Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform comparison

Microsoft and Zscaler are both solutions in the Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) category. Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.9, while Zscaler is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.4. Additionally, 94% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Zscaler users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 7, 2024

Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform are security solutions competing in the organizational protection category. Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform seems to have the upper hand due to its superior features despite its higher cost.

Features:Microsoft Defender for Cloud provides seamless integration with Azure services, extensive threat analytics capabilities, and comprehensive security management. Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform delivers secure internet access, consistent security policies for a distributed workforce, and an innovative zero trust approach.

Room for Improvement:Microsoft Defender for Cloud users suggest enhancing threat detection speed, improving multi-cloud support, and expanding analytics capabilities. Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform users point to the need for enhanced mobile support, quicker incident response times, and better integration with certain service providers.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Microsoft Defender for Cloud offers straightforward deployment and receives favorable customer service feedback. Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform can be complex to deploy but is known for robust customer service and effective post-deployment support.

Pricing and ROI:Microsoft Defender for Cloud is noted for reasonable setup costs and solid ROI, appealing to budget-conscious organizations. Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform, though seen as premium-priced, provides exceptional ROI due to its extensive security benefits, which justify the investment over the long term.

To learn more, read our detailed Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) Report (Updated: September 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)

September 2024

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Categories and Ranking

SentinelOne Singularity Clo...

Featured Reviews

Andrew W

VP - Information Technology at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees

Aug 29, 2024

Tells us about vulnerabilities as well as their impact and helps to focus on real issues

Looking at all the different pieces, it has got everything we need. Some of the pieces we do not even use. For example, we do not have Kubernetes Security. We are not running any K8 clusters, so it is good for us. Overall, we find the solution to be fantastic. There can be additional education components. This may not be truly fair to them because of what the product is going for, but it would be great to see additional education for compliance. It is not a criticism of the tool per se, but anything to help non-development resources understand some of the complexities of the cloud is always appreciated. Any additional educational resources are always helpful for security teams, especially those without a development background.

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Anurag Awasthi

Senior Consultant at HCL

Oct 26, 2022

Offers excellent firewall management and visibility into threats in a stable, integrated security suite

The solution's robust security posture is the most valuable feature. We have a lot of firewalls, and we can manage them in the solution through the firewall manager. We can set up an Azure firewall and centralize the management policy. The solution provides excellent visibility into threats, and it's a cloud-based integrated solution, so we don't have to worry about any third-party products or services. Microsoft provides so many options, and that's great. Defender for Cloud generates reports we can use as an assessment, as it allows us to see the services in our environment and our points of highest risk. The solution's threat intelligence helps us prepare for threats before they hit and take proactive steps, which is very useful for analysis.

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Vikram Srirama.

Deputy General Manager at Sagility

Oct 4, 2023

A VPN alternative that delivers a zero trust model

The primary use cases for the Zscaler include secure channel access for applications, private file service access, and remote connectivity to the active directory. These are the top three essential functionalities provided by Zscaler Previously, we utilized HubSpot, which required connecting to…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"SentinelOne stands out with its responsiveness to feature requests for Singularity Cloud Security."

"We're monitoring several cloud accounts with Singularity. It is convenient to identify issues or security failures in any account. It's nice to have all the details we need to solve these issues."

"The UI is responsive and user-friendly."

"PingSafe offers comprehensive security posture management."

"The user interface is well-designed and easy to navigate."

"It integrates very well. We sell different products from different vendors. We know that the SentinelOne Singularity platform can be integrated with several different solutions from different vendors."

"The most valuable features are automated threat response, AI detection, and static and dynamic detection."

"We use the infrastructure as code scanning, which is good."

More SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security pros

"When you have commissioned Defender, you have these things visible already on your dashboard. This gives the efficiency to the people to do their actual work rather than bothering about the email, sorting out the email, or looking at it through an ITSM solution, whey they have to look at the description and use cases. Efficiency increases with this optimized, ready-made solution since you don't need to invest in something externally. You can start using the dashboard and auditing capability provided from day one. Thus, you have fewer costs with a more optimized, easier-to-use solution, providing operational efficiency for your team."

"Microsoft Defender has a lot of features including regulatory compliance and attaching workbooks but the most valuable is the recommendations it provides for each and every resource when we open Microsoft Defender."

"The security policy is the most valuable feature for us. We can go into the environment settings and attach any globally recognized framework like ISO or any benchmark."

"It is very intuitive when it comes to policy administration, alerts and notifications, and ease of setting up roles at different hierarchies. It has also been good in terms of the network technology maps. It provides a good overview, but it also depends on the complexity of your network."

"Most importantly, it's an integrated solution. We not only have Defender for Cloud, but we also have Defender for Endpoint, Defender for Office 365, and Defender for Identity. It's an integrated, holistic solution."

"It works seamlessly on the Azure platform because it's a Microsoft app. Its setup is similar, so if you already have a Microsoft account, it just flows into it."

"The most valuable features are ransomware protection and access controls. The solution has helped us secure some folders on our systems from unauthorized modifications."

"The security alerts and correlated alerts are most valuable. It correlates the logs and gives us correlated alerts, which can be fed into any security information and event management (SIEM) tool. It is an analyzed correlation tool for monitoring security. It gives us alerts when there is any kind of unauthorized access, or when there is any malfunctioning in multifactor authentication (MFA). If our Azure is connected with Azure Security Center, we get to know what types of authentication are happening in our infra."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud pros

"Its impressive scalability allows the combination of multiple dictionaries and using them as one engine, resulting in narrower data loss gaps."

"The product’s most valuable features are inbound and outbound scanning and API control."

"I like the web filtering capabilities."

"I find all Zscaler Private Access features valuable because each replaces flawed technologies, such as EPAs being replacements for VPN and PR as a replacement for PAM, so I can't mention only one valuable feature. Overall, Zscaler Private Access is a good solution."

"Zscaler Private Access is a platform that eliminates the complexity of VPN configuration."

"The solution is the best for storage."

"Yes, it is very stable. I have never seen it go down, not once."

"It is easy to use."

More Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform pros

Cons

"It would be really helpful if the solution improves its agent deployment process."

"The could improve their mean time to detect."

"The Kubernetes scanning on the Oracle Cloud needs to be improved. It's on the roadmap. AWS has this capability, but it's unavailable for Oracle Cloud."

"We've found a lot of false positives."

"SentinelOne currently lacks a break glass account feature, which is critical for implementing Single Sign-On."

"The alerting system of the product is an area that I look at and sometimes get confused about. I feel the alerting feature needs improvement."

"With Cloud Native Security, we can't selectively enable or disable alerts based on our specific use case."

"I request that SentinelOne investigate this false positive, as SentinelOne has a higher false positive rate than other XDR solutions."

More SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security cons

"As an analyst, there is no way to configure or create a playbook to automate the process of flagging suspicious domains."

"The product was a bit complex to set up earlier, however, it is a bit streamlined now."

"Consistency is the area where the most improvement is needed. For example, there are some areas where the UI is not uniform across the board."

"The documentation could be much clearer."

"The solution could extend its capabilities to other cloud providers. Right now, if you want to monitor a virtual machine on another cloud, you can do that. However, this cannot be done with other cloud platform services. I hope once that is available then Defender for Cloud will be a unified solution for all cloud platform services."

"I would like to see better automation when it comes to pushing out security features to the recommendations, and better documentation on the step-by-step procedures for enabling certain features."

"Another thing that could be improved was that they could recommend processes on how to react to alerts, or recommend best practices based on how other organizations do things if they receive an alert about XYZ."

"Azure's system could be more on point like AWS support. For example, if I have an issue with AWS, I create a support ticket, then I get a call or a message. With Azure support, you raise a ticket, and somebody calls back depending on their availability and the priority, which might not align with your business priority."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud cons

"On the improvement side, when we bypass certain internet traffic types, it's currently recommended to have a one-click option, but audio and video aren't always supported. Thus, we need to bypass that kind of traffic. So, it is an area of improvement."

"The connectivity monitoring part should be included in the core license without any extra charges."

"An area for improvement would be the ease of configuration."

"The granularity in blocking is not sufficient, as new domains are automatically blocked for 30 days without further information."

"We faced certain migration and implementation challenges in executing the tasks, so I would suggest improvement related to the stability of the solution."

"The customers would benefit from more robust documentation and conversations around configurations, as it is slightly complex."

"The pre-defined dictionaries could be improved."

"You won't find anything that can help you with the configuration part and other areas related to the product if you search for proper or exact details of Zscaler Cloud DLP online in very easy language."

More Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is based on modules, which was ideal for us."

"PingSafe is less expensive than other options."

"Singularity Cloud Workload Security's pricing is good."

"The tool is cost-effective."

"It was reasonable pricing for me."

"Singularity Cloud Workload Security's licensing and price were cheaper than the other solutions we looked at."

"As a partner, we receive a discount on the licenses."

"PingSafe is cost-effective for the amount of infrastructure we have. It's reasonable for what they offer compared to our previous solution. It's at least 25 percent to 30 percent less."

More SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security pricing and cost advice

"This is a worldwide service and depending on the country, there will be different prices."

"Azure Defender is definitely pricey, but their competitors cost about the same. For example, a Palo Alto solution is the same price per endpoint, but the ground strikes cost a bit more than Azure Defender. Still, it's pricey for a company like ours. Maybe well-established organizations can afford it, but it might be too costly for a startup."

"I rate Microsoft Defender a three out of ten for affordability. The price could be a little lower."

"I am not involved much with the pricing but the bundle offering is good."

"The cost of the license is based on the subscriptions that you have."

"Its pricing is a little bit high in terms of Azure Security Center, but the good thing is that we don't need to maintain and deploy it. So, while the pricing is high, it is native to Azure which is why we prefer using this tool."

"I am not involved in this area. However, I believe its price is okay because even small customers are using Azure Security Center. I don't think it is very expensive."

"We are using the free version of the Azure Security Center."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud pricing and cost advice

"Zscaler Cloud DLP is moderately priced. We pay around 2 million rupees per year."

"The product is a little more expensive than other tools."

"The product has reasonable pricing."

"Zscaler CASB is an expensive solution."

"The pricing is quite high, especially when it comes to the gateway."

"The pricing is expensive and on the higher end. Honestly, in my opinion, it is not worth the price."

"Zscaler DLP solution is expensive, with a fixed pricing structure that is billed annually and monthly. There are no additional costs for licenses."

"Zscaler Private Access can be an expensive solution, depending on the license type you will purchase."

More Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Financial Services Firm

16%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about PingSafe?

The dashboard gives me an overview of all the things happening in the product, making it one of the tool's best featu...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PingSafe?

I am personally not taking care of the pricing part, but when we moved from CrowdStrike to Singularity Cloud Native S...

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What needs improvement with PingSafe?

They can provide some kind of alert when a new type of risk is there. There can be a specific type of alert showing t...

See all answers

How is Prisma Cloud vs Azure Security Center for security?

Azure Security Center is very easy to use, integrates well, and gives very good visibility on what is happening acros...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

The entire Defender Suite is tightly coupled, integrated, and collaborative.

See all answers

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

The solution is subscription-based, and while it is generally affordable, there are often hidden costs. The overall p...

See all answers

What is the better solution - Prisma Access or Zscaler Private Access?

We looked into Prisma Access before choosing Zscaler Private Access (ZPA). Palo Alto’s Prisma Access is a secure ac...

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What do you like most about Zscaler SASE?

The most valuable features of Zscaler Private Access are reliability, scalability, and availability.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler SASE?

Zscaler SASE is quite expensive compared to other solutions. The price is not fixed and it does not include all of th...

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Comparisons

Wiz vs SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security

Compared 33% of the time

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security

Compared 24% of the time

AWS GuardDuty vs SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security

Compared 8% of the time

Orca Security vs SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security

Compared 7% of the time

Sysdig Secure vs SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security

Compared 3% of the time

More SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security Competitors

AWS GuardDuty vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 21% of the time

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 13% of the time

Wiz vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Defender XDR vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Competitors

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention vs Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform

Compared 9% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform

Compared 8% of the time

Axis Security vs Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform

Compared 6% of the time

Wiz vs Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform

Compared 5% of the time

More Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security

September 2024

SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security report

Download SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

September 2024

Download Microsoft Defender for Cloud product report

Buyer's Guide

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform

September 2024

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform report

Download Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform product report

Also Known As

PingSafe

Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender

Zscaler SASE, Zscaler DLP, Zscaler CASB, Zscaler CSPM, Zscaler Browser Isolation, Zscaler Posture Control

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SentinelOne

Microsoft

Zscaler

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

SentinelOne

Microsoft

Demo not available

Zscaler

Overview

SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security protects cloud workloads, offering advanced threat detection and automated response. It integrates seamlessly with cloud environments and secures containerized applications and virtual machines against vulnerabilities.

SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security is renowned for its efficiency in mitigating threats in real-time. The platform integrates effortlessly with existing cloud environments, ensuring robust cloud security management with minimal manual intervention. Securing containerized applications and virtual machines, it excels in threat intelligence and endpoint protection. However, improvements are needed in performance during high workload periods, and more integrations with third-party tools and better documentation would be beneficial. Users often find the installation process complex, support response times slow, and the dashboard's navigation unintuitive.

What are the key features of SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security?

Real-time Threat Detection: Identifies and mitigates threats as they occur.
Automated Response: Automatically responds to threats to minimize impact.
Ease of Deployment: Simple setup process with scalable options.
Machine Learning Insights: AI-driven insights enhance threat prevention.
Seamless Integration: Integrates with cloud environments for unified security management.

What are the primary benefits or ROI to expect from SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security?

Enhanced Threat Mitigation: Improved security against real-time threats.
Reduced Manual Intervention: Automated processes save time and resources.
Scalability: Easily adapts to growing security requirements.
Centralized Management: Manage security across platforms from a single console.
Advanced Threat Intelligence: Provides in-depth analysis and protection.

In specific industries, SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security is implemented to safeguard critical data and infrastructure. Organizations in finance, healthcare, and technology depend on its real-time threat detection and automated response to protect sensitive information. Its ability to secure containerized applications and virtual machines is particularly valuable in dynamic environments where rapid scaling is necessary.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a comprehensive security solution that provides advanced threat protection for cloud workloads. It offers real-time visibility into the security posture of cloud environments, enabling organizations to quickly identify and respond to potential threats. With its advanced machine learning capabilities, Microsoft Defender for Cloud can detect and block sophisticated attacks, including zero-day exploits and fileless malware.

The solution also provides automated remediation capabilities, allowing security teams to quickly and easily respond to security incidents. With Microsoft Defender for Cloud, organizations can ensure the security and compliance of their cloud workloads, while reducing the burden on their security teams.

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform acts as a VPN alternative for secure remote access, cloud protection, and zero-trust strategies. It enables secure data transmission, supports remote work, and enhances compliance through a cloud-based architecture, offering improved performance and simplified management.

Designed for organizations seeking secure application access and robust data protection, Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform delivers a comprehensive solution through seamless VPN connectivity, data loss prevention, and SSL inspection. Its cloud integration ensures scalability and reliability, while its interface provides intuitive management. Companies benefit from automatic secure access, minimizing constant authentication needs, and safeguarding sensitive data. The platform allows easy deployment and integration with diverse identity providers, granting granular control for access and application segmentation. Despite powerful capabilities, enhancements are needed in speed, bandwidth, and legacy support, with users noting interface and configuration challenges.

What are the key features of Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform?

Seamless VPN Connectivity: Provides automatic secure access without repetitive authentication.
Strong Security Measures: Offers DLP and SSL inspection for data protection.
Cloud Integration: Ensures scalability and performance optimization.
Granular Access Control: Manages access with application-specific segmentation.

What benefits should companies look for in reviews when evaluating this platform?

Performance: Enhanced connectivity and reduced latency.
Data Protection: Comprehensive DLP and encryption capabilities.
Scalability: Efficient handling of growing organizational demands.
Ease of Deployment: Quick setup and integration with IDPs.

In specific industries, Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange has been implemented to enhance security protocols in fields like finance and healthcare. By prioritizing data protection and compliance, it assists companies in safely managing sensitive information and meeting regulatory requirements. Organizations leverage its features to ensure secure operations across remote and cloud environments, adapting to industry-specific needs with customizable access and security controls.

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is trusted by companies such as ASOS, Vatenfall, SWC Technology Partners, and more.

Siemens, AutoNation, GE, NOV

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)

September 2024

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