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Cisco Secure Email vs Cloudflare SASE & SSE Platform comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Offi...
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Ranking in Email Security
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (9th)
Cisco Secure Email
Ranking in Email Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Cisco Security Portfolio (8th)
Cloudflare SASE & SSE Platform
Ranking in Email Security
13th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (8th), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (9th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (6th), Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) Protection (5th), Access Management (5th), Bot Management (3rd), ZTNA as a Service (5th), ZTNA (1st), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (8th), Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) (1st)
 

Featured Reviews

Gordon McGowan - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 28, 2023
Improves organizational security without the help of third-party applications
We use Microsoft Defender for Office 365 for protection.  Microsoft Defender for Office 365 has improved my organization's security. It makes it easier to manage the infrastructure without the help of third-party applications.  The product helped us maintain collaboration and communication during…
Hannes Johnsson - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 30, 2023
Good support, perfect stability, and many out-of-the-box filters
We have it for email security. We use it for some security features to set up emails Cisco Secure Email has helped free up our IT staff for other projects because the product is so stable, and you don't have to spend so much time with the administration of the product. You free up time because…
Stefan Rusu - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 1, 2023
Helps to secure applications from public but needs improvement in documentation
We use the product to access applications that are restricted to employees only.  Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform removes the risk of exposing the applications to the public.  Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform needs to improve its documentation. It took time to do the implementation.  I have been…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is protection against malicious links, fishing, and impersonation. You can train people to be aware of these threats, but they're not always careful. When they're using their phones between meetings, they click on a link, and it's game over."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is data backups that we can provide through ticket requests."
"The product's scalability is good."
"Defender for Office 365 has helped eliminate having to look at multiple dashboards and that is the aspect I like most about it. It is simpler, effective, and convenient. The users like the process efficiency."
"At the moment we are satisfied with this product. It's a stable, scalable, and resilient solution for us."
"One of the best features of the tool is its capability to aggregate insights from different workloads, basically from the Office 365 and endpoints part."
"The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning."
"The benefit that stands out to me is the ability for multiple individuals to collaborate simultaneously within the same document. Additionally, there is the option to save the document directly in the integrated OneDrive or SharePoint."
"The system provides our service desk with the means to troubleshoot email delivery issues with ease."
"The tool has a DLP solution which we can implement. Its database is updated regularly."
"I love the Advanced Malware Protection feature. It works very well... The appliance has more security such as SDF, DKIM, DMARC, and encryption."
"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"It has the IMS engine, Intelligent Multi-Scan engine, and it does a good job, right out-of-the-box, of blocking the vast majority of things that should be blocked."
"It integrates with Active Directory and we can limit specific users to using specific applications."
"It blocks bulk marketing messages, graymail, spam, and provides advanced malware protection."
"Initially, the most valuable feature for us was the SenderBase Reputation, because that reduced the number of emails that were even considered by the system by a huge number..."
"Cloudflare is simple to use."
"Cloudflare Access is part of the Zero Trust philosophy."
"The solution has different options that can be used to differentiate DDoS attacks."
"It is a stable solution."
"The tool also offers good scalability, and the dashboard, along with real-time analytics, is very good."
"For Cloudflare Access, I am using the free plan...The most valuable feature is their protection."
"The simplicity of the solution is its valuable features as almost no effort was needed to learn the configurations. It is also one of the cheapest firewalls available in this category."
"Cloudflare DDoS is better than its competitors for its security, deployment, and scalability."
 

Cons

"The XDR dashboard has room for improvement."
"Too many false positives and lacks an accurate capability to detect malicious SharePoint sites."
"I'd like some additional features any product can give me to protect our environment in a better way."
"The only thing they should improve is the licensing model. They should stop changing it. A year ago, the five features I mentioned were included in one product. Now, three of them are bundled into one product, and you have to pay extra for the other two. I don't mind paying extra, but I don't want them to change it every year or every six months. I need to know what I'm looking at and not worry about it next year."
"We need a separate license and we don't know how to get the license that is required."
"The phishing and spam filters could use some improvement."
"The product must provide better malware detection."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 could improve by giving customers information on techniques to prevent threats. For example, information about best practices on how to protect their own devices against hackers and scammers, such as educational information or training. This would help others have a better understanding of cyber security. Additionally, there can be more security features added."
"I would like to see features like AI since it is currently an area that the product lacks."
"I would like more functionality and how to use it for Level 2 type staff. The biggest issue is it needs to be easier to use and navigate."
"Licensing is quite complicated for a number of customers, including ourselves."
"The UI is definitely one area of improvement because it doesn't match other interfaces and the navigation can be a little clunky."
"Cisco Secure Email can be improved from the administrator's point of view. Usually, you have to work with different areas, and they can try to make it easy for the administrator to use different functions."
"It would be nice to have an easier way to check on the health of the system, how stressed these appliances are. Sure, you can do it, but it would be helpful to have an easier way to do it, maybe even at a glance."
"We have Microsoft and we have the E5 licenses, they have more EDR responses on certain emails. That's something that Cisco ESA on the cloud doesn't have. They don't do anything about MITRE attacks. They only detect if there is a malicious email or a threat and they remove it."
"The Forged Email Detection feature needs improvement, particularly with domain. The sensors are not that good and the rules sets are unclear."
"The initial onboarding was causing us some confusion."
"The response time for support must be reduced."
"For the topic of improvement, providing some training material is one of my suggestions."
"The tool should provide on-premise versions. Currently, all versions are cloud-based."
"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform needs to improve its documentation. It took time to do the implementation."
"The software has automated alerts, but the automated alerts are not available in the mobile app."
"The onboarding process can be improved a little bit."
"Lacks a VPN feature to provide a secure connection to the data center."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."
"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 necessitates pricier E3 or E5 subscriptions, the extensive functionality offered by these licenses across various Microsoft products justifies the investment."
"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
"The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
"The solution is expensive."
"It is a reasonably priced solution."
"The price is significantly high."
"As per market availability, this solution is more expensive than other vendors."
"Compared to Cisco's on-prem service, the cost is the same, but you don't have to pay for the hardware and you don't have to maintain the system, as far as upgrades and hardware failures are concerned. It is cheaper to operate on their cloud service than it is to operate with their on-prem service."
"You're going to get what you pay for. If you're not willing to pay the price of Cisco, you're not going to get a product that's as good as Cisco. I don't think Cisco is overpriced, because for the last two years I've been comparing it to Microsoft and Cisco has been cheaper and given us more features."
"It is an expensive product. I rate its pricing an eight or nine."
"In addition to the standard licensing, there is a cost for SMARTnet as well."
"The solution's pricing lacks transparency."
"The solution is not that expensive."
"The prices are slightly expensive."
"The pricing of the solution is cheap. The licensing cost is also very low. I rate the cost and pricing a three out of ten."
"The pricing is somewhere in the middle. I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
"My company has to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution. There are no hidden charges apart from the licensing costs of the solution."
"The price tag is no longer $200,000, but rather $300,000 to $400,000. It's twice."
"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform's pricing is good."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Educational Organization
20%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of variou...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 necessitates pricier E3 or E5 subscriptions, the extensive functionality offe...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is a very good solution that allows you to use a single port or tool to control eve...
What do you like most about Cisco Secure Email?
Cisco Secure Email is a budget-friendly solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Email?
The pricing for Cisco Email Security Appliance involves recurring costs for licenses based on the contracted time fra...
What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Email?
The discontinuation of physical hardware solutions is a significant area for improvement in the Cisco Email Security ...
What do you like most about Cloudflare Access?
The tool also offers good scalability, and the dashboard, along with real-time analytics, is very good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cloudflare Access?
The price of Cloudflare Access is the same as compared to Akamai, but I get better performance from Cloudflare. My co...
What needs improvement with Cloudflare Access?
Cloudflare Access has strong integration with Microsoft, among other platforms. However, when it comes to Kaspersky, ...
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
Cisco Email Security, IronPort, Cisco Email Security, ESA, Email Security Appliances
Cloudflare Area 1 Email Security, Cloudflare Bot Management, Cloudflare Gateway, Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform, Cloudflare DDoS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
SUNY Old Westbury, CoxHealth, City of Fullerton, Indra
23andMe
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Email vs. Cloudflare SASE & SSE Platform and other solutions. Updated: August 2024.
800,688 professionals have used our research since 2012.