Azure Web Application Firewall vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

Azure Web Application Firewall vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

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Categories and Ranking

Azure Web Application Firewall

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

20th

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Web Application Firewall (WAF) (13th)

Microsoft Defender XDR

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (5th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure Web Application Firewall is 1.7%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 5.2%, down from 12.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite

Featured Reviews

Thomas Zebar

Azure Principal Architect at Cloud Computech Consultancy

May 4, 2023

Is priced well, is stable, and the initial setup is straightforward

I previously used Barracuda Web Application Firewall. I hope that Azure Web Application Firewall will look at other products and replicate some of their functionality. Azure WAF is doing great because it is designed to host web applications in Azure. However, it can be improved with other services. Barracuda is the most advanced firewall in the industry, so Azure WAF could pick some of its features and replicate them into its own application firewall. Barracuda WAF was deployed in parallel to the traffic. Azure WAF should not be deployed in the middle of the traffic. It should support both public and private points of presence. Additionally, like Barracuda, Azure WAF should have an inspection engine that covers not just Microsoft products, but also products from other manufacturers. This would be a great addition to the product and would increase its security functionality.

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Desray Liu

Project Manager at Freedom Systems Inc.

Nov 28, 2023

A time-saving and easy-to-integrate product that needs to offer a control center to users

As a part of Microsoft's attempt to reduce costs, there has been a direct cut down of the local technical support team. Sometimes, you have to use the technical support offered by Microsoft from other countries, but at times, we speak different languages, just like how people speak in Chinese or Mandarin, but there are still some differences between them. The front-line support from Microsoft has only limited technical abilities or access to their internal system. Sometimes, my company cannot even escalate an issue to Microsoft's senior team members. The support team of Microsoft is nice as they attempt to solve the problems together with you, but I believe that due to some cost-related issues, they don't have enough permissions. Sometimes, users might feel blocked when trying to connect with the support team. I rate the technical support a seven out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's great for protecting against DDoS attacks."

"It's a good option if you want a solution that's ready to go and easy for your team to learn. It's cloud-based, so you don't need to buy or maintain any hardware infrastructure."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Web Application Firewall is its ability to filter requests and block false positives by using custom rules and the OWASP rule set."

"The most valuable feature is that it allows us to publish our applications behind the firewall."

"We have found the most valuable features to be the web application, minimal skills required for management, control through policies, and automation."

"The integration it has with GitHub is great."

"Azure WAF is extremely stable."

"It has been a stable product in my experience."

More Azure Web Application Firewall pros

"It gives a lot of flexibility in terms of configuration and customization as per the business requirements."

"I like 365 Defender's advanced threat hunting. The dashboard is user-friendly with templates for site policies, etc. The most important use case is evaluating the risk links and applications."

"The most valuable feature of all is the full integration with the rest of the software in the operating system and Office 365, as well as Microsoft SCCM. It is quite easy for us to work with the whole instance of Microsoft products. This integration improves the benefits of the whole suite of products."

"Microsoft XDR's system of analysis and investigation is super convenient for our customers. It integrates with other Microsoft solutions like Defender for 365 to protect email traffic from malicious external web links and phishing."

"The integration with other Microsoft solutions is the most valuable feature."

"The integration between all the Defender products is the most valuable feature."

"Microsoft 365 Defender is a good solution and easy to use."

"Having a single pane of glass for all Microsoft security services makes everything much easier. A security analyst can go to a single portal and see everything in one view. The integration of everything into one portal is a huge benefit."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

Cons

"The knowledge base could be improved."

"Azure WAF should not be deployed in the middle of the traffic."

"I would say that Azure's customer service is not that good...I am not very happy with the support offered."

"We would like to see additional site services using AI to provide information about blocking requests and offer analytics on the origin of calls."

"The documentation needs to be improved."

"From a reporting perspective, they could do more there."

"In Brazil, we have some problems with the phone service that affect our connection with the cloud. However, it isn't common."

"The support for proxy forwarding could improve."

More Azure Web Application Firewall cons

"Since all of our databases are updated and located in the cloud, I would like additional support for this."

"The AI could be improved. As an analyst, I want to be able to interact more with AI. The AI simply sends summaries. I can't ask it, for example, if it has seen any suspicious activity with device two. I have to go and check device two for myself."

"Just like in any solution, the price can always be cheaper."

"The support could be more knowledgable to improve their offering."

"The solution could enhance the threat Intelligence feature by making it more relevant to specific industries. Much of the threat intelligence information isn't directly applicable to our environment. It would be beneficial if the threat intelligence were tailored to the industry, such as healthcare or fintech, where the solution is being used."

"Microsoft 365 Defender does not have a unique package with emerging endpoint security technologies, such as EDR and XDR."

"What could be improved in Microsoft 365 Defender is its licensing, e.g. it should be more consolidated and would be good if it has some optimizations. Improving the alerts and notifications, in terms of adding more details, would also be good for this solution."

"From an integration standpoint, it is always improving overall. With Security Copilot coming out, as partners, we are waiting for the GDAP support so that we can actually see Security Copilot on behalf of customers if they subscribe to it."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution depends on your architecture and how you manage it. You can control the cost in Azure quite well. The costs do not directly correlate to expenses in the features we are using."

"The price is reasonable. It is approximately $2,000 US per month."

"The price is for this solution is fair and there is a license needed."

"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."

"Azure WAF has price advantages over other WAF solutions. The pricing model is flexible because you pay on a scale based on the level of protection you need."

"We have an enterprise agreement with Microsoft and the pricing is good."

"I believe that the pricing of the licensing is fair."

"Understanding the subscription model has been a bit challenging, as every feature or requirement comes with an additional cost."

"For Defender, they have Endpoint Plan 1 and Endpoint Plan 2, but I don't know on what basis they have classified Endpoint Plan 1 and Plan 2, but it has given me enough pain to pick and design Endpoint Plan 1 or Endpoint Plan 2 for my organization. In fact, we are still struggling with it. Too many SKUs are confusing. There should not be too many SKUs, and they shouldn't charge for every new feature."

"The license cost for a year is approximately forty-four thousand, and this annual saving is a significant factor in our decision to switch."

"It has consistently offered highly appealing academic pricing, with distinct rates for higher education and general educational purposes."

"The solution is too expensive."

"365 Defender can get expensive because you pay per gigabyte of data ingested. On the other hand, much of the data available in the other Microsoft security solutions are made available relatively cheaply—sometimes at cost or for free. Integrating only a limited set of third-party solutions with Sentinel would be cost-effective. It's much more affordable if companies only have Microsoft stuff."

"The product is fairly priced for what we get from it."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

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814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

21%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Web Application Firewall?

The integration it has with GitHub is great.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Web Application Firewall?

The price is reasonable. It is approximately $2,000 US per month. This cost is one of the main reasons why we selected Azure Web Application Firewall. It provides enough functionality for our needs.

What needs improvement with Azure Web Application Firewall?

Microsoft is constantly working on improvements. We would like to see additional site services using AI to provide information about blocking requests and offer analytics on the origin of calls. Th...

What do you like most about Microsoft 365 Defender?

Microsoft Defender XDR provides strong identity protection with comprehensive insights into risky user behavior and potential indicators of compromise.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft 365 Defender?

The pricing is reasonable. It's cheaper than other options.

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

The solution could enhance the threat Intelligence feature by making it more relevant to specific industries. Much of the threat intelligence information isn't directly applicable to our environmen...

AWS WAF vs Azure Web Application Firewall

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Product Reports

Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Download Azure Web Application Firewall product report

Microsoft Defender XDR

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

Learn More

Microsoft

Overview

Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) provides centralized protection of your web applications from common exploits and vulnerabilities. Web applications are increasingly targeted by malicious attacks that exploit commonly known vulnerabilities. SQL injection and cross-site scripting are among the most common attacks.

To learn more about our solution, ask questions, and share feedback, join our Microsoft Security, Compliance and Identity Community.

Microsoft Defender XDR is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect against threats in the Microsoft 365 environment.

It offers robust security measures, comprehensive threat detection capabilities, and an efficient incident response system. With seamless integration with other Microsoft products and a user-friendly interface, it simplifies security management tasks.

Users have found it effective in detecting and preventing various types of attacks, such as phishing attempts, malware infections, and data breaches.

Watch the Microsoft demo video here: Microsoft Defender XDR demo video.

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.

Azure Web Application Firewall vs. Microsoft Defender XDR