Microsoft Defender for Cloud Reviews

Name: Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Brand: Microsoft
Rating: 4 (56 reviews)

Vendor: Microsoft

4.0 out of 5

56 reviews
94% willing to recommend

597 followers

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What is Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

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.

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Microsoft Defender for Cloud is the #2 ranked solution in top Compliance Management solutions, #3 ranked solution in Cloud Workload Protection Platforms, #3 ranked solution in top Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) solutions, #3 ranked solution in top Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) solutions, #3 ranked solution in top Microsoft Security Suite solutions, #4 ranked solution in top Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) solutions, #5 ranked solution in Container Security Solutions, #7 ranked solution in top Vulnerability Management solutions, and #10 ranked solution in Container Management software. PeerSpot users give Microsoft Defender for Cloud an average rating of 8.0 out of 10. Based on the analysis of the 56 most recent Microsoft Defender for Cloud reviews, the overall sentiment is positive, with a sentiment score of 6.2. (Among the highest in the category). Microsoft Defender for Cloud is most commonly compared to Microsoft Intune: Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Intune. Microsoft Defender for Cloud is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 65% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a computer software company, accounting for 16% of all views.

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

October 2024

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Featured reviews

Anurag Awasthi

Senior Consultant at HCL

The solution's robust security posture is the most valuable feature. We have a lot of firewalls, and we can manage them in the solution through the firewall manager. We can set up an Azure firewall and centralize the management policy. The solution provides excellent visibility into threats, and it's a cloud-based integrated solution, so we don't have to worry about any third-party products or services. Microsoft provides so many options, and that's great. Defender for Cloud generates reports we can use as an assessment, as it allows us to see the services in our environment and our points of highest risk. The solution's threat intelligence helps us prepare for threats before they hit and take proactive steps, which is very useful for analysis.

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Srikanth Matsa

Senior DevOps Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Before Microsoft Defender our external team would give us updates on which ports are opening and which vulnerabilities are being attacked. Now with the recommendations of Microsoft Defender, we can find these vulnerabilities sooner and fix them. Before onboarding those respected resources into Microsoft Defender, we faced a few issues. Once we onboarded those resources, we received prompt recommendations that helped us make the organization's resources more secure. If resources are not secured, it can impact the reputation of the organization. The solution helped identify a lot of the issues, at a high priority that we could resolve. Microsoft Defender helps any organization that needs to follow security baseline recommendations in order to improve its environment. Regarding threats, I recommend Microsoft Sentinel for detecting and hunting the threats. I can identify what exactly happened at that particular time or particular resource with the help of Microsoft Sentinel. The solution has significantly reduced the overall time it takes us to detect issues. Most of the resources are scanned every 30 minutes, so it doesn't take much time for the solution to give us the respected recommendations. Depending on the issue, Microsoft Defender for Cloud has helped reduce our overall time to respond. There are a few recommendations that we can fix immediately by just clicking using the UI. However, the overall time to respond to issues depends upon that respected recommendation list. There are a few things that we need to consider when it comes to the security settings of our virtual machines which can take a long time to identify and fix.

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Junior Pierre-Toussaint

Senior Information Technology Security Officer at CLEAR (clearme.com)

I've done a couple of POCs for Microsoft Defender with the company, and the process is always the same. We don't deploy everything into live environments. It is deployed to a testing environment. After we test a couple of times, we undergo a complete training process. Finally, we organize and deploy it to a section of the company. We usually deploy one segment at a time, like finance, marketing, etc. If you have ATP Defender, you must set up a data lake. After deployment, there isn't much maintenance on our end besides managing the logs. You must create scripts for your use cases to inject into the solution. The deployment team typically consists of two people from security, two from infrastructure, and the service desk manager.

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Microsoft Defender for Cloud mindshare

Product category:

As of November 2024, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud in the Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) category stands at 14.5%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)

Key learnings from peers

Last updated Oct 16, 2024

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Cloud provides valuable features like daily recommendations, seamless integration with Azure services, an intuitive dashboard, compliance policies, multi-cloud support, and AI-based detections. It offers visibility, alerting, and incident management. Users benefit from regulatory compliance, ransomware protection, automated responses, and a unified portal view for threat assessment. It enhances security posture with features like vulnerability assessments, threat intelligence, and real-time threat alerts. It efficiently integrates with other Microsoft solutions.

"The valuable features include the ability to manage devices and the fact that Defender can replace other security tools like SCCM."
"The pricing is good."
"Some of the most valuable features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud include its effectiveness in threat detection through unsupervised machine learning, CTI, and advanced sandboxing."

Room for Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Cloud users identify several areas for enhancement including improved user interface consistency, false positive reduction, and automation capabilities. Users also express a need for more intuitive features requiring less technical expertise, clearer pricing structures, and better integration with existing third-party tools and systems. Many users desire enhanced documentation and support, plus a simplified hierarchy management for easier policy application and subscription handling across environments.

"There are challenges with the licensing policies, which are quite complicated."
"The vulnerabilities are duplicated many times."
"Integration into other third-party products, particularly those from tier three vendors like ManageEngine and Hexcode, has proven difficult."

ROI

Many users highlight the significant return on investment from Microsoft Defender for Cloud, noting its seamless Azure integration and management ease. They mention reduced costs through consolidation and efficiency gains, with some achieving a 50% cost reduction. Users appreciate its security features and find it superior to other solutions requiring specialized teams. Some have seen 200% ROI due to risk prevention and threat remediation, though pricing concerns persist for certain regions.

Pricing

Microsoft Defender for Cloud offers flexible pricing with a free version and a paid plan at $15 per resource, covering essential security needs. While considered cost-effective compared to competitors, its pricing can be complex and varies by usage and integration levels. Some organizations find it affordable, especially if bundled with other Microsoft services, but others view it as expensive, particularly for smaller enterprises. The solution's subscription model aligns with Azure costs, offering scalability and integration benefits.

"The product's pricing policy is generally favorable."
"The solution is expensive, and I rate it a five to six out of ten."
"I am not involved much with the pricing but the bundle offering is good."

Popular Use Cases

Organizations primarily use Microsoft Defender for Cloud for managing security policies, monitoring infrastructure, ensuring compliance, threat detection, vulnerability management, and enhancing overall cloud security posture. It serves multiple purposes such as cloud workload protection, integration with Azure services, security auditing, regulatory compliance enforcement, and cybersecurity implementations. It is utilized in diverse environments, including hybrid and multi-cloud settings, securing workloads across various platforms and infrastructure. Defender for Cloud is also popular for threat prevention and endpoint security.

Service and Support

Customers express mixed experiences with Microsoft Defender for Cloud's support. Premium customers report satisfactory help and efficient ticket handling, while others experience inconsistent responses based on the team's expertise. Documentation is extensively comprehensive, aiding most queries independently. Community and technical support are prompt but can vary depending on subscription level. Some users face delays with unresolved issues, requiring repeated explanations. Microsoft's support frequently depends on third-party involvement, impacting satisfaction and response times.

Deployment

Microsoft Defender for Cloud's initial setup is typically straightforward for those familiar with the platform, often taking a few hours to a day. The complexity depends on the environment and client needs. Some setups require detailed planning and multiple team members, while others are quick due to Azure's native integration. It may initially seem complex due to various features but becomes easier with time and experience, requiring minimal maintenance post-deployment.

Scalability

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is widely recognized for its scalability capabilities. Many organizations, from small teams to large enterprises, successfully scale usage across various regions. It effortlessly accommodates thousands of users and supports multiple subscriptions, demonstrating flexibility and adaptability. Experiences reflect ease in scaling for different use cases, with automatic adjustments as resources increase. Despite some doubts about its limitless scalability, most find it meets their expanding needs without compromising performance.

Stability

Microsoft Defender for Cloud demonstrates strong reliability according to user feedback. Most users experience high stability with minimal downtime, describing it as dependable. Some challenges include occasional deployment issues and internet-related delays, but these seem isolated. Users appreciate its robust cloud management, with only a few noting performance lags during certain operations. In general, Microsoft Defender for Cloud's stability is praised, with some users giving near-perfect ratings, citing few bugs or crashes during its operation.

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

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Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Insurance Company

Healthcare Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Retailer

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

University

Construction Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Legal Firm

Media Company

Non Profit

Logistics Company

Transportation Company

Hospitality Company

Wholesaler/Distributor

Outsourcing Company

Performing Arts

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Pharma/Biotech Company

Consumer Goods Company

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Learn more about Microsoft Defender for Cloud

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.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud was previously known as Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender.