

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and ESET PROTECT Enterprise are prominent in endpoint security solutions. ESET PROTECT Enterprise seems to have an upper hand due to its flexibility and resource efficiency, despite Microsoft Defender's extensive integration with Microsoft products.
Features: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers advanced threat protection that integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft tools, boasts cloud analytics, and benefits from a vast user base for threat intelligence. ESET PROTECT Enterprise provides customizable endpoint protection, performs well on minimal resources, and offers zero-day protection with centralized management for ease of use.
Room for Improvement: Microsoft Defender's interface can be complicated, with reports of false positives and challenges integrating with non-Microsoft products. Improvements in ransomware protection and support have been suggested. ESET PROTECT Enterprise could enhance its support for Mac devices, require less resource usage, and offer a more intuitive setup process.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Defender benefits from easy integration with Windows systems and offers a hybrid cloud option, though support response varies. ESET PROTECT Enterprise allows flexible deployment through on-premises and cloud solutions but may present connectivity complexity. Customer service is satisfactory but varies by region.
Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is cost-effective for organizations using Windows or Microsoft 365 due to bundled pricing, though initial costs may be high. ESET PROTECT Enterprise offers affordability and strong protection, benefiting from lower licensing costs and providing quick ROI for varied device deployments.
The return on investment is excellent due to its functionality and ease of installation.
There was money saving from using ESET PROTECT Enterprise, which is why I switched from CrowdStrike to ESET.
Without detection and protection measures, organizations would face substantial payments and reputational damage, including the necessity to inform customers about data breaches, potentially leading to loss of business.
We have seen a return on investment when using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, as it saves labor by reducing the need for staff to focus on it.
The biggest return on investment for me when using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is the time saving.
The tech support from ESET is amazing, and I would rate it as ten out of ten.
They are very responsive and help in solving issues quickly.
Even if support is addressing my problem, if the two issues I mentioned are not resolved, then the support process is not complete.
The Microsoft agent, who did not actually work for Microsoft, is one of the vendors that Microsoft uses for support, said, 'Just to set expectations, my lunch break is in an hour and I am going to go away then.'
The level-one support seems disconnected from subject matter experts.
I rate Microsoft support 10 out of 10.
It can efficiently scale up to thousands of devices in an organization without issues.
I have used many products before, and this solution is definitely scalable.
It is better suited for workstations rather than server environments.
We managed to scale it out in a short amount of time, with two months of planning and three months of implementation on 10,000 computers.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is scalable enough to handle various devices across environments, whether they are laptops, Android devices, or operating in hybrid environments.
Compatibility is its main feature.
When it performs an update, ESET PROTECT Enterprise should request permission for restarting because otherwise, users lose their work.
The solution is stable, and I have not encountered any glitches.
The solution is very, very stable.
I haven't seen any outages with Microsoft.
I rate Defender 10 out of 10 for stability.
Defender for Endpoint is extremely stable.
Sometimes, agents lose connection with the management console, and the administration team needs to reinstall the agents on the computers.
They need to reduce the number of notifications on the endpoints.
It takes a lot of processing power when the machine is initially booted.
Repeated interactions are necessary due to Level One's lack of tools and knowledge, hindering efficient problem-solving and negatively impacting our experience with Microsoft support.
In contrast, competing products offer reduced pricing for long-term commitments, which makes it difficult for us in that environment.
We use Microsoft partners to help govern the platform, and as part of an alliance, we want to gather data from each tenant and combine them for a complete view.
I pay 40 dollars per agent annually, which is cheaper than 60 dollars per agent for Check Point.
We recently paid fourteen dollars and thirty-six cents per unit for 20 users, which is reasonable.
Comparing it to other solutions in the market, it was slightly higher.
That has been the trend we have seen with Microsoft lately—it is just getting more and more expensive.
Given our extensive Microsoft licensing, transitioning to Defender for Endpoint did not affect licensing costs.
It costs $15 per VM for the P2 plan, which is seen as affordable for customers.
It allows simple whitelisting and has a learning mode for new installations, which reduces false positives by adapting to typical user habits.
Its web component prevents infections from malicious websites, which enhances its anti-malware capabilities.
One of the strong features of ESET PROTECT Enterprise is its ability to work well on old computers.
Defender for Endpoint's coverage across different platforms in our environment is pretty good. We have devices running Linux, Mac OS, Windows, iOS, and Android. It covers all of them.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides a unified management interface allowing customers to manage their on-premises and hybrid infrastructures from a single pane.
One of the best features of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is its database for identifying zero-day attacks or malware attacks.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Defender for Endpoint | 9.1% |
| ESET PROTECT Enterprise | 2.2% |
| Other | 88.7% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 11 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 2 |
| Large Enterprise | 2 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 80 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 40 |
| Large Enterprise | 92 |
ESET PROTECT Enterprise ensures real-time visibility for all endpoints as well as full reporting and security management for all OSes
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a comprehensive security solution that provides advanced threat protection for organizations. It offers real-time protection against various types of cyber threats, including malware, viruses, ransomware, and phishing attacks.
With its powerful machine-learning capabilities, it can detect and block sophisticated attacks before they can cause any harm. The solution also includes endpoint detection and response (EDR) capabilities, allowing organizations to quickly investigate and respond to security incidents. It provides detailed insights into the attack timeline, enabling security teams to understand the scope and impact of an incident.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint also offers proactive threat hunting, allowing organizations to proactively search for and identify potential threats within their network. It integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft security solutions, such as Microsoft Defender XDR, to provide a unified and holistic security approach. With its centralized management console, organizations can easily deploy, configure, and monitor the security solution across their entire network.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a robust and scalable security solution that helps organizations protect their endpoints and data from evolving cyber threats.
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