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Top privileged identity management (PIM) tools

In this review article, we will present the top five privileged identity management tools available in the market, with the goal of helping you choose the right one for your security and access governance needs.

How we evaluated these solutions

We reviewed dozens of products to identify the top five with the best overall value for security and administration teams:

  • Safeguard by One Identity
  • Microsoft Entra Privileged Identity Management
  • CyberArk Privileged Access Manager
  • ManageEngine PAM360
  • Delinea Secret Server

These platforms stand out in all the areas that matter most for managing privileged identities:

  • Security and access governance features
  • Compliance and reporting features
  • Ease of use
  • Scalability
  • Support and documentation

1. Safeguard by One Identity

Safeguard by One Identity is a privileged access and session management (PASM) platform built to secure privileged identities across on-premises, hybrid and cloud-based environments.

Safeguard by One Identity PIM features

Here are some key Safeguard features:

Privileged identity discovery and onboarding

Safeguard helps security teams find privileged accounts, service accounts, SSH keys, API keys and machine credentials across hosts, directories and cloud environments. This gives organizations a clearer view of where privilege exists before unmanaged identities become security gaps.

Credential vaulting and rotation

The platform stores privileged passwords, secrets and machine credentials in a hardened vault. Automated credential rotation and policy-based controls help reduce secrets sprawl and limit unnecessary access.

Just-in-time access controls

Safeguard supports temporary privileged access for both human and non-human identities (NHIs). This significantly reduces an organization’s attack surface, as there are no long-lived credentials. Teams can grant privilege only when needed, to the right identity, and revoke it automatically after use.

Session recording, monitoring and threat response

Safeguard by One Identity records privileged activity across sessions, including keystrokes, mouse movement and viewed windows. Activity can also be monitored in real time, and automated response actions can be configured to detect suspicious behavior and terminate risky sessions before they become incidents.

Audit and compliance capabilities

The platform captures and stores privileged activity in time-stamped, cryptographically signed files. Security and compliance teams can search and replay session activity with full context to support audits and regulatory reporting.

User-friendly administration

Safeguard is designed to enforce least privilege without disrupting how admins work. Privileged users can continue using familiar tools, while access controls, approvals, monitoring and audit requirements run in the background.

Awards and recognition

Reviews and Rankings

Privileged identity management (PIM) and privileged access management tools, fundamentally, share the same mission: securing high-risk environments. Both tools enforce least privilege and eliminate suspicious standing privileges. Here is what some of the review agencies say about Safeguard by One Identity, a PIM/PAM tool:

Customer testimonials

Here’s what customers have to say:

“The way we monitor privileged sessions is far more efficient with Safeguard. Session data is at our fingertips, so we can trace anything that raises an alarm.”

– Edouard Camoin, Chief Information Security Officer, 3DS OUTSCALE

“Safeguard allows us to grant granular access to servers. It’s essentially giving the right access to the right people for the right amount of time.”

– Abe Smith, Cavium

2. Microsoft Entra privileged identity management

Microsoft Entra privileged identity management is a service built into Microsoft Entra ID. It helps organizations reduce standing administrator access by giving users time-bound, approval-based access to privileged roles across Microsoft Entra ID, Azure, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Intune and other Microsoft services.

Strengths for Microsoft ecosystem users

  • Supports just-in-time privileged access for Microsoft Entra and Azure resources
  • Allows time-bound role assignments with start and end dates
  • Requires multi-factor authentication and justification before role activation
  • Sends notifications when privileged roles are activated
  • Supports access reviews to confirm whether users still need privileged roles
  • Provides audit history downloads for internal and external compliance needs

Strengths for Microsoft ecosystem users

  • Suits organizations heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem
  • Requires the right Microsoft Entra licensing to use PIM capabilities
  • Focuses mainly on privileged role management rather than full password vaulting, session recording or credential rotation

3. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is a comprehensive PAM platform designed to secure privileged access across hybrid, multi-cloud, on-premises and OT/ICS environments. Organizations can deploy CyberArk as a SaaS or self-hosted solution.

  • CyberArk supports just-in-time access by creating permissions when they are needed and removing them after use.
  • It provides isolated and monitored privileged sessions while preserving the native user experience.
  • The platform helps teams demonstrate accountability for privileged access through access certification, session monitoring, justification workflows and audit-ready reporting.
  • Organizations can remove local admin rights and enforce role-specific, policy-based least privilege on endpoints.

Limitations and considerations

  • CyberArk offers broad and advanced PAM capabilities, but deployment and ongoing management can be complex for organizations with highly distributed or segmented environments.
  • Teams may need dedicated expertise to configure policies, integrations and workflows effectively.

4. ManageEngine PAM360

ManageEngine PAM360 is a full-stack privileged access management platform designed for digital-first enterprises. The platform brings multiple PAM capabilities into one console, including privileged account management, session monitoring, privilege elevation, secrets management and user-behavior analytics.

Key features and strengths of ManageEngine PAM360

Here are some worth-mentioning features of ManageEngine PAM360:

  • PAM360 can automatically discover, onboard, store and manage privileged accounts, users and resources from a central console. Teams can launch remote sessions, moderate access, audit activity and record sessions in real time.
  • It helps reduce standing privileges by supporting just-in-time privilege elevation, application controls, command controls and least privilege workflows.
  • PAM360 secures credentials used by machines, applications, services, scripts, processes and DevOps pipelines.
  • The platform uses AI-driven anomaly detection to help teams identify suspicious privileged user activity and respond to potential risks faster.

Limitations and considerations

  • Advanced analytics, cloud entitlement management and endpoint controls may require careful tuning to match each organization’s security model.

5. Delinea Secret Server

Delinea Secret Server is an enterprise-grade privileged access management vault designed to help organizations identify, secure, monitor and audit privileged accounts.

Key features and strengths of Delinea Secret Server

Here are some worth-mentioning features of Delinea Secret Server:

  • Delinea Secret Server helps teams automatically discover and inventory privileged accounts across their digital ecosystem.
  • It secures privileged account credentials in an encrypted vault and enforces strong password management policies for authorized users.
  • The platform supports automated password creation, rotation and expiration, along with check-in/check-out controls, role-based access and approval workflows.
  • Organizations can record and monitor privileged sessions with detailed audit trails to support compliance and investigations.

Limitations and considerations

  • Delinea Secret Server is strong as a privileged credential vault, but organizations looking for a broader end-to-end PAM suite may need to evaluate additional Delinea modules or integrations.

Why privileged identity management matters across industries

Privileged identity management matters across industries because privileged access is often the fastest path to sensitive systems and data.

Healthcare

  • Helps protect access to patient records and other sensitive data
  • Supports compliance by creating clear audit trails for privileged access and administrative activity
  • Reduces risk from third-party vendors and support teams that need temporary access to critical systems

Manufacturing

  • Helps secure privileged access to OT, ICS and production systems where downtime can disrupt operations
  • Reduces the risk of excessive privileged access in manufacturing, across plant systems and machine identities
  • Supports monitoring and auditability for engineers, vendors and administrators working across hybrid IT and operational environments

SaaS

  • Helps protect cloud infrastructure, admin consoles, APIs, secrets and DevOps pipelines
  • Reduces the risk of credential misuse across human and non-human identities
  • Supports secure scaling by enforcing least privilege across fast-moving engineering and product teams

Financial services

  • Helps protect privileged access to customer data and financial applications
  • Supports regulatory reporting by maintaining detailed logs and session records
  • Reduces fraud and insider risk by limiting standing access and requiring stronger controls for high-risk actions

How to choose the best privileged identity management solution for your organization

Now that you know how the top five privileged identity management solutions compare, here’s a simple checklist to help you make the final call:

  • Assess whether the solution supports just-in-time access and least privilege enforcement
  • Review credential vaulting, password rotation, secrets management and session monitoring capabilities
  • Check how well the platform supports human and non-human identities
  • Evaluate integration needs with directory services, cloud platforms, SaaS apps, DevOps tools and any other corporate systems you use
  • Consider audit, reporting and compliance requirements for your industry
  • Compare ease of deployment and day-to-day user experience
  • Review scalability for hybrid, multi-cloud and enterprise environments
  • Look at vendor support, documentation, customer reviews and long-term pricing

Final recommendations

Privileged identity management is now a key part of a strong cybersecurity strategy. The right solution will help protect critical systems, reduce standing access and lower the risk of credential misuse and cyberattacks.

Safeguard by One Identity maintains a lofty position for enterprise security, and specifically for privileged identity management.

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