Go beyond IBM watsonx.governance with a fully managed agent runtime.

IBM watsonx.governance maps AI assets, risks, controls, and regulations across the enterprise. Iron Gorilla goes further into execution. Build, run, and govern production agents in one managed platform.

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IBM watsonx.governance in brief

Strong AI governance. Runtime sold separately.

IBM is built for enterprise AI governance. It covers model risk, compliance, Factsheets, evaluations, agent catalogs, and agent monitoring. Production agents still run in watsonx Orchestrate or another platform.

Why Iron Gorilla

Build, run, and govern agents in one place.

Iron Gorilla puts governance inside the runtime. It builds and runs agents, changes oversight as trust changes, holds important actions for approval, manages connections, and operates recovery in one place.

Feature comparison

See how much more Iron Gorilla does.

Iron Gorilla covers 26 of 36 capabilities. IBM watsonx.governance covers 22. Iron Gorilla includes 14 capabilities IBM watsonx.governance does not.

Managed agent runtimeBuild, run, supervise, and improve agents in one platform.12 features

Agent runtime monitoring and anomaly alertsCollect production traces, calculate metrics, and alert on threshold breaches.

Runtime AI guardrailsCheck agent inputs and outputs and stop unsafe execution paths.

Enterprise AI governance graphMap AI assets to use cases, policies, risks, controls, and regulations across platforms.

Benchmark agent and tool evaluationCompare agents and tools with accuracy, latency, cost, security, and custom metrics.

Fully managed agent runtimeRun the agent, its state, tools, and controls in one platform.

Managed Agent BuilderCreate, check, version, and deploy governed agents.

Durable agent work and memoryKeep state, goals, memory, and recovery across long-running work.

Behavioral Trust ProfilesScore a deployed agent from behavior, access, approvals, and policy history.

Trust-based adaptive autonomyChange oversight when an agent earns trust or drifts.

Runtime human approval queueHold an important business action for a person with decision context.

Unified agent operations workspaceOperate status, approvals, blocks, trust, activity, and connection health together.

Scoped agent containment and recoveryBlock unsafe work, pause affected agents or groups, and recover safely.

Policy and evidenceControl actions before they happen and keep proof of each decision.12 features

AI Factsheets and use-case lifecycle inventoryTrack AI use cases, models, prompts, versions, owners, approvals, and lifecycle facts.

Per-asset risk or trust scoringSummarize the operating or governance posture of an AI asset.

Fairness, bias, quality, and model drift monitoringMeasure model behavior against fairness, quality, safety, and drift thresholds.

Model explainability and evaluation studioExplain model decisions and compare quality, relevance, safety, and RAG performance.

Prompt injection and sensitive-data guardrailsDetect unsafe prompts and PII in AI inputs and outputs.

Regulatory compliance mappingMap AI assets and controls to laws, standards, obligations, and internal policy.

Large regulatory framework content ecosystemStart with extensive maintained content for global AI and GRC requirements.

Enterprise GRC and accountability workflowsManage model risk, operational risk, regulatory change, tasks, reviews, and accountability.

Audit-ready governance reportsPackage AI facts, metrics, controls, decisions, and evidence for review.

Plain-language business-action policy authoringTurn an everyday business rule into an enforceable agent action policy.

Business-action policy simulationTest an allow, block, or review decision before the policy goes live.

Tamper-evident action evidenceDetect unauthorized changes to the record behind an agent decision.

Connections and modelsControl MCP tools, model traffic, routing, cost, and integrations.8 features

Governed agent and tool catalogRegister, find, compare, reuse, and invoke approved agents and tools.

Third-party AI estate governanceGovern externally deployed models and AI assets across major providers.

Managed MCP connector lifecycleAdd, own, scope, monitor, and assign MCP connections to agents.

Governed model routing and fallbackChoose model providers and fail over while keeping policy and trace context.

Agent token and cost telemetryMeasure token use and estimated cost for agent activity.

Enforced model spend controlsApply budgets, limits, and operating controls to model spend.

SIEM and audit-log integrationSend governance and operating events into enterprise monitoring systems.

Multi-cluster governance synchronizationKeep centralized governance metadata while AI assets remain on remote clusters.

Enterprise and governmentProtect identity and data across private and public-sector work.4 features

Enterprise identity and role-based accessControl users, groups, services, workspaces, roles, and scoped permissions.

Cloud, on-premises, and air-gapped deploymentRun governance in hosted, customer-managed, private, or disconnected environments.

Government and regulated-industry solutionSupport public-sector and high-control AI governance and deployment needs.

Published metered pricing and free tierStart with a free plan and review published unit and GRC prices.

The short answer

AI governance program or full agent runtime?

Use IBM for enterprise AI governance

Use IBM watsonx.governance for AI inventories, model risk, regulatory workflows, Factsheets, evaluations, governance graphs, and broad enterprise GRC.

Choose Iron Gorilla for the full program

Choose Iron Gorilla for the full agent program. Build and run agents, manage connections and models, control actions, route approvals, recover work, and produce audit-ready evidence.

Switch with less risk

Already under contract with IBM watsonx.governance?

Your organization may qualify for a contract buyout when you move to Iron Gorilla. We can also provide complimentary professional services to plan and complete the move.

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FAQ

IBM watsonx.governance alternative questions

Is Iron Gorilla an alternative to IBM watsonx.governance?

Yes. Both products govern AI and agent risk. Iron Gorilla also builds, runs, connects, and operates production agents in one managed platform.

What is the main difference between IBM watsonx.governance and Iron Gorilla?

IBM focuses on enterprise AI assurance, model risk, compliance, evaluation, and GRC. Iron Gorilla provides the managed agent runtime, behavioral trust, business-action approvals, connections, and live operations.

Does IBM watsonx.governance govern AI agents?

Yes. IBM provides an agent and tool catalog, evaluations, guardrails, risk workflows, and runtime monitoring for watsonx Orchestrate agents when both services are enabled.

Does IBM watsonx.governance support on-premises and government use?

Yes. IBM provides Software Hub deployment on Red Hat OpenShift, including air-gapped installation guidance, and positions watsonx.governance for government and regulated industries.

When should a team choose Iron Gorilla over IBM watsonx.governance?

Choose Iron Gorilla when you need the full agent lifecycle: creation, managed execution, durable work, connections, behavioral trust, human approvals, live operations, recovery, and tamper-evident evidence.

Can Iron Gorilla buy out an IBM watsonx.governance contract?

Your organization may be eligible for a contract buyout and complimentary professional services when it moves to Iron Gorilla. Eligibility and scope depend on your current contract and migration needs.

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