Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Fortinet FortiMail Cloud vs Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) 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 (7th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (6th)
Microsoft Exchange Online P...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (4th), Anti-Malware Tools (8th)
 

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 2.5%, up 1.5% compared to last year.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), on the other hand, focuses on Anti-Malware Tools, holds 1.6% mindshare, down 2.3% since last year.
Cloud Email
Anti-Malware Tools
 

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.
Nur Mohammad - PeerSpot reviewer
An effective email security solution that provides DLP, Safe Attachment, and Safe Links
If you want extensive email security, you need to purchase a Plan 2 license. Plan 1 and Plan 2 are the two plans for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection. Some customers hesitate to purchase this product because it adds some costs to them, which is necessary for them. It would be helpful for customers if Plan 1 features were included with EOP. However, they still need to purchase Plan 2 for advanced security features. One of our clients recently requested to compare Zimbra's features with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection. Zimbra is open source, while Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is not. When I compare both the products, many free features are available in Zimbra because it is open-source software. It makes no sense to request Microsoft Exchange Online Protection add all the features people get on open-source software like Zimbra. Hence, I would say whatever features Microsoft Exchange Online Protection has are enough. Microsoft has a dedicated research team that should research and add new techniques like phishing and spamming solutions to the product.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the most beautiful benefits is its integration, as it can seamlessly integrate with any third-party email servers."
"It has the best feature for processed mail analysis."
"This is a solid email monitoring and security system that learns and maintains a two-way dialog with email system administrators."
"The deployment is simple."
"Fortinet and other software ensure that my company's email remains safe, helping to avoid access issues at some cost in production."
"I am impressed with the tool's ability to setup rules and destinations. It also helps to monitor suspicious items."
"The most valuable features are email ATB and Malware Analysis."
"The implementation was very professional. There are a lot of features I can get through Fortinet and FortiMail, such as security. FortiGuard is the most reliable and professional mitigation center to handle incidents and risk that I have to face."
"The threat management feature includes policies and alerts that are valuable."
"The product's most valuable feature is third-party integrations."
"We can migrate seamlessly without any disruptions to our operations."
"The initial setup of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection was easy."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection has features like DLP (data loss protection), Safe Attachment, and Safe Links."
"The solution uses artificial intelligence and machine learning, so you don't need train it to detect something. The detection and response times are short. It's an excellent product."
"You can use the product to create special accounts."
"The security features provided by Microsoft are robust."
 

Cons

"Fortimail Cloud should include more advanced AI features that can analyze every traffic type."
"This solution is slow and it should be made faster."
"This ease of use and user-friendliness is something we believe could be improved in FortiMail."
"I've not been able to use more than two domains in the back end. I like to view logs for the different domains. If I add any other domain I'm not able to get a proper cPanel for that domain. I am talking about the login factors. I'm not able to see logs for different domains in a different Window. Basically, it's an issue in the login process."
"They could look at strengthening anti-spam with the newly observed domains."
"It is slightly difficult to configure FortiMail in the cloud with Exchange on-premise, especially the quarantine mailbox access for end-users."
"The product could be improved by extending reporting tools and adding options for notification."
"The downside of this solution is that it is difficult to implement policies on FortiMail."
"Some of the searchability when looking for specifics in Exchange logs is tedious."
"Some of the searchability when looking for specifics in Exchange logs is tedious."
"It wasn't easy or intuitive enough for me to start using it. So, the reason was that the solution changed."
"The security features could be better."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection could be reduced to make it more competitive."
"The solution can be complex at times. It would be nice to have the on-server version. It needs to improve the stability as well."
"Microsoft 365 Defender and EOP policies are stable with the proper license. However, with the basic policy, it's hard to say it's stable due to configuration limitations."
"The tool is not 100% stable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It should cost around $60,000. We bought it as a bundle, so everything comes together in the license. That is standard."
"I see how manageable and flexible the licenses are."
"When we're talking about pricing, other products have about the same price. That is normal."
"It's on a subscribed basis."
"The price of this solution could be more competitive."
"You only have to purchase one license for multiple participants."
"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 licensing is for three years. In the beginning, we did not pay monthly, it was paid once for three years."
"The product is bundled with Microsoft 365."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is reasonable."
"The product's pricing is competitive for the US market."
"The solution is expensive but is backed by Microsoft's reputation."
"Online Protection is fairly expensive."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is very expensive, I rate the pricing a six. For licensing, we can make monthly or yearly payments. Right now, we pay 5 USD per month to secure a person's license."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection's pricing is a little bit more because its price has recently increased."
"The tool's pricing is excellent."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud Email solutions are best for your needs.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

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

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?
The pricing is optimum. Basically, Fortinet is known to be a good vendor in terms of price performance. From that perspective, they are decent in pricing. They are not cheap, however, they are not ...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail Cloud?
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 wher...
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
The initial setup was easy. The configuration process is very straightforward.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
Some of the searchability when looking for specifics in Exchange logs is tedious. Although eventually the information is located, it can be difficult if detailed information is lacking. Improving t...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
I use the tools to protect customers' emails, mostly utilizing Defender products to protect emails and links from SharePoint and email spam protection and links.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiMail Cloud vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and other solutions. Updated: January 2024.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.