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Azure Sphere vs Microsoft Defender for IoT comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Sphere
Ranking in IoT Security
7th
Average Rating
7.6
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for IoT
Ranking in IoT Security
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Operational Technology (OT) Security (6th), Microsoft Security Suite (28th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the IoT Security category, the mindshare of Azure Sphere is 1.3%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for IoT is 9.8%, down from 10.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IoT Security
 

Featured Reviews

Chandrakant Deshmukh - PeerSpot reviewer
Has a learning curve that is easy to deal with for users
With the tool, the learning curve is really good. I don't have to spend time in long training sessions, which is typically required for other platforms. As my company is a Microsoft kind of shop, we have developers, making the learning curve easy compared to other tools. When it comes to integration with the back-end systems, manufacturing companies are still using some other apps in their environment. Getting data or pushing those analytics data back to the back-end systems is relatively simple while using Azure Sphere and other integration points, and so that is why there is a clear direction from our company's end customer that they need an Azure solution.
William Tuleja - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration with existing tools boosts management efficiency
The only improvement I see is that some detection explanations are vaguely provided by Microsoft, resulting in generic IoT detections that alert me to an issue yet don't specify what's wrong. Often, it just links back to a generic KB article without additional information. When it happens, it requires extra detective work. This issue doesn't occur often but can be annoying.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I think my team is comfortable with the installation of the product."
"It's stable and the performance has been great."
"When you use this solution, you get a dual processor with all the necessary security and Microsoft updates supplied. You don't have to be concerned about the security aspect related to IoT because Microsoft takes care of this."
"I find Microsoft Defender very effective in vulnerability management and it provides good attack reduction, making it a next-generation protection solution."
"Mainly, it is manageable and integrates with other Microsoft products, which is crucial for me."
"I believe it is best suited for cloud services and is unmatched by other cloud security solutions."
"It is manageable and integrates with other Microsoft products, which is crucial for me."
 

Cons

"The type of edge devices being addressed through the suite was limited."
"The lack of awareness of the products among our company's customers is a challenge that needs to be looked at and improved by Microsoft."
"One of the pain points of this solution is that the full Linux box is not exposed to all developers. This restricts what the applications can do as they cant be adjusted."
"The primary area that needs improvement is compatibility with the latest IoT technologies."
"The only improvement I see is that some detection explanations are vaguely provided by Microsoft, resulting in generic IoT detections that alert me to an issue yet don't specify what's wrong."
"The only improvement I see is that some detection explanations are vaguely provided by Microsoft, resulting in generic IoT detections that alert me to an issue yet don't specify what's wrong."
"Customer service and support from Microsoft are costly. The execution by engineers is expensive, and the service is neither free nor toll-free, making it less accessible for customers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution offers secure IoT communication to the cloud at a fairly low cost."
Information not available
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832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Energy/Utilities Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Sphere?
I think the license part is good enough as of now because as a company, we don't handle the license part. My company has a partner from Microsoft who manages everything for us, so we don't deal dir...
What needs improvement with Azure Sphere?
When it comes to the challenges or drawbacks associated with the product, I will not talk about the system. Our company's customers who are into manufacturing and other such businesses are not very...
What is your primary use case for Azure Sphere?
I use the solution in my company for process automation. Based on the kind of devices and architecture our company's customers use, our company is now fetching those data points and integrating the...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for IoT?
The solution is relatively expensive with licensing being based on each device. The cost per license might not be affordable for every organization, and I would rate it around six out of ten on a s...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for IoT?
The primary area that needs improvement is compatibility with the latest IoT technologies. Microsoft needs flexibility to ensure good compatibility with new IoT solutions, which frequently introduc...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for IoT?
My primary use case for Microsoft Defender for IoT is security. It helps with vulnerability management and provides significant attack reduction. It functions as a next-generation protection soluti...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Azure Defender for IoT
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Sphere vs. Microsoft Defender for IoT and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.