One of my largest customers deployed Defender for Endpoint, but they also wanted Defender XDR to get a specific feature. Defender XDR is included in the E5 license, but it's a bit too expensive. Our customer wanted Defender XDR's file integrity monitor tools for compliance. My client is using Defender with Sentinel, but I'm unsure how much they use it.
It isn't customizable enough and not all of the solutions are fully integrated
Pros and Cons
- "My clients like Defender's file integrity monitoring. They're monitoring Windows and Linux system files."
- "My client would like the solution to be more customizable without using code. You can only build on the default console, but we're not allowed to change it."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
My clients like Defender's file integrity monitoring. They're monitoring Windows and Linux system files.
What needs improvement?
My client would like the solution to be more customizable without using code. You can only build on the default console, but we're not allowed to change it.
We have a similar tool to Defender's file integrity monitoring. Under the VMware VM properties, there is a change-checking tool, and it will tell us if the extension is in a different location. You can configure checking and do the monitoring. When I log into Defender's file integrity portal, I cannot see that this machine was enabled. It's the same agent and extension.
It's confusing because I don't know how to tell the customer they don't need to pay $15 per month because you already can enable the extension in VMware. Under the Defender account, it all seems like it's high code, and we cannot change it. Every customer has requirements for us to customize those things.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Defender XDR for about a year.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender XDR
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Defender XDR. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
880,954 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Defender XDR is an enterprise-scale solution.
How are customer service and support?
I rate Microsoft support 4 out of 10.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
What other advice do I have?
I rate Defender XDR 3 out of 10. I don't think Defender XDR is ready to deploy in its current state. It has too many solutions inside, and they're not fully integrated.
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: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner/reseller
Chief Information Officer at a university with 501-1,000 employees
Robust security with seamless integration into the Microsoft ecosystem
Pros and Cons
- "Its most significant advantage lies in its affordability."
- "The management features could be improved, particularly in terms of better integration with Intune, Microsoft's cloud-based management solution."
What is our primary use case?
It is a universal security tool across our organization, catering to staff members using standard laptops and PCs. Currently, we employ an in-house solution built upon a smaller product from a Finnish company.
Although it integrates with Microsoft AD, our solution remains somewhat proprietary as we've independently implemented and tailored it to our specific needs.
We do not leverage the multi-tenant management capabilities of the solution. In our scenario, we operate as a single organization, allowing us to utilize a straightforward, single-setup approach.
How has it helped my organization?
The identity protection offered by the solution has proven highly effective for us because we developed it in-house. Crafting it ourselves has allowed us to seamlessly integrate all of our specifications with the solution within a relatively short timeframe.
The significance of using the identity and access management integrated into Microsoft 365 Defender cannot be overstated, as it is vital for the proper functioning of the product. While it is crucial, the available functionality might not be entirely sufficient. We have opted for our in-house solution to complement and address the additional requirements.
It empowers us to phase out the use of other security products.
What is most valuable?
Its most significant advantage lies in its affordability. Being an integral part of the Microsoft Stack, it comes with a cost-effective package. Especially for higher education, there's an appealing pricing structure.
What needs improvement?
The management features could be improved, particularly in terms of better integration with Intune, Microsoft's cloud-based management solution. Enhanced integration would contribute to a smoother user experience, and ease of use is a key aspect that could benefit from such improvements.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using it for approximately four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has demonstrated exceptional stability, with no concerns or complaints on my end.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It exhibits sufficient scalability for our specific needs.
How are customer service and support?
We utilize extended support for Microsoft's stability, and the quality is excellent.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Within our network, we incorporate Cisco products, utilizing various security features and functionalities offered by Cisco. For instance, our firewalls are implemented using Cisco technologies. This adds diversity to our security landscape, as Microsoft alone may not cover all our security needs.
What about the implementation team?
It has been implemented across various locations, spanning our three campuses and multiple departments. Maintenance is handled by a team of four people.
What was our ROI?
It didn't contribute to cost reduction. Our expenditure has maintained a consistent level, with little change over the years, aside from factors like inflation.
Using it has resulted in time savings for our security team. Currently, the team comprises approximately four individuals working with these technologies, equating to a total of four times thirty-seven hours per week.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It has consistently offered highly appealing academic pricing, with distinct rates for higher education and general educational purposes. This differential pricing is a significant factor and it influenced our choice to use Microsoft products.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate it nine 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: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender XDR
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Defender XDR. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
880,954 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior SOC Developer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Extends beyond Microsoft technologies, provides a centralized view, and reduces costs
Pros and Cons
- "The unified view of the threat landscape on a central dashboard is the most valuable feature."
- "The licensing is a nightmare and has room for improvement."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Defender XDR in our multi-tenant environment comprising Windows, Linux, and the Cloud.
We have Microsoft Defender deployed in a hybrid environment across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
How has it helped my organization?
Microsoft Defender XDR provides unified identity and access management. The identity protection the solution provides is good.
If we had to use a separate solution for identity and access management I believe the performance would be clunky.
Microsoft Defender XDR extends beyond just Microsoft technologies, encompassing a wider range of platforms and services. This broad coverage is a key strength of the solution.
Since implementing Microsoft Defender XDR, the centralized view and management console have been beneficial.
Microsoft Defender XDR limits the lateral movement of advanced attacks.
It integrated seamlessly into our SIEM environment so there are no disruptions to our security operations.
The ability to adapt to evolving threats is critical as the landscape is expanding daily.
The multi-tenant management capabilities for investigating and responding to threats across tenants are good.
We are enabled us to discontinue the use of other vulnerability management tools.
The reduction in the number of vulnerability management tools we use has helped reduce manual operations.
Microsoft Defender XDR has helped reduce our costs by ten percent.
Microsoft Defender XDR has helped save our security team between five and ten percent of their time.
What is most valuable?
The unified view of the threat landscape on a central dashboard is the most valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
The naming convention keeps changing and has room for improvement.
The licensing is a nightmare and has room for improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Defender XDR for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Defender XDR is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Defender XDR is a SaaS product so it is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is good.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used VMware Carbon Black and switched to Microsoft Defender for the multi-cloud environment support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial deployment is straightforward. We identify the critical assets and just deploy for those initially and then slowly roll out for the rest. Around five people were involved in the deployment.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation was completed in-house.
What was our ROI?
We have seen a return on investment.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Microsoft Defender XDR a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Sr enterprise compute and storage engineer at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Offers robust security coverage for diverse use cases while demonstrating high stability and support efficiency
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable aspect is undoubtedly the exploration capability"
- "It would be beneficial to have a more seamless experience with everything consolidated in one place, particularly when dealing with aspects related to the Exchange console."
What is our primary use case?
Our main use cases include securing critical university services and establishing a research tenant for researchers to store and manage their findings across both everyday machines and dedicated research spaces. It involves dealing with malware and managing server security through tags. Additionally, a significant portion of our work involves exploring and investigating emails using the Explorer tool. It is well-suited for addressing these scenarios and ensuring robust security measures.
How has it helped my organization?
It enables us to respond to incidents more swiftly, pinpointing root causes with greater speed. Retrieving emails is now a much smoother process compared to the previous method using Power Shell. With Explorer, it's a more straightforward and visually intuitive approach, eliminating the previous concerns associated with Query Drive and reducing any associated anxieties. It allowed us to phase out the use of other security products entirely. Initially, we managed this transition through SXM, and later migrated it to the online version of Defender. It has had a notable impact on the operations of our security team. We've had to reshape our procedures, particularly focusing on alerting. There has been a significant upskilling effort, shifting from the previous model where Cisco admins primarily dealt with alerts within SSC or through email.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable aspect is undoubtedly the exploration capability. Given that we are consistently engaged in exploration, constantly seeking reasons for message delivery issues and searching for malicious attachments, the Explorer feature stands out as the primary and most beneficial tool for our needs.
What needs improvement?
I'd like to see more integration with various components. While the ecosystem is quite impressive, there's a noticeable back-and-forth between the Defender console and the Exchange console. It would be beneficial to have a more seamless experience with everything consolidated in one place, particularly when dealing with aspects related to the Exchange console. Currently, we rely on a third-party service for the majority of our IAM needs. The data center extension of security coverage has proven to be highly significant for us. Given our extensive use of Linux and third-party applications, having the capability to monitor these aspects within the Defender console would be immensely valuable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is quite high. Despite various outages, we've experienced consistent reliability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is indeed very impressive. We can deploy resources globally with just a few clicks, and the use of Terraform to create VMs adds a fast and efficient dimension to the process. In terms of end-users, if we focus on mail and overall usage, we currently have around 105,000 users of VMs. Specifically in Azure, we're nearing the 100,000 mark with more migrations in progress, making the average user count approximately 100,000.
How are customer service and support?
Microsoft support has been performing well, promptly addressing any conflicts that arise. Our account manager is quick to respond and provides additional resources when needed. The frequent check-ins, with calls every hour, contribute to a positive experience. I would rate it eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial deployment was quite straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment process went smoothly, with check-ins and some policies to configure. Overall, it didn't feel cumbersome.
What was our ROI?
In the long term, there is potential for significant time savings for our security team. Although currently, many of us are investing time in upskilling and adapting to the new system, overall, I believe that as we become more familiar with it, there will be noticeable efficiency gains.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There has been a noticeable reduction in costs. We've managed to navigate it effectively through our enterprise agreement, and Microsoft's academic discounts have proven to be quite generous. The overall expense is significantly lower, approximately fifty percent less than what we would incur with a traditional enterprise license.
What other advice do I have?
Especially with an enterprise license, the transition is relatively low-risk. If you're currently using the old-school Defender SCCM, moving to the new system is not a challenging shift. It's worth picking a few machines, testing them out, and seeing if it suits your preferences. Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
System Administrator at a non-profit with 201-500 employees
Automatically helps mitigate attacks that could expand across our organization
Pros and Cons
- "The visibility into threats is also very impressive because Microsoft helps you predict things and provides analytics to help you really improve your security. And all of this technology works across the domain, so it is pretty helpful in terms of threat analytics."
- "Intrusion detection and prevention would be great to have with 365 Defender."
What is our primary use case?
I've been using it for endpoints and for Microsoft 365, along with Microsoft Defender for Identity. I use it to create policies for anti-spam, anti-malware, anti-phishing, as well as safe links.
I also use it for the security score, making sure that our company achieves a good security score across the organization.
How has it helped my organization?
It has helped us increase our rules and policies, protecting our users, information, and data.
When I deploy a policy for anti-spam or anti-phishing, the solution automatically helps us mitigate those kinds of attacks that could expand across the organization. The automation stops those attacks and emails and sends the emails to a secure place where the admins can accept or eliminate them.
It has also eliminated having to look at multiple dashboards, which not only makes things easier, but helps us detect, and see for ourselves, the threats that are happening across the organization.
In addition, the threat intelligence helps prepare us for potential threats, providing us with security steps to take based on what other experts have done, the steps and recommendations, to prevent those threats. It collects information from the website that Microsoft has where security experts provide information.
And with our endpoints, it has helped us save time because, before we installed Microsoft 365 Defender, we had an antivirus solution that took our time. In addition, by using Defender for Identity, we have been saving time with the password self-reset, because we no longer need IT members or administrators to help reset users' passwords. They can do it by themselves. And with Microsoft Defender for Cloud, we're no longer installing the software on their computers, so there are time-savings as a result.
And one of the greatest characteristics of 365 Defender is that it natively helps you coordinate, detect, and prevent threats, and it provides investigations across the organization's domain. And with the responses across the endpoints and various resources in the cloud, it has many sophisticated solutions integrated to protect against cyberattacks. It has absolutely helped us to save money because it is just one solution, rather than paying for multiple services at the same time.
What is most valuable?
The security score and the threat intelligence are really good features. I also like the Exchange message trace.
The visibility into threats is also very impressive because Microsoft helps you predict things and provides analytics to help you really improve your security. And all of this technology works across the domain, so it is pretty helpful in terms of threat analytics. It immediately detects and tells you what you can do, with recommendations.
The solution also indicates threats as high, medium, or low priority. When the priority is high, that is when I put all of my effort and knowledge into it, and focus on it, because it is valuable for the enterprise.
We also use the solution's role-based access control across the organization. Because, as a company, we work remotely, we make sure that our users have access to what they need and we better protect our company from intruders and cyberattacks.
What needs improvement?
Intrusion detection and prevention would be great to have with 365 Defender.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Microsoft 365 Defender for nearly a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability has been great so far.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's very scalable. That's one of the benefits of the cloud. You can scale or downsize it whenever you want.
We have many locations and departments around the world. I'm located in the Dominican Republic, but there are people in Europe and the United States.
How are customer service and support?
Their technical support is great because they mostly provide responses in less than 24 hours.
We were facing downtime with our Outlook email, and they told us what was happening with our data center. After they responded to us, we provided the information to the head administrators. After two hours, they restored our services.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
What other advice do I have?
The solution doesn't require any maintenance, as far as I have seen.
Between a single- and a multi-vendor security solution, it depends on whether you are using multiple technologies. Microsoft solutions are pretty much integrated, and help you with the pre- and post-breach. If you are using Microsoft, I would absolutely recommend Microsoft 365 Defender. But if not, I would recommend something else because, with just Microsoft, you probably would not be getting the best solution. There would probably be latency.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Microsoft 365 Consultant at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The biggest impact is that we need fewer human resources to deal with a bigger attack surface
Pros and Cons
- "There is also one dashboard that shows us the status of many controls at once and the details I can get... It gives a great overview of many areas, such as files, emails, chats, and links. Even with the apps, it gives you a great overview. In one place you can see where you should look into things more deeply..."
- "There should be better information for experts on features in the solution. What I see when reading about features in Microsoft 365 Defender is that it is always general information. If Microsoft could go deeper into details for the experts about how to use the tools, usage of it would be more familiar and it would be easier to use."
What is our primary use case?
Almost every use case is about security layers for messaging in Teams and for email. It especially used for phishing filters, spam filters, and composite authentication, as well as Zero-day advanced protection, and for protection within already received emails. Clients are also looking for link protection in Teams and in SharePoint.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution has improved the remediation steps we take for each threat. That has been the biggest impact on our organization because we need fewer human resources to deal with a bigger attack surface.
And for routine tasks and alerts on issues of high importance, the automation that the system provides has helped greatly. You can set up customized alerts and categorize trends to see a quick overview. As a result, our security officers can focus on the really important tasks, without noisy alerts. Previously, there was a procedure with a rule that was sending all emails that resulted from the SPF and DMARC controls failing to the phishing mailbox. Our security officers had to review every email and accept or decline. Now, using the automation tools within the Microsoft 365 Defender, they don't need to do that. They can check that the tool is working fine from time to time, but they don't need to do that task on a daily basis. It gives them a lot of time to do more important and creative stuff.
In addition, especially when it comes to Zero-day attacks, the solution's threat intelligence helps prepare you for potential threats before they hit. It identifies, for example, attachments containing something malicious and remediates by blocking additional delivery to other users. For example, an email may only be delivered to three users instead of 100 users. Even if somebody didn't open the email, the Zero-day attack protection has removed the email from their mailbox. This is a great remediation step for protecting that attack surface. Then I can observe how the tool is dealing with the attack instead of trying to figure out how to approach it, what to do, who I should contact, et cetera.
It also saves me time every day. It was taking me really long to review the message headers to identify what happened. It could take an hour or even more if it was a really complicated case. I needed to check the headers, the content, the links, the attachment. Using Microsoft 365 Defender, I can see in Explorer at a glance, or by clicking through one or two tabs, what is happening. It gives me a lot more time to do more interesting work and to close other cases. Instead of an hour, it takes five or 10 minutes now.
It's a lifesaver for me and keeps my clients from being threatened and attacked every day. It's not about the money, it's about the information. Attackers can use information to make money.
I can check the overviews and see trends where somebody wants to use some kind of open gate to gather my information. But the solution does the work on my behalf, so I don't need to observe the environment, traffic, and user behavior. And we don't have to invest a lot of money on repetitive training for users. Training is also good, but I don't need to invest so much money and effort in that process, and that results in savings.
What is most valuable?
For me, the email protection features are the most useful because I focus on that area.
I also really like the integration with the entire Microsoft 365 service because it's not really common to have a tool that is integrated well with Teams, SharePoint, and Exchange.
Another feature I like is that inside Explorer I can perform an investigation to check, for example, if any accounts have been breached or accessed by a malicious actor. I can also check the source of emails from which we are receiving something that was not expected by us, such as
- XML attachments
- meeting invitations with the malicious links
- JavaScript.
And I really like that the tool checks attachments within the hash so that we can investigate who received the malicious file and where.
There is also one dashboard that shows us the status of many controls at once and the details I can get. Sometimes I'm on a call with somebody from the security team who is asking why we received something or how we can better protect our environment. I can even show them the analysis of a particular Excel file and a macro inside that file. That is something I really like. It gives me a lot of information and I can respond very quickly to a particular case.
It gives a great overview of many areas, such as files, emails, chats, and links. Even with the apps, it gives you a great overview. In one place you can see where you should look into things more deeply and get knowledge of the details, instead of browsing the details and looking for something that might be of interest.
And, of course, it helps prioritize threats across the enterprise. The solution identifies threats and categorizes them. I can assess which category is more important for me and react accordingly. This categorization is really important because it gives something like an SLA for each case. You always have limited resources to deal with cases. For example, in one of the companies which I support, over half of the email traffic is filtered by Microsoft 365 Defender's tools as malicious traffic, amounting to about 5,000 emails a day. I can use the tool to see an overall view of the threats, instead of just going through each one, one by one. It gives a great overview and the ability to see trends for a day or a month and I can adjust my focus according to the trends.
With Defender on end-user devices, we have the ability to monitor them without the need to have them connected to the same network. People are working from home and sometimes they are working on their own devices. We can use conditional access policies to ask them to provide the minimum security standards. That gives us a lot of peace of mind when using Microsoft Defender. We can create rules that look for users who are uploading malicious content to Teams, SharePoint, Android, et cetera.
What needs improvement?
There should be better information for experts on features in the solution. What I see when reading about features in Microsoft 365 Defender is that it is always general information.
If Microsoft could go deeper into details for the experts about how to use the tools, usage of it would be more familiar and it would be easier to use. Right now, I need to spend a lot of time using Defender to check the possibilities and how to connect them together to see things better. If I could read a more detailed article about it and see some use cases and how some threats are remediated, that would be great. Maybe I'm not looking deep enough or maybe there is some room for them to improve in this area.
And I would really like to see new features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I'm a Microsoft 365 consultant and have been using Microsoft 365 Defender for about three or four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is really stable.
Sometimes, when there is a problem with the Microsoft infrastructure, for example, in India, then it can be hard because it's not just that somebody may have a problem. It's not about only one business unit but all of Europe. But it's not that problematic for us because usually this kind of situation is very limited and the fix is delivered really quickly.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution. I haven't had any problems with the scalability of Defender.
We have the solution deployed in 38 countries. People are connected to their local networks and they use the updates from Intune and SCCM.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't had any situation in which I had to ask for support for Defender.
But for Microsoft 365, overall, when we contact the exact, dedicated team, it's really good. But before that, when a ticket goes through the first and second lines of support, sometimes it's too repetitive. The first line asks the same things as the second line. I know that it's required because Microsoft is a huge company and it has a lot of customers, so some kind of triage is needed. But when an issue is well-known and there is already a solution or a workaround, the sharing of this knowledge should be better.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used regular filters on the email server, running on Linux, with some type of anti-exploit solution that checked for threats inside the files. I filtered the DMARC and SPF with regular controls. That was a nightmare and I'm really happy to now use Microsoft 365 Defender.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't deal much with the pricing aspect, but the companies I am supporting use an E5 license for Microsoft 365 because they want to include all the features and it's cheaper for them to use E5 than SE3.
Maybe the solution should be cheaper because I have heard that the licensing is pretty expensive. I can imagine why: The knowledge is expensive and the tests and infrastructure are expensive as well.
What other advice do I have?
From time to time there is maintenance in reviewing the rules so that we can focus on how to use it better. But that's not "maintenance" in the standard meaning that you need to check if the processes are working properly. For example, our security department uses phishing attack simulations to check if users are aware of how the tool behaves when we receive a phishing attack and what actions are taken to remediate that attack.
When trying to decide between a best-of-breed strategy versus a single vendor for security, it depends on the approach, resources, and of course, money. You can have a single vendor and extensively use the solution and really invest time and effort into better understanding how it works. Or you can buy a few solutions but understand each of them less, because it's not possible to have deep knowledge of how every solution works. For me, it's better to use only Microsoft 365 Defender instead of having additional security providers. I can then go deeper into the details and ask the vendor to implement a feature that is useful, and that probably will not only be useful for me. We can build it together instead of blaming each about who should do better work.
My advice is to go deeper into the details to understand how remediation is utilized inside the solution. Notice that Microsoft 365 Defender is using data collected from every tenant that is using the solution, not only mine. If a company's controls have been attacked, the tool can already protect me because I'm not on the first line of fire. It's great to understand this fact and understand the idea behind it and what the benefits are.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
SysAdmin Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Features a straightforward and user-friendly interface, excellent visibility into threats, and integration with other Microsoft security products
Pros and Cons
- "The Endpoint Manager is incredible; it has a very straightforward interface and is exceedingly easy to use. Pulling out and deploying different tags or resources is a simple task across various departments with different levels of security. The notifications are also simple and satisfying; it's great to see the bubble informing us which devices are compliant and which are waiting to update."
- "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."
What is our primary use case?
At FileVine, we provide case management software for attorneys, so we have considerable SOC 2 compliance requirements. We need more than a firewall; we also need a solution that helps us upkeep and manage devices, laptops, etc. 365 Defender fulfills these requirements, and SOC 2 compliance is our primary use case.
We're a hybrid company using both Macs and Dells, deployed across multiple regions.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution helps us improve compliance regarding end users installing updates. It clarifies which users need to update and how they can go into Terminal or PowerShell to perform that process. We don't have to waste time looking for what needs to be done, which is a useful functionality. The product automatically informs us of high and low priorities, which is great; it allows us to deal with the most significant priorities first.
365 Defender helps us automate routine tasks, and we get updated daily. We can integrate Splunk to see what's going on and what needs to be updated. Automation significantly impacts our security operations; it feels like we have a vault around us that nobody can breach.
What is most valuable?
The Endpoint Manager is incredible; it has a very straightforward interface and is exceedingly easy to use. Pulling out and deploying different tags or resources is a simple task across various departments with different levels of security. The notifications are also simple and satisfying; it's great to see the bubble informing us which devices are compliant and which are waiting to update.
The visibility into threats provided by the solution is excellent. When a threat triggers a response based on our set rules, it's stopped, and we are notified via email. We can then analyze the threat and make a decision; this entire process is straightforward and user-friendly.
The product helps us prioritize threats across the enterprise, especially in the legal domain. It is very valuable, and one of the reasons we have been so successful at Filevine is the security measures we have in place. We use many tools, one of them being Microsoft 365 Defender, which significantly contributes to our IT team and company's success.
Our integration of multiple solutions helps to deliver a coordinated detection and response in our environment. We integrate with Zscalar, which is very easy and manageable. We thought it might be difficult, but it works very well. Much like a car, our security system is composed of many moving parts working together, which helps us move forwards as a company and thrive in a relatively challenging economic time.
The comprehensiveness of the threat protection provided by using multiple Microsoft security products is excellent. It's a simple system; we have incoming and outgoing traffic rules. When a rule is triggered, we are notified by email to look over the situation. For example, we can see viruses and malicious actors attempting to breach our security and respond by blacklisting the IP address. Sometimes, we gather information and pass it on to the FBI, as we have many SOC 2 clients.
365 Defender helped eliminate multiple dashboards, which is great because I like to be as minimalistic as possible regarding dashboards. Now, I only have to look at one or two at most, simplifying the security landscape, and I love that about the tool.
The solution's threat intelligence helps us prepare for potential threats before they hit; most recently, we were protected from the August 2022 Apple hack. We had measures in place, so none of our devices were affected. We were spared any data compromise, and it's an excellent example of why we invest in security solutions. It builds our confidence and strengthens our case with the higher-ups for increasing and maintaining our cybersecurity budget.
The product certainly saves us time. We trust in the protection and can focus on different projects, including automation, so we don't have to spend time dealing with issues and security breaches. I'd say we save four or five hours a week.
365 Defender saves us a lot of money because we don't have to recover data or hire outside lawyers to help us with legal trouble. We don't need to invest in physical products or external security teams and solutions. We can keep our security operation within the company, so all our money is invested in people who care about our product and business.
The solution quickly notifies us when a threat is detected, increasing our response speed. Other products I used in the past sometimes had significant delays with notifications, which is far from ideal when dealing with potential security threats.
What needs improvement?
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.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for a few years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable with low latency.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is highly scalable, which is fantastic because we have been expanding significantly. It's up and running and good to go very quickly, which has been excellent for our expansion in Florida, New York, Maine, and Canada.
How are customer service and support?
I have yet to contact support. One thing that helps in this regard is that I have an AZ-900 handbook with Microsoft fundamentals.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
365 Defender was already in place when I was brought into the company, but they previously used Jamf Protect. They switched because it cost too much and wasn't fulfilling the requirements. It didn't perform as well as 365.
How was the initial setup?
I can't speak to the setup as the solution was in place when I arrived at the company. However, 365 Defender is one of the most lightweight tools we use in terms of maintenance. We keep it up to date, and it works very well.
What was our ROI?
I would say the solution gives us a significant ROI, especially considering the issues in the industry recently. Russia and China hacked many companies, but we never had that problem, and that's a lot of money saved for us. That's not entirely because of 365 Defender, but also thanks to our excellent security team and the robust toolset at our disposal to protect our operation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
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.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.
We use multiple Microsoft security products, including Defender for Endpoint, MFA as a standard on all work laptops and computers, and Endpoint Manager. We use additional tools to protect the Mac side of our operation. We use Microsoft Intune, some other MDMs, and some other assets from Defender for Cloud, and for cloud security, we use GCP, Azure, and AWS.
Many of these products are integrated, and the integration was relatively straightforward. It was somewhat time-consuming as we previously used Jamf Protect for a long time, so switching our entire infrastructure over to the new products took some time.
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
Helps stop advanced attacks, saves costs, and time
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft Defender is stable."
- "Microsoft Defender is slow to adapt to evolving threats."
What is our primary use case?
Microsoft Defender is used for email protection.
How has it helped my organization?
Microsoft Defender helps stop advanced attacks. We use PII disclosure, we track sensitive data in emails, ransomware, and phishing emails.
Microsoft Defender has saved us costs.
Microsoft Defender has helped save us investigation time.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Defender is slow to adapt to evolving threats.
For how long have I used the solution?
I was using Microsoft Defender for one and a half years until a month ago when I switched to a different team.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Defender is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Defender is scalable.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used Rapid7 InsightIDR for Security Information Event Management and Extended Detection and Response. While InsightIDR offered a user-friendly dashboard for managing detected incidents, its limitation of creating only around 25 custom rules restricted our ability to identify emerging threats. With the ever-evolving threat landscape, I believe a solution with a more adaptable defense system, like Microsoft Defender, is necessary to keep up with the pace of new incidents.
How was the initial setup?
Microsoft Defender was straightforward to set up. It came with a lot of useful documentation to help.
The deployment took almost two months.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Microsoft Defender falls within a mid-tier price range compared to other security solutions.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Microsoft Defender eight out of ten.
Microsoft Defender is well-documented and we can find answers to our questions from the user community.
I recommend Microsoft Defender for organizations that are already using other Microsoft products. Since they're likely within the same ecosystem, integrating Defender for antivirus protection should be a smooth process.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Updated: January 2026
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Download our free Microsoft Defender XDR Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
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