Satori vs StrongDM: Data Masking or Database Access Proxy? (2026)

Quick verdict

Short answer

Choose Satori (Commvault Data Access Manager) if the problem is analysts and data consumers seeing too much: you need column masking, row filtering and time-limited dataset access in Snowflake, Databricks, Redshift and similar stores, enforced centrally without rewriting queries. Choose StrongDM if the problem is engineers' access to infrastructure: you want one place to grant, approve and revoke access to dozens of database types, servers and clusters, with no shared passwords and a log of every query. Both products changed owner recently (Commvault in August 2025, Delinea in March 2026), so confirm packaging and roadmap with the new owner before signing.

How we know: This comparison is research-based: ownership, architecture, enforcement points, supported data stores and pricing status were checked on 7 November 2026 against Commvault's product page, blog and documentation, StrongDM's documentation and Delinea's press releases and StrongDM page. Neither vendor publishes prices. We have not deployed either product, so nothing here is a measured result.

Satori was a data security company whose platform sat between data consumers and data stores to apply access policies. Commvault announced the purchase of Satori Cyber on 24 July 2025 and completed it on 28 August 2025; the documentation now calls the product Commvault Data Access Manager (formerly Satori), and satoricyber.com redirects to Commvault. Commvault's product page describes dynamic masking at runtime, row-level security, just-in-time access with approvals, continuous discovery and classification, and audit of who accessed what data and why.

StrongDM describes itself as a zero trust privileged access management platform. Users connect through the StrongDM desktop app or CLI with their usual clients; StrongDM checks authorization and proxies the traffic, so the database password is never shown. Delinea announced a definitive agreement to acquire StrongDM on 15 January 2026 and said on 5 March 2026 that it had completed the acquisition, with financial terms not disclosed. Delinea's StrongDM page says StrongDM is now part of Delinea and that customers' deployments, login and support channels operate as before; strongdm.com now redirects to delinea.com.

Data layer versus connection layer. A useful test: if your auditor asks "who could see this customer's card number", that is a data-layer control (Satori). If they ask "who logged in to the production database last Tuesday and what did they run", that is a connection-layer control (StrongDM). Many organisations need both.

Side by side

Aspect	Commvault Data Access Manager	StrongDM
Owner and status	Commvault (acquisition completed 28 August 2025); now Commvault Data Access Manager	Delinea (acquisition completed, announced 5 March 2026); product still named StrongDM
Control point	Data layer: which columns and rows a user sees	Connection layer: who can reach which resource, with credentials hidden
Users served	Analysts, data scientists and other data consumers	Engineers, DBAs, SREs and, since September 2026, AI agents
Enforcement	Data Access Controller proxy on Kubernetes, or native policy push-down to Snowflake Horizon and Databricks Unity Catalog	Gateways, outbound-only relays or proxy clusters, reached through the StrongDM app or CLI
Masking and row filtering	Dynamic masking at query time; row-level security	Not a masking product
Just-in-time access	Dataset access requests with approval rules; temporary credentials	Access workflows with automatic or human approval; Cedar policies add device, location and MFA conditions
Audit	Query audit logs through the proxy; who accessed what data and why	Query logs, admin activity and policy decision logs; session replay for SSH, Kubernetes and RDP
Discovery and classification	Continuous scanning and classification of sensitive data	Not documented
Data stores named	Snowflake, Databricks, Amazon Redshift, MongoDB and AWS, Azure and Google Cloud stores (full list only as an image)	More than 40 datasource types, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, Db2, MongoDB, Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, DynamoDB and Databricks SQL
Beyond databases	No: data stores only	Yes: servers (SSH, RDP), Kubernetes and clouds
Pricing	Not published; demo and quote	Not published; strongdm.com/pricing redirects to a Delinea page with no prices

Key differences

What each product actually controls

Data Access Manager works on the data returned by a query. It masks sensitive fields such as card numbers, national IDs, names and phone numbers at runtime without changing the stored data, filters rows by the user's authorization context, and classifies sensitive data so policies can follow the data rather than the table. An analyst and a data engineer can run the same query and get different results.

StrongDM works on the session. It decides whether a user may connect to a database, server or cluster, injects the credential so the user never sees it, and logs the queries run. It does not change what the database returns, so a user who is allowed in sees whatever their database role permits. That is why the two are complementary rather than substitutes: StrongDM narrows who gets in, Satori narrows what they see.

Architecture and where traffic flows

Commvault hosts the Data Access Manager console as SaaS (the control plane). Data Access Controllers enforce policy on queries; Commvault documents them as usable as a service or deployed in your own AWS, Azure or Google Cloud account or on premises, because they run on Kubernetes, and the product page mentions high availability and multi-region support. For Snowflake Horizon and Databricks Unity Catalog it can instead push native policies down to the platform, managed with Terraform, so queries do not pass through a proxy at all.

StrongDM has a SaaS control plane with self-hosted network components. Gateways accept client connections, relays dial out from private subnets so no inbound firewall rule is needed, and proxy clusters suit segmented networks behind load balancers. Users install the StrongDM desktop app or CLI and keep their usual database client. No agent on the database itself is documented.

Access requests and policy

Both replace standing access with time-limited grants, but at different levels. Data Access Manager lets data consumers request access to a dataset through a Data Portal, with approval rules per dataset, and issues temporary credentials or personal access tokens instead of shared database logins. StrongDM grants access through roles (standing access) or access workflows (just-in-time requests approved automatically or by a person), and its Cedar policies add conditions such as device trust, location, MFA or command restrictions. StrongDM added Secure AI controls for AI agents in September 2026.

Ownership changes

Both products are in the first year or so under a new owner. Commvault said integration of Satori into its portfolio would roll out over the following year, and the product now appears in Commvault documentation as Data Access Manager. Delinea completed its acquisition of StrongDM in March 2026; its press release describes bringing StrongDM's runtime authorization capabilities to the Delinea Platform, while its StrongDM page says nothing changes for existing customers for now. StrongDM documentation and releases continue under the StrongDM name. Ask each vendor how the product will be packaged and licensed within the larger portfolio, and get support terms in writing.

Pricing and licensing

Commvault Data Access Manager (Satori). Commvault publishes no prices or tiers. The product page asks you to request a demo and pricing; no free tier or self-serve plan is documented. Expect a quote-based subscription.

StrongDM. No official price list is available. On 7 November 2026 strongdm.com/pricing redirected to Delinea's platform bundles page, which shows no prices and asks you to request pricing, and Delinea's StrongDM page does not mention pricing. StrongDM's documentation confirms an Enterprise plan but lists no prices. Third-party price figures were not used. Both products are quote-based.

Pricing checked on the vendors' official pages on 7 November 2026. Prices change; confirm before buying.

Where each one leads

Commvault Data Access Manager strengths

Dynamic masking and row-level security applied centrally, without changing queries or schemas
Native policy push-down to Snowflake Horizon and Databricks Unity Catalog, manageable with Terraform
Continuous discovery and classification of sensitive data
Data Access Controllers can run in your own cloud account so query traffic stays in your network
Dataset access requests reduce standing access for data consumers

StrongDM strengths

Very wide list of database and warehouse types, plus servers, Kubernetes and clouds
Users never see database credentials
Outbound-only relays reach private subnets without inbound firewall changes
Query-level logs for database sessions and replay for SSH, Kubernetes and RDP
Cedar policies and access workflows for context-aware, just-in-time access

Limitations

Commvault Data Access Manager limitations

The full supported data store list is published only as an image in the documentation
Does not broker server, SSH or Kubernetes sessions
Integration into Commvault's portfolio is still rolling out
No public pricing

StrongDM limitations

No column masking or row filtering: users see what their database role allows
Requires the StrongDM app or CLI on user devices for most connections
Packaging within the Delinea Platform may change after the March 2026 acquisition
No public pricing

When to choose each

Choose Commvault Data Access Manager if

Analysts must see masked PII in Snowflake or Databricks while engineers see clear values
You need row-level rules applied consistently across several data platforms
Data consumers should request time-limited access to sensitive datasets with approval
You want to find and classify sensitive columns before writing policies

Choose StrongDM if

Engineers need access to many database types, servers and Kubernetes from one tool
You want to remove shared database passwords and offboard people in one step
Auditors need a log of every query engineers ran in production
Databases sit in private subnets that should not accept inbound connections

When neither is right

You need to vault and rotate administrator credentials and record privileged sessions across a large regulated estate: see CyberArk Privileged Access Manager.
Applications, not people, need short-lived database credentials issued by API: see HashiCorp Vault.
You need field-level encryption or tokenization stored in the data itself: see Protegrity or Thales CipherTrust.
You need activity monitoring and compliance reporting across many databases: see IBM Guardium vs Imperva.

Final recommendation

Bottom line

This is less a head-to-head than a question of which layer you need to control. Satori (Commvault Data Access Manager) is the direct fit for data platform teams that must mask, filter and approve access to analytics data, especially on Snowflake and Databricks where it can enforce natively. StrongDM is the direct fit for engineering teams that need brokered, logged, just-in-time access to many databases and infrastructure without sharing credentials. If you need both outcomes, plan for both kinds of tool, and with two recent acquisitions involved, confirm each product's packaging and roadmap with Commvault and Delinea.

Frequently asked questions

Is Satori still available?

Yes, under Commvault. Commvault completed the Satori Cyber acquisition on 28 August 2025, and its documentation names the product Commvault Data Access Manager (formerly Satori). satoricyber.com redirects to Commvault.

Is StrongDM part of Delinea?

Yes. Delinea announced an agreement to acquire StrongDM on 15 January 2026 and announced on 5 March 2026 that it had completed the acquisition, without disclosing financial terms. Delinea's StrongDM page says customers' deployments, login and support continue to operate as before.

Can StrongDM mask data?

No. StrongDM controls and logs connections and hides credentials, but it does not change query results. Column masking and row filtering are what Data Access Manager (Satori) does.

Does Data Access Manager always sit in the query path?

No. Its Data Access Controllers proxy queries and apply masking and row-level security, but for Snowflake Horizon and Databricks Unity Catalog it can push native policies to the platform instead.

Can I use both together?

Yes, in principle. StrongDM decides who may connect and logs the session, and a data-layer tool decides what that user sees. Check with both vendors how their proxies chain for your data stores before relying on it.

Sources

Checked November 2026.

How we research comparisons: our editorial method.