Identity And Access Management

The Top 10 Privileged Access Management (PAM) Solutions

Discover the top privileged access management solutions. Explore features such as password management, role-based security, real-time notifications, and reporting.

The Top 10 Privileged Access Management (PAM) Solutions Include:

Privileged Access Management (PAM), or privileged account management, is the process of assigning, monitoring, and securing access to critical business systems and applications.

The Challenge: Privileged accounts have higher levels of access to critical systems that contain sensitive or valuable business data. When threat actors steal or crack the login credentials of a privileged user account, they can access all the sensitive data available to a legitimate user.

How PAM Works: PAM solutions enable IT and security admins to monitor and secure access to critical systems by enabling them to grant elevated privileges “just-in-time”, i.e., only for as long as the user needs them to do their job. Once the user signs out of the system, the privileges are revoked.

In this article, we’ll highlight:

  • The best PAM solutions designed to protect critical business systems against unauthorized access
  • Standout features of each solution
  • Who they are best suited for
JumpCloud logo

JumpCloud’s Open Directory Platform securely connects privileged users to critical systems, applications, files, and networks. 

How it works: Admins can define MFA and SSO policies and attribute-based authorization controls to secure access to company resources. Once signed in, users can access all their authorized workstations and servers, cloud and on-prem apps, and services and networks.

Who it’s for: JumpCloud is suitable for enterprises of all sizes that are looking for an efficient and easy-to-use solution for privileged access management.

What we like:  This is a full suite of identity, access, and device management tools that enable organizations to monitor and manage privileged and standard identities from a single console. JumpCloud can be used as a core directory or integrated with an existing directory such as Google Workspace and Azure AD. 

  • You can configure granular authorization policies (with MFA and SSO) that govern what resources privileged users can access once logged in. For added security, you can use the password and SSH key management tools to set password complexity controls. 
  • The platform offers complete mobile device management capabilities alongside PAM. 
  • You can set up alerts for brute force attempts against privileged accounts. 

The bottom line:  Having been used by over 200,000 organizations worldwide, JumpCloud’s Open Active Directory Platform is consistently ranked as a top solution for comprehensive visibility and control over privileged accounts. You can read our full review of JumpCloud’s platform here

  • Based in Louisville, Colorado, JumpCloud is an enterprise software provider focussed on identity management.
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Heimdal Logo

Heimdal Privileged Access Management simplifies the process of securing user access to privileged accounts, while proactively remediating identity-related threats.

How it works: Admins can configure automated workflows for approving or denying privilege escalation requests, with the option to assign role-based permissions, set escalation periods, and log events within privileged sessions.

Who it’s for: Heimdal PAM is suitable for SMBs and mid-size enterprises looking for an easy way to manage and automate their privilege escalation processes, as well as monitor the activities of privileged users within high-tier systems.

What we like: This solution streamlines the process of securing user access to critical or sensitive resources, while proactively remediating identity-related threats such as privileged account compromise.

  • Through Heimdal’s intuitive desktop- and mobile-compatible dashboard, you can configure controls to assign role-based permissions, remove local admin rights, live-cancel admin rights, set escalation periods, and log sessions.
  • The platform gives you granular visibility into privileged account use, including average escalation duration, which users or files were escalated, and a full audit trail of actions carried out during the session.
  • Heimdal offers strong automation capabilities, including automated workflows for approving or denying privilege escalation requests (plus option to approve/deny manually), and automatic termination of privileged sessions when a threat is detected on the user’s device.

The bottom line: Heimdal PAM is a comprehensive yet user-friendly solution that gives you total control over access to corporate systems containing sensitive or critical data. It’s straightforward to deploy and, thanks to its intuitive and easily navigable interface, the platform is easy to manage. You can read our full review of Heimdal PAM here.

  • Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Heimdal enables organizations to deploy and manage email, endpoint, patch and asset management, remote desktop, and threat prevention tools via a single, unified cybersecurity platform.
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Arcon Logo

ARCON | PAM allows enterprise security teams to secure and manage the entire lifecycle of their privileged accounts.

How it works: At its core, ARCON | PAM has a secure password vault that generates and stores strong, dynamic passwords, which can only be accessed by authorized users. Users must verify their identity via multi-factor authentication (MFA) in order to access the vault, and privileged credentials are automatically rotated between sessions, eliminating the opportunity for passwords to be shared or stolen.

Who it’s for: ARCON offers 24/7 support to all of its clients as a base support offering and they don’t differentiate between tiers for technical support. Their PAM solution is also highly scalable. For these reasons, though using enterprise-level technology, we recommend ARCON | PAM for any sized organization looking for a robust PAM solution.

What we like: All privileged access is just-in-time; this reduces the threat surface by favoring access as needed over standing privileges.

  • ARCON’s MFA-protected password vault automates frequent password changes and generates and stores strong, dynamic passwords, giving users just-in-time access to critical systems without them having to share their credentials.
  • The platform uses native, software-based one-time-password (OTP) validation to verify users’ identities, with single sign-on (SSO).
  • Advanced session monitoring gives you complete insight into privileged account activities, and the platform’s reporting engine provides a complete audit trail of privileged activities, with in-built analytics.

The bottom line: ARCON | PAM allows you to secure and manage the entire lifecycle of your company’s privileged accounts. It provides comprehensive protection against insider attacks and credential-related breaches.

  • ARCON’s risk-management solutions are designed to secure data and safeguard privacy by predicting risk situations, protecting organizations against those risks and preventing them from progressing into incidents.
BeyondTrust Logo

BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access enables users to manage and audit internal and third-party remote privileged access, without the need for a VPN.

How it works: Privileged Remote Access stores passwords in a secure cloud-based on-appliance vault or in BeyondTrust’s Password Safe. It then securely injects credentials from the vault directly into a session.

Who it’s for: This is a great solution for organizations with remote workers who need to access privileged systems. With a wide range of deployment and installation options, privileged users can access critical systems remotely, and admins can approve or deny access from anywhere, at any time.

What we like: BeyondTrust’s credential injection features allow the platform to inject credentials from the vault directly into a session, meaning that users don’t expose credentials at any point during sign-in.

  • You can choose to store privileged credentials in a secure, cloud-based, on-appliance vault, or integrate the platform with BeyondTrust’s Password Safe.
  • BeyondTrust’s strong monitoring capabilities, with audit trails and session forensics, give you granular visibility into privileged activity.
  • The platform offers desktop consoles for Windows, Mac, and Linux, plus a web-based console and mobile app. Through these interfaces, you can remotely approve access requests and monitor privileged account usage.

The bottom line: BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access enables employee productivity, no matter their location, whilst keeping bad actors from accessing critical business systems.

  • BeyondTrust is a market leader in privileged access management. They offer a range of solutions that deliver high levels of visibility and security across endpoint, server, cloud, DevOps, and network device environments.
Broadcom Logo

Symantec Privileged Access Management (PAM) helps organizations more easily monitor and govern access to high-tier corporate accounts, in order to reduce the risk of credential-related breaches and ensure compliance with industry standards.

How it works: Symantec PAM stores privileged credentials in an encrypted vault, which users can only access after verifying their identities. Once a user is signed in, the platform records their session, assessing risk and triggering automatic mitigation actions if it detects any anomalous or dangerous behaviors.

Who it’s for: Symantec PAM is suitable for large enterprises looking to prevent credential-related breaches and lateral account compromise attacks. The platform is also well suited to businesses already leveraging Broadcom/Symantec’s other security technologies.

What we like: This tool not only enables you to secure user accounts with preventative measures, but also allows you to respond to breaches if they do occur, with in-built behavioral analytics and automated remediation workflows.

  • Symantec’s 2FA-protected vault stores all privileged credentials, including root and admin passwords and SSH keys.
  • The platform’s continuous ML-powered activity monitoring enables you to compare current actions to historical behaviors to identify suspicious or anomalous behavior. It also offers automatic remediation options when suspicious behavior is detected.
  • You can access full audit data captured from each session, including video recordings. This data is securely stored in an encrypted database.

The bottom line: Symantec PAM is a full-featured PAM solution that enables you to not only control access to accounts, but also mitigate any malicious activity that takes place once users have logged in, thanks to its robust session forensics and recording capabilities and automation remediation options.

  • Broadcom is a leading provider of semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions. In 2019, Broadcom acquired Symantec’s Enterprise Security business, which today operates as Broadcom’s Symantec Enterprise division, providing a comprehensive range of cybersecurity products.
CyberArk Logo

CyberArk Privilege Access Manager provides multi-layered access security for privileged accounts, enabling IT teams to secure, manage and record privileged account activities.

How it works: CyberArk isolates all privileged credentials in a secure vault, helping to prevent credential exposure. It scans the network continuously to detect privileged access, then enables you to validate or terminate access attempts.

Who it’s for: With on-prem, cloud, and SaaS deployment options, this is a strong option for any enterprise looking for a trusted, flexible PAM solution with a strong focus on session monitoring and remediation.

What we like: This solution is great at preventing repeat attacks. If suspicious behavior is identified, it terminates the session and automatically rotates the account’s credentials, ensuring that bad actors or compromised accounts can’t re-gain access to the system.

  • The platform enables you to identify the use of privileged accounts and eliminate the risk of standing privileges by continuously scanning the network to detect privileged access. It then either adds access attempts to a queue for you to review, or automatically rotates accounts and credentials based on your policies.
  • You can access full video playback and keystroke monitoring for each privileged session. All records are stored in an encrypted repository.
  • CyberArk automatically terminates privileged sessions based on risk level of detected behaviors.

The bottom line: CyberArk’s PAM solution provides multi-layered access security for privileged accounts. Its centralized management and reporting give you a clear insight into who is accessing critical systems, and why.

  • CyberArk holds one of the largest shares of the PAM market, offering enterprise-level, policy-driven solutions that allow IT teams to secure, manage, and record privileged account activities.
Delinea logo

Delinea Secret Server enables organizations to monitor, manage, and secure access to their most sensitive corporate databases, applications, hypervisors, security tools, and network devices.

How it works: Secret Server stores all privileged credentials in an encrypted, centralized vault that users can only access via a two-factor authentication process. Once verified, users can only view the passwords they need to be able to do their job, as per admin-configured access controls.

Who it’s for: This is a strong solution for enterprises looking to secure and centrally manage access to their critical systems, accounts, and applications, both to prevent account takeover attacks and to ensure compliance with federal and industry data protection standards.

What we like: Rather than just focusing on authentication, this solution places a strong focus on authorization, i.e., managing what activities users can carry out once they’re logged into a privileged account.

  • You can configure granular, role-based access controls to ensure users can only access the credentials they need to do their job. You can also configure policy controls for password complexity and credential rotation.
  • You can provision or deprovision privileges on-demand for just-in-time access, or via custom workflows that delegate access requests automatically (inc. for third parties).
  • Thanks to Delinea’s powerful session recording capabilities, you can easily monitor privileged activities for accountability, forensics, and compliance purposes.

The bottom line: Secret Server offers a range of powerful security features, as well as robust session monitoring and auditing tools, to help you protect company data against account takeover attacks and ensure compliance with data protection regulations.

  • Delinea is a cybersecurity provider born of the 2020 merger between Thycotic and Centrify. Today, Delinea is a specialist in enterprise-level access and authorization management solutions.
ManageEngine logo

ManageEngine PAM360 combines access management with automation, transparent policy creation, robust integrations, and compliance readiness to secure privileged access to critical systems, applications, and services.

How it works: PAM360 automatically discovers and onboards privileged users, accounts, and resources, enabling admins to immediately identify standing privileges across their network. Once onboarded, admins can set up just-in-time access, with least privilege workflows for automated access provisioning.

Who it’s for: Its integrations with ManageEngine’s other products make PAM360 particularly well-suited to ManageEngine’s existing customers. Additionally, its session monitoring and auditing capabilities make this a strong solution for organizations that must comply with strict data protection regulations, such as those in healthcare, government, and financial services.

What we like: The key word for this solution is “comprehensive”: it delivers everything you’d expect from a PAM solution, and does it well.

  • You can configure least privilege workflows to automatically provision access based on role, attribute, or policy, delivering just-in-time access.
  • The platform stores all privileged credentials—including non-human credentials such as machine, applications, service, and script identities—in a secure credential vault, which employs AES-256 encryption and role-based access.
  • PAM360 offers full audit trails, real-time session recording, and session shadowing thatwith support from AI- and ML-driven anomaly detection capabilitiesenable you to identify anomalous user activity that could indicate account compromise. 
  • The platform offers support for NIST, PCI-DSS, FISMA, HIPAA, SOX, and ISO-IEC 27001.

The bottom line: PAM360 is a full-featured privileged access management tool. It offers increased visibility over access policies and privileged account activities, making it easier to prevent breaches and stay compliant.

  • ManageEngine, a division of Zoho Corporation, provides IT management software and cybersecurity solutions that enable organizations optimize, integrate, and secure their IT processes for ease of management and increased visibility.
Saviynt Logo

Saviynt Cloud PAM combines Privileged Access Management with Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) to deliver just-in-time access to on-prem, web, and cloud assets, eliminating standing privileges across the entire infrastructure.

How it works: Saviynt Cloud PAM enables policy-based lifecycle management for privileged identities and enables you to provision least-privilege time-bound access or temporary role-based access elevation.

Who it’s for: We recommend Saviynt Cloud PAM for any organization looking for comprehensive yet easy-to-use privileged access management.

What we like: This solution doesn’t compromise usability for security; its real-time account, workload, and entitlement discovery make it easy to set up, and its user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop workflows makes it easy to manage.

  • Saviynt’s secure password vault stores credentials, keys, and tokens, with options to implement password rotation and role-based access controls.
  • You can access granular, AI-informed reports on privileged access data, with governance-driven risk insights. You can also use the platform’s zero-footprint session monitoring and keystroke logging for forensic investigations and compliance.
  • The platform uses a risk scoring system to help stop unauthorized sessions, with automatic session termination.

The bottom line: Saviynt Cloud PAM covers both preventative security measures (e.g., credential rotation) and responsive measures (e.g., session termination), and it delivers all of these features via an intuitive, modern interface that’s easy to navigate.

  • Saviynt is a cybersecurity company that specializes in intelligent cloud security, identity governance, and identity administration solutions for a global customer base.
Saviynt Logo
OneIdentity Logo

One Identity Safeguard is a suite of PAM solutions that are available as individual modules or as an integrated package, allowing customers to build new capabilities into their existing measures. Safeguard allows organizations to secure, control, and audit privileged accounts for the entire duration of the session.

How it works: The Safeguard suite combines a secure password safe, session management and monitoring, threat detection, and user behavior analytics.

Who it’s for: Safeguard’s powerful recording and analysis tools make this a strong PAM solution for larger enterprises looking for more control over privileged activities.

What we like: End users can access their privileged and non-privileged resources from a single account, which removes friction for them whilst minimizing the risk of error in provisioning access.

  • Safeguard stores privileged credentials in a secure credential vault, protected with centralized authentication and SSO.
  • You can utilize the platform’s machine learning capabilties to analyze user activity, both at the time of access and throughout the session. This includes recordings of keystrokes, mouse movement, and windows viewed. Session recordings are very accessible; you can search them like a database for specific events across sessions.
  • You can customize levels of authentication at a user level, from requiring full credentials through to limiting access with granular delegation for just-in-time or least-privileged access.

The bottom line: With Safeguard’s powerful auto discovery and provisioning capabilities, you can easily monitor and address suspicious or unauthorized behavior without creating friction for the end user.

  • One Identity is a provider of identity-centric security solutions designed to reduce organizations’ attack surface from internal and external threats.
The Top 10 Privileged Access Management (PAM) Solutions