

Forescout Platform and Microsoft Defender for Cloud compete in the network security and cloud management market. Forescout seems to have the upper hand in environments with mixed infrastructure, whereas Microsoft Defender's strength lies in Azure integration.
Features: Forescout Platform provides comprehensive endpoint visibility, policy flexibility, and extensive integration capabilities, excelling in network access control without relying on 802.1x. It is adept at distinguishing between guest and corporate endpoints and offers robust deployment options. Microsoft Defender for Cloud offers strong integration within Microsoft's suite and excels in multi-cloud security oversight. It provides extensive compliance and threat protection features with a core strength in Azure integration and effective policy recommendations.
Room for Improvement: Forescout could enhance custom policy creation and integration with third-party vendors, along with improvements in reporting features. Issues like false positives and pricing are concerns. Microsoft Defender for Cloud needs better end-user flexibility in handling false positives and should refine AI-driven recommendations. Licensing complexities and cost issues are noted challenges for users.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Forescout excels in on-premises environments, having a strong presence in traditional networks, and its customer service is very responsive. However, there are mixed reviews about technical support. Microsoft Defender for Cloud excels in cloud environments with high marks for seamless integration across Microsoft products and customer service, but licensing complexities and support response times have been criticized.
Pricing and ROI: Forescout's pricing is high with variable licensing models and can add up quickly, though it offers value in environments requiring robust network access controls. Microsoft Defender for Cloud offers competitive pricing when bundled with Microsoft's suite but may be costly for smaller users needing full feature access. Both solutions offer a substantial investment justified by enhanced security and operational efficiencies.
Defender proactively indexes and analyzes documents, identifying potential threats even when inactive, enhancing preventative security.
Identifying potential vulnerabilities has helped us avoid costly data losses.
Compared to not having Microsoft Defender for Cloud in place, we definitely saw an advantage by not having downtime due to a security threat.
We have had experience with their technical support and must pay additionally for maintenance, support, and regional service.
Since security is critical, we prefer a quicker response time.
The support team was very responsive to queries.
They understand their product, but much like us, they struggle with the finer details, especially with new features.
Scalability can be costly since a physical box needs to be installed for every site.
As we have reduced our on-premises infrastructure, it is about how we can migrate workloads to the cloud to make it easier, and then having everything fully encompassed and secured within that area makes it much easier for us to scale as needed and grow.
We are using infrastructure as a code, so we do not have any scalability issues with Microsoft Defender for Cloud implementation because our cloud automatically does it.
It has multiple licenses and features, covering infrastructures from a hundred to five hundred virtual machines, without any issues.
I would rate its stability as 9.5 out of ten.
Defender's stability has been flawless for us.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is very stable.
Microsoft sometimes changes settings or configurations without transparency.
It would help if during integration, an admin user could check the password or credential used, as they currently cannot see the password after it is entered and saved.
Forescout Platform could enhance its integration of AI to improve IoT and OT device security to better meet our needs.
The console is a fat client, and a web interface would be preferable.
Microsoft, in general, could significantly improve its communication and support.
It would be beneficial to streamline recommendations to avoid unnecessary alerts and to refine the severity of alerts based on specific environments or environmental attributes.
The artificial intelligence features could be expanded to allow the system to autonomously manage security issues without needing intervention from admins.
Installing a physical box on each site can be expensive.
The overall pricing of Forescout Platform is reasonable for the functionality it provides.
The price of Forescout Platform is reasonable and not overly costly.
Security has essentially no cost when compared to the cost of a breach.
Every time we consider expanding usage, we carefully evaluate the necessity due to cost concerns.
We appreciate the licensing approach based on employee count rather than a big enterprise license.
One of the most valuable features of Forescout Platform is its automation, particularly the ability to automate remediation of rogue devices on the network.
The most effective feature has been network access management, which has been crucial for our primary use cases in the organization.
When it comes to the effectiveness of Forescout Platform's real-time visibility in reducing the overall attack surface, I give it a 9 out of 10.
The most valuable feature for me is the variety of APIs available.
This feature significantly aids in threat detection and enhances the user experience by streamlining security management.
The most valuable feature is the recommendations provided on how to improve security.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Forescout Platform | 10.3% |
| Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) | 21.7% |
| Aruba ClearPass | 21.2% |
| Other | 46.8% |
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Defender for Cloud | 16.6% |
| AWS GuardDuty | 14.5% |
| Wiz | 12.3% |
| Other | 56.599999999999994% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 30 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 10 |
| Large Enterprise | 44 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 27 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 10 |
| Large Enterprise | 49 |
Forescout Platform provides today’s busy enterprise organizations with policy and protocol management, workflow coordination, streamlining, and complete device and infrastructure visibility to improve overall network security. The solution also provides concise real-time intelligence of all devices and users on the network. Policy and protocols are delineated using gathered intelligence to facilitate the appropriate levels of remediation, compliance, network access, and all service operations. Forescout Platform is very flexible, integrates well with most of today’s leading network security products, and is a very cost-effective solution.
Forescout Platform Features
Real User Reviews
An important main feature of Forescout is the visibility the solution offers.
One reviewer who is a Consultant at a tech services company, says, "Within three or four days, you can have complete visibility of your infrastructure on the network. Compared to other solutions, the deployment of the solution is easier and we can close the project quickly."
Users also appreciate that the user interface is clear and easy to understand.
An Instructor at a tech services company, shares, "The most valuable feature of the Forescout Platform is the large capacity it can handle. Additionally, the interface of the platform is good."
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a comprehensive security solution that provides advanced threat protection for cloud workloads. It offers real-time visibility into the security posture of cloud environments, enabling organizations to quickly identify and respond to potential threats. With its advanced machine learning capabilities, Microsoft Defender for Cloud can detect and block sophisticated attacks, including zero-day exploits and fileless malware.
The solution also provides automated remediation capabilities, allowing security teams to quickly and easily respond to security incidents. With Microsoft Defender for Cloud, organizations can ensure the security and compliance of their cloud workloads, while reducing the burden on their security teams.
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