Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Perception Point Advanced Email Security comparison

Microsoft and Perception Point are both solutions in the Email Security category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.4, while Perception Point is ranked #15 with an average rating of 9.2. Microsoft holds a 13.7% mindshare in Email Security, compared to Perception Point’s 2.3% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Perception Point users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Defender for Offi...

Read 47 Microsoft Defender for Office 365 reviews

14,854 Views
11,801 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Perception Point Advanced E...

Read 22 Perception Point Advanced Email Security reviews

2,227 Views
1,328 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender for Offi...

Perception Point Advanced E...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and Perception Point Advanced Email Security compete in the email security category. Based on feature comparison, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 seems to have the upper hand due to its robust integration and comprehensive threat protection.

Features: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 provides anti-phishing, malware protection, and Safe Links, ensuring cross-environment protection. Its data loss prevention and threat visibility features integrate seamlessly with other Microsoft products for a smooth user experience. Perception Point's strength lies in its high detection rate and quick scanning, particularly in handling impersonation and malicious email analysis. Its API-based implementation facilitates easy deployment without the need for MX record changes.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 could benefit from enhanced cross-platform support, more detailed reporting, and a more user-friendly interface. Improved threat visibility and a simpler pricing model have also been suggested. Perception Point needs to enable better alert customization and real-time notifications and expand its threat intelligence for deeper analysis while addressing some false positives and improving anti-spam and customer engagement.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 supports hybrid, public, and private clouds, providing flexibility, though documentation can sometimes feel overwhelming. It receives mixed reviews on technical support. Perception Point operates mainly on the public cloud and is praised for its simple deployment and responsive technical support, though some users seek more direct control and better documentation integration.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is bundled with E3 or E5 subscriptions, perceived as expensive but offering strong ROI due to its comprehensive protection and integration within the Microsoft ecosystem. Perception Point is priced per email with additional scan costs, considered reasonably priced and offering flexible licensing for SMBs, aligning well with customer budgets and needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Perception Point Advanced Email Security Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Perception Point Advanced Email Security

January 2025

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Helped 838,640 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

Microsoft Defender for Offi...

Ranking in Email Security

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (11th)

Perception Point Advanced E...

Ranking in Email Security

15th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Internet Security (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 13.7%, down from 20.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Perception Point Advanced Email Security is 2.3%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Security

Featured Reviews

Tolu Omolaja

Head of Department of Network Communications at Eko electricity

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.

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Jijin Joseph

Technical Director at Channelnext

Gives in-depth analysis reports to end users for any malicious content found in emails

Our users would like the solution to scan outgoing emails. So, if my system is compromised, and I have malicious content in my system, then there is a possibility that I send malicious email to my colleague. There is a dependency on AWS cloud.This means if the cloud service is down, which may impact the perception point's email delivery.So it would be great if there is any HA for the solution. I would like a user-friendly configuration, like APIs. This solution is API-friendly configuration by following the steps provided. It would be great if it could be automate it, like the Avanan.Also, it would be good if Perception Point Advanced Email Security could have an MSP model. During the early stages of working with this solution, there were some constraints and issues.

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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

"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 risk level notifications are most valuable. We get to know what kind of intrusion or attack is there, and we can fix a problem on time."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a stable solution."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365's most valuable feature is its performance."

"I like its investigation capabilities, as that is what is most important to me. It is fairly simple with a user-friendly interface."

"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 technical support is good and quick to resolve issues."

"I would say that 90% of the spam and phishing attack emails get blocked right off the bat."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pros

"One of the most valuable features is the service provided by the incident response team. There have been cases where we have suspected that emails were fraudulent or something was suspicious. In those cases, we immediately contacted the incident response team through the platform, and we had a response in less than a minute."

"It really works well on SharePoint when you upload a file or save a file. Advanced Email Security scans if it is malicious and identifies issues. It can do some forensics on its console, which is nice."

"The most valuable feature I have found is the speed of scanning emails."

"We can use it to perform detection and analysis of emails. For any malicious content found in emails, it gives in-depth analysis reports to end users. If you log into the console, you can see in-depth detection and how it happens."

"I see from time to time that Perception Point is being proactive. They approach us, and say, "Can you check this, and this?" So, it does seem that they are an extension of my incident response."

"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"The most valuable features of the solution are the ones that are related to finding impersonation attacks and detecting attempts to steal credentials. In scenarios where attackers get you to follow URLs to a malicious site that looks similar to a good site, and then ask for the user credentials to try to steal them, it is very useful."

"Another feature that we really like, one that was introduced a few months back, is the way it categorizes threats into groups, such as Emotet, Qbot, Formbook, and the like. It's not only telling you that something is malware, but it's also giving you insight into what kind of malware... You understand what you are facing and whether you are a target for a specific group of threats..."

More Perception Point Advanced Email Security pros

Cons

"There is room for improvement in terms of reporting."

"The GUI is sometimes slow to fetch the device report and could be improved."

"The visibility for the weaknesses in the system and unauthorized access can be improved."

"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."

"This product's effectiveness could be improved, in terms of detecting unwanted spam or even malware between the emails, compared to other products."

"Microsoft security solutions work as expected. They are constantly updating the solutions to make them better. At the same time, the changes can impact a customer's environment, and we need to adjust settings. Sometimes we aren't aware of the changes, and nothing is pushed from the backend automatically."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 must improve the overall management style, including the GUI. It also needs to change the filters so that it is easy to whitelist and blacklist data."

"Microsoft sometimes has downtime, and we'll get several incidents coming in back to back. We have a huge backlog of notifications, many of which may be false positives. However, there might be serious alerts, so we can't risk dismissing all of them at once."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 cons

"I think the interface could be improved in the next release."

"Its websites for analysis need to be a bit more approachable for people who are less technical. Technically, it is a fire-and-forget solution. So, you want to be able to implement this solution for a lot of companies who don't have security operation teams (SOCs) behind them. You need to have something where a secretary can jump onto this console and release whatever she needs to release. Therefore, it needs to be written in a very specific non-technical language."

"There is still room for improvement with BEC. There is more work to be done by Perception Point on machine learning and neuro language as well. BEC is very difficult if you don't have a computer language looking into the content of the email and trying to make a determination through that. With BEC you often don't have an attachment or a URL."

"To improve the solution, maybe a portal for end users to consult their emails would be helpful. The end user could access the portal and see their emails or events. They could also refresh the names."

"There is room for improvement in terms of adding the DLP (Data Loss Prevention) solution, which would be a good option for Perception Point to look into."

"They could provide additional data loss prevention features as we encounter different kinds of attacks in today's scenario."

"From a forensics point of view, it could improve a bit more from a threat intelligence aspect. So, if I find a malicious email, they could have more investigations about sources, headers, where it comes from, if they have seen it in other campaigns before, etc. I would like a little bit more from a threat intelligence point of view so I can understand who else might be affected and attacked as well as the vectors of attack."

"They just don't do a good job of promoting themselves. They seem like a typical busy IT company who is just working on fixing problems and making technology better. However, they are not fantastic at marketing themselves to existing partners, which is not a bad thing. It is just something for improvement."

More Perception Point Advanced Email Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."

"The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users."

"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."

"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."

"The product is expensive."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."

"Defender for 365 comes in various plans and licenses, along with other Microsoft security solutions. Purchasing this kind of package or security bundle gives good value for money, and that's what I recommend."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pricing and cost advice

"The price of the solution is high."

"We were able to get reasonable pricing that matches the ROI we want, so I think that it is the correct price point."

"When compared to other solutions on the market, it is relatively fair."

"The solution is neither cheap nor expensive. There are no additional costs to the standard license."

"They are not the most expensive vendor. There are much more expensive vendors. They are not cheap, but they are not the most expensive. They are somewhere in the middle."

"It has very reasonable pricing. Normally, the end user is paying. Perception Point is already in the Amazon marketplace, so we cannot sell it as a distribution partner. For example, we cannot take more than that margin of what they offer in the marketplace. Whatever the end user is paying, it is definitely worth it and it is not that high."

"If a user only wants protection for email, then the price of the product is okay, but if they opt for the collaboration options offered by the product, then it becomes a little expensive."

"The pricing compared to the value Perception Point brings is super-competitive. They're not the cheapest in the market, but the value and the quality of the product are superior to anything else in the market, so we don't mind paying more for it."

More Perception Point Advanced Email Security pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Retailer

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 various email campaigns, pinpointing where they emanate from, and identifying the indi...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What do you like most about Perception Point Advanced Email Security?

The most valuable feature is the technical support services.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Perception Point Advanced Email Security?

In Brazil, the dollar price affects the cost. Perception Point Advanced Email Security is about 50 percent less expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Perception Point Advanced Email Security?

To improve the solution, maybe a portal for end users to consult their emails would be helpful. The end user could access the portal and see their emails or events. They could also refresh the names.

See all answers

Comparisons

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 14% of the time

Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 5% of the time

Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 4% of the time

Mimecast Email Security vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Competitors

Avanan vs Perception Point Advanced Email Security

Compared 16% of the time

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Perception Point Advanced Email Security

Compared 11% of the time

IRONSCALES vs Perception Point Advanced Email Security

Compared 11% of the time

Fortinet FortiMail Cloud vs Perception Point Advanced Email Security

Compared 9% of the time

Darktrace vs Perception Point Advanced Email Security

Compared 8% of the time

More Perception Point Advanced Email Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

February 2025

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 report

Download Microsoft Defender for Office 365 product report

Buyer's Guide

Perception Point Advanced Email Security

February 2025

Perception Point Advanced Email Security report

Download Perception Point Advanced Email Security product report

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365

No data available

Overview

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect organizations against advanced threats in their email, collaboration, and productivity environments. It combines the power of Microsoft's threat intelligence, machine learning, and behavioral analytics to provide real-time protection against phishing, malware, ransomware, and other malicious attacks.

With Microsoft Defender for Office 365, organizations can safeguard their email communication by detecting and blocking malicious links, attachments, and unsafe email content. It employs advanced anti-phishing capabilities to identify and prevent sophisticated phishing attacks that attempt to steal sensitive information or compromise user credentials.

This solution also offers robust protection against malware and ransomware. It leverages machine learning algorithms to analyze email attachments and URLs in real-time, identifying and blocking malicious content before it reaches users' inboxes. Additionally, it provides advanced threat-hunting capabilities, allowing security teams to proactively investigate and respond to potential threats.

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 goes beyond email protection and extends its security features to other collaboration tools like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. It scans files and documents stored in these platforms, ensuring that they are free from malware and other malicious content. It also provides visibility into user activities, helping organizations detect and mitigate insider threats.

Furthermore, this solution offers rich reporting and analytics capabilities, providing organizations with insights into their security posture and threat landscape. It enables security administrators to monitor and manage security incidents, track trends, and take proactive measures to enhance their overall security posture.

Microsoft

Perception Point Advanced Email Security is a comprehensive solution designed to protect organizations from advanced email threats. Leveraging cutting-edge technology, it offers multi-layered defense mechanisms to detect and block sophisticated attacks such as phishing, malware, and ransomware.

With its advanced threat intelligence capabilities, it can identify and neutralize zero-day threats in real-time. The solution also provides robust data loss prevention features, ensuring sensitive information remains secure. Its user-friendly interface allows for easy management and monitoring of email security, while its seamless integration with existing email platforms ensures a hassle-free deployment process.

Perception Point Advanced Email Security is a reliable and efficient solution that safeguards organizations against the ever-evolving landscape of email-based threats.

Perception Point

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Perception Point Advanced Email Security

January 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Perception Point Advanced Email Security

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