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Fortinet FortiMail Cloud vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 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

Fortinet FortiMail Cloud
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Email (6th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (6th)
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiMail Cloud is designed for Cloud Email and holds a mindshare of 2.8%, up 1.6% compared to last year.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365, on the other hand, focuses on Email Security, holds 13.5% mindshare, down 19.7% since last year.
Cloud Email
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

Pravin Mandlik - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides enhanced email security with potential agent compatibility issues
There are definitely features that Fortinet should work on. I'm not the right person to implement those features. For a portable cloud solution, a customer has more affinity towards a solution where endpoint security is already in place. In endpoint security, they are not at the latest quadrant. That is why a customer with existing endpoint security solutions like Trend Micro might prefer a main security solution from that vendor. If we go for FortiMail Cloud and have a separate endpoint security solution, there are two agents that have to sit on a customer endpoint. From that perspective, Fortinet policies add an extra load to the endpoint. Maybe other solutions have an advantage when it comes to Fortinet.
Tolu Omolaja - PeerSpot reviewer
Great URL scanning and attachment scanning, but I would like more proactive threat analysis
The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning. URL scanning involves an automatic scan of links and emails. When a user clicks on a link within an email, the system promptly checks the link's safety. If the link is deemed safe, access is granted automatically. However, if it is flagged as unsafe, we receive feedback and notification to caution us about the potentially harmful link. At this point, we are presented with the option to proceed or return. I have personally witnessed the system identify a few unsafe links, making this the primary advantage of using the solution. The second crucial aspect is the scanning of attachments. When an email containing an attachment arrives, we receive a notification of the new email, along with information that the attachment is being scanned for threats. This additional layer of security provides peace of mind for our organization. While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers numerous features, these two stand out as particularly impressive and valuable to us.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The encryption features are most valuable to us."
"Fortinet and other software ensure that my company's email remains safe, helping to avoid access issues at some cost in production."
"The most valuable features are the low price and its ability to integrate with other Fortinet products."
"If there is a problem somewhere Fortinet can act on it immediately. That is very important."
"One of the most beautiful benefits is its integration, as it can seamlessly integrate with any third-party email servers."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the ability to check to see if the email is real."
"FortiMail Cloud is very fast."
"It has the best feature for processed mail analysis."
"Our customers are satisfied with Defender for 365 because Microsoft products are easy to use and customize to meet the client's needs. Everything is in one place, so we can adjust policies as needed for phishing, DLP, ATP, or any other security features that our clients want to apply."
"I would say that 90% of the spam and phishing attack emails get blocked right off the bat."
"Defender is a SaaS platform, so it offers more flexibility. Managing the permissions is easier. The solution's automated detection and response features are scalable."
"It gives us visibility into threats and, for endpoints, it helps us to prioritize threats. We used to have a lack of visibility, but now our time to detect and respond has decreased."
"The risk level notifications are most valuable. We get to know what kind of intrusion or attack is there, and we can fix a problem on time."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is its spam filter."
"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 product is not resource-intensive."
 

Cons

"The setup of the rules can be improved. I think it should be simplified and would be the best improvement in the system."
"The URL filtering and handling should be enhanced because it doesn't support all languages. I believe that this would be easy to enhance in the future."
"The dashboard could use improvement."
"It is slightly difficult to configure FortiMail in the cloud with Exchange on-premise, especially the quarantine mailbox access for end-users."
"Networking should be simplified."
"I would like to see more advanced sandbox features, where you can actually download to a machine where you can test."
"The tool's UI can be simple since it's cluttered now and you can't understand where you are going. It's not obvious to find out the menus or things that you are looking to find."
"FortiMail needs to develop further, particularly in integrating AI features, to keep up with rapidly advancing technology."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 should be more proactive."
"It would be better if it were more scalable. It depends on the architecture, but we would like to make it more scalable for both data centers."
"We need to be able to whitelist data at the backend."
"In one of the reports I can get the exact place where a vulnerable file resides. But for that, I need to explicitly go into the device and check. If they could include that file part in the report, without my having to go to the device itself, that would help."
"They have moved features from one console to another. Things have been moved around in the interface and it takes me time to find where certain features are."
"The UI needs to be more user-friendly."
"This product's effectiveness could be improved, in terms of detecting unwanted spam or even malware between the emails, compared to other products."
"The visibility for the weaknesses in the system and unauthorized access can be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product's price is reasonable."
"The licensing is for three years. In the beginning, we did not pay monthly, it was paid once for three years."
"You only have to purchase one license for multiple participants."
"When we're talking about pricing, other products have about the same price. That is normal."
"I see how manageable and flexible the licenses are."
"It should cost around $60,000. We bought it as a bundle, so everything comes together in the license. That is standard."
"A license for our company using FortiMail and FortiCare (filtering and support) was $4000."
"I rate the price of Fortinet FortiMail Cloud a five on a one to ten scale, where one is the low price, and ten is the high price. It is an averagely priced product."
"The solution could be better by simplifying the business model of their licensing. It was hard to figure out how to get the licensing done for the environment, initially."
"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."
"I know that the product is incredibly expensive."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."
"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Hospitality Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiMail Cloud?
Content disarming and analysis are essential features in our email security setup
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiMail Cloud?
FortiMail is cost-efficient, however, Symantec Mail Gateway and DLP solutions might be comparable.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail Cloud?
There are no specific new features I would suggest at this moment. FortiMail needs to develop further, particularly in integrating AI features, to keep up with rapidly advancing technology.
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 various email campaigns, pinpointing where they emanate from, and identifying the indi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
I don't have detailed specifics on pricing, setup cost, or licensing.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
I am generally satisfied with how it currently is. If I could improve anything, I would reduce the cost.
 

Also Known As

No data available
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiMail Cloud vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: January 2024.
842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.