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Cisco Secure Email vs Menlo Protect 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)
Menlo Protect
Ranking in Email Security
21st
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (7th), Enterprise Browsers (6th), Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2024, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 16.7%, down from 20.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Email is 10.3%, down from 11.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Menlo Protect is 0.2%, down from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

Nagendra Nekkala. - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 14, 2023
The automated attack disruption works well if you have a strong policy configuration
365 Defender is a critical tool for mitigating attacks and preventing threats. We use it for email filtering and blocking phishing attacks throughout the entire enterprise. We have around 1,500 users.  365 Defender has improved our security across multiple categories. It's effective against…
NS
Jan 12, 2024
Robust email security with advanced threat detection and prevention, but comes with a higher cost
We use it primarily for filtering both internal and external messages, especially within our Office 365 environment. It serves as our main filtering solution The most significant enhancement we've gained is in terms of security through the upgrade we received. The pricing needs to be…
DF
Oct 14, 2022
Decreased our security alerts without impacting employees' work
I can't say that there is one specific feature that is most valuable. It's the overall platform that is well-suited to our needs. It's something that is different from a lot of other products or platforms in the marketplace. It provides a single console for security policy and management. That is somewhat important because we used to have other products where you would have to log in to individual appliances, devices, or clusters. Having one spot to log in to or one area to go to for doing different tasks and viewing data sources, just makes it easier from a user perspective. Also, the fact that it's invisible to our end-users and doesn't affect their work is very important. Most companies don't want to have added friction or impact on their users. In addition, the combination of user-friendliness for admins, and security for the organization, works well. As a cloud-hosted solution, it provides ease of use.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Defender helps us prioritize threats across our organization."
"Defender for 365 is a comprehensive cloud-based solution. The value of the cloud is that you aren't alone. Threat intelligence and analytics are shared in the cloud. We don't have to find the solution alone. If you face an unknown threat with traditional solutions like Trend Micro and Symantec, you need to open a case and send your information to them to analyze forensically and identify the source of the attack."
"I would say that 90% of the spam and phishing attack emails get blocked right off the bat."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is the ease of use."
"Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of various email campaigns, pinpointing where they emanate from, and identifying the individuals within our organization who are affected."
"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's scalability is good."
"The technical support is good and quick to resolve issues."
"There are a lot of filters for scam emails and things like that work out of the box. You can also use the antivirus features. I like its features."
"It's a bit easy to handle Cisco Secure Email; it's not that difficult. For the logs, which are in PDF format, it's not hard to read them. We don't need Wireshark much to analyze the logs."
"Cisco Secure Email is part of Cisco's extensive efforts and investments in technology, especially in the realm of cyber security. The product is one among many security solutions offered by Cisco."
"Capital expenditure is a significant consideration, and the impact on major expenditures prompts a careful analysis before onboarding the new product."
"Cisco Secure Email's most valuable is email certification."
"The strong point of the solution is that we hardly get any spam emails because of Cisco Secure Email."
"It's flexible. There are a lot of rules and policies that can be easily applied for certain employees or certain mailboxes."
"The malicious URL scanning, as well as the anti-malware features, have been really useful for us in our environment."
"I can't say that there is one specific feature that is most valuable. It's the overall platform that is well-suited to our needs. It's something that is different from a lot of other products or platforms in the marketplace."
"Menlo Security RBI's best feature is its threat isolation engine."
 

Cons

"We need a separate license and we don't know how to get the license that is required."
"We need to be able to whitelist data at the backend."
"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."
"The product must provide better malware detection."
"The custom alerts have to improve a lot."
"The phishing and spam filters could use some improvement."
"This product's effectiveness could be improved, in terms of detecting unwanted spam or even malware between the emails, compared to other products."
"Configuration requires going to a lot of places rather than just accessing one tab."
"The graphical user interface is not user-friendly like other vendors. I find it very difficult at times to find some options on the UI."
"They could improve the filters. In my time at the company, there were several times we had to contact support to update the filters."
"I would like to see features like AI since it is currently an area that the product lacks."
"Scalability has certain shortcomings and needs to be improved because there are service providers who provide better scalability.v"
"The hardware is not up to the mark. Two to three times a year we have complete downtime."
"While Cisco offers excellent solutions and innovations, the pricing may not be suitable for everyone. The cost of the software is relatively high. In the current market, there are numerous competitive alternatives that focus on security, enterprise networks, and various other aspects. Cisco, being a comprehensive provider, extends its expertise across data, servers, storage, and security, making them a preferred choice for many enterprises. However, when it comes specifically to security solutions, there are other vendors that specialize solely in this domain, offering competitive options."
"The tool's pricing can be improved."
"We cannot manage multiple devices from a single UI."
"There are several features, such as supporting web technologies, that the company is working on implementing in the platform. There are a lot of backend web technologies in use on various websites, for example, two-way audio/video and WebGL, for which support may not be fully implemented in the product."
"Menlo Security RBI could be more cloud-friendly, and its mobility could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"The product is expensive."
"The solution saves money so we have seen a return on investment."
"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 product is very expensive."
"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."
"For licensing, it's usually a yearly package for customers who are subscribed to Office 365, but they can also pay on a monthly basis."
"Cisco Secure Email is not expensive, and licensing costs are yearly."
"It is a relatively expensive option compared to other alternatives."
"I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"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."
"The licensing was all transferred."
"Licensing costs depend on how many users there are. It could range between $5 and $7 per month, per user."
"It's adapted to the market. It's similar to other vendors. We at least don't have many problems regarding that because Cisco is adaptable on that side. When we present the solutions to the customers, we tend to achieve the goals that the customer has in terms of the budget for such implementations."
"I rate the pricing a ten out of ten on a scale where one means it is less cost-effective, and ten means it is the most cost-effective solution."
"Menlo Security RBI can be very costly."
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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
19%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
9%
Insurance Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 Menlo Security Email Isolation?
I can't say that there is one specific feature that is most valuable. It's the overall platform that is well-suited t...
What needs improvement with Menlo Security Email Isolation?
There are several features, such as supporting web technologies, that the company is working on implementing in the p...
What is your primary use case for Menlo Security Email Isolation?
We use it for web isolation. That provides an additional layer of security or an additional method for protecting the...
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
Cisco Email Security, IronPort, Cisco Email Security, ESA, Email Security Appliances
Menlo Security Email Security, Menlo Security Remote Browser Isolation
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
SUNY Old Westbury, CoxHealth, City of Fullerton, Indra
Macy's, HSBC, Bank of Hawaii
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Email vs. Menlo Protect and other solutions. Updated: August 2024.
800,688 professionals have used our research since 2012.