We are consultants and we have customers using Azure Defender for the protection of their businesses. Many of our customers are in the financial industry.
Founder & CEO at Cloud Steroids
Effective ransomware feature, useful file system protection, and stable
Pros and Cons
- "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 solution could improve by being more intuitive and easier to use requiring less technical knowledge."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are ransomware protection and access controls. The solution has helped us secure some folders on our systems from unauthorized modifications.
This solution has been very useful for securing core funds and preventing them from being hijacked by any application or spyware for our banking customers. People can be susceptible to scams easily because they are not aware of the current threat trends. We are able to scan for threats which have helped us limit the risks in the future.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by being more intuitive and easier to use requiring less technical knowledge.
In a future release, the solution could improve by providing more automation and clarity in the autoanalysis. When we provide our customers with a Microsoft solution for security, Microsoft has to go beyond the basic expectations to impress the customers.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Azure Defender for approximately one year.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Azure Defender is scalable. We have not found any issue.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support has been responsive. However, we need to be connected to the right level of support. For example, if you are a customer or if you purchased this solution as part of a certification, your level of satisfaction for support will depend on the provider you purchased it from. Microsoft will not be the one doing support for you. If you do not have premier support with Microsoft, as a cloud provider, you will have to support your customers when they are in need. Without Microsoft's premier support you only have break-fix support and if there is a major issue you will not have the help to understand what is happening, or how to prevent it from happening in the future.
How was the initial setup?
The implementation can be difficult if there is not any prior training. There is a lot of elements that have to be understood.
What about the implementation team?
We have an advisor that provides us with information to help us control and configure the solution. Additionally, they have assisted us with automation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the solution is good for the features we receive and there is an additional cost for Microsoft premier support. However, some of my potential customers have found it to be expensive and have gone on to choose another solution. Additionally, if the customer does not take the full package from Azure Defender it makes it difficult for us to manage the solution for them.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Azure Defender an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner

Cyber Security Analyst at a security firm with 11-50 employees
Good security manager dashboard, that is stable, easy to use, and easy to deploy
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of this solution are the vulnerability assessments and the glossary of compliance."
- "As an analyst, there is no way to configure or create a playbook to automate the process of flagging suspicious domains."
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of this solution are the vulnerability assessments and the glossary of compliance.
What needs improvement?
As an analyst, there is no way to configure or create a playbook to automate the process of flagging suspicious domains. Azure Defender does not have this capability and that is one of the features that is very crucial.
When we receive an alert on suspicious domains, we have to do it manually. We go to VirusTotal, or AlienVault to confirm. It would be useful to have it done automatically.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Azure Defender for three months.
We are using the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution. We have not had any issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have not paid for Azure technical support. We have not contacted technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have not worked with any other solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. It was easy, very easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Azure Defender is a bit pricey. The price could be lower.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We are also researching Darktrace. We wanted to see the capabilities that it offers.
What other advice do I have?
Azure Defender and Azure Resource Manager are all a part of Microsoft Azure. We use all of them.
This solution has the best security center, security manager dashboard that I have ever seen. I would recommend using this solution. It has everything in one place, and it's easy to configure and easy to deploy.
I would rate Azure Defender an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Software Engineer at JKIT
It helps to understand the infections and issues you are facing
Pros and Cons
- "It's quite a good product. It helps to understand the infections and issues you are facing."
- "The initial setup is not actually so complex but it feels complex because there are many add-ons. There are many options and my team needs to be aware of all of these changes happening on the backend which is a distraction."
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Azure Security Center for one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I don't know what the issue is but when we do the agent deployment, sometimes it works, and sometimes it fails and we need to go inside the virtual machine and manually install the agent. That's been a bug that we've experienced.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are 5000 users.
I do the maintenance. We have 35 engineers who use it.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their support is good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not actually so complex but it feels complex because there are many add-ons. There are many options and my team needs to be aware of all of these changes happening on the backend which is a distraction.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Security Center an eight out of ten. Not a ten because of the bugs that we have experienced and because of the cost.
It's quite a good product. It helps to understand the infections and issues you are facing.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Cyber & Cloud Security Leader at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Good integration, scalability, and support
Pros and Cons
- "It takes very little effort to integrate it. It also gives very good visibility into what exactly is happening."
- "From a compliance standpoint, they can include some more metrics and some specific compliances such as GDPR."
What is most valuable?
It takes very little effort to integrate it. It also gives very good visibility into what exactly is happening.
What needs improvement?
From a compliance standpoint, they can include some more metrics and some specific compliances such as GDPR.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Azure Security Center for one and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have seen a few big downtimes in Azure where Office 365 was disconnected. I do see challenges in terms of stability, not just for Azure Security Center but also for Azure.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft being a big provider, Azure Security Center is quite scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
Microsoft's community support and technical support is very good. They are very quick in their response and very thorough.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In my previous organization, I have used Palo Alto. It is a pretty cool vendor-agnostic tool.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It takes a few hours.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it ourselves. We have ten members to deploy and manage it, and they all are admins. We use it monthly or weekly for reports, and we also monitor it for alerts.
We are using the latest version, and it is a part of Azure. We keep on updating to the latest version.
What other advice do I have?
I would highly recommend this solution. I would rate Azure Security Center an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner

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