Delinea Secret Server is a robust Privileged Access Management (PAM) tool that helps IT and security teams to monitor, manage, and secure administrative-level access to their most sensitive corporate data. Secret Server deploys on-prem and in the cloud, and secures privileged access to databases, applications, security tools, network devices, and hypervisors.
The platform offers a wide range of security features, as well as session monitoring and auditing tools, to help prevent account takeover attacks and ensure compliance with industry and federal data protection regulations. These features include an encrypted credential vault, two-factor authentication, role-based access policies, password policies, and on-demand access delegation.
Delinea Secret Server is particularly popular among larger organizations that want to centrally manage access to their critical systems, both for security and to meet complex compliance requirements.
In this article, we’ll explore the top alternatives to Delinea PAM. We’ll look at features such as credential management, role-based access, alerting and notifications, and reporting. We’ll give you some background information on each provider and the key features of its solution, as well as the type of customer that they are most suitable for.
Headquartered in Georgia, US, BeyondTrust is a leading PAM provider that enables IT teams to monitor, audit, and secure access to critical and sensitive business systems. BeyondTrust offers two PAM products: Privileged Password Management (PPM) secures privileged accounts and credentials; Endpoint Privilege Management (EPM) enforces the principle of least privilege across Windows, Mac, Linux, and Unix endpoints.
PPM Features
EPM Features
Expert Insights’ Comments: BeyondTrust’s PAM solutions are a strong option for organizations that may want to start out with just managing privileged credentials or by enforcing the principle of least privilege across their endpoints, without having to subscribe to both services. However, both products integrate seamlessly should a business decide they would like to utilize both services. Because BeyondTrust enables users to access privileged accounts via a web-based console or mobile app, it’s particularly well suited to businesses that need to secure access for remote users.
Bravura Security, formerly Hitachi ID Systems, is a cybersecurity provider based in Calgary, Canada, which offers a range of user-friendly identity, entitlement, and credential governance solutions. Bravura Privilege is their PAM solution, designed to secure privileged access to applications and services to prevent account compromise and data loss at the hands of social engineering and malware.
Features
Expert Insights’ Comments: Bravura Privilege is a user-friendly PAM solution that makes it easier for IT teams to co-ordinate credential rotation and shared access to high-tier accounts. The solution is straightforward to deploy on-prem or in the cloud, with integrations for clients, servers, hypervisors, guest operating systems, databases and applications. We recommend Bravura Privilege as a strong alternative to Delinea for mid- to large enterprises looking to a user-friendly PAM solution that’s easy to configure, with lots of out-of-the-box connectors for a quick implementation.
CyberArk is a market leading PAM provider based in Massachusetts, US. They offer policy-driven, enterprise-grade solutions that enable IT and security teams to better monitor and secure the use of privileged accounts. Privileged Access Manager is their core PAM solution, designed not only to prevent account and credential compromise by increasing security, but to make it easier for businesses to audit and manage privileged access with robust automation and logging capabilities.
Features
Expert Insights’ Comments: CyberArk’s Privileged Access Manager offers robust security, but also powerful automation capabilities that make it easier for to admins to grant or deny privileged access, as well as more efficiently remediate threats to privileged accounts. We recommend CyberArk’s solution as a strong alternative to Delinea for any enterprise looking for PAM that’s made easier to manage with robust automation.
IBM Security is a global technology provider based in New York, US, which offers a broad range of IT productivity and security products. Privilege Manager is their endpoint privilege management and application control solution, available as part of IBM’s Verify Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) platform. Privilege Manager enables IT teams to prevent malware attacks from exploiting applications and accessing critical business systems, by implementing the principle of least privilege and removing static local admin rights.
Features
Expert Insights’ Comments: IBM’s Privilege Manager helps organizations to secure their most critical business systems by focusing on endpoint privilege, rather than user privilege, like some other vendors on this list. The solution effectively prevents bad actors from exploiting unused and unsecured local admin accounts on user endpoints, and also prevents privileged users from running malicious applications that could give bad actors access to critical business systems. We recommend Privilege Manager as an alternative to Delinea for any sized organization looking for an endpoint- and application-focused approach to PAM.
Headquartered in California, US, Foxpass is a cybersecurity company that specializes in securing network and server access. Their PAM solution enables businesses to secure user access to critical corporate resources, while reducing the strain on IT teams. To achieve this, Foxpass offers a user-friendly interface, high levels of automation, and integrations with existing architecture that make it easy to set up, configure, and manage long-term.
Features
Expert Insights’ Comments: While Foxpass doesn’t offer some of the more complex security features offered by some vendors on this list—such as video session recording and a password vault—it enables businesses to secure user access to privileged accounts by implementing MFA, SSO, and robust password policies. Additionally, Foxpass offers a user-friendly interface and excellent customer support. As such, we recommend Foxpass as a strong alternative to Delinea for mid-sized organizations looking to secure privileged access to networks and servers, without the need for advanced session monitoring features.
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Heimdal Security offers a broad range of solutions designed to protect business data at every layer, including endpoint, email, web, application, and identity. Heimdal Privileged Access Management (PAM) enables IT teams to secure user access to high-tier company resources, as well as proactively remediate identity-related threats. The solution is available standalone and as part of Heimdal’s single-agent, unified security platform.
Features
Expert Insights’ Comments: Heimdal PAM is easy to navigate via its modern, intuitive interface. While it doesn’t offer video recording or a password vault, Heimdal PAM gives admins complete visibility into privileged access, with detailed reports that can be used to prove compliance with standards such as NIST AC-5 and NIST AC-1,6. We recommend Heimdal PAM as a strong alternative to Delinea for SMBs and mid-size enterprises looking for an easy-to-manage PAM solution with robust reporting and auditing features. It’s also particularly well-suited to businesses looking to consolidate their security stack and move away from using disparate tools.
JumpCloud is an identity-focused cybersecurity provider based in Colorado, US. Their Open Directory Platform enables businesses to manage and secure identities across their Windows, Mac, and Linux endpoints. With cloud-based MFA, SSO, and PAM capabilities, JumpCloud enables IT admins to secure privileged accounts against credential-related breaches and govern what data users can access with their identities.
Features
Expert Insights’ Comments: JumpCloud enables IT and security teams to manage and secure all their users’ identities, including those of privileged users. The solution provides clear visibility into credential strength and usage across the organization and offers native identity security features to help secure user accounts against brute force and social engineering attacks. We recommend JumpCloud’s solution as a strong alternative to Delinea for businesses of all sizes looking for a comprehensive cloud directory to secure all their user identities.
One Identity is a cybersecurity provider headquartered in California, US, which specializes in identity security solutions including identity governance and administration, active directory management, and access management. Safeguard is One Identity’s PAM solution, designed to enable IT teams to secure access to high-tier systems whilst making it easier for them to prove compliance with data protection standards.
Features
Expert Insights’ Comments: One Identity Safeguard is a strong PAM solution that offers robust session monitoring, backed up with useful search functionality, that make it easy for IT teams to not only secure their privileged accounts and identify any unauthorized behavior, but also prove compliance with strict industry and federal data protection standards. We recommend Safeguard as a strong alternative to Delinea for larger enterprises looking for more granular control over their users’ privileged sessions.
Osirium is a privileged access management, privileged endpoint management, and IT automation provider based in Theale, UK. Osirium PAM is their privileged access management solution, which helps businesses control internal and external access to critical corporate resources, and delegate privileged access just-in-time to mitigate the risk of insider and latent threats.
Features
Expert Insights’ Comments: Osirium PAM offer a comprehensive privileged access management feature set, but it’s stand-out feature is its automation capability. By automating so many access-related workflows, Osirium PAM not only frees up IT resource, but also ensures that no users are doing anything they shouldn’t be—whether maliciously or accidentally. This helps to mitigate the risk of compromise at the hands of an attacker and also via human error. We recommend Osirium as a strong alternative to Delinea for businesses that want a PAM solution that they can map easily to UK- and EU-based compliance regulations.
Headquartered in Paris, France, WALLIX is a cybersecurity vendor specializing in identity and access management solutions that protect IT infrastructure, applications, and data. Bastion is WALLIX’s simplified PAM solution, available as a software and as a virtual or physical appliance. WALLIX’s 2019 acquisition of Simarks bolstered Bastion’s privilege elevation and delegation management (PEDM) for Windows, and these capabilities are also available as a software. The solution is easy to use, but doesn’t compromise on security, providing organizations with full control over their privileged access.
Features
Expert Insights’ Comments: WALLIX Bastion is available both on-premises and in the cloud, making it highly flexible and giving it the ability to scale to meet an organization’s needs. It also delivers secure remote access via any browser, and remote sessions benefit from the same level of control and monitoring as internal sessions. This allows admins to monitor privilege access and session activity from anywhere. For these reasons, we recommend Bastion as a strong PAM solution for enterprises with a large number of remote employees, or offices spread across different locations.
Privileged Access Management (PAM) is a means of monitoring and managing network access. Through using a PAM solution, you can ensure that network areas are only accessible to those who need access. This reduces the chances for data falling into the wrong hands. If, for instance, a user’s account is compromised, the attacker is limited to accessing data that is specific to that user’s job role.
When files and data are accessed, PAM solutions can log critical information such as date, user, and any modifications made. This ensures that accountability can be at the heart of the solution.
Sometimes, a user may need to have access to a restricted area that they do not usually require. In this instance, they can send a request to their admin, who can grant or deny that access. Many PAM solutions will only permit this access for a set length of time, or for a specific browser session. This automatic lockout prevents users gaining unlimited, and unmanaged, access to more sensitive network areas.
Auditing and Compliance – For organizations operating within restricted sectors, proving that you handle data appropriately is essential. Using a PAM solution is an easy and effective way to ensure that you are compliant with relevant legislation like GDPR or HIPAA.
Improve Security – By reducing the number of users who have access to sensitive data, you decrease the chances of that data being stolen or shared. Users can be granted short term additional access privileges, provided that this is approved by the admin.
Increase Accountability – As PAM solutions monitor and log user activity within restricted areas, it is easy to identify who has made a specific change. A user may have accidentally modified an entry without realising it, or they may have acted knowingly. PAM solutions allow you to identify who did what and when.
Caitlin Harris is Deputy Head of Content at Expert Insights. Caitlin is an experienced writer and journalist, with years of experience producing award-winning technical training materials and journalistic content. Caitlin holds a First Class BA in English Literature and German, and provides our content team with strategic editorial guidance as well as carrying out detailed research to create articles that are accurate, engaging and relevant. Caitlin co-hosts the Expert Insights Podcast, where she interviews world-leading B2B tech experts.
Laura Iannini is an Information Security Engineer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of West Florida. Laura has experience with a variety of cybersecurity platforms and leads technical reviews of leading solutions. She conducts thorough product tests to ensure that Expert Insights’ reviews are definitive and insightful.