- BFSIBanking, Financial Services & Insurance
- HealthcareComing soon
- ManufacturingComing soon
- Retail & E-CommerceComing soon
StrongDM
Your engineers hold production passwords they used once. Access should last as long as the task — StrongDM, now part of Delinea, gives engineers short-lived, recorded access to databases, Kubernetes, servers and clouds through gateways you host, so nobody ever holds the credential.
Buy through TechBag
Same software. Better outcome — at a lower cost.
How it’s rated
Full scoreboard ↓Quick answer
The Delinea platform family
This page covers StrongDM — Delinea’s runtime access product, sold under its own brand. The rest:
Quick facts
30-second orientation- Product
- Zero-trust runtime access to databases, Kubernetes, servers, clouds and AI agents
- Maker
- StrongDM, a Delinea company since 5 March 2026; CEO Tim Prendergast
- Parent
- Delinea, San Francisco; backed by TPG; CEO Art Gilliland
- Price
- One per-user SKU with every feature; no figure published, so it is quoted
- Architecture
- SaaS control plane plus gateways you host; nothing installed on targets
- Targets
- 20+ database types, EKS, GKE, AKS, Docker, SSH, RDP, web apps, AWS, GCP, Azure
- Access model
- Just-in-time grants via Slack, Teams or ITSM, revoked automatically
- Credentials
- Brokered by the gateway; users never see the password, key or token
- India
- No Delinea India region or office; your gateways can sit in an Indian network
- In India via
- TechBag — target mapping, quote in INR with GST, gateway pilot
Understand runtime access before you buy it
Most product pages skip this. We start here — so you buy a capability, not a buzzword.
What is runtime privileged access?
Instead of standing passwords, engineers get a short, approved window to a database or cluster, brokered and recorded.
Shared passwords and a bastion vs brokered just-in-time access — the honest table
What consolidation actually replaces, dimension by dimension.
| Dimension | Shared passwords and a bastion | StrongDM |
|---|---|---|
| How an engineer gets in | VPN, a bastion host and a shared key | A request in Slack or Teams, then a brokered session |
| How long access lasts | Until someone remembers to remove it | A set window, withdrawn automatically |
| Who holds the password | Everyone who ever needed the database | Only the gateway; users never see it |
| Stopping a live session | Rotate the credential and hope | Runtime policy ends it while it runs |
| Answering the auditor | Shell history and guesswork | A recording tied to the approval |
| What it is NOT | — | A vault for routers, mainframes or Windows rotation |
The cheapest test is one squad for one month: move them to just-in-time grants, revoke one mid-session, and replay the recording.
The five pieces of the platform
Vendors love diagrams; buyers need to know what they’re actually operating. Here’s the whole platform, demystified.
Control plane
The hosted control plane holds users, roles and access rules, issues just-in-time grants and keeps re-checking authorization for as long as each session stays open.
Gateways
Gateways you run inside your own network sit between users and targets, present the stored credential on the user’s behalf and record the session as it passes through.
Targets
Databases, Kubernetes clusters, Docker hosts, Linux over SSH, Windows over RDP, internal web apps and cloud consoles are reached with nothing extra installed on them.
Requests
An engineer asks in Slack, Microsoft Teams or an ITSM ticket, an approver grants a time-boxed window, and the grant lapses on its own when that window closes.
A SaaS control plane decides who gets in — gateways you host broker, record and can cut every session.
Nine capabilities. Connect, authorize, audit.
StrongDM grants access at the moment of need and takes it back on its own.
Five named engines and 20 more
PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server and MongoDB lead a list StrongDM says runs to more than twenty further database types.
EKS, GKE, AKS and Docker
Managed clusters on all three big clouds, plus Docker hosts, are reached through the same gateway and policy as the databases.
SSH, RDP, consoles, web apps
Linux over SSH, Windows over RDP, internal web apps and AWS (GovCloud included), GCP and Azure sit behind one access layer.
Grants that expire by design
Access is asked for and approved in Slack, Teams or an ITSM tool, scoped to a window, and withdrawn automatically when it ends.
Authorization that keeps checking
Policy is evaluated again while a session runs, so a changed role or a revoked grant can end access mid-session, not at logout.
Policy for MCP clients too
AI agents and MCP clients are governed as identities in their own right, with the same grants and limits engineers receive.
Nobody holds the credential
The gateway presents the database password, key or token itself, so users connect without ever seeing or copying a secret.
Every session on the record
Sessions passing through a gateway are recorded, giving auditors who connected, to which target, under which approval and when.
No feature held back
A single per-user SKU includes every capability, so recording, approvals and new target types never need a separate add-on.
Watch StrongDM in action
Runtime authorization ending a live session, SSH behind MFA and just-in-time grants, and StrongDM’s case against VPNs and bastions.
Runtime Authorization in Action: Continuous Enforcement for Every Privileged Session
Policy re-evaluated during a live session, and access withdrawn while the user is still connected.
Secure SSH Access with MFA and JIT | StrongDM
An SSH session gated by MFA and a time-boxed, just-in-time grant.
How StrongDM is Different
StrongDM’s own case for brokered, credential-free access over VPNs and bastion hosts.
Want a live, India-context walkthrough for your environment?
Book a guided demo →Standing access piles up with every team change. StrongDM grants it per task and takes it back.
Here’s what genuinely sets it apart — and exactly where it stops.
Engineers get access for an hour, not a career
Standing database and cluster access piles up as people change teams. StrongDM grants it per request, approved in Slack, Teams or an ITSM tool, and takes it back automatically when the window ends. Because authorization is checked again during the session, a role change or a revoked grant ends access while the user is still connected.
One layer over the stack modern teams run
The target list is wide where newer infrastructure lives: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, MongoDB and more than twenty other databases, EKS, GKE and AKS, Docker, SSH, RDP, internal web apps and three public clouds. AI agents and MCP clients are governed as identities too, under the same grants.
Secrets stay at the gateway, simple to license
Users never receive the database password or cluster token: the self-hosted gateway presents it for them and records the session on the way through. Nothing is installed on the targets. Licensing is one per-user SKU with every feature in it, so there is no module list to negotiate line by line.
Where it stops
It is not a password vault: discovery, rotation, network devices, mainframes and classic Windows vaulting belong to Delinea Secret Server. You run and patch the gateways. The per-user price is not printed anywhere. Delinea has no India office or hosting region, and how StrongDM folds into the Delinea Platform is still roadmap.
The numbers behind the platform
What your StrongDM rollout looks like
List who reaches what today
Inventory the databases, clusters and servers engineers touch, and every shared password or key that gets them there now.
Place the first gateways
Stand up a redundant gateway pair inside the network that holds one team’s targets, and connect your identity provider.
Pilot with one squad
Move one engineering team onto just-in-time grants approved in Slack or Teams, and remove their standing credentials.
Test revocation and audit
Revoke a grant mid-session, replay a recording for the auditor, and confirm where recordings and logs are stored.
Widen and retire bastions
Add the remaining teams and AI agents, set grant windows by role, then switch off the VPN profiles and jump hosts.
The review scoreboard
Modelled on Gartner Peer Insights structure. *Counts and breakdowns are illustrative pending verified review collection.
Quick poll — what’s driving your evaluation?
Talk to an advisor“Developers used to keep production Postgres passwords in their shells. Now they ask in Slack and the grant lapses after two hours.”
“We cut a contractor’s access mid-session when his ticket closed early. The connection simply dropped, which audit loved.”
“Mongo, MySQL and three EKS clusters behind one gateway pair. Onboarding a new hire is a role change, not a day of key swaps.”
“Plan the gateways like production kit. Ours sat in one subnet at first and a routing change took every session down.”
“Recordings answered the auditor’s question of who ran that query on the ledger database, with the approval attached.”
“It does modern infrastructure well, but our routers and the old AIX boxes still needed a vault, so we run both.”
Where everyone sits — the grids
Analyst firms bury this view behind paywalls, and G2 retired its Grid. So here’s TechBag’s synthesis of the infrastructure access market — tap any vendor to see why it sits where it does.
TechBag Infrastructure Access Grid
Execution strength vs product vision — the classic market map, minus the paywall.
One per-user SKU with every feature; no figure printed.
Target Breadth × Runtime Control
The grid nobody publishes — how many kinds of infrastructure one product reaches vs how tightly it controls a session while it runs.
25+ databases, three Kubernetes services, SSH, RDP, clouds, AI agents; mid-session revocation.
Positions are TechBag’s illustrative synthesis of public review-platform data and vendor documentation — not a reproduction of any analyst graphic. Verify before relying on it.
StrongDM vs the infrastructure access field
Against Teleport, HashiCorp Boundary, Okta Privileged Access, CyberArk Secure Cloud Access and BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access — on targets, just-in-time control, price, audit and India.
| Dimension | StrongDM | Teleport | HashiCorp Boundary | Okta Privileged Access | CyberArk Secure Cloud Access | BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Runtime access, Delinea | Infrastructure access | Identity-based access | PAM inside Okta | Cloud JIT and CIEM | Brokered remote sessions |
| Deployment | SaaS + your gateways | Cloud or self-hosted | HCP or self-managed | SaaS, agent on server | SaaS on Idira | Cloud or appliance |
| Targets covered | DBs, K8s, servers, AI | SSH, K8s, databases | SSH, RDP, DB, K8s, HTTPS | Linux, Windows servers | AWS, Azure, Google | RDP, SSH, VNC, web, OT |
| Just-in-time access | JIT, revoked mid-session | Short-lived certificates | JIT, short-lived creds | Zero standing privilege | Elevate, then remove | Time-bound, approved |
| Credential handling | Brokered, never shown | Certificates, not keys | Injected from Vault | Credential-free access | Temporary cloud roles | From Password Safe |
| Session audit | Recorded, revocable | Recorded sessions | Plus and Enterprise | Full recording | Session monitoring | Screen + keystrokes |
| Identity and approvals | Slack, Teams, ITSM | SSO users, governance | Okta, Entra, Ping | Same Okta identity | Idira platform policy | IdP, MFA, ServiceNow |
| Pricing model | Per user, one SKU | MAU + resources | Per active user | In a workforce bundle | Per user subscription | Concurrent or named |
| Published entry price | Not published | Free CE, else quote | Free CE, HCP rate hidden | ~$17/user/month | Not published | Not published |
| Included vs add-on | Every feature in | Two packaged tiers | Recording needs Plus | Okta estate assumed | Separate Idira services | Vault sold separately |
| Scale and support | Not published | 50K resources, 99.9% | Limits not found | Large estates | Large estates | Large estates |
| India data | Gateways in your DC | Self-host in India | Self-manage in India | India tenants, confirm | India, ap-south-1 | India – West region |
| Lock-in and exit | Agentless targets | AGPLv3 source | BUSL, leans on Vault | Tied to Okta | Tied to Idira | Tied to Password Safe |
| Best fit | Modern infra, many DBs | Self-hosted infra access | HashiCorp Vault shops | Okta-first estates | Cloud role sprawl | Vendors into production |
Which approach fits you?
Honest fit signals — because the fastest way to lose your trust is to pretend one product wins every scenario.
Choose StrongDM if…
- ✓Engineers need short-lived access to many database engines, Kubernetes clusters and cloud consoles, asked for in Slack or Teams
- ✓You want sessions cut the moment a grant is revoked, not when the engineer logs out
- ✓One per-user SKU with nothing held back suits you better than a module list, and you are happy to run the gateways
Compare alternatives if…
- ✓You need to self-host the entire access plane, or a free tier for a small firm — Teleport and Boundary both offer one
- ✓You already run Okta everywhere and want privileged access priced inside that bundle — look at Okta Privileged Access
- ✓Suppliers and OT engineers are the main users, with screen and keystroke recording — BeyondTrust PRA is built for that
Do not expect…
- ✓A password vault with discovery and rotation for routers, mainframes or Windows service accounts
- ✓A printed per-user price, despite the single SKU
- ✓An India hosting region or an Indian Delinea office
StrongDM is one of 29 privileged access management products TechBag carries. The Privileged Access Management guide narrows them to a shortlist and shows the reasoning. →
What does hand-run infrastructure access cost you?
Drag the sliders (engineers who need infrastructure access; engineer-hour cost). Estimates model time lost to access tickets, credential hand-offs, key rotation after leavers and audit evidence at an assumed 1.5 hours per engineer a year, with 70% of it removed by self-service just-in-time grants and recorded sessions. Both figures are assumptions. Illustrative.
Loaded cost = salary + overheads per productive hour. Illustrative only — your TechBag quote models your actual environment and modules.
Three ways to consume it
Not published: StrongDM sells a single per-user SKU that includes every feature, but prints no figure, and third-party estimates are not list prices. Delinea quotes it. TechBag counts the engineers, contractors and agents who need access, then quotes in INR with GST.
StrongDM
Best for engineering-led estates
- One per-user SKU, every feature included
- Databases, Kubernetes, servers, clouds, AI agents
- Gateways self-hosted; price on quote
+ Platform add-ons
Best for a broader rollout
- Scoped to your estate
- Add-on modules as needed
- Phased, right-sized deployment
StrongDM + Secret Server
Best for mixed old and new infrastructure
- Runtime access for modern targets
- Vault, discovery and rotation for legacy ones
- Both quoted by Delinea; one TechBag INR quote
Buy it for less — TechBag pricing beats list
Whatever the list prices above, TechBag negotiates a significantly better deal — with GST-compliant INR invoicing and local support. Ask us for your discounted quote.
Get an India-ready quote
Tell us your requirements and current tools — we’ll model it against what you spend today.
The 8 questions to ask every vendor
Take this into your next vendor call — including ours.
Are all your databases, clusters and servers on StrongDM’s list? Name every engine and version, not just the main five.
Which accounts still need discovery and rotation — routers, mainframes, Windows services? Those belong in a vault.
Where will gateways run, how many for redundancy, and who patches them? They carry every session you broker.
Where are the control plane, logs and session recordings stored? Delinea lists no India region; get it in writing.
Will grants be approved in Slack, Teams or your ITSM tool, by whom, and for how long should each role’s window run?
Which AI agents or MCP clients touch production data, and what grants and limits should they have as identities?
How many users will hold access in a year? Get the per-user rate in INR with GST and the renewal terms in writing.
Does the quote bind StrongDM terms for the full contract, and what does Delinea commit to on Platform integration?
Questions buyers ask
Ready to evaluate StrongDM?
Map your databases and clusters against StrongDM’s target list first, or let a TechBag advisor scope a gateway pilot for one engineering team.
Stats, ratings, review counts and pricing are illustrative and sourced from public materials; verify before purchase.