We compared ESET PROTECT Enterprise and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint based on our users' reviews in six categories. We reviewed all of the data, and you can find the conclusion below.
Features: ESET PROTECT Enterprise is praised for its performance and intuitive, powerful management interface, with dynamic folders and group capabilities. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint excels in file protection, encryption, and ransomware defense. It integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft security products. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface and scalability.
Room for Improvement: ESET PROTECT Enterprise users have suggested that file downloads should be enabled in ESET File Security. They also want more automation and better dashboard reporting. Users say Microsoft Defender for Endpoint should improve its central console and auto-recovery feature. Users also requested better reporting capabilities and integration with third-party platforms.
Ease of Deployment: ESET PROTECT Enterprise is generally considered easy to set up, but some users struggled with proxy configuration. On-prem setups take longer and require additional configuration, but cloud setups are problem-free. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's setup is straightforward. While it can be more complex for larger organizations, it is generally considered simple, particularly for smaller companies or those familiar with Microsoft environments.
Service and Support: Customers have had positive experiences with ESET’s customer service, rating it highly. Microsoft customer service garnered mixed feedback. Some praised the fast response times and expertise of the support engineers, while others were dissatisfied with slow replies and a lack of coordination among the support teams.
Pricing: ESET PROTECT Enterprise offers low licensing costs. Users find its pricing reasonable. Reviewers say Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is fairly priced, noting that it is typically included for free with Windows or Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions. However, some users believe that Microsoft's pricing could be more affordable, and others noted that their licensing models can be complex.
ROI: Users said that ESET PROTECT Enterprise delivered a positive ROI. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint delivers cost savings, enhanced efficiency, and heightened threat management.
Comparison Results: ESET PROTECT Enterprise is an affordable solution that is highly regarded for its impressive performance, resource efficiency, and hassle-free setup. At the same time, users say ESET PROTECT Enterprise could enhance its file downloading capability and automation. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers sophisticated protection against ransomware, easy deployment, and smooth integration with Microsoft solutions. However, Microsoft’s customer support has received middling reviews, and users would like better compatibility with third-party solutions.
"I like the dynamic groups feature. They give the ability to filter endpoint machines by any parameter, software, or hardware inventory, and that's a significant advantage when you need to, for example, automate a secondary firewall profile for endpoints outside your network. Or if you want to automatically isolate the computer from the rest of the network if the ransomware is found."
"ESET is better in some ways than other vendors because it fulfills many areas where we'd otherwise have to use different products."
"The most valuable features of ESET File Security are the performance and it doesn't take too many resources."
"The solution offers a lot of configuration capabilities."
"The product enabled Zero-Day Protection for our environment. We never encountered any issues regarding threats."
"It's helped us with restrictions and knowing which users we can provide permissions to and which users we need to restrict."
"We can easily manage resources, disable or enable clients and update them."
"The solution doesn't have high memory usage."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easy to load and it runs quietly in the background, unlike other solutions."
"It's absolutely free to use."
"The intelligence mechanisms are good."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint comes pre-installed in Microsoft Windows."
"It can reach our applications and PC activities in the cloud."
"One of the valuable features of the solution is the small updates that keep my machine relatively clean from any infections."
"Within its class I think, it has a high and decent detection rate."
"The threat hunting service is very useful for a security professional."
"I would like to see more in managing mobile devices in an on-premise solution. The latest news I've heard is that ESET drops mobile management module development for the on-prem version. It's moving to the cloud. Like in endpoint client protection, I would also like to see more of the vulnerability management features and additional app control functionality in ESET Protect."
"I would like to see more features on the reporting side of things."
"Sometimes, the connection to the machine requires troubleshooting."
"In terms of management accounts, there's a lot of manuals that seem to be mixed up. Sometimes, it's a little bit confusing."
"In the current version of ESET File Security, you cannot download a file, it always wants the real-time upload which you have to wait until the file is ready. This is annoying. In previous versions, you were able to use the downloaded engine."
"The availability and sustainability could also be improved."
"The tool is complex and expensive."
"The solution can be quite technical and therefore is challenging for new users."
"Features like device inventory continue to lack essential workstation drill-downs showing the entire device information with the least effort."
"The integration and effectiveness of email security could be better. It's already built-in to the solution and checks emails, scans the links they contain etc."
"I would like to see improvement from a management perspective. We have had to depend on Intune for certain tasks."
"Phishing and Malware detection could be better."
"The central console needs improvement. Both McAfee and Symantec antivirus have dashboards. These integrate with a server and work on my antivirus or some other product. However, with Microsoft Defender, you use Microsoft Group Policy Object. Defender does not provide a central console. Therefore, if you implement Defender, then maybe use another tool for the central view."
"The product development team makes frequent changes that affect the stability of the solution."
"The biggest issue I had with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint was the antivirus and ransomware. I wanted central visibility over all the machines that we operate."
"If you have multi-cloud like Google and AWS, the native solutions are better for those particular cases."
More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Pricing and Cost Advice →
ESET PROTECT Enterprise is ranked 14th in Anti-Malware Tools with 10 reviews while Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is ranked 1st in Anti-Malware Tools with 182 reviews. ESET PROTECT Enterprise is rated 9.0, while Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of ESET PROTECT Enterprise writes "Constantly improving their online resources to make it easier for new users to work with it". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint writes "Eliminates the need to look at multiple dashboards by automatically providing one XDR dashboard to show the security score of each subscription". ESET PROTECT Enterprise is most compared with ESET Endpoint Protection Platform, Wazuh, Avira Antivirus, Cybereason Next-Generation Antivirus and F-Secure Total, whereas Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is most compared with Symantec Endpoint Security, Intercept X Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity Complete, CrowdStrike Falcon and Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks. See our ESET PROTECT Enterprise vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint report.
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