Best Privileged Access Management (PAM) Software
Privileged access management (PAM) software helps companies protect the “keys to their IT kingdom" by ensuring the credentials of their privileged accounts, such as admin accounts on critical company assets, are only accessed by those with proper permissions to do so. PAM software helps prevent external hacking or internal misuse of important company assets by employing “least privilege access" policies, wherein users receive the absolute minimum access needed to perform their duties.
PAM software allows companies to secure their privileged credentials in a centralized, secure vault (a password safe). Additionally, these solutions control who has access to, and therefore who can use, the privileged credentials based on access policies (including user permissions and specific timeframes), often recording or logging user activity while using the credentials. When a user checks out a credential, it stops other users from opening a concurrent session; this means only one person can access the privileged account at one time.
PAM solutions are used in conjunction with identity and access management (IAM) software, which provides authentication of general user identities; PAM software, however, provides more granular control and visibility of administrative or privileged user identities. While there is some similarity between the secure vaults within both password managers and PAM tools, the two software types are quite different. Password managers are designed to protect everyday users’ passwords, while PAM software protects a company’s super users, shared company accounts, and service accounts by offering centralized control, visability, and monitoring of the use of those privileged accounts.
To qualify for inclusion in the Privileged Access Management category, a product must:
Best Privileged Access Management (PAM) Software At A Glance
G2 takes pride in showing unbiased reviews on user satisfaction in our ratings and reports. We do not allow paid placements in any of our ratings, rankings, or reports. Learn about our scoring methodologies.
JumpCloud® delivers a unified identity, device, and access management platform that makes it easy to securely manage identities, devices, and access across your organization. With JumpCloud, IT teams
JumpCloud is a tool that manages user access and authentication, unifying identity, access, and device management into a single, cloud-native platform. Users frequently mention that JumpCloud simplifies IT operations by providing a single source of truth for users and devices, enabling strong security through SSO, MFA, and automated onboarding/offboarding. Reviewers noted that the initial setup and policy configuration can be complex, especially for organizations migrating from traditional Active Directory or managing advanced security use cases.
36,543 Twitter followers
Entra ID is a complete identity and access management solution with integrated security that connects people to their apps, devices, and data and helps protect from identity compromise. With Entra ID,
13,088,482 Twitter followers
AWS Secrets Manager helps you protect secrets needed to access your applications, services, and IT resources. The service enables you to easily rotate, manage, and retrieve database credentials, API k
2,220,162 Twitter followers
BeyondTrust Remote Support (formerly Bomgar Remote Support) is the #1 solution for leading enterprises to accelerate and secure your service desk with centralized, efficient, and secure access for ser
BeyondTrust Remote Support is a software that provides remote access and support capabilities, with features such as chat functionality, command line feature, file sharing, and cross-platform support. Users frequently mention the software's strong security, ease of use, reliable remote access, and the ability to work together within a team, as well as the helpfulness of the support team. Reviewers noted some issues such as an outdated interface, too many pop-up windows, occasional slow performance, and a high cost compared to other tools.
14,337 Twitter followers
Segura (formerly senhasegura) is an identity security company focused on Privileged Access Management (PAM). Its platform is designed to support IT teams managing complex identity security needs, help
PrivX is a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution designed to help organizations secure and manage access to sensitive systems and data across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. As cyber threat
3,376 Twitter followers
Fine-grained access control and visibility for centrally managing cloud resources.
31,775,247 Twitter followers
HashiCorp Vault tightly controls access to secrets and encryption keys by authenticating against trusted sources of identity such as Active Directory, LDAP, Kubernetes, CloudFoundry, and cloud platfor
101,738 Twitter followers
Privileged Remote Access (PRA) eliminates the risks inherent in remote access solutions dependent on VPNs and RDP. PRA delivers seamless, just-in-time access through encrypted tunnels to IT and O
14,337 Twitter followers
BeyondTrust Password Safe automatically protects and manages sensitive assets and more by securely discovering, storing, managing, rotating and controlling access to privileged account passwords and s
14,337 Twitter followers
Salesforce Platform is the leading low-code development platform that empowers your team to build and extend your Customer 360 with AI, automation, and data. With the Salesforce Platform, you can exec
Salesforce is a cloud-based platform designed for managing customer data, automating workflows, and creating custom user interfaces. Users frequently mention the platform's high level of customization, its ability to integrate with other tools, and its robust reporting and dashboard capabilities as key benefits. Users reported issues with the platform's complexity, particularly for new users, its high cost, especially for smaller teams, and occasional performance issues.
580,855 Twitter followers
StrongDM is the leader in Zero Trust PAM. We are a policy-based platform that enables precise control over privileged actions and grants secure, compliant, frustration-free access to all critical infr
871 Twitter followers
BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management (EPM) empowers organizations to enhance security, streamline compliance, and reduce operational complexity by centralizing policy control and compliance repor
14,337 Twitter followers
Password Manager Pro offers a complete solution to control, manage, monitor, and audit the entire life-cycle of privileged access. In a single package, it offers four solutions - privileged account ma
137,095 Twitter followers
For enterprises who need to protect their infrastructure, CyberArk Conjur software provides proactive security with comprehensive authorization and audit for all IT applications, clouds, and services.
17,726 Twitter followers
Learn More About Privileged Access Management (PAM) Software
What is Privileged Access Management Software?
When managing user accounts, companies should set a clear divide between customer-generated accounts and internal ones. The benefit of doing this is twofold. First, customer accounts and internal users have vastly different needs and requirements for your business. Second, compartmentalization helps prevent cross-contamination. More simply, if something goes wrong in your customer account management system, it won’t affect your internal account management system or vice versa.
Thankfully, different management systems exist specifically to focus on customer account management and internal accounts. While customer identity and access management (CIAM) software is built for handling your business’ customer-facing accounts and account security, privileged access management (PAM) software focuses on managing and securing your business’ own internal user accounts. PAM solutions also differ in a drastic way from CIAM solutions by dealing with access to critical systems (e.g., databases, servers, domains, and networks) as well as handling IT admin accounts.
Key Benefits of Privileged Access Management Software
- Manage employee access privileges to key business systems
- Centralize storage of employee information
- Monitor employee behavior, web-based threats, and unapproved internal actors
- Customize access privileges for users
- Monitor employee account behavior
Why Use Privileged Access Management Software?
There are many security benefits to PAM solutions. Older methods of key sharing and word-of-mouth communication are not sufficient in protecting information and business-critical systems. These tools will help security professionals and administrative personnel better track who in their organization has access to what and may document their actions or behaviors within privileged systems or applications.
Security — Privileged access management tools centralize the storage credentials and administration of access. Without IAM tools, this data can be more vulnerable to threats if it is not properly safeguarded. IAM tools are fortified with authentication features to limit viewing to only those administrators with granted access. These tools will also provide alerts for potential threats or users who have accessed sensitive data without permission.
Administration — Administrators can create databases, document user account histories, and view approved privileges, all of which helps to simplify the onboarding process. Administrators can quickly create new accounts and approve applications for new users to access. Some products even offer templates to have ready when adding employees to specific roles. The same goes for those no longer employed; administrators can quickly restrict their privileges or delete their account.
Cloud application management — Many cloud applications have the ability to connect dozens of applications, user credentials, and access privileges. Large, enterprise-sized companies will benefit greatly from having a cloud-based database that securely contains this sensitive data. Many products come with prebuilt integrations for hundreds of applications, while others may require customization or simply offer a limited variety of applications.
Who Uses Privileged Access Management Software?
Administrative professionals — Administrators—typically security administrators—will most often be the ones using privileged access management solutions. Other system admins may find use in PAM solutions as well, since certain roles may need more or less access to different business systems, pending their role.
Service providers — Third-party service providers will often manage cloud services directly and may need to integrate with other business systems or networks. Privileged access management tools allow for role-based access control to limit what information and systems can be accessed by third-party services providers or other external entities requiring access to sensitive information or business-critical systems.
Human resources — HR professionals may use privileged access management solutions to delegate access to internal employees or new hires during the onboarding process. Many PAM tools integrate with directory services and identity servers and other identity management solutions to integrate identity information and simplify privileged account management. These accounts may be set up for access to applications, cloud services, databases, or any other IT system requiring privileged access.
Internal employees — These are the end users accessing applications and networks by the allowance of administrative or security staff. These individuals may only interact with the PAM solution in that they use the credentials to access information. But some tools may provide a dashboard or access portal with information about what applications, networks, services, and databases they have been approved to access.
Privileged Access Management Software Features
These are a few common features of privileged access management software.
Local access — Local access functionality facilitates administrative access to on-premises systems, legacy applications, web-based applications, network resources, and servers.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) — MFA or 2FA functionality adds a supplementary level of security for systems by requiring SMS codes, security questions, or other verification methods before granting access.
Bulk changes — Bulk change functionality can simplify the administration, federation, and identity governance of individuals in large amounts through batch update capabilities.
Self-service access requests — Self-service features allow users to request access to applications, networks, or databases, automatically provisioning individuals if they meet policy requirements.
Partner access — Local access functionality facilitates administrative access to users who are not company employees but are either within the company’s local area network or outside the network.
BYOD support — Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) features enable users to use their own device(s) to access company applications.
Bidirectional profile synchronization — Synchronization keeps all profile attributes consistent across applications whether the change is made in the provisioning system or the application.
Policy management — This feature enables administrators to create access requirements and standards while applying policy controls throughout request and provisioning processes.
Role management — Role management features help administrators establish roles that provide authentication and access rights for each user in the role.
Approval workflows — Process and approval workflows allow business stakeholders and administrators to approve or reject requested changes to access via a defined workflow.
Compliance audits — Auditing features allow for standards and policies to be established while proactively auditing access rights against predefined requirements.
Smart provisioning — Self-learning or automated provisioning helps to reduce the amount of manual work associated with creating access rights, as well as managing changes and removals for on-premises and cloud-based applications.
Potential Issues with Privileged Access Management Software
Security — Security is always a concern, especially with technologies specialized in protecting sensitive information. Individuals should be sure the administration of PAM software is controlled only by trusted individuals. Integrations with cloud services should be secure, and businesses should read the fine print on service provider contracts to ensure their security standards are sufficient. Without proper security protocols in place, systems may be vulnerable to data breaches, privilege escalation, and dozens of other web-based threats from both internal and external actors.
Compliance requirements — New compliance requirements are emerging across the globe. As this occurs, it’s important to remain adaptable in planning to secure, store, and deliver sensitive information in compliance with international regulations. Compliance management features will help to audit identity stores and servers to ensure each person is properly documented and their sensitive data is stored securely. Compliance auditing tools are also great add-ons for ad-hoc compliance checks and can be helpful in general to ensure a well-rounded security system is in place.
Device compatibility — End-user devices pose potential security risks if they are not compatible with identity management tools. They also pose a threat if they are not properly updated, patched, and protected in general. Device compatibility, support for servers, virtual environments and any other system requiring privileged access should be documented and integrated with systems to ensure every device is properly protected.
