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IBM watsonx Orchestrate vs Zenity

IBM watsonx Orchestrate

Agent management platform to build, deploy, orchestrate, and govern AI agents

Zenity AI Agent Security & Governance Platform

Security and governance platform for AI agents, aimed at security teams

Short answer

IBM describes watsonx Orchestrate as a platform to build, orchestrate, and govern agents; Zenity is a security and governance platform for AI agents.⁠Source 1, Source 2 On SaaS outside AWS GovCloud, IBM’s agent controls cover external A2A agents, while Zenity says it catalogs agents and blocks inline on Copilot Studio, Microsoft Foundry, and coding agents.⁠Source 3, Source 4, Source 5, Source 6

By Blocks.ai teamLast checked

Where each one sits

Six layers of running AI agents at a company, and what each product’s own public sources say it covers.

These aren’t the same kind of product

Where they overlap
watsonx Orchestrate inventories agents from other platforms (IBM’s AI Gateway does this in preview), applies controls to agents, and records agent activity; Zenity says it does too.⁠Source 3, Source 4, Source 5, Source 7, Source 8
Where they differ
Teams can also build and run agents in watsonx Orchestrate.⁠Source 9, Source 10 Zenity says it inventories agents built and run elsewhere, coding agents such as Claude Code and Cursor among them.⁠Source 4, Source 11
Running both
watsonx Orchestrate works with agents on other platforms, Salesforce Agentforce among them, and Zenity says it does too.⁠Source 4, Source 12 Neither vendor publicly documents using the two together.
Public sources · checked 2 October 2026
  • Offered
  • Preview
  • Not publicly documented

IBM watsonx Orchestrate

  • Build agents: OfferedVisual builder and ADK⁠Source 9
  • Host and run agents: OfferedAgents run on watsonx Orchestrate⁠Source 10
  • Identity and access: PreviewAgent identity⁠Source 13
  • Registry and governance: OfferedAgentic Control Plane⁠Source 14
  • Traffic between agents, tools, and models: OfferedA2A calls to agent endpoints⁠Source 15
  • Agents across organizations: OfferedPartner A2A agents in catalog⁠Source 15

Zenity

  • Build agents: Not publicly documented
  • Host and run agents: Not publicly documented
  • Identity and access: Not publicly documented
  • Registry and governance: OfferedAI Observability agent inventory⁠Source 4
  • Traffic between agents, tools, and models: OfferedTool-call blocking for coding agents⁠Source 11
  • Agents across organizations: Not publicly documented

At a glance

TopicIBM watsonx OrchestrateZenity
What it isIBM calls it an agent management platform to build, deploy, orchestrate, manage, and govern agents.⁠Source 1A SaaS security and governance platform for AI agents.⁠Source 2
Who it’s forIBM addresses it to IT, security, and AI leaders scaling agents.⁠Source 1Security teams that need to discover and inventory agents, enforce policies, and reduce unmanaged risk, per Zenity.⁠Source 16
Agents it works withAgents built in it, plus external agents added by endpoint, such as A2A or chat completions agents.⁠Source 10, Source 12, Source 17, Source 18 IBM says discovering agents in AgentCore, Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, or Azure AI Foundry is in preview.⁠Source 19, Source 20, Source 21Zenity says it covers agents in Copilot Studio, ChatGPT Enterprise, and Agentforce, homegrown agents, and coding agents.⁠Source 4, Source 11
Where it runsManaged SaaS on AWS or IBM Cloud, or installed on premises.⁠Source 22, Source 23Software as a service, deployed on AWS per its AWS Marketplace listing.⁠Source 2 Self-hosting isn’t in Zenity’s public docs.
Pricing modelBy plan: Essentials from $530 a month, Standard from $6,360 a month, and Premium on request, with a 30-day free trial.⁠Source 24Private offers on its main AWS Marketplace listing; a separate Security Hub Extended listing shows list prices and a 30-day free trial.⁠Source 2, Source 25

What each one is

IBM watsonx Orchestrate

IBM describes watsonx Orchestrate as an agent management platform to build, deploy, orchestrate, manage, and govern agents, for IT, security, and AI leaders.⁠Source 1 It describes the Agentic Control Plane as a centralized layer to observe and govern agents, wherever they were built or run.⁠Source 14

Zenity AI Agent Security & Governance Platform

Zenity is a SaaS security and governance platform for AI agents across SaaS, homegrown cloud platforms, and end-user devices, which it aims at security teams.⁠Source 2, Source 16 Zenity describes three layers, Surface, Enforce, and Protect, from finding exposure to stopping unsafe actions.⁠Source 16

The differences that matter

  1. Building and running agents

    IBM watsonx Orchestrate

    IBM says agents can be built in a visual builder with drag-and-drop and natural language; Agent Development Kit agents run on watsonx Orchestrate.⁠Source 9, Source 10

    Zenity

    Zenity says it works with agents built and run elsewhere, such as in Copilot Studio and Agentforce, or on Azure AI Foundry and Vertex AI.⁠Source 4

    Tools from Zenity for building agents aren’t in Zenity’s public docs.

  2. How agents get into the inventory

    IBM watsonx Orchestrate

    Built in it or added by endpoint; IBM says AI Gateway (preview) can discover agents in AgentCore, Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, or Azure AI Foundry.⁠Source 7, Source 10, Source 17, Source 19, Source 20, Source 21

    Zenity

    Zenity says AI Observability scans the environment and catalogs agents, including those inside Copilot Studio, ChatGPT Enterprise, and Agentforce, with permissions and tool access.⁠Source 4

    In preview, watsonx Orchestrate can register an imported agent for monitoring only; Zenity says it flags agents operating outside sanctioned deployment channels.⁠Source 4, Source 26

  3. Controlling what agents do

    IBM watsonx Orchestrate

    On SaaS outside AWS GovCloud, controls can block unsafe content, protect sensitive data, govern model traffic, and restrict network access; agent controls cover A2A agents.⁠Source 3

    Zenity

    Runtime Boundaries can check agent actions in real time; Zenity says it can block them on Copilot Studio, Microsoft Foundry, and coding agents.⁠Source 5, Source 6

    IBM’s security control center shows each agent’s connections, tools, and permissions; Zenity says its Boundaries policies can be kept as version-controlled files.⁠Source 27, Source 28

For security teams

What a security review asks, answered from each vendor’s public documentation.

TopicIBM watsonx OrchestrateZenity
Network exposureExternal agents need accessible endpoints.⁠Source 17 On IBM Cloud: a Satellite TLS tunnel, private endpoints, and network controls.⁠Source 3, Source 29, Source 30, Source 31Delivered as SaaS, deployed on AWS per its AWS Marketplace listing.⁠Source 2 Network requirements aren’t in Zenity’s public docs.
IdentityPlatform SSO uses OIDC or SAML.⁠Source 32 Per-agent identity is in private preview; existing authentication types use an impersonation model.⁠Source 13, Source 33Zenity says Boundaries rules can check Okta attributes such as active status, role, department, and job title.⁠Source 5
Access changes and revocationOn IBM Cloud, undeploying a released agent version is logged; removing an agent from AI Gateway’s directory (preview) is permanent.⁠Source 34, Source 35Zenity says its kill switch immediately disables an agent’s tool and data access.⁠Source 5
Audit trailAudit events can go to your chosen destinations on IBM Cloud, or to your S3 and CloudWatch on AWS.⁠Source 36, Source 37Zenity says it logs agent messages and tool calls, and can stream audit log events to Splunk or Microsoft Sentinel.⁠Source 4, Source 28
ComplianceIBM says watsonx Orchestrate is FedRAMP authorized on AWS GovCloud (US) and the company holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification.⁠Source 38, Source 39Zenity says the company holds SOC 2 Type II and is ISO 27001 compliant; FedRAMP “In Process” announced March 2026.⁠Source 40, Source 41

Full comparison

18 criteria in five groups. Every cell links to its source, or says no public source answers it.

IBM watsonx Orchestrate and Zenity compared on 18 criteria
IBM watsonx OrchestrateZenity
What it is
What it is and who it’s forIBM describes it as an agent management platform to build, deploy, orchestrate, manage, and govern agents, for IT, security, and AI leaders.⁠Source 1A SaaS security and governance platform for AI agents across SaaS, homegrown cloud platforms, and end-user devices, which Zenity aims at security teams.⁠Source 2, Source 16
MaturityIBM said its unified release was GA in January 2024; the Agentic Control Plane followed in June 2026.⁠Source 42, Source 43 AI Gateway and some dashboards are in preview.⁠Source 7, Source 44Zenity announced AWS Marketplace availability in January 2026, Foundry runtime GA in March 2026, and GitHub Copilot and Codex coverage GA in August 2026.⁠Source 28, Source 45, Source 46
Control
Agent registry and discoveryIBM says its catalog is searchable.⁠Source 47 IBM says AI Gateway (preview) can discover agents in AgentCore, Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, or Azure AI Foundry.⁠Source 7, Source 19, Source 20, Source 21Zenity says AI Observability scans and catalogs agents in SaaS platforms, custom builds, and on laptops, with their permissions and tool access.⁠Source 4
Identity and access controlPlatform SSO with OIDC or SAML, and user, builder, and administrator roles.⁠Source 32, Source 48 Per-agent identity via IBM Verify or Microsoft Entra is in private preview.⁠Source 33Zenity says Boundaries rules can reference Okta attributes such as active status, role, and department.⁠Source 5 Issuing agent identities isn’t in Zenity’s public docs.
Ownership, policy, and revocationOn SaaS outside GovCloud, controls can block unsafe content, protect sensitive data, govern model traffic, and restrict network access.⁠Source 3 Owners: private preview.⁠Source 33Zenity says it blocks actions inline on Copilot Studio, Microsoft Foundry, and coding agents.⁠Source 6 It says ownership is surfaced per discovered agent.⁠Source 49
Audit log and observabilityTraces give a high-level view of a request; registered external agents can export theirs.⁠Source 8, Source 50 Audit events can go to IBM Cloud targets, or S3 and CloudWatch on AWS.⁠Source 36, Source 37Zenity says it logs messages, tool calls, and handoffs, and can send audit log events to Splunk or Sentinel and findings to AWS Security Hub.⁠Source 4, Source 28, Source 51
Connection
How agents connectAgents hosted elsewhere need an accessible endpoint.⁠Source 17 IBM publishes outbound IPs to allowlist; on IBM Cloud, a Satellite TLS tunnel and private endpoints.⁠Source 22, Source 29, Source 30Zenity says custom agents connect over OpenTelemetry with an Evaluate API; coding agents use hooks.⁠Source 11, Source 28 Network needs aren’t in Zenity’s public docs.
Agents across organizationsExcept on premises, partner A2A agents from IBM’s catalog can be added as collaborators.⁠Source 15Not in Zenity’s public docs; its product docs require a login (checked 2 October 2026)⁠Source 52
Protocol supportCalls external A2A agents over JSON-RPC and exposes its agents through A2A endpoints.⁠Source 18, Source 53 Imports MCP tools; OAuth 2.1 isn’t supported for MCP connections.⁠Source 54Zenity says custom agents connect via OpenTelemetry or gen_ai spans.⁠Source 28 Whether Zenity supports A2A isn’t publicly documented.
Frameworks, models, and clouds supportedIBM says it supports native, Langflow, LangGraph, and A2A agents.⁠Source 55 Agents with an OpenAI-style chat completions endpoint and Copilot Studio agents can be added.⁠Source 18Zenity says it covers agents in Copilot Studio, ChatGPT Enterprise, and Agentforce, homegrown agents on Bedrock or Vertex AI, and coding agents.⁠Source 4, Source 11
Operations
Deployment options and data residencyManaged SaaS in AWS and IBM Cloud regions, or on premises on IBM Cloud Pak for Data or IBM Software Hub.⁠Source 22, Source 23 The control plane isn’t supported in AWS GovCloud (US).⁠Source 44Software as a service, deployed on AWS per its AWS Marketplace listing.⁠Source 2 Regions, data residency, and self-hosting aren’t in Zenity’s public docs.
Compliance attestationsIBM says the product is FedRAMP authorized on AWS GovCloud (US), and the company holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification.⁠Source 38, Source 39 Premium lists a HIPAA-ready option.⁠Source 24Zenity says the company holds SOC 2 Type II and is ISO 27001 compliant.⁠Source 40 It announced FedRAMP “In Process” status in March 2026, with authorization pending.⁠Source 41
Support and SLAOn AWS, IBM states a 99.9% availability SLA.⁠Source 56 On IBM Cloud, it points to the base IBM Cloud Service Description.⁠Source 57 Support cases can be opened.⁠Source 58Zenity’s subscription terms commit to commercially reasonable efforts toward 99.9% monthly uptime.⁠Source 59 Support requests go through Zendesk during business hours.⁠Source 59
Time and effort to get runningAn admin guide covers setup and user access; platform SSO is set up with IBM.⁠Source 32, Source 60 IBM says its Day 0 control plane walkthrough takes under 15 minutes.⁠Source 61Zenity cites guides for custom agents via Cribl, LiteLLM, and Kong.⁠Source 28 Prerequisites aren’t in Zenity’s public docs.
Pricing model and public pricesEssentials from $530 and Standard from $6,360 a month, sized by users and messages; Premium on request.⁠Source 24 List prices are indicative.⁠Source 24 30-day free trial.⁠Source 24Main AWS listing: custom pricing.⁠Source 2 Security Hub Extended listing: Observability $130 per resource a month, Runtime Protection $16 per million tokens a month.⁠Source 25
Building
Agent building toolsIBM says agents can be built in a drag-and-drop visual builder or with the Agent Development Kit, and Langflow workflows deployed as tools.⁠Source 9, Source 10Not in Zenity’s public docs; its product docs require a login (checked 2 October 2026)⁠Source 52
Model accessIBM-hosted and third-party models, varying by cloud, region, and deployment.⁠Source 62 Default in most regions: GPT-OSS 120B via Groq.⁠Source 62 Others as virtual models.⁠Source 63Zenity says AIDR combines deterministic rules with LLM-based detections.⁠Source 64 Its models aren’t in Zenity’s public docs.
Integrations and ecosystemIBM says its catalog lists prebuilt IBM and partner agents, and ISVs can list agents through Agent Connect.⁠Source 47, Source 65 Sold via the IBM Cloud Catalog or AWS Marketplace.⁠Source 24Zenity says it integrates with Microsoft Agent 365 and AWS Security Hub Extended and is on the Cursor Marketplace.⁠Source 51, Source 66, Source 67 It announced a ServiceNow SecOps partnership.⁠Source 68

Which to choose

Choose IBM watsonx Orchestrate if

  • You want to build, orchestrate, and run agents on one platform, with the Agent Development Kit or, IBM says, a visual builder.⁠Source 1, Source 9, Source 10
  • You need an on-premises install (IBM Cloud Pak for Data or Software Hub), where some agent controls aren’t available, or SaaS.⁠Source 22, Source 23, Source 69
  • You want controls over unsafe content, sensitive data, model traffic, network access, and external A2A agents, on SaaS outside AWS GovCloud.⁠Source 3
  • You want published plan prices: Essentials starts at $530 a month for 4,000 monthly active users, with a 30-day free trial.⁠Source 24

Choose Zenity if

  • Your agents live in platforms such as Copilot Studio, ChatGPT Enterprise, and Agentforce, where Zenity says it builds an inventory.⁠Source 4
  • You want the checks Zenity says it runs on agent actions, blocking inline on Copilot Studio and coding agents.⁠Source 5, Source 6
  • You need coding agents such as Claude Code and Cursor covered, with agent hooks Zenity says can block a dangerous tool call.⁠Source 11
  • Your security team wants what Zenity says it supports: audit log events in Splunk or Sentinel, findings in AWS Security Hub Extended.⁠Source 28, Source 51

Questions buyers ask

Can either one build or run agents?

Teams can build agents in watsonx Orchestrate with the Agent Development Kit or, IBM says, a visual builder, and the agents run there.⁠Source 9, Source 10 Zenity says it inventories agents on platforms such as Copilot Studio and Agentforce.⁠Source 4 Agent-building tools from Zenity aren’t in Zenity’s public docs.

How is each one priced?

watsonx Orchestrate is sold by plan: Essentials from $530 a month, Standard from $6,360, and Premium on request.⁠Source 24 Zenity’s main AWS Marketplace listing is by private offer; a Security Hub Extended listing shows $130 per resource a month for Observability.⁠Source 2, Source 25

Do they support MCP and A2A?

watsonx Orchestrate calls external A2A agents, exposes its own through A2A endpoints, and imports tools from MCP servers.⁠Source 18, Source 53, Source 54 For coding agents, Zenity says its agent hooks can block a dangerous tool call before it executes.⁠Source 11 Whether Zenity supports A2A isn’t publicly documented.

Can either one connect agents across organizations?

Except on premises, watsonx Orchestrate can add partner A2A agents from its catalog as collaborators.⁠Source 15 Bringing in or reaching another organization’s agents, with access it controls, isn’t in Zenity’s public docs.

How we compare

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Sources

74 public sources, each with the date we checked it. Every one opens in a new tab.

  1. Source 1: IBM watsonx Orchestrate IBM · checked Back:abcdef

  2. Source 2: AWS Marketplace: Zenity Zenity · checked Back:abcdefghij

  3. Source 3: Protecting assets with controls IBM · checked Back:abcdef

  4. Source 4: AI Observability | See Every Agent, Know What it Touches | Zenity Zenity · checked Back:abcdefghijklmno

  5. Source 5: Runtime Boundaries | The Runtime Boundary for Autonomous AI | Zenity Zenity · checked Back:abcdefg

  6. Source 6: Zenity's Coverage of the 2026 OWASP Top 10 for LLM Apps Zenity · checked Back:abcd

  7. Source 7: Governing assets with AI Gateway IBM · checked Back:abcd

  8. Source 8: Overview - Traces (watsonx Orchestrate ADK docs) IBM · checked Back:ab

  9. Source 9: AI Agent Builder | IBM watsonx Orchestrate IBM · checked Back:abcdef

  10. Source 10: Welcome to IBM watsonx Orchestrate Agent Development Kit IBM · checked Back:abcdefgh

  11. Source 11: Coding and Personal Agents | Zenity Zenity · checked Back:abcdefg

  12. Source 12: Overview - Agents (watsonx Orchestrate ADK docs) IBM · checked Back:ab

  13. Source 13: Agent identity overview IBM · checked Back:ab

  14. Source 14: AI Agent Control Plane | IBM watsonx Orchestrate IBM · checked Back:ab

  15. Source 15: Partner A2A (Agent2Agent) agents IBM · checked Back:abcd

  16. Source 16: Platform | AI Agent Security & Governance Platform | Zenity Zenity · checked Back:abcd

  17. Source 17: Adding agents from third-party platforms IBM · checked Back:abcd

  18. Source 18: Connect to external agents (watsonx Orchestrate ADK docs) IBM · checked Back:abcd

  19. Source 19: Connecting and configuring Amazon Bedrock IBM · checked Back:abc

  20. Source 20: Connecting and configuring Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform IBM · checked Back:abc

  21. Source 21: Connecting and configuring Microsoft Azure AI Foundry IBM · checked Back:abc

  22. Source 22: Regional availability and outbound IP addresses IBM · checked Back:abcd

  23. Source 23: Installing on IBM watsonx Orchestrate On-premises IBM · checked Back:abc

  24. Source 24: IBM watsonx Orchestrate Pricing IBM · checked Back:abcdefgh

  25. Source 25: AWS Marketplace: Zenity AI Security & Governance Platform for Security Hub Extended Zenity · checked Back:abc

  26. Source 26: Importing agents into the agent directory IBM · checked Back to text

  27. Source 27: Managing access using the security control center IBM · checked Back to text

  28. Source 28: From Triage to Full Coverage: The Shift AI Agent Security Took in August Zenity · checked Back:abcdefgh

  29. Source 29: Configuring TLS tunnel IBM · checked Back:ab

  30. Source 30: Using private network endpoints IBM · checked Back:ab

  31. Source 31: Configuring network controls IBM · checked Back to text

  32. Source 32: Configuring SSO for platform access IBM · checked Back:abc

  33. Source 33: Prerequisites for configuring agent identity IBM · checked Back:abc

  34. Source 34: List of events for activity tracking IBM · checked Back to text

  35. Source 35: Managing the agent directory IBM · checked Back to text

  36. Source 36: Activity tracking events on IBM Cloud IBM · checked Back:ab

  37. Source 37: Enabling external logging for AWS IBM · checked Back:ab

  38. Source 38: IBM Expands FedRAMP Portfolio with Authorization of 11 Software Solutions, Including watsonx IBM · checked Back:ab

  39. Source 39: ISO 27001 - IBM Corporation Certificate (Bureau Veritas, ISO/IEC 27001:2022) IBM · checked Back:ab

  40. Source 40: Zenity Trust Center Zenity · checked Back:ab

  41. Source 41: Zenity Achieves FedRAMP “In Process” Status for AI Agent Security Zenity · checked Back:ab

  42. Source 42: The AI Assistant for everyone: watsonx Orchestrate combines generative AI and automation to boost productivity | IBM IBM · checked Back to text

  43. Source 43: Agentic Control Plane in IBM watsonx Orchestrate: One place to control every AI agent IBM · checked Back to text

  44. Source 44: Agentic Control Plane IBM · checked Back:ab

  45. Source 45: Zenity Now Available on AWS Marketplace, Bringing End-to-End Security to Amazon Bedrock AgentCore and Enterprise AI Agents Everywhere Zenity · checked Back to text

  46. Source 46: Zenity Announces Availability of Inline Agent Runtime Security for Agents Built on Microsoft Foundry Zenity · checked Back to text

  47. Source 47: IBM watsonx Orchestrate Agent Catalog IBM · checked Back:ab

  48. Source 48: Roles on IBM watsonx Orchestrate IBM · checked Back to text

  49. Source 49: AI Security Posture Management (AISPM) | Stop Agent Risk Before Deployment | Zenity Zenity · checked Back to text

  50. Source 50: Exporting observability traces with OpenTelemetry (watsonx Orchestrate ADK docs) IBM · checked Back to text

  51. Source 51: Zenity Selected for AWS Security Hub Extended to Secure Enterprise AI Agents Zenity · checked Back:abc

  52. Source 52: Zenity Documentation (login) Zenity · checked Back:ab

  53. Source 53: Agent-to-Agent (A2A) Protocol endpoints IBM · checked Back:ab

  54. Source 54: MCP servers IBM · checked Back:ab

  55. Source 55: Manage all your AI agents in one place with watsonx Orchestrate IBM · checked Back to text

  56. Source 56: High availability, business continuity, backups and disaster recovery on AWS IBM · checked Back to text

  57. Source 57: Licenses and entitlements for watsonx Orchestrate on IBM Cloud IBM · checked Back to text

  58. Source 58: Getting help and support IBM · checked Back to text

  59. Source 59: Zenity Subscription Terms and Conditions (EULA linked from Zenity's AWS Marketplace listings) Zenity · checked Back:ab

  60. Source 60: Getting started as an administrator IBM · checked Back to text

  61. Source 61: Getting started with the Agentic Control Plane IBM · checked Back to text

  62. Source 62: Available AI models IBM · checked Back:ab

  63. Source 63: Choosing your LLM (watsonx Orchestrate ADK docs) IBM · checked Back to text

  64. Source 64: AI Detection and Response (AIDR) | See the Threat, Stop the Action | Zenity Zenity · checked Back to text

  65. Source 65: Any agent, any framework: Inside the IBM watsonx Orchestrate Agent Catalog IBM · checked Back to text

  66. Source 66: Zenity Now Integrates with Microsoft Agent 365 Zenity · checked Back to text

  67. Source 67: Seeing Every MCP Connection: Zenity Joins the Cursor Marketplace Zenity · checked Back to text

  68. Source 68: Zenity Announces Partnership with ServiceNow to Operationalize AI Agent Risk Reduction in SecOps Zenity · checked Back to text

  69. Source 69: Managing asset controls IBM · checked Back to text

  70. Source 70: Why Blocks? Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  71. Source 71: What is Blocks? Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  72. Source 72: Your company's private network Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  73. Source 73: Network requirements Blocks.ai · checked Back to text

  74. Source 74: Solutions: Agent sprawl Blocks.ai · checked Back to text