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it_user549432 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior IT Consultant at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor
It can capture database queries and use policies to feed SIEM tools for deeper correlation and for analysis. It gives us a tamper-proof audit of logged data.

What is most valuable?

The Data Activity Monitor is the most valuable feature of this product.

It has the capability to capture database queries and is using policies to feed SIEM tools for deeper correlation and for analysis of cyber security concerns on monitored databases.

How has it helped my organization?

It provides our organization with an integrated and tamper-proof audit of logged data to ensure that the database activities are checked and operating according to the industrial best practices.

What needs improvement?

The maintenance and support aspects of the product need improvement.

Probably, it should be more related to the product patching method. Even though the support service was great, the resolution doesn't comes quick enough to address the client's issue. We understand those resolutions only exist in the next patch version after quality testing. However, till that release comes out, we have to suffer in silence with the bug issues.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used this solution for around two and half years.

Buyer's Guide
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection
September 2025
Learn what your peers think about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have encountered issues with stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have encountered issues with scalability.

How are customer service and support?

I would give the technical support a 7/10 rating.

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

We were not using any other product prior to this one.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was not straightforward. There was some level of complexity in setting it up.

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

Ensure what you want to protect, since it is charged as per the database instances.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated a couple of other options.

I would not like to discuss this much as it affects the other companies' image and integrity. The competitive products have their own good and bad.

What other advice do I have?

You need to know what you want to protect very well.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
BI Consultant /Data Security at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
You can divide roles, creating safe access zones; manage credentials; and access rules.

What is most valuable?

  • Detailed and customizable reports with real-time alerts for the full vision of database/files activity.
  • Versatile rules for access control in real-time including blocking, masking, etc.: These rules are really helpful to fulfill enterprise security specifications. With them, you could divide roles, creating safe access zones; manage credentials; and access rules. The rules are easy to develop and customize.

What needs improvement?

  • UI: Version 10 of Guardium was introduced with a new UI that was completely redesigned. Some fast-access functions and options are not easy to find in the new UI.
  • Real-time masking is a bit simple and doesn't allow you to create complex masking rules.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have about one year of hands-on experience.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have not encountered any stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have not encountered any scalability issues.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is 9/10. I participated in communication with tech support only once.

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

I did not previously use a different solution.

How was the initial setup?

Initial setup is straightforward. All the commands are simple to understand. The installation guide is simple and comprehensive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Before choosing this product, I evaluated Imperva products.

What other advice do I have?

This product could by easily used with other security products; for example, SIEM products such as IBM QRadar and ArcSight.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection
September 2025
Learn what your peers think about IBM Security Guardium Data Protection. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.
PeerSpot user
Information Security Analyst at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
The query rewrite and redaction functions provide flexible/dynamic control of our data.

What is most valuable?

The database activity monitoring and firewall features of Guardium address our database security requirements. The combination of policies, alerts, baselines, reports, and query rewrite functions are easy to use and provide enough room for customization.

How has it helped my organization?

It provides us more visibility and control of our business functions. The query rewrite and redaction functions also provide flexible/dynamic control of our data, which is indeed helpful for complex scenarios.

What needs improvement?

The backend database requires improvement for faster searching. This makes it easier for analysts to investigate older data.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Guardium since mid-2013.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I did not encounter any major stability issues in the last three years, except a couple of minor issues with S-TAP agents.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is easily scalable.

How is customer service and technical support?

I mostly get quick support although I did not encounter any complex error yet. I rate technical support at 7/10.

How was the initial setup?

The installation and configuration of a collector is simple and straightforward. The ease of deployment is dependent on whether you choose agent-based monitoring or network traffic, SPAN-based monitoring.

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

The Guardium licensing is based on PVU and as a result, the solution became a bit costly. I am not aware of the licensing and pricing model of its competitors. But if the focus is pricing, then one can consider other options as well.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We were considering DbProtect but at that time, DbProtect had no support for Teradata.

What other advice do I have?

If you have enough budget for database security, you must evaluate this product for your use cases.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user775272 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user775272senior customer support at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor

Thanks Farhan for unbiased comments with Guardium

it_user560268 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
With the GIM, you can remotely enable/disable, install and upgrade the S-TAP agent. DB user profiling should be part of the auditing systems.

What is most valuable?

For us, the most valuable features are the auditing capabilities and the Guardium inspection engine. The GIM (Guardium Installation Manager) makes it easy to manage the S-TAP agent. You can enable/disable, install and upgrade remotely with no need for the system administrator.

What needs improvement?

DB user profiling is something that should be part of Guardium auditing systems.

Also, reporting is not user friendly as compared to other tools. Moreover, for each report, you have to create an audit policy to create the report. It should be policy-based.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Guardium for 2 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We did experiences a few system crashes.

How is customer service and technical support?

Technical support is very good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also looked at McAfee and Fortinet.

What other advice do I have?

I would consider IBM brand value.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Senior Manager at PT Permata Anugerah Abadi
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Provides data protection and efficient technical support services
Pros and Cons
  • "The platform provides data protection from internal and external threats."
  • "There could be a feature to integrate and protect multiple databases. The local support services need improvements as well."

What is our primary use case?

We use the product to permanently protect data from unauthorized user access, malware, and external threats.

What is most valuable?

The platform provides data protection from internal and external threats. It has good features for reporting and integration with other products.

What needs improvement?

There could be a feature to integrate and protect multiple databases. The local support services need improvements as well.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have IBM Security Guardium Data Protection implementation since 2013.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The platform has good stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have almost 10,000 IBM Security Guardium Data Protection in our organization. I rate its scalability a nine out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support team responds quickly. However, there could be a local team to reach out instead of contacting the headquarters.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup process is straightforward. It can be deployed on-premise and in the cloud. It takes an hour to complete deployment.

What about the implementation team?

We implement the process in-house.

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

It is not an expensive product. We purchase its yearly license.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend IBM Security Guardium Data Protection and rate it a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1830612 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head, Cybersecurity at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Flexible reporting with excellent discovery classification and vulnerability assessment
Pros and Cons
  • "The reporting side is also very, very good, especially its flexibility which allows you to tailor the reports to whatever information you want."
  • "An improvement would be to make the pricing relative in terms of regions."

What is our primary use case?

I mainly use this solution to monitor the activity happening in the database.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are the modules, discovery classification, and vulnerability assessment. The reporting side is also very, very good, especially its flexibility which allows you to tailor the reports to whatever information you want. It also has the advantage of architectural data collection from the database.

What needs improvement?

An improvement would be to make the pricing relative in terms of regions. In the next release, IBM should incorporate more AI capabilities to better detect vulnerabilities.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Guardium for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Guardium is a stable system.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

You can scale Guardium up and down according to your needs.

How are customer service and support?

IBM's technical support is very good.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup will be straightforward for those with technical experience but may be more challenging for less experienced users.

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

Guardium's pricing is quite high, but it gives good value for money for all sizes of enterprises, especially for partners.

What other advice do I have?

I would give Guardium a rating of eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1681527 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Specialist at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Supports many databases, scalable, and straightforward installation
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution supports a lot of databases."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are using IBM Guardium Data Protection for activity monitoring, blocking users,  entitlement for knowing the privilege for users, and Guardium data features.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution supports a lot of databases.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using IBM Guardium Data Protection for approximately three years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    IBM Guardium Data Protection is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is scalable.

    We have approximately six people using the solution.

    How are customer service and support?

    The technical support has been very good.

    How was the initial setup?

    IBM Guardium Data Protection's installation is straightforward and takes a few hours.

    What about the implementation team?

    We have five people that do the implementation and maintenance of the solution.

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

    The price of the solution could be better.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution to others.

    I rate IBM Guardium Data Protection 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
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free IBM Security Guardium Data Protection Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: September 2025
    Product Categories
    Database Security
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free IBM Security Guardium Data Protection Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.