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Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway vs Mimecast Email Security comparison

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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
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (11th)
Fortra's Clearswift Secure ...
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
0
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (39th)
Mimecast Email Security
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Office 365 Protection (5th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Email Security
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

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.
it_user746937 - PeerSpot reviewer
Facilitates creation of your own content-filtering policies with relative ease
* Ability to create message bypasses for groups and/or individuals. Meaning, you do not have to "whitelist" email domains or addresses when a specific bypass will do. * Personal Message Manager (PMM): It allows users to release or delete quarantined messages. Also, allows users to add people to a Trusted Senders list. * Ability to create your own content-filtering policies with relative ease.
Frank Rawson - PeerSpot reviewer
It gives clients peace of mind and helps them educate their users about threats
A few years ago, our team found the implementation to be somewhat challenging. It has gotten easier as we've grown more experienced. The difficulty depends on the expertise of the person doing it. I don't work with Mimecast every day, so it might be more difficult for me than it is for one of my techs who regularly does Mimecast implementations. It requires some specific in-depth product knowledge and an understanding of email solutions. The deployment time varies. In South Africa, it depends on who you use to deploy it. If you use one of Mimecast's local partners, it can take up to two weeks because of their process. However, it's only about four to eight hours of work. After deployment, there isn't much maintenance aside from supporting and educating your customers. Users require constant education on how to use the Mimecast client and release an email that has been blocked.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The good part is that you don't have to configure it, which is very convenient."
"The deployment capability is a great feature."
"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."
"Does a thorough job of examining email and URLs for malicious content."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is its spam filter."
"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."
"We use Microsoft Defender for its ability to integrate with existing business technologies, which is beneficial for protecting business areas."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 facilitates efficient management and updates through the cloud. We do not have to worry about incompatibilities. It just works."
"A stable solution."
"Ability to create your own content-filtering policies with relative ease."
"Mimecast certainly helped my customers reduce phishing emails."
"The setup was easy."
"The solution offers good technical support."
"We like the content filtering and secure messaging features."
"We like Mimecast's spam filtering. The email signature feature is also a big plus for our users."
"It does a good job for us, and its admin console is easy to use."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The piece that is most valuable from the Mimecast standpoint will be the sandboxing feature."
 

Cons

"Configuration at the mid-level could be improved for the support team."
"We need to be able to whitelist data at the backend."
"One area for improvement is integration. For example, when it comes to external SaaS platforms, we were not able to get a lot of information on integrations with such apps for security and authentication."
"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."
"We need a separate license and we don't know how to get the license that is required."
"There is room for improvement in terms of reporting."
"Microsoft needs to broaden its global support presence by establishing teams of subject-matter experts in all regions."
"Microsoft wants its well-paying customers to finish testing some of its half-baked products, find bugs, and report bugs back to Microsoft's team, which is a little frustrating for those who have to manage it and roll it up to thousands of people across the organization."
"FTP server and TRUST Manager functionality."
"Malware needs improvement."
"We have subscribed to an archival service, and yet, when we have to get our data out, we have to pay a fee to get our own data. They charge an extraction fee."
"Mimecast need to ensure that the body text format is correctly handled and that images are properly embedded in the body text."
"The filtering needs more flexibility."
"External security features need improvement."
"The tool can be challenging because it relies on rule-based configurations, especially for addressing impersonation threats. This approach requires setting up numerous rules to ensure filtering. It should work based on behavior-based analytics."
"While it's quick and easy, the initial setup could be more user-friendly."
"The detection rates are an area for improvement."
"The solution should include more AI features instead of Mimecast's more general static configuration tooling."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."
"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
"The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users."
"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"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 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."
Information not available
"It's an expensive solution."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the pricing a ten."
"Compared to the other solutions in the market, Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection's pricing is fine."
"The product price is moderate. I rate the pricing a five out of ten."
"We pay monthly fees to our provider."
"The solution is expensive."
"For what it is, the product is overpriced."
"There are additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
13%
Construction Company
5%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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.
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What do you like most about Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection?
The interface of this solution is very easy to navigate and user-friendly. There is no delivery in email and other co...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection?
The pricing is higher for Mimecast, particularly for the Indian market, where it is considered expensive.
What needs improvement with Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection?
There is nothing that notably stands out in need of improvement at present.
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
No data available
Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Information Not Available
Azizi Developments, Affinity Credit Union, Aftercare, Al Abbar Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cisco, Proofpoint and others in Email Security. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.