CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs Symantec Privileged Access Manager comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between CyberArk Privileged Access Manager and Symantec Privileged Access Manager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs. Symantec Privileged Access Manager Report (Updated: March 2024).
763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is stable.""We've written over a hundred custom connectors ourselves that allow us to do all types of privileged session management for various applications. On top of that, the rest of the API-based central credential providers allow us to get away from credentials that may be hard-coded in the script or some application.""It is a central repository. Therefore, if someone needs to access a server, then they go through CyberArk PAM. It provides a secure way to do this and CyberArk PAM records everything. For example, if you are connecting to a Linux server, then once you get into the Linux server and if it is integrated with CyberArk, it will automatically start recording everything that is being done. In most banks, seeing the recordings is very useful. If there are any gaps or something has happened which shouldn't have happened, then we can check the logs and videos. So, it gives security, in a robust manner, to the organization.""You can write different types of policies for custom business needs or any developer needs. If they need certain functions allocated, they can be customized easily.""The most important feature is managing the credentials and implementing those policies which rotate the credentials. Session Manager is also key in not letting the users have access to those credentials. Instead, CyberArk actually manages everything by itself.""I love the ability to customize the passwords: the forbidden characters, the length of the password, the number of capital, lowercase, and special characters. You can customize the password so that it tailor fits, for example, mainframes that can't have more than eight characters. You can say, "I want a random password that doesn't have these special characters, but it is exactly eight characters," so that it doesn't throw errors.""You can easily manage more than 4000 accounts with one PSM.""It is a robust product."

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"You can do A2A integration. You can have your own script, which can then run outside of PA to retrieve the password and perform other tasks.""Stability is solid as a rock.""The RDP-gateway: For limiting which server an operator can access.""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.""We know we can scale up with what we have, and we probably will not need to buy any further appliances down the road.""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.""Whoever built it from the ground up, they understand how an organization is laid out.""We can enforce complicated password policies and very important frequent password changes."

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Cons
"CyberArk has to continue to evolve with that threat landscape to make sure that they're still protecting those credentials that are owned by those that have privileged accounts in the firms.""​It's hard to find competent resellers/support.""I'm not a fan of technical support with CyberArk. It's like jumping through red tape and hoops. Quite frankly, it's almost like when you call CyberArk you get the Help Desk or the level-one. I'm a level-one. I got the CCD, I know how to do the initial troubleshooting. When I call CyberArk it's because I can't figure the problem out. So I need a level-two, three, four. I don't need you to tell me, "Hey, open a ticket and then give me logs."""The initial setup was somewhat complex.""Initial setup is complex. Lots of architecture, lots of planning, and lots of education and training are needed.""I think having a distributed architecture would certainly help this solution.""The one place where we found that this product really needs to improve is the cloud. Simple integrations don't exist, even today. We don't have anything specific on CyberArk for managing, SaaS products, SaaS vendors, SaaS credentials. I understand it's a vendor-based thing and that they have to coordinate with the other vendors to be able to do that, and there are integrations coming. But these are the major places where CyberArk definitely needs to invest some more time.""There were a lot of manual steps in the initial setup which could have been automated. I read the 10.4 release that was sent out about a month or two ago, and I saw the steps required for upgrade have been reduced by about 90%. That was a big thing for me, but I still haven't seen that yet because we have not upgrade past 9.9.5."

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"They need to have zero tier and active-active setup ​with zero minimum downtime, which they are working on it. ​""They need to do a little bit more on the mainframe side.​""We have to do a lot of manual work to automate features.""They should include some assignments in the test environment to explore the product's features.""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.""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.""An improvement for this solution is that it should not be constantly based on user name and password. There should be a condition to edit and update your username.""The service account management functionality needs to be extended to application pools, SQL database, PowerShell scripts, service account discovery, etc."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Pricing and licensing depend on the environment."
  • "It is not a cheap solution. It is expensive as compared with other solutions. However, it is one of the best solutions in their domain."
  • "It can be an expensive product."
  • "Cost efficiency is the number one thing that can be improved in my mind. This would change lots of companies minds on purchasing the product."
  • "The cost is high compared to other products."
  • "CyberArk provides all the features bundled. This is compared to other vendors who provide them as a different license for each functionality."
  • "Our risk is definitely significantly lower. Also, our resources are low."
  • "If you are looking at implementing this solution, buy the training and go to it."
  • More CyberArk Privileged Access Manager Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "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."
  • "The prices are not low, but one can ask for a discount. It’s not the cheapest PAM solution."
  • "Appliances are relatively cheap, don’t skimp. Make sure you have redundancy, high availability, and enough appliances to manage the concurrent workload."
  • "Cost-wise, CA was better compared to others in the market. ​"
  • "Pricing is fair compared to other top vendors."
  • "The licensing is simple and scalable."
  • "I would prefer better licensing options for the 20-100 users we have at a given time."
  • "It is more expensive than other solutions on the market."
  • More Symantec Privileged Access Manager Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:We evaluated Sailpoint IdentityIQ before ultimately choosing CyberArk. Sailpoint Identity Platform is a solution to manage risks in cloud enterprise environments. It automates and streamlines the… more »
    Top Answer:The product is expensive. I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
    Top Answer:We can check the activities in the server for fragile files and documents in case of any issues.
    Top Answer:The product's pricing depends on the agreement. They offer per-device, per-user, or monthly and yearly licensing models.
    Top Answer:There should be some training platform similar to Microsoft and IBM. We can't find useful documentation or YouTube videos to learn about the process. They should include some assignments in the test… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    11,460
    Comparisons
    6,546
    Reviews
    35
    Average Words per Review
    639
    Rating
    8.9
    Views
    901
    Comparisons
    571
    Reviews
    3
    Average Words per Review
    424
    Rating
    6.7
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    CyberArk Privileged Access Security
    CA PAM, Xceedium Xsuite, CA Privileged Access Manager
    Learn More
    Overview

    CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is a next-generation solution that allows users to secure both their applications and their confidential corporate information. It is extremely flexible and can be implemented across a variety of environments. This program runs with equal efficiency in a fully cloud-based, hybrid, or on-premises environment. Users can now protect their critical infrastructure and access it in any way that best meets their needs.

    CyberArk Privileged Access Manager possesses a simplified and unified user interface. Users are able to manage the solution from one place. The UI allows users to view and manage all of the information and controls that administrators need to be able to easily access. Very often, management UIs do not have all of the controls and information streamlined in a single location. This platform provides a level of visibility that ensures users will be able to view all of their system’s most critical information at any time that they wish.

    Benefits of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager

    Some of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager’s benefits include:

    • The ability to manage IDs and permissions across a cloud environment. In a world where being able to work remotely is becoming increasingly important, CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is a very valuable tool. Administrators do not need to worry about infrastructure security when they are away from the office. They can assign and manage security credentials from anywhere in the world.
    • The ability to manage the program from a single centralized UI. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager’s UI contains all of the system controls and information. Users now have the ability to view and use all of their system’s most critical information and controls from one place.
    • The ability to automate user management tasks. Administrators can save valuable time by assigning certain management tasks to be fulfilled by the system itself. Users can now reserve their time for tasks that are most pressing. It can also allow for the system to simplify the management process by having the platform perform the most complex functions.

    Reviews from Real Users

    CyberArk Privileged Access Manager’s software stands out among its competitors for one very fundamental reason. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is an all-in-one solution. Users are given the ability to accomplish with a single platform what might usually only be accomplished with multiple solutions.

    PeerSpot users note the truly all-in-one nature of this solution. Mateusz K., IT Manager at a financial services firm, wrote, "It improves security in our company. We have more than 10,000 accounts that we manage in CyberArk. We use these accounts for SQLs, Windows Server, and Unix. Therefore, keeping these passwords up-to-date in another solution or software would be impossible. Now, we have some sort of a platform to manage passwords, distribute the inflow, and manage IT teams as well as making regular changes to it according to the internal security policies in our bank."

    Hichem T.-B., CDO & Co-Founder at ELYTIK, noted that “This is a complete solution that can detect cyber attacks well. I have found the proxy features most valuable for fast password web access.”

    CA Privileged Access Manager is a simple-to-deploy, automated, proven solution for privileged access management in physical, virtual and cloud environments. It enhances security by protecting sensitive administrative credentials such as root and administrator passwords, controlling privileged user access, proactively enforcing policies and monitoring and recording privileged user activity across all IT resources.  It includes CA PAM Server Control (previously CA Privileged Identity Manager) for fine-grained protection of critical servers

    Sample Customers
    Rockwell Automation
    NEOVERA, Telesis, eSoft
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm24%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Insurance Company12%
    Healthcare Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization29%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Manufacturing Company5%
    REVIEWERS
    Retailer20%
    Financial Services Firm20%
    Logistics Company15%
    Government10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Manufacturing Company13%
    Comms Service Provider11%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business21%
    Midsize Enterprise13%
    Large Enterprise66%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise37%
    Large Enterprise48%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise9%
    Large Enterprise63%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business16%
    Midsize Enterprise5%
    Large Enterprise78%
    Buyer's Guide
    CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs. Symantec Privileged Access Manager
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs. Symantec Privileged Access Manager and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is ranked 1st in Privileged Access Management (PAM) with 41 reviews while Symantec Privileged Access Manager is ranked 18th in Privileged Access Management (PAM) with 3 reviews. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is rated 8.8, while Symantec Privileged Access Manager is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager writes "Lets you ensure relevant, compliant access in good time and with an audit trail, yet lacks clarity on MITRE ATT&CK". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Symantec Privileged Access Manager writes "Allows IT and consultants to access the infrastructure environment but needs more security and better support". CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is most compared with Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine), Microsoft Entra ID, Delinea Secret Server, WALLIX Bastion and One Identity Safeguard, whereas Symantec Privileged Access Manager is most compared with Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine), BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management, ARCON Privileged Access Management, Delinea Secret Server and VMware Identity Manager. See our CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs. Symantec Privileged Access Manager report.

    See our list of best Privileged Access Management (PAM) vendors.

    We monitor all Privileged Access Management (PAM) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.