Fortinet FortiSIEM vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

The compared Fortinet and Microsoft solutions aren't in the same category. Fortinet is ranked #8 in SIEM , with an average rating of 7.9, and holds a 3.1% mindshare in the category. Microsoft is ranked #4 in XDR , with an average rating of 8.4, and holds a 7.0% mindshare. Additionally, 82% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Fortinet FortiSIEM

Read 73 Fortinet FortiSIEM reviews

4,452 Views
3,087 Comparison Views

82% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender XDR

Read 97 Microsoft Defender XDR reviews

7,236 Views
5,536 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiSIEM

Microsoft Defender XDR

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Fortinet FortiSIEM and Microsoft Defender XDR based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiSIEM vs. Microsoft Defender XDR Report (Updated: May 2023).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiSIEM vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

May 2023

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Helped 845,040 peers since 2012

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 FortiSIEM

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (8th)

Microsoft Defender XDR

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (5th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (4th), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Security Software solutions, they serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiSIEM is designed for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and holds a mindshare of 3.1%, up 3.0% compared to last year.
Microsoft Defender XDR, on the other hand, focuses on Extended Detection and Response (XDR), holds 7.0% mindshare, up 6.9% since last year.

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

Featured Reviews

Oliver Jackson

Network Engineer at Laminar Communications Pty Ltd

Systems monitoring enhanced by firewall and intrusion detection features

My primary use case for Fortinet FortiSIEM is systems monitoring and alerting. I use it for standard functions like log monitoring, incident detection, and notification. My customers are mostly medium-sized enterprises ranging from engineering companies, mining companies, independent schools, and…

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Gabor Nyerd

Enterprise mobility and security evangelist at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

Includes four services and four products, which can help organizations a lot

We found that sometimes integrations work, but testing them can take some time. Sometimes, configurations take much longer than expected. We have a configuration in place that needs to be synchronized with another server. However, the servers are four hours apart, so this can cause delays. In general, I believe that the time it takes to configure and test a service should be shorter. Sometimes, it can take a couple of hours to test a single configuration setting. Other times, it is only ten or fifteen minutes, which is normal. However, sometimes, even immediate actions can be triggered by configuration changes, and some settings can take up to eight hours to complete. I believe that this time can be improved. Microsoft is making a lot of improvements to its services in a short period of time. This is a good thing, as it means that the services are constantly being updated and improved. However, it can be challenging for customers to keep up with the changes. For example, a customer may read about an update, understand it, and share it with their colleagues and boss. However, it may take days or weeks to test the update and get the necessary approvals. This can be especially challenging for large customers with many users or machines. In some cases, Microsoft may change a service before the customer has had a chance to implement the previous update. This can be frustrating for customers, as it means that they have to constantly learn new things and adjust their workflows. On the one hand, it is important for Microsoft to keep updating and improving its services. This helps to ensure that the services are meeting the customers' needs and that they are staying ahead of the competition. Microsoft should also be mindful of the challenges that these changes can create for customers. One way to address this challenge is to provide customers with more time to implement changes. Microsoft could also provide more information about upcoming changes so that customers can plan ahead. Ultimately, Microsoft needs to strike a balance between keeping its services up-to-date and providing customers with a smooth transition to new features.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's easy to manage. There's a web interface and a command line, depending on what the user is comfortable with. There's a large knowledge base available, and the support is timely."

"I like FortiSIEM because it integrates natively with our other Fortinet solutions and the Fortinet Fabric, but it also integrates with Cisco, Palo Alto and other security fabrics."

"FortiSIEM's best features are the dashboards and customization."

"Analytics. It can provide log information from the device. With log information, I can see if there is a threat"

"This solution offers extensive customization options, making it possible to adapt it precisely to their requirements."

"Fortinet FortiSIEM provides good detection against advanced threats."

"We find the solution to be stable."

"Easy alert setup which enables different alerts in different categories."

More Fortinet FortiSIEM pros

"Defender XDR can stop advanced attacks, like ransomware or business email compromise."

"All of the security components are valuable including, antiphishing, antispam, and stage three antivirus."

"The feature I find most valuable is Defender for Endpoint."

"The summarization of emails is a valuable feature."

"The stability has been great."

"I like that Defender is easy to use and the alerts are all in one central location."

"The most valuable features are machine learning, AI, and auto-remediation of none malicious alerts."

"We also use Microsoft Sentinel, Defender for Cloud, Defender for Identity, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps. They are all integrated and it was very easy to integrate them. In my experience with the integrations, it was just a click of a button and things were integrated. It's just a button."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

Cons

"We expect the latest patch from Fortinet FortiSIEM to give the ability to work with signature files."

"Our team tried configuring MS SQL database logs with Fortinet FortiSIEM, but it did not work for some time."

"Its training can be improved. Its price also needs to be improved."

"The built-in APIs in Fortinet FortiSIEM are somewhat lacking and could be improved for better integration with external ITSM products."

"Fortinet FortiSIEM could improve to extend to several locations or sites."

"The product does not have Security Orchestration and Automation Response, I would recommend adding this feature."

"FortiSIEM could be better integrated with other vendors."

"Their product support, in general, is not that great. The product support is in the same ecosystem. Their support is improving but it's not that great.vvv"

More Fortinet FortiSIEM cons

"Some of our older hardware experienced a slight bump in CPU and memory usage. Although I don't have empirical data to back that up, I would suggest possibly more streamlining in the software."

"The mobile app support for Android and iOS is difficult and needs improvement."

"The solution can improve the rules and privileges it offers."

"The web filtering solution needs to be improved because currently, it is very simple."

"There is no comprehensive visibility, making it less user-friendly."

"Correctly updated records are the most significant area for improvement. There have been times when we were notified of a required fix; we would carry out the fix and confirm it but still get the same notification a week later. This seems to be a delay in records being updated and leads to false reporting, which is something that needs to be fixed."

"There are a few technical issues with Defender XDR that can be improved. Sometimes, the endpoint devices are not reporting properly to the Defender 365 portal. When you're getting all the information from the Microsoft portal, the devices are sometimes not in sync. We have hundreds of endpoint devices, some needing to be onboarded again."

"I do think that maybe having a feature within my organization where there are three different domains within which we have to operate would be helpful, as there is currently no unified view within the domains."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Manageable, however would be better as pay as you go versus CapEX."

"The tool is really expensive. For what the tool does for our team, the price is fair."

"Fortinet FortiSIEM is cheaper compared to other products."

"Its price can be better. We are Fortinet partners, so we can get discounts, but its price can be an issue at the beginning for others. There is a licensing scheme for every case. There are three licensing schemes that we can choose from."

"The price is competitive."

"The price of Fortinet FortiSIEM was reasonable compared to other solutions."

"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing charges attached to the product. The free version license of the product is available for two months."

"FortiSIEM's licensing is based on EPS, and its pricing is competitive in the market."

More Fortinet FortiSIEM pricing and cost advice

"The licensing fee for Microsoft 365 Defender is fair."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is expensive."

"It has consistently offered highly appealing academic pricing, with distinct rates for higher education and general educational purposes."

"It is 15 dollars per server per month. It is worth it, but it can be costly. It depends on the company's size."

"Microsoft purposely makes its license combinations complex and includes combinations like Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5, Office 365 E3, Office 365 E5, and Office 365 E1, so you get confused. Microsoft tries to sell you a bundle of a lot of things together."

"The pricing of Microsoft 365 Defender is definitely on the costly side, but with the features and services that Microsoft provides, such as the seamless integration of all the Defender tools, while the price is on the higher side, there is no alternative."

"There are no issues with pricing, but sometimes, the clarity in licensing is a concern."

"The solution is affordable, and we haven't been hit with any hidden costs. The subscription model is straightforward, and it's easy to understand how much additional features cost. If we need to cancel a license or feature, we do that well in advance to avoid being charged for it, but overall, the pricing and licensing are simple and easy."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiSIEM?

Fortinet FortiSIEM needs to provide better API integrations to users.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSIEM?

As a service, the cost is reasonable and affordable with scalable pricing based on the number of monitored devices. However, setting it up for oneself as an enterprise-licensed product can be quite...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSIEM?

The built-in APIs in Fortinet FortiSIEM are somewhat lacking and could be improved for better integration with external ITSM products. Improving software stability and reducing bugs will make it a ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft 365 Defender?

Microsoft Defender XDR provides strong identity protection with comprehensive insights into risky user behavior and potential indicators of compromise.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft 365 Defender?

Licensing is somewhat confusing, particularly when presenting our pitch decks to stakeholders and leveraging key features in premium SKUs, but we managed with some assistance from Microsoft.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

It would be beneficial to reduce the number of clicks required to navigate between blades, as the current navigation and breadcrumb system can be a bit confusing. Some inconsistencies exist between...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiSIEM

March 2025

Download Fortinet FortiSIEM product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

March 2025

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

FortiSIEM, AccelOps

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

Overview

FortiSIEM (formerly AccelOps 4) provides an actionable security intelligence platform to monitor security, performance and compliance through a single pane of glass.

Companies around the world use FortiSIEM for the following use cases:

Threat management and intelligence that provide situational awareness and anomaly detection
Alleviating compliance mandate concerns for PCI, HIPAA and SOX
Managing “alert overload”
Handling the “too many tools” reporting issue
Addressing the MSPs/MSSPs pain of meeting service level agreements

Fortinet

Microsoft Defender XDR is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect against threats in the Microsoft 365 environment.

It offers robust security measures, comprehensive threat detection capabilities, and an efficient incident response system. With seamless integration with other Microsoft products and a user-friendly interface, it simplifies security management tasks.

Users have found it effective in detecting and preventing various types of attacks, such as phishing attempts, malware infections, and data breaches.

Watch the Microsoft demo video here: Microsoft Defender XDR demo video.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

FortiSIEM has hundreds of customers worldwide in markets including managed services, technology, financial services, healthcare, and government. Customers include Aruba Networks, Compushare, Port of San Diego, Cleveland Indians, Infoblox, Healthways, and Referentia.

Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiSIEM vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

May 2023

Free Report: Fortinet FortiSIEM vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiSIEM vs. Microsoft Defender XDR and other solutions. Updated: May 2023.

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See our Fortinet FortiSIEM vs. Microsoft Defender XDR report.

We monitor all Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.