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Shubham Likhankar - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at Persistent Systems
MSP
Top 20
Feb 3, 2025
Vaulting and seamless connection enhance security and streamline operations
Pros and Cons
  • "The best feature is vaulting. CyberArk has a separate vault, which is their proprietary vault, which provides multiple encryptions for every password object, as well as tamper-proof recording."
  • "CyberArk's capabilities and functionality outperform other solutions."
  • "I sometimes require learning resources when there is a new solution for CyberArk."
  • "They are taking two to three days for resolution are too slow. Customers, including myself, do not want to wait this long for solutions."

What is our primary use case?

My first use case is seamless recording and seamless connection to the area target, as well as the recording of ten sessions with command restriction. This is the first use case. 

Secondly, I can perform password rotation without needing to know or use the password of the privileged account. I can connect and rotate my password as needed. Various customers have password rotation for each day. 

These are the two main use cases currently employed: password rotation and a seamless connection to end targets with the recording feature.

How has it helped my organization?

It's a one-stop solution. Whatever I need, whether securing identity, web applications, privileged accounts, RDP, Windows, Linux, or other devices like switches or firewalls, CyberArk supports it fully. It eliminates the need for me to search for other solutions.

Its identity compatibility with CyberArk Identity Solution provides extra security, including free MFA with the licensing cost. Premium accounts can increase security using the EnCon Privileged Manager. CyberArk's integration with PaaS solutions makes it the most comprehensive solution, eliminating the need for me to explore other Gartner solutions.

What is most valuable?

The best feature is vaulting. CyberArk has a separate vault, which is their proprietary vault, which provides multiple encryptions for every password object, as well as tamper-proof recording. Recordings are sent to the vault. This is the best feature since all data and security we have are situated in the vault. 

CyberArk provides me with a single account page to access all endpoints or privileged accounts, simplifying connection without the hassle of password maintenance.

What needs improvement?

I sometimes require learning resources when there is a new solution for CyberArk. I need to mark favourite accounts or group accounts which point to needed improvements. Some users wish to bypass providing a reason when logging into some target servers. 

Additionally, some users could be excluded from certain requirements, but this is not currently possible. A gradual setting could be added to exclude users from regular routing, allowing direct access without entering a reason. 

Also, improving the support process is necessary. They are focusing on cloud solutions instead of on-prem. They are taking two to three days for resolution are too slow. Customers, including myself, do not want to wait this long for solutions. It is vital for CyberArk to focus more on enhancing support, though CyberArk is committed to monitoring customer reviews and is making progress in its solutions.

Buyer's Guide
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about CyberArk Privileged Access Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have deployed and implemented CyberArk for various customers. I have been installing and deploying CyberArk to different clients and regions for more than four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In my four years of experience, I did not encounter any glitches or big problems in CyberArk. I have only encountered minor issues, such as a learning curve, which cannot be changed. There are also a few items that are mandatory and not optional in terms of being able to change things. Even if the customer does not want it, it is a one-stop solution.

Apart from these minor issues, CyberArk is perfect for daily operations when compared to other solutions. It secures my organization despite some mandatory features that clients do not want. 

I'd rate stability nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I'd rate scalability ten out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

I'd rate the technical support seven out of ten.

I have experience with CyberArk support, where I had some unresolved issues. The support provided me with a different solution, which was unrelated to my request. The support staff appeared lacking in technical knowledge, which resulted in dissatisfaction for both myself and the customer. Consequently, they hired partners and services to manage their CyberArk application.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup depends entirely on the investment. CyberArk consists of several components, such as four to five for a standard setup or eight to ten for distributed or high-availability configurations. 

This increases investment costs. SaaS, which requires fewer components, might be chosen yet comes with disadvantages, as Vault and PVWX come with the application. Compared to on-prem solutions, it's a bit more expensive, however it gives more rights to the customer. 

The initial setup is straightforward. The customer can use it almost right away.

The process might take 20 minutes with troubleshooting all the way up to three months for a full project. 

Most of our clients are bigger enterprises.

CyberArk does not need any maintenance. It deploys custom management, so you don't require anything beyond an administrator that can handle any downtime. It automatically upgrades.

What about the implementation team?

Our team currently consists of up to ten members working, depending on the project's requirements.

What was our ROI?

The ROI is a big concern. It's a total solution, and most customers are totally satisfied with their solution right now. Most customers are satisfied with having this single solution, having initially wanted different solutions. After experiencing CyberArk and its demo, customers are fully satisfied. CyberArk's capabilities and functionality outperform other solutions.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

CyberArk is not inexpensive. It offers a two-way model: access is a licensing cost based on the number of users, and the implementation cost is handled by partners. Although it is somewhat expensive, paying only for licenses instead of the number of devices can be considered fair. Yet, it is not labeled as cheap, it is somewhat falling on the expensive side.

CyberArk is a bit expensive and enterprise clients are the ones that are using it right now. It works well in big organizations with big architecture. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have experience with CyberArk as well as other on-prem solutions. CyberArk offers numerous solutions. Compared to others, CyberArk's identity system is bundled with access solutions and securing privileged access. The admin gateway first checks user legitimacy before granting access to the PaaS solution or privileged accounts. CyberArk integrates various cybersecurity solutions, such as identity, endpoint privilege manager, and PAM solution, apart from VPN-less access and dynamic privilege access. 

Other solutions only offer traditional features. CyberArk is progressing in AI and ML. It's allowing web applications and scripts onboarded without credential hassle. Hence, CyberArk is a leader in time solutions.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate the product a nine out of ten. 

It's a one-stop solution. CyberArk has total support for everything, saving you from finding any other solution. You get strong security for your license costs.

I'm a partner of CyberArk.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer2695500 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Information Technology Security Specialist at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Apr 17, 2025
Improves compliance and operational efficiency
Pros and Cons
  • "CyberArk Privileged Access Manager makes it easy for users to retrieve and manage their passwords."
  • "CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has helped our organization remain compliant in the privileged access management space."
  • "In CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, the UI has room for improvement, as does the dashboard reporting, which could be made better or easier to use."
  • "In CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, the UI has room for improvement, as does the dashboard reporting, which could be made better or easier to use."

What is our primary use case?

We're using CyberArk Privileged Access Manager to manage our service accounts, privileged service accounts, and password rotation. We also use Conjur.

How has it helped my organization?

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has helped our organization remain compliant in the privileged access management space. It is very helpful for meeting compliance and regulatory requirements such as SOC, SWIFT, and PCI DSS.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has helped us become more efficient in managing these service accounts.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager feels quite secure in ensuring data privacy.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has a very strong potential for preventing attacks and lateral movements, but it has not had an impact one way or the other on the number of privileged accounts in our organization. They are just managed differently.

What is most valuable?

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager makes it easy for users to retrieve and manage their passwords.

I have been using CyberArk Privileged Access Manager for a few months. I am still learning, and I appreciate all the networking and education at the CyberArk Impact in Boston, which is going to set me up for success as I take on my role.

What needs improvement?

In CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, the UI has room for improvement, as does the dashboard reporting, which could be made better or easier to use. The interface needs to be more intuitive in CyberArk Privileged Access Manager. There should be dashboards in CyberArk Privileged Access Manager with more data and reporting capability for the non-compliant scenarios.

For how long have I used the solution?

My company has been using it for a long time; I have been using it only for a few months.

How are customer service and support?

I have not had any support experience with CyberArk at this point in my journey. 

I found the CyberArk Impact event to be much more effective as an educational experience.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

What was our ROI?

The time-to-value for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager was recognized pretty quickly after implementing it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I hope to learn how the pricing works so that I can understand it better, but I am certain it is not inexpensive.

What other advice do I have?

It is absolutely necessary to have a PAM tool like CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, even if someone is using other security tools.

Based on my experience thus far, I would recommend CyberArk Privileged Access Manager to other users.

I would rate CyberArk Privileged Access Manager as an eight out of ten. It is early in my journey with this solution.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about CyberArk Privileged Access Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer2621112 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior IAM Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 10
Jan 23, 2025
Makes periodic password rotations and access management easy but needs better UI and simplicity
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is platform management. It is quite easy to manage privileged access for certain target platforms with CyberArk Privileged Access Manager as compared to other products I have worked with."
  • "CyberArk Privileged Access Manager’s ability to safeguard credentials for our organization is very important because it helps in managing the keys to the kingdom, especially the privileged access for various platforms."
  • "CyberArk definitely needs to improve user experience and reduce complexity."
  • "One area for improvement is the user interface. It needs significant enhancements."

What is our primary use case?

I use CyberArk Privileged Access Manager to manage privileged access within the organization.

By implementing CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, we wanted the management of periodic password rotation, management of privileged access, and discovery of privileged access.

How has it helped my organization?

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager’s ability to safeguard credentials for our organization is very important because it helps in managing the keys to the kingdom, especially the privileged access for various platforms. It is quite important for the organization, and it is one of the must-have applications. It plays a key role in managing privileged access for the organization.

We are able to manage close to 20,000 accounts without many cases by using out-of-the-box features available in CyberArk Privileged Access Manager.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager helps in meeting certain compliance and regulatory requirements and closing any gaps.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has not helped reduce MTTR. When we have an incident with CyberArk, it takes time for us to recover. There is always an increase in MTTR because of the complexity of the CyberArk infrastructure itself.

From an operational efficiency perspective, CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has reduced a lot of manual work, such as changing passwords and managing privileged access accounts manually. By automatically rotating passwords within a set period of time, it streamlines many processes. It has improved operational efficiency for privileged access, but managing the infrastructure is one of the things that we are working on. It is a complex product. 

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has not helped reduce the number of privileged accounts in our organization. Privileged accounts are the key entities within CyberArk. There has not been any decrease in the number of privileged accounts, but there are areas that we, as an organization, have not touched, such as cloud infrastructure, etc. We are working closely with CyberArk engineers to have them onboarded and manage those privileged accounts through CyberArk. That is in our road map.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is platform management. It is quite easy to manage privileged access for certain target platforms with CyberArk Privileged Access Manager as compared to other products I have worked with.

It is very out-of-the-box and straightforward to configure periodic password rotations and access management for the platforms my organization is working with. That makes things easier in terms of what needs to be done. We do not have to spend time troubleshooting and working with support to figure out why something is not working, which is what I have personally done with other competitors.

What needs improvement?

One area for improvement is the user interface. It needs significant enhancements. It is outdated and does not align with the stress and challenges happening across the IT products landscape regarding user experience. CyberArk definitely needs to improve user experience and reduce complexity.

It is quite complex. CyberArk needs to reduce complexity. The product is currently very complex and challenging to understand without training. The product should be user-friendly and easy to use. CyberArk should understand that a product should not require training after a customer subscribes. Hence, user experience should be given the utmost priority.

Maintaining the infrastructure is not easy. Patching CyberArk Privileged Access Manager when there is an update or patch release requires professional services due to the complexity of the product. It takes us three months to six months to do an upgrade. For managing or monitoring the infrastructure, CyberArk Privileged Access Manager does not have any inbuilt tools. We have to rely on other tools which CyberArk does not recommend. There is no other way to monitor those infrastructure components. It is quite taxing and resource-intensive. For an organization of our size, at least five people are required to work full-time with CyberArk and monitor and maintain the infrastructure.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using CyberArk Privileged Access Manager for more than two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Regarding the stability, it is pretty stable. We do not need continuous management. The performance is also very good for the size of our organization and the user base we are working with. We have not had any performance issues so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is not easily scalable due to the on-premises infrastructure we use. It is not elastic like cloud-based solutions.

We have approximately 6,500 users. We have sized the environment accordingly. As an organization, we have done our own risk assessment to understand how CyberArk will grow in the next three years. We sized the environment accordingly so that there are no performance issues if it grows vertically or horizontally.

How are customer service and support?

We use their premium support, but we do not get the value for the price we pay for the support.

For some questions, CyberArk support recommends professional services, which takes us on a financial route. From a customer perspective, it is unclear why I need to reach out to professional services for certain issues. If I have straightforward questions, I get answers from technical support easily. However, there have been instances where we were redirected to services requiring additional payments to get certain questions answered or receive suggestions.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

In my previous organizations, I have used multiple products. I have also worked in a company competing with CyberArk. I worked on the development of a competitive product for CyberArk. 

I also implemented a competitor product in another organization which is listed as a leader alongside CyberArk. It was much easier to work with in terms of user experience compared to CyberArk. It was pretty easy to use and could be self-learned.

How was the initial setup?

Its implementation is complex. If a new customer is onboarding CyberArk as a product to manage privileged access, it is quite complex.

Its integration is pretty straightforward. There are many out-of-the-box connectors. There are also a lot of connectors available in the marketplace to have CyberArk integrated with various systems. For a particular connector, testing to production took close to six weeks.

What about the implementation team?

As CyberArk always recommends, we went with one of their partners to implement it within the organization.

We have three key engineers within the team responsible for managing the entire CyberArk architecture. They handle monitoring and management. They also work with other business units to have the privileged access vaulted and determine the road map for privileged access management. They also help in performing certain day-to-day business activities or tasks.

What was our ROI?

It took us close to three years to see its value and understand why it was chosen over other solutions.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I have heard from my leaders that CyberArk is costlier in terms of licensing. The support and maintenance are also costly. We use their premium support, but for the price we pay, we do not get the value.

What other advice do I have?

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is pretty costly, and it takes a lot of time to implement it. It is quite complex to implement CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, but once it is properly implemented, with the user community that is available with CyberArk, it is pretty straightforward and easy to use. Once implemented, it does provide value for the organization.

I would advise sizing it appropriately and building the infrastructure accordingly so that it is scalable. When it is sized properly in terms of CPU, RAM, memory, and disk size, it works smoothly without requiring specific maintenance, such as clearing logs. That is what I would recommend to any of my peers or colleagues working in other companies.

I would rate CyberArk Privileged Access Manager a six out of ten. Four points are deducted because of its complexity.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Privileged Access Management Engineer at a hospitality company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Dec 22, 2024
The ability to ensure compliance with both our internal and industry standards is invaluable
Pros and Cons
  • "The best feature of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is its core function: automatically managing and securing credentials."
  • "The best feature of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is its core function: automatically managing and securing credentials."
  • "Transitioning from a traditional on-premises deployment to the privileged cloud has resulted in losing access to many logs and administrative tools typically available on the back end."
  • "Transitioning from a traditional on-premises deployment to the privileged cloud has resulted in losing access to many logs and administrative tools typically available on the back end."

What is our primary use case?

I use CyberArk Privileged Access Manager to manage the privileged credentials of our environment.

How has it helped my organization?

When I arrived at my company, CyberArk Privileged Access Manager was already deployed, so I didn't set it up myself. However, I've increasingly taken over its management during the past five and a half years. I saw its benefits almost immediately. Much of the value is tied to user adoption; as the end-user base becomes more familiar with CyberArk and embraces it, the benefits increase. Conversely, when we have users who know CyberArk exists but don't trust it, prefer their own methods, and avoid using it, its effectiveness is reduced. Ultimately, the more users embrace CyberArk, the greater the benefits I observe.

What is most valuable?

The best feature of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is its core function: automatically managing and securing credentials. The ability to ensure compliance with both our internal and industry standards is invaluable, particularly in the current environment. While managing a couple of thousand accounts may not be a large number within the CyberArk community, it significantly simplifies our work in ensuring compliance and maintaining standards. The PSM feature is also excellent, as I've found it increasingly helpful in establishing connections without exposing passwords. Although a bit clunky when I used it a few years ago, it runs much smoother now. Overall, it's a great product, and I appreciate most of its features.

What needs improvement?

We use the privileged cloud model. However, transitioning from a traditional on-premises deployment to the privileged cloud has resulted in losing access to many logs and administrative tools typically available on the back end. For instance, we can no longer examine safes directly, delve into the vault to set permissions more granularly, diagnose port issues, or manage license allocation. These functionalities were readily accessible with our on-premises setup, but the cloud environment significantly restricts them. One highly desirable feature, for which I've seen an enhancement request already submitted, would be the implementation of more comprehensive logging around platform and policy changes, including details on the nature of the change when it occurred, and who made it. I recently encountered an instance where one of our platforms was altered without knowing when or by whom. This lack of auditability makes it impossible to understand the rationale behind the change, even though it appears relatively intuitive. Therefore, enhanced logging would be a valuable addition to our current system.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Privileged Access Manager for five and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Generally, the performance of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is quite good, and we've experienced very few issues. Specifically regarding the PSM, the response time is typically excellent. However, some users have reported occasional timeout issues where the PSM session terminates unexpectedly. The source of this problem is unclear, as it could originate from the target server or the PSM server itself. While I encountered more issues with the PSM a couple of years ago, the response time has significantly improved recently. There are inherent challenges due to the multiple network connections involved, mainly when mapping network drives to transfer files within a PSM session. This connection can be slow, especially when enumerating folders during file system traversal, but it's likely an unavoidable consequence of the process.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is straightforward. While the initial deployment presents some challenges, deploying additional servers afterward is quite simple. The servers are robust in terms of their handling capacity. In discussions with CyberArk engineers, I learned that the expected load for the CPM and PSM was discussed. The CPM, in particular, can reportedly handle up to 50,000 accounts independently without issue. Given that we only have a couple of thousand accounts rotating, deploying an additional CPM would be a relatively easy task, achievable in less than a day. Therefore, scaling up appears to be quite feasible if necessary.

How are customer service and support?

We subscribe to premium support, and it's been excellent, providing us with relatively rapid responses and overall good experiences. Previously, with regular support, the quality was inconsistent and heavily dependent on the technician assigned to our ticket. Some technicians were excellent, diving right in, carefully reading my notes, and offering helpful solutions. Others seemed to overlook the details I provided. For instance, I'd explain that I'd already consulted a specific knowledge base article and implemented the recommended solution without success, only to have the technician suggest I review that very same KB article, which I had just referenced.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?


What other advice do I have?

I rate CyberArk Privileged Access Manager eight out of ten.

The connector servers require minimal maintenance. The only constraint is keeping the browser drivers up-to-date for web application connections, which can be more of an annoyance than a hindrance. Overall, there is not much maintenance involved for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager.

My advice for new users is to read the documentation. There's a lot of good information in there. I know it can be a bit of a drag to go through it all, but as you work, especially on the administrative side, you'll find that it contains a lot of information that can save you headaches. It would help you avoid opening tickets just by reading and following the guidelines. The documentation is pretty good, though not perfect; there are actually several errors. However, for most day-to-day activities, it's quite helpful.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Infrastructure Architect, Senior Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Apr 29, 2025
Helps secure our accounts and has good stability and support
Pros and Cons
  • "By implementing CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, we wanted to secure the password data and password accounts. We could see the benefits of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager immediately after we deployed it and started using it."
  • "We could see the benefits of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager immediately after we deployed it and started using it."
  • "They could improve CyberArk Privileged Access Manager by providing more reports. If I need to know the 10 most-used accounts for this week, that functionality can be made available in the reports."
  • "My company always complains about the cost of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager because it's too high."

What is our primary use case?

My use cases as of right now include configuration, implementation, and developing a PowerShell report.

What is most valuable?

By implementing CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, we wanted to secure the password data and password accounts. We could see the benefits of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager immediately after we deployed it and started using it.

What needs improvement?

They could improve CyberArk Privileged Access Manager by providing more reports. If I need to know the 10 most-used accounts for this week, that functionality can be made available in the reports.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using CyberArk Privileged Access Manager for seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable. The environment is stable, with no lagging, crashing, or downtime.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I cannot say much about scalability because we did not have any need for it.

How are customer service and support?

I have contacted their technical support plenty of times. I would rate CyberArk's support a seven out of ten. They are always good.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have not used any alternatives to CyberArk Privileged Access Manager in my career.

How was the initial setup?

The initial deployment was easy because I went to training first. The training was set up by CyberArk. From design to implementation, it took close to six months.

In terms of maintenance, it requires OS upgrades and patches. It doesn't take a long time.

What about the implementation team?

We did not use any help from a third party, such as an integrator or consultant. The number of people required depends on the environment. I don't see how one person can manage it because there is a lot of information to collect before even doing a design.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

My company always complains about the cost of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager because it's too high.

What other advice do I have?

For a new user, I would advise them to try to configure CyberArk Privileged Access Manager a couple of times before starting to use it in a production environment.

I would rate CyberArk Privileged Access Manager a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Yagya Mishra - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Managing Consultant at IBM
Real User
Top 5
Jan 24, 2025
Safeguards credentials, improves security posture, and reduces IT resources
Pros and Cons
  • "The main feature of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is the ability to manage who has access to what and when, especially with shared accounts."
  • "I would recommend CyberArk Privileged Access Manager."
  • "The reporting should be improved. There should be more customization. The report should show how we are going to mitigate the risk because we cannot show the system environment to each and every auditor."
  • "The reporting should be improved. There should be more customization."

What is our primary use case?

The main use of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is to manage identities and access for our clients. We mainly focus on use cases like managing shared accounts, automatic password rotation, and recording sessions.

Its quite difficult to track for client who has access and at what time, which activity was done with that account, especially for built-in administrator accounts and Shared accounts. 

Automatic password rotation is another use case. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has the capability to rotate automatic passwords in the defined period of time. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is also used for recording and session monitoring .

With CyberArk DNA, we can discover the accounts and their associated dependencies and usage.

How has it helped my organization?

Data is secure. The passwords are stored in an encrypted format. The data privacy is very high, and it is quite challenging for someone to retrieve credentials from CyberArk Privileged Access Manager.

With Privileged Threat Analytics (PTA), which is a different component in CyberArk, you can put some additional control. For example, you have an account onboarded on CyberArk. If someone wants to access the system without using CyberArk and copying a password, which they might have stored in the notepad or their system, an alert gets triggered. There is also an additional control for ad hoc admin access if someone wants to access an admin privilege or and want to access some critical application after business hours. PTA provides more control.

It improves the overall security posture and provides more control. We have better governance. Credentials are stored in the safe vault.

It reduces the need for IT and help desk resources. There is a streamlined change process without relying on the L1 team to reset the admin account credentials. There is also better compliance and segregation of duties. We can meet the compliance requirement for retention of logs, password rotations, etc. It helps client to meet different compliance requirement / standards, such as HIPAA, SOX, ISO 27001, etc.

With no manual intervention, there is also a reduction in human errors. Based on the number of available accounts for the organization and the user entitlement, that is 300 to 400 hours.

It improves operational efficiency. With the control that we have with CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, there is a reduction in the manual effort for validation of the admin accounts. Without it, a person has to extract the accounts from the servers and revalidate them with the owners or approvers. That is quite tricky.

It can help to reduce the number of privileged accounts. For example, if the Windows team has 10 or 15 members with individual accounts. It is better to create one shared account based on their role such as L1, L2, or L3, reducing it to 2 accounts. It will reduce the number of privileged accounts in the organization as well as threats.

What is most valuable?

The main feature of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is the ability to manage who has access to what and when, especially with shared accounts. With individual accounts, that is easy, but with shared accounts, it is quite challenging for clients.

The sessions are being monitored based on the Safe design and the ownership of a respective Safe. And its maintain individual accountability, Also check-in and check-out the passwords.

What needs improvement?

The reporting should be improved.  There should be more customization. The report should show how we are going to mitigate the risk because we cannot show the system environment to each and every auditor. Some kind of custom report should be there so that we can give a clear output about the risk.

There should be improvements in the dashboard visibility within CyberArk Privileged Access Manager. It should give more visibility in a single go rather than having to compare different reports.

Furthermore, having out-of-the-box dependency discovery for accounts, such as scheduled tasks , services and application pools, would be beneficial to improve overall functionality.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have a total of 16 years of experience, and I have been working with CyberArk for about twelve to thirteen years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There have been no stability or performance issues as long as the design meets the requirements. It is essential to adhere to the recommendations for concurrent session capacities.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is quite stable and scalable. It does not seem to have any gaps.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support from CyberArk is quite impressive. They are responsive and provide detailed information when needed. I would rate them a nine out of ten because sometimes there are delays due to different reasons or misunderstandings.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have worked in CyberArk, Delinea, CA PAM, ARCON, and BeyondTrust. I am parallelly working on other PAM tools along with CyberArk. I started to work in CyberArk PAM since version 7.1.

How was the initial setup?

For on-premises, there is complexity due to the need for physical servers and cluster configuration, which might require going to data centers. However, after several deployments, it becomes less challenging. A cloud deployment would be easier.

Its integration capabilities are quite good. We are using CyberArk identity as a multifactor authentication with RADIUS. That is quite impressive because, with one dashboard, we can manage the users' identities.

In terms of the deployment strategy, we first identify the scale and then design the solution. If the number of admins is high, there will be more concurrent sessions and recordings.

It is not tough to maintain. We once had an issue because of human error, but overall, it is easy. For 8X5 support, five members should be there.

What about the implementation team?

For a large-scale deployment, two to three people are sufficient.

What was our ROI?

The cost savings vary based on the organization. A larger organization will definitely have more cost savings with the reduction in the manual effort in managing the accounts in the system.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is slightly higher compared to other solutions, but it is reasonable because there are better security features. Initially, it was based on endpoints, now it is based on the number of users, which offers cost savings based on administrative accounts.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend CyberArk Privileged Access Manager. My recommendation would be to ensure that the benefits of the solution are highlighted by presales, such as risk mitigation and meeting compliance posture.

The overall rating for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor. The reviewer's company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: MSP
PeerSpot user
Thabiso Muzi Mbatha - PeerSpot reviewer
CyberSecurity Engineer at Performanta
Real User
Top 20
Dec 23, 2024
Enhanced my organizational capabilities by providing important security reporting features
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager include its search capabilities."
  • "I would recommend CyberArk Privileged Access Manager because it is a leading solution for privileged access management."
  • "My concern and area for improvement revolves around reporting."
  • "Customer support is somewhat lacking. They are often unavailable on Fridays, and the support process, such as raising a call or case, can take too long."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is within the IT security industry. It manages privileged access and generates reports, particularly for clients in sectors like finance. The system facilitates account management, enables the generation of on-demand reports, and helps maintain security protocols for these clients.

How has it helped my organization?

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has enhanced my organizational capabilities by providing important security reporting features.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager include its search capabilities. Searching was previously a challenge, especially with Windows servers. When searching, we could only search based on the account name itself, as the system couldn't identify which accounts had access to which systems. This functionality caught my attention. Another standout feature is CyberArk Compass, which is planned for an upcoming release or has potentially already been released for Prisma Cloud. Finally, managing user accounts through the PWA is quite helpful. When a user is suspended, we can activate the account using the PWA instead of the private client.

The ability to manage user accounts and suspend them with ease through Password Vault Web Access rather than a client is a significant feature.

I like the integration with tools like Compass and the ability to search based on account names and systems.

What needs improvement?

My concern and area for improvement revolves around reporting. I even submitted an enhancement request to CyberArk Software, suggesting that they include a dedicated dashboard page within either Privileged Cloud or their self-hosted PAM solution. This dashboard could feature visual elements like pie charts to display metrics such as account compliance percentages. For example, it could show PTA alerts to visualize security events occurring within a month, quarter, or year. Having such a feature would allow for on-the-spot report generation. Currently, we rely on the REST API to invoke and pull the necessary information. We then have to manually copy the data, convert it from JSON to Excel, and generate the desired report and dashboard. This process is time-consuming and sometimes leads to inconsistencies in the information provided.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using CyberArk Privileged Access Manager for six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is generally good. Minor issues may arise, but they are typically manageable and not major. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the stability an eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

My deployment of CyberArk is scalable, although the scalability differs depending on whether it's on-premises or cloud.

How are customer service and support?

Customer support is somewhat lacking. They are often unavailable on Fridays, and the support process, such as raising a call or case, can take too long. On a scale of zero to ten, I would rate their support as six out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before using CyberArk, I interacted with BeyondTrust. BeyondTrust features, such as their reporting simplicity, made it easier for me to generate reports. The switch was primarily motivated by cost considerations.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was detailed and required steps to ensure security measures were aligned with standards. Efficient sequencing, working with redundancy, and cooperation with load-balancing teams were crucial parts of the process.

The deployment took one week to complete because of the redundancy.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is expensive but not excessively so. Discussions with clients have revealed that costs, especially for Privileged Cloud, are a concern. Improved support could enhance the solution's overall value.

I would rate the cost of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager seven out of ten with ten being the most expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend CyberArk Privileged Access Manager because it is a leading solution for privileged access management. Although it has room for improvement, particularly in areas like reporting and support, it remains a solid option. I rate it an eight out of ten.

We have deployed CyberArk Privileged Access Manager using various configurations. For instance, active components are located in one location, while passive components reside in another. This is determined by the route to the virtual machine, as the components operate as virtual machines. The primary vault is situated in a separate location, and the disaster recovery vault is placed in another distinct location. Currently, we have a PAM license for 800 users, but we are utilizing it for 650 users.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager maintenance addresses security bulletins and involves several key steps. We ensure the admin utilizes the security bulletin during maintenance, which begins with raising a change request. Before the change is approved and implemented in production, it is thoroughly tested in a test environment to verify its functionality. Deployment to production follows successful testing. Application-specific maintenance for CyberArk follows the product roadmap, ensuring we remain at most one version behind the latest release. We also promptly apply necessary security patches from security bulletins. Furthermore, from an OS perspective, we maintain alignment with the latest Microsoft patches, ensuring all systems are up-to-date and secure.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor. The reviewer's company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Senior Cybersecurity Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 10
Dec 17, 2024
The log and audit files are very helpful when we have to investigate an incident
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager are its robust functionality and reliability."
  • "CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is very powerful and customizable."
  • "The graphical user interface could be simplified and harmonized for better usability. It should be consistent. Its GUI is very confusing."
  • "Its GUI is very confusing."

What is our primary use case?

I use CyberArk Privileged Access Manager for privileged access management for our IT administrative team. It helps in managing access to IT systems.

By implementing this solution, we wanted to monitor and manage access. We wanted to control who can log into which machine.

How has it helped my organization?

Our administrators no longer have to save the passwords or credentials in a file or spreadsheet to share with colleagues. Everything is organized in a vault. We have logs on which credentials were used and at what time on a machine.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is very powerful and customizable. We are able to customize it as per our needs. 

It has been stable over the last four years, and we have a good overview of the usage of every credential on hosts and endpoints. Our infrastructure consists of many solutions and pieces, and CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is one of the important pieces. 

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has not helped us reduce the number of privileged accounts, but it certainly helps us manage our privileged accounts. Without it, it would not be possible to manage them.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager assists us in meeting compliance and regulatory requirements from the government, the European Central Bank, and our customers. It is hard to measure the time saved on satisfying compliance requirements related to financial services by implementing CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, but without it, it would not be possible for us to meet these requirements.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager are its robust functionality and reliability. 

It has reduced the mean time to respond, but it is hard to provide any metrics. Its log and audit files are very helpful when we have to investigate an incident.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager helps ensure data privacy because we now know who is using which credentials and at what time.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager did not have much effect on our operational efficiency because it is a new tool for us. Any new tool means more work. It has also not saved us costs, but without it, we would not be able to meet the requirements for operating our bank.

We were able to realize its benefits immediately after the deployment.

What needs improvement?

The graphical user interface could be simplified and harmonized for better usability. It should be consistent. Its GUI is very confusing.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using CyberArk Privileged Access Manager for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Overall, the stability of the solution is high. I would rate it a nine out of ten for stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Currently, it meets my organization's capacity requirements. I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability.

We have about 6,000 employees at different locations. We have different operating systems, database systems, and decentralized infrastructure.

How are customer service and support?

Their technical support is good, but it can be better. Even if we provide everything required along with the ticket, we get a standard response asking for the logs. They do not go into analyzing the issue. They just ask for the log files. I would rate their support a six out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not use any solution before CyberArk Privileged Access Manager. This is the first solution we are using for Privileged Access Management.

How was the initial setup?

Its implementation took us a year because we have a complicated infrastructure. It requires support from a consultant or an implementation partner. You cannot install it yourself. The automatic onboarding of the privileged accounts is a lot of work.

It requires maintenance because if your infrastructure changes, you have to take care of all the new credentials. If you also have a cloud setup, you need to figure out how to connect everything. There is a lot of work involved in maintaining it. It is not easy.

What about the implementation team?

We took the help of a third party for deployment and customization.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is on the expensive side.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend CyberArk Privileged Access Manager to other users. It is one of the leaders in Gartner's Quadrant. It is stable. 

My overall rating for the solution is an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free CyberArk Privileged Access Manager Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2026
Buyer's Guide
Download our free CyberArk Privileged Access Manager Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.