager
Symantec VIP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NEOVERA, Telesis, eSoft
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about CyberArk, Delinea, One Identity and others in Privileged Access Management (PAM). Updated: August 2025.
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