Top 10 Obsidian Competitors and Alternatives

Obsidian Security has emerged as one of the most recognized players in the SaaS security market, known for its focus on identity analytics and SaaS threat detection.

Founded to help companies monitor user activity across applications, Obsidian bridges the gap between identity management and SaaS security - offering visibility into who is doing what inside business-critical platforms like Salesforce, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365.

Obsidian’s key capabilities center on:

• Behavioral and identity analytics to detect insider threats or compromised accounts.
• Cross-application visibility into access patterns and risky SaaS integrations.
• Incident investigation and response insights that help teams prioritize and triage SaaS-related threats faster.

While Obsidian excels at providing visibility into how identities behave across SaaS environments, its focus remains primarily on detection and investigation - rather than on automated response, remediation, or data access governance.

The narrower focus on detection and investigation leaves some notable gaps in broader SaaS security coverage.

• Limited visibility into data flow and content-level exposure → Obsidian tracks user activity and identity risk but doesn’t provide granular insight into how sensitive data moves, is shared, or exposed across SaaS environments - leaving data governance and DLP needs unaddressed.
  
  
• Lacks built-in remediation or enforcement capabilities → The platform helps identify and investigate threats, but doesn’t offer automated remediation or response workflows. As a result, security teams must rely on external systems or manual processes to mitigate detected risks.
  
  
• Narrower platform coverage compared to SSPM leaders → While Obsidian integrates with leading SaaS tools, its coverage breadth and depth may not match that of dedicated SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) vendors.

1. DoControl

DoControl provides a comprehensive, context-rich approach to SaaS Security, delivering deep coverage across all five pillars. It excels in Data Access Governance, DLP, Shadow AI, and ITDR, making it a strong fit for organizations looking to reduce sensitive data exposure with precision and scale.

Focus Areas(s): Data Access Governance, DLP, Shadow AI, Shadow Apps, ITDR 

Top Customers: Colgate-Palmolive, Snap Inc., Databricks, Sanmina, Datadog

Pros:

• Contextual visibility combining SaaS data, user behavior from HRIS/IdP systems, and content scanning
  
  
• Granular and scalable remediation for both historical and real-time exposure through flexible, automated workflows
  
  
• Real-time, scalable data architecture designed for large enterprise environments

Cons:

• Misconfiguration coverage is growing but currently limited
  
  
• Compliance framework support is still expanding
  
  
• No browser extension analysis within the Shadow AI/Apps module

2. AppOmni

AppOmni specializes in SaaS posture and configuration management, with a strong focus on securing application settings and third-party integrations. It’s widely adopted by large enterprises for reducing configuration drift.

Focus Areas(s): Misconfigurations 

Top Customers: Sprinkler, DLA Piper, Righmove, Fanduel, BlueOcean

Pros:

• Robust SaaS configuration and posture controls
  
  
• Extensive integration list with core SaaS platforms (e.g., Salesforce, M365)
  
  
• Strong reputation in the enterprise market

Cons:

• Limited visibility into user activity and data flow
  
  
• Lacks detection/response capabilities
  
  
• No remediation for exposed data

3. Netskope

Netskope is an SSE (Security Service Edge) platform offering CASB, DLP, and ZTNA capabilities. It delivers holistic protection across SaaS, IaaS, and web environments.

Focus Area(s): DLP

Top Customers: JLL, Republic Services, BLG, Orbia, Culture Amp

Pros:

• Full SSE suite: CASB, SWG, DLP, ZTNA
  
  
• Real-time traffic inspection and threat protection
  
  
• Strong coverage for both managed and unmanaged SaaS apps

Cons:

• High setup and tuning complexity
  
  
• No contextual user data; higher false-positive rate
  
  
• Pull-based architecture limits scalability for large datasets

4. Grip Security

Grip focuses on shadow SaaS discovery and visibility into unmanaged app usage, helping security teams regain control over SaaS sprawl and app proliferation.

Focus Area(s): Shadow IT

Top Customers: NFP, PDS Health, IPG, Believer, Endor Labs

Pros:

• Strong discovery of shadow and unmanaged SaaS
  
  
• Agentless, lightweight deployment
  
  
• Rapid SaaS inventory creation

Cons:

• No analysis or remediation for sensitive data exposure
  
  
• Lacks deep configuration management
  
  
• Minimal to no ITDR capabilities

5. Reco.ai

Reco.ai has grown rapidly due to its strong Misconfiguration capabilities and custom app support. While it's early in other areas, it has carved a niche around secure app configurations.

Focus Area(s): Misconfigurations, ITDR

Top Customers: Wellstar Health System, BigID, CSK, Ruby Life, BHG Financial

Pros:

• Broad app support for Misconfiguration coverage
  
  
• Automated custom app onboarding
  
  
• Behavior-based risk scoring

Cons:

• No remediation capabilities
  
  
• Limited feature set outside Misconfigurations
  
  
• No DLP, DAG, or Shadow AI capabilities

6. Valence Security

‍Valence addresses SaaS supply chain risks by focusing on non-human access, third-party integrations, and inter-app connectivity.

Focus Area(s): Misconfigurations, Shadow Apps

‍Top Customers: Corelight, Riskified, Hippo, UTA, Goosehead Insurance

Pros:

• Strong mapping of app misconfigurations
  
  
• Deep visibility into OAuth tokens and Shadow App usage
  
  
• Effective for SaaS-to-SaaS and API security

Cons:

• No behavior analytics or ITDR support
  
  
• Limited exposure and data risk insights
  
  
• No remediation for data exposure

7. Varonis

Originally a data security leader for on-prem, Varonis has extended into the SaaS world, focusing on permissions, access, and entitlements within apps like M365 and Salesforce.

Focus Area(s): Endpoint DLP

Top Customers: KMPT, TPMG, Penguin Random House, PizzaExpress, Zurich Insurance

Pros:

• Powerful visibility into file access and entitlements
  
  
• Mature platform with proven enterprise adoption
  
  
• Suitable for hybrid IT environments

Cons:

• Legacy UI/UX and deployment complexity
  
  
• High false-positive rate due to lack of context
  
  
• Expensive with limited coverage across modern SaaS

8. Wiz

Wiz is designed to give security teams visibility into risks spanning misconfigurations, exposed data, vulnerabilities, and toxic access combinations.

Focus Area(s): Cloud security, SaaS posture management, identity and data risk visibility

Top Customers: Salesforce, BMW, Fox, The Home Depot

Pros:

• Comprehensive visibility across cloud and SaaS environments from a single platform
  
  
• Strong identity and data exposure analytics with agentless deployment
  
  
• Unified CNAPP and SSPM capabilities that appeal to large enterprises
  
  

Cons:

• Primarily cloud-first, SaaS-specific coverage may lack depth compared to pure-play SSPM vendors
  
  
• Focused more on risk detection than on detailed SaaS remediation workflows
  
  
• Can be complex and resource-heavy for smaller teams to operationalize

9. Adaptive Shield (CrowdStrike)

Acquired by CrowdStrike, Adaptive Shield offers SSPM capabilities with a strong emphasis on compliance, app hardening, and posture analysis.

Focus Area(s): Misconfigurations 

Top Customers: Can’t be found

Pros:

• Broad SaaS configuration management
  
  
• Seamlessly integrates with the CrowdStrike XDR ecosystem
  
  
• Robust compliance reporting features

Cons:

• Limited ITDR or behavior analytics
  
  
• Development slowed post-acquisition
  
  
• Redundancy if not already invested in CrowdStrike

‍10. Spin.ai

Spin.ai emphasizes backup, ransomware recovery, and app risk for SaaS platforms like Google Workspace and M365. It's uniquely positioned as a SaaS resilience and recovery tool.

Focus Area(s): Backup and recovery, Shadow IT

Top Customers: Toronto Metropolitan University, SADA, General Catalyst, GroupHugs, Cider

Pros:

• Built-in ransomware recovery and backup
  
  
• Strong third-party app and Chrome extension visibility
  
  
• Useful for business continuity use cases

Cons:

• Limited posture and configuration management
  
  
• Not focused on SSPM or threat detection
  
  
• Less suited for broader SaaS security operations‍

Summary

While Obsidian Security offers real value through its identity analytics and SaaS threat detection capabilities, its narrower focus on detection and investigation highlights the need for organizations to have multiple SaaS security solutions integrated across their environments.. 

Protecting modern SaaS environments demands continuous monitoring of data access, configuration posture, and SaaS-to-SaaS connections, paired with automated remediation and real-time enforcement.

No single tool can solve every dimension of the SaaS security challenge. There's no silver bullet to solving SaaS security. Each platform brings unique strengths, and many organizations ultimately adopt a layered, best-of-breed approach to achieve complete coverage. 

DoControl embodies this best of breed approach wholeheartedly. 

For organizations seeking a scalable, context-driven alternative that bridges the gaps left by traditional detection-focused tools, DoControl stands apart as a modern partner built for the realities of SaaS threats today - and the challenges of tomorrow.