Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Reviews

Name: Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
Brand: Microsoft
Rating: 4.2 (32 reviews)

Vendor: Microsoft

4.2 out of 5

32 reviews
100% willing to recommend

1,245 followers

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What is Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps?

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is a comprehensive security solution that provides protection for cloud-based applications and services. It offers real-time threat detection and response, as well as advanced analytics and reporting capabilities. With Defender for Cloud Apps, organizations can ensure the security of their cloud environments and safeguard against cyber threats. Whether you're running SaaS applications, IaaS workloads, or PaaS services, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps can help you secure your cloud environment and protect your business from cyber threats.

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Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is the #4 ranked solution in CASB solutions, #11 ranked solution in top Microsoft Security Suite solutions, and #12 ranked solution in top Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) solutions. PeerSpot users give Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps an average rating of 8.4 out of 10. Based on the analysis of the 32 most recent Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps reviews, the overall sentiment is positive, with a sentiment score of 7.5. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is most commonly compared to Cisco Umbrella: Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs Cisco Umbrella. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 63% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a computer software company, accounting for 17% of all views.

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Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

November 2024

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Featured reviews

Anthony Alvarico

Deliver Practice Director at DynTek

The deployment process is quick, taking two to three days. The implementation and customization require more time. We need to adjust the setup to fit the client's needs, which involves fine-tuning notifications and alerts to avoid overwhelming them. First, you need the appropriate licensing. Once you have that, go to security.microsoft.com and integrate with Defender for Endpoints to receive information. While you can ingest logs from different firewalls, such as Palo Alto or Cisco, we usually implement them with Defender for Endpoints. Once a laptop or desktop is set up in Defender for Endpoints, integrating Cloud Apps with the endpoints allows us to collect the data easily. I rate the initial setup a nine out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

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Waseem Alchaar

Security architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees

I rate Microsoft Entra ID an eight out of ten. Set up your environment correctly first. Take your time to figure out how you want to use it, such as PIM and other use cases. Ensure you set it up properly and then create custom roles when needed. Don't overaccess people; that'd be the main advice. It keeps being upgraded by Microsoft. There are constantly new features getting added. If there's some feature you don't see now, it could be there later. We initially wanted a few features that were added later on. Thus, there's always room for growth. The product provides a single pane of glass for managing user access for the most part. It helps manage the roles better in one area. It becomes easier to use that way. I don't know if we necessarily use verified IDs. But we typically use HRID just to enforce MFA and other processes. Initially, the product saved a lot of time because we could create dynamic roles for people with the right access. However, as we move more to the cloud, creating more custom roles saves less time. It still has pros in terms of granular roles. It easily saves two or three daily tasks per person or user we're onboarding. Let's say it's a good amount of time, especially with the dynamic groups. Each PIM role gets activated as well. I would say it saves 20 to 30 minutes per user account activation.

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Sachin Vinay

Assistant Manager-Networks at Amrita

One of the most valuable features is auditing. Some of the other protection services have issues with auditing. Microsoft Defender for Cloud has an excellent auditing technique that helps us avoid the risk of filtering or information loss. You can use different tools to guarantee these things. It allows you to conduct an in-depth exploration of applications, users, and files that are harmful or suspicious. You can also enhance your security setup by creating personalized rules or policies that help you better control traffic in the cloud. As administrators, we have a clear view of all the threats in the cloud. We can even restrict access or provide limited access to the users, which is an essential way to protect your information. From the dashboard, we can see all the permissions and which users are currently accessing the applications. We can constantly monitor each user and the critical applications. Defender has a threat database that automatically updates to include the latest threats in the industry. It also helps us prioritize by categorizing the threat levels in the dashboard, so we can act accordingly. Defender tells us the high-level threats that require immediate action, whereas some simple threats can be easily mitigated or ignored. Microsoft has bidirectional capabilities. When any changes happen on-premises, they will also be reflected in the cloud, while changes in policies we enact in Microsoft Defender for Cloud will be completely reflected on-premises. It's a great boon. We don't need to configure every step on-premises, which is a time-consuming process.

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Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps mindshare

Product category:

As of November 2024, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps in the Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) category stands at 18.4%, down from 24.1% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)

Key learnings from peers

Last updated Nov 8, 2024

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps has a multitude of valuable features, including integration with Microsoft security products, excellent threat visibility and auditing techniques, on-demand scanning, robust alert policies and web GUI, monitoring capabilities, identity and posture management, and anti-spam capabilities. The solution is easy to install and manage, and offers comprehensive threat-protection and coordinated detection and response across the environment. It has bidirectional capabilities and allows for personalized rules and policies to control traffic in the cloud, as well as restrict and monitor user access.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps provides in-depth exploration of applications, users, and files that are harmful or suspicious, and offers a threat database that automatically updates with the latest threats in the industry. It also helps prioritize threats by categorizing the threat levels and providing graphical data for analysis.

"The most effective features for data protection are data loss prevention (DLP) and data classification."
"The product helps us with privileged identity management to control who has access to what and for how long."
"The product’s most valuable feature is SQL database."

Room for Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps could improve its integration with third-party and on-premises systems, especially for macOS operating systems. The solution also requires additional configuration to ingest data from non-Azure environments and integrate it with Sentinel. Some users have experienced errors when creating policies, limiting their troubleshooting options. The solution provides good visibility for investigation purposes, but alerts could be more precise and automation features are limited. Attack surface reduction rules need improvement, and the solution could be more reasonably priced. Reporting functionality and user navigation content filtering could also be enhanced.

"The product is very good so far, however, it would be better if it could include more up-to-date threat protection."
"There could be more granular roles that are out of the box included in the product."
"Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps’s technical support services needs improvement."

ROI

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps provides value in multiple ways, including cost savings, increased uptime, faster reaction time to problems, improved security posture, and reduced support calls. It seamlessly integrates with Microsoft products and offers robust configurations. The solution guarantees a secure environment for critical cloud apps, resulting in no security breaches or unauthorized access. The ROI estimate ranges from 35% to 60%. In addition, the solution helps eliminate operational issues and reduces hardware maintenance costs.

Pricing

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is included in the E5 license bundle, which offers everything together, making it more economical. Users can activate a free tier of use for a period of time. The cost is cheap for users who do not have to pay for specific agents. The pricing is on the higher side for small-scale companies, but enterprise clients get discounts based on the number of users they have. The tool alone is not a great investment, but when it is part of the package from Microsoft, it is good. It is worth the cost for some users because of its compatibility with Office 365, Teams, and Azure AD.

"The product's pricing seems fair."
"It has pretty good pricing."
"Where we are right now, this is an acceptable pricing. I would like to see more transparency given to the end user. The end user given to us is via the cloud service provider. There are different programs and license models. Some include this, and some include that. It is all over the place. There can be a little more consistency or simplification in the pricing so that your parts list is not ten pages long, and you are not trying to determine, "If I have an E3, does this cover that?", or "Do I need to pay separately for the license?" Simplification would probably be better."

Popular Use Cases

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is used for a variety of purposes, including governance, discovery, and application awareness, as well as authentication, security, and controlled access to cloud applications. It is also useful for detecting shadow IT and anomalous user behavior, and provides efficient security for cloud applications with controlled auditing and filtering setups. The solution is designed to work together natively with other Microsoft products, and helps to ensure security and compliance, as well as protect users' devices against attacks and provide cloud visibility.

Service and Support

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps has varying customer service and support experiences according to the reviews. There are different support tiers, with premier support being highly rated, but pro support being less so, and some reviewers note that working with third-party support providers can be hit or miss.

Deployment

The initial setup for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps varied depending on the complexity of the environment, but overall, it was described as easy and straightforward. Deployment time ranged from one day to several months, with some organizations requiring a team of engineers, administrators, and management. Maintenance was minimal or non-existent, as it is a SaaS product that runs on Azure infrastructure. Documentation and support were generally praised, but learning how the features work and fine-tuning policies could take some time. The number of people needed to handle deployment and maintenance varied depending on the size of the organization and the use cases.

Scalability

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is a highly scalable solution that can support organizations of various sizes. It is easy to deploy and add more users to the policies that have been configured. The solution is a SaaS application, so the scalability depends on the organization's needs and how many applications they want to integrate with it. There are no limits on scalability, and it can handle large amounts of data without any issues. The solution has improved over time, with the addition of new features and third-party applications.

Stability

Overall, users have expressed that the stability of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is good, with some stating that it has become more stable over time. They have reported no downtime and no need for maintenance. Some users have mentioned minor issues such as email alert delays. While some users believe there is room for improvement, the majority have had positive experiences with the stability of the product.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Healthcare Company

Insurance Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Retailer

University

Educational Organization

Non Profit

Construction Company

Comms Service Provider

Real Estate/Law Firm

Legal Firm

Media Company

Wholesaler/Distributor

Hospitality Company

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Logistics Company

Outsourcing Company

Consumer Goods Company

Performing Arts

Pharma/Biotech Company

Transportation Company

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Learn more about Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Benefits:

Provides comprehensive security for cloud applications
Integrates with other Microsoft security tools
Easy to use and deploy
Provides real-time threat detection and response
Strong protection against phishing attacks and other common threats
Highly customizable to meet specific needs of different organizations

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Use Cases:

Governance, authentication, security, and compliance.
Detects shadow IT and anomalous user behavior
Controls access to applications
Provides auditing and filtering setups
Used for end-user compute devices, file monitoring, user investigation, and activity
Used for data governance, threat detection, and getting visibility over cloud applications
Used to identify information about applications beyond organizational boundaries
Prevent exfiltration and data filtration of corporate data
Used to deal with spam emails and detect shadow IT

Reviews from Real Users

Ram-Krish, Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm, says that Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps "Integrates well and helps us in protecting sensitive information, but takes time to scan and apply the policies and cannot detect everything we need".

PeerSpot user, Senior Cloud & Security Consultant at a tech services, writes that Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps "Great for monitoring user activity and protecting data while integrating well with other applications".

Simon Burgess,Infrastructure Engineer at SBITSC, states that Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is "A fluid, intelligent product for great visibility, centralized management, and increased uptime".

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps was previously known as MS Cloud App Security, Microsoft Cloud App Security.