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Fortinet FortiMail vs Fortinet FortiMail Cloud comparison

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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

Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (11th)
Fortinet FortiMail
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (6th)
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)
 

Mindshare comparison

Email Security
Cloud Email
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Andras Solt - PeerSpot reviewer
Reasonable pricing and good spam filtering but does not offer robust gatekeeping
It's mainly suited for mid-size companies, not for bigger companies like us. We are more than 1,000 people. In fact, we're over 2000 users, so that's why we investigated some other products, and Clearswift, for example. We likely won't increase usage. We're looking at GFI in a year or so.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The email protection is excellent, especially in terms of anti-phishing policies."
"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."
"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 most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is data backups that we can provide through ticket requests."
"Some of the valuable features on the email side are anti-phishing, anti-malware, and Safe Links."
"I would say that 90% of the spam and phishing attack emails get blocked right off the bat."
"We use Microsoft Defender for its ability to integrate with existing business technologies, which is beneficial for protecting business areas."
"I think the spamming feature is very valuable."
"A full-featured email gateway solution that contains security threats reliably."
"The anti-spam functionality is good and works well."
"The solution is very reliable and very stable."
"Fortinet FortiMail has a lot of valuable features. It works great. It also has an antivirus feature. Support for Fortinet FortiMail was also great when my team wanted to block some geographic IPs, but couldn't figure out how to do it. The support team provided clear communication on how to resolve that issue. Another valuable feature of Fortinet FortiMail is SPAM filtering which tells you how many spammy emails you've received. Based on my current use cases, I'm happy with Fortinet FortiMail."
"The anti-spam feature is very valuable."
"When combining this solution with other Fortinet products, such as FortiGate, it integrates well and provides a comprehensive protection package."
"The integration with FortiSandbox is good, and something that we utilize often."
"The product's initial setup is straightforward and simple, making it an easy-to-use tool."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the ability to check to see if the email is real."
"The quarantine feature of FortiMail is the most valuable, as it quarantines emails based on my policies."
"The most valuable feature is the advanced threat protection."
"This solution is easy to install. The deployment takes about forty-five minutes."
"Content disarming and analysis are essential features in our email security setup"
"Fortinet and other software ensure that my company's email remains safe, helping to avoid access issues at some cost in production."
"This is a solid email monitoring and security system that learns and maintains a two-way dialog with email system administrators."
 

Cons

"The phishing and spam filters could use some improvement."
"Configuring the default strategies and policies in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps generates a lot of noise and false positives."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 should be more proactive."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365's Mac functionality requires improvement to deliver the same level of protection found on Windows devices."
"Microsoft should provide more documentation for users so they can self-educate. I would like to see more documentation for advanced security features."
"The GUI is sometimes slow to fetch the device report and could be improved."
"There is room for improvement in terms of reporting."
"About eight months ago, we started to measure the quantity of phishing and spam that we have been receiving, and it has been increasing a lot. That means that protection for our email is not as good as we were expecting."
"An additional feature that could be added is a pop-up screen notifying you that an email has been blocked, without having to double click on it to take you there it could provide you with a summary explaining why it was on hold or why was it spam when you hover over it with your cursor."
"The product could incorporate even more artificial intelligence to enhance the functionality, but it is a competetive and intelligent product as it."
"Fortinet FortiMail could improve general user management. There are no password policies for users."
"The product should work on licensing and provide more detail once the license is selected for the customer."
"It's difficult for me to talk about areas for improvement in Fortinet FortiMail because I'm the general manager of the company and I'm an engineer with knowledge about the solution, but I'm not deeply involved in its implementation. As I mentioned previously, Fortinet FortiMail is also being used within the company, and I'm happy with its functionality, but sometimes, attacks pass and avoid the Fortinet FortiMail filters, but those could be very sophisticated attacks. There could still be an improvement in the filtering feature of the solution, though the security of Fortinet FortiMail is okay for me because I believe you can't implement one hundred percent security in any solution. The initial setup for the solution also needs improvement. The setup is supposed to be simple, but then the customer starts to complain that some of the false positive emails are reaching quarantine, so my team has to configure it again. There have been instances when Fortinet FortiMail rejects valid emails because some of the service partners of the customer have not been configured accurately, so the system considered valid mails as attacks to be quarantined, so aside from improving the filters, there should also be an improvement in the categorization of emails in the server. My team has to modify the configuration so that valid emails could pass and for Fortinet FortiMail to correctly filter the SPAM traffic. A feature that could be added to Fortinet FortiMail in its next release is advanced AI, so it can analyze and decide accurately on which mail is valid and which mail is SPAM."
"The solution's pricing is flexible and can be adjusted for African utility companies. Microsoft often offers special pricing formulas for African governments and organizations and it is similar to Fortinet FortiMail. In my country, government institutions receive discounted pricing from Fortinet FortiMail."
"The sandboxing features are not well done in Fortinet FortiMail, making it an area of improvement."
"The solution could be improved by providing a virtual machine facility with a complete set of options in the VM setup."
"The downside of this solution is that it is difficult to implement policies on FortiMail."
"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."
"FortiMail needs to develop further, particularly in integrating AI features, to keep up with rapidly advancing technology."
"I can't see the feedback to the FortiMail gateway."
"The setup of the rules can be improved. I think it should be simplified and would be the best improvement in the system."
"The product could be improved by extending reporting tools and adding options for notification."
"This solution is slow and it should be made faster."
"Networking should be simplified."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"I know that the product is incredibly expensive."
"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."
"The product is expensive."
"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
"The product is very expensive."
"It is an expensive product."
"You need to pay additional fees for premium support."
"The pricing is on the higher side."
"The tool is very expensive."
"In terms of licensing, we are using a virtual machine license for the single virtual server which it runs on. Doing it this way enables us to cut costs by only licensing FortiMail for our exact use case. If you need to expand in future, you can later buy extra licenses per virtual machine."
"There is either an annual or six-month charge to use this solution. Fortinet FortiMail is cheaper than Proofpoint or Cisco Security, or other email security appliances."
"I find Fortinet FortiMail pricing reasonable. There's no additional cost apart from its standard licensing fees."
"Fortinet FortiMail is a little bit expensive."
"The pricing depends on various factors, including the type of licenses and subscriptions you have procured"
"A license for our company using FortiMail and FortiCare (filtering and support) was $4000."
"It's on a subscribed basis."
"I see how manageable and flexible the licenses are."
"The licensing is for three years. In the beginning, we did not pay monthly, it was paid once for three years."
"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 price of this solution could be more competitive."
"It should cost around $60,000. We bought it as a bundle, so everything comes together in the license. That is standard."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Educational Organization
49%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Government
4%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Hospitality Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

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?
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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiMail?
The pricing of Fortinet FortiMail is cheaper compared to Cisco, which was quite expensive.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail?
The area that could use some improvement in Fortinet FortiMail is the integration process. I would like the integrati...
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 i...
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
FortiMail
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiMail vs. Fortinet FortiMail Cloud and other solutions. Updated: January 2024.
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.