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Brad Mathis - PeerSpot reviewer
Employee-Owner, Senior Consultant, Information Security at Keller Schroeder
MSP
Top 5Leaderboard
Offers easy-to-follow instructions, enhanced posture management, and improved visibility
Pros and Cons
  • "While automatic inventory detection upon connection is a helpful feature, a truly valuable capability would be assessing an environment's security posture against Azure and CIS best practices."
  • "The cloud licensing unit system is unclear, especially since "units" aren't well-defined."

What is our primary use case?

Our security setup utilizes Qualys TotalCloud to assess our Azure environment's compliance with CIS and Azure best practices. We recently added the Qualys Software-as-a-Service Detection Response (SDR) module to further enhance our cloud security posture management.

We implemented Qualys TotalCloud to gain better insight into our environment.

How has it helped my organization?

TotalCloud offers written explanations to guide us through fixing security vulnerabilities and reducing cyber risks. For instance, if we click on a finding like "ensure public access level is set to private for block containers" a CIS Microsoft Azure Foundations benchmark, TotalCloud will not only tell us which specific container is failing but also provide remediation steps. These steps include a clear, step-by-step guide to fix the issue directly from the Azure console or command line, making it easy to address security risks.

After deploying TotalCloud and configuring the connectors for Azure, we quickly gained visibility into our cloud security posture. While the initial setup gathers data, the overall process is swift and delivers immediate insights.

TotalCloud offers a unified way to assess vulnerabilities and threats across both Asset-as-a-service and software-as-a-service applications. While an additional module, Software Detection Response, is required for the same level of detail in SaaS assessments, it integrates seamlessly with TotalCloud and gathers information through the Azure connector. Similarly, the SDR component is used for Microsoft 365 environments, consolidating all threat data into a single report.

It has significantly enhanced our posture management insight and awareness. It provides a valuable third-party perspective, highlighting potential security issues we might have missed with Microsoft's built-in settings. This independent view offers a more objective assessment, similar to having a security expert unaffiliated with Microsoft or any specific platform.

TotalCloud summarizes our cloud security risks in a single view, prioritizing the most important ones. It allows us to generate reports based on severity levels (critical, high, medium) and offers pre-built dashboards like the Azure one, which highlights the most critical control failures along with the number of affected resources. This way, we can focus on addressing the most urgent issues first.

We can use TruRisk in TotalCloud to view a risk score for our virtual machines. This score indicates the overall security posture of the machine, along with details on identified vulnerabilities confirmed and potential. While the TruRisk score is a valuable integration, I haven't had the chance to fully explore its functionalities in our environment yet.

What is most valuable?

While automatic inventory detection upon connection is a helpful feature, a truly valuable capability is assessing an environment's security posture against Azure and CIS best practices.

What needs improvement?

The cloud licensing unit system is somewhat unclear, especially since "units" aren't well-defined. While I'm getting the hang of it, the calculator remains confusing. Overall, simplifying the licensing model would be a big improvement.

Buyer's Guide
Qualys TotalCloud
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Qualys TotalCloud. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
831,071 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Qualys TotalCloud for one year.  However, I have been using Qualys solutions for over 20 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Qualys TotalCloud is extremely stable. We have not had any issues at all.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Qualys TotalCloud scales effectively for businesses of all sizes. Just like other Qualys solutions, it can handle both small and large environments. Their massive back-end infrastructure is built for scalability, so it can seamlessly adapt to your needs. Our company is on the smaller side but I've seen TotalCloud function smoothly in environments much larger than ours.

How was the initial setup?

There are instructions on how to set up our connectors. Once the connectors are set up and connecting, TotalCloud pulls down what it needs, and it's pretty much it.

While the initial deployment itself was straightforward, it required someone with Azure platform admin rights. Since I lacked those privileges, I needed assistance to handle that aspect. Fortunately, the clear instructions allowed the admin to complete their part without issue. The Qualys configuration, on the other hand, I was able to manage easily. In a small environment where one person might have full access, this entire process would likely be much simpler.

As long as the appropriate rights are in place, one person can deploy Qualys TotalCloud.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented TotalCloud ourselves. Our organization also offers consulting. That's what we do. We have a lot of senior-level people here. The Qualys platform's clear instructions allow for independent setup, though it may take longer for those unfamiliar with the process. Utilizing a consultant can expedite the implementation for those new to Qualys.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

TotalCloud's price is about right where I would expect it to be.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

After researching various solutions like Wiz, I realized most other solutions focus on a single security aspect. Qualys TotalCloud stands out with its full cloud posture management and integration with our existing VMDR and patch management systems. This unified platform offers valuable metadata from one source, unlike other solutions that require managing multiple vendors and systems.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Qualys TotalCloud ten out of ten.

Qualys TotalCloud is designed for continuous operation, eliminating the need for scheduled maintenance. It automatically synchronizes with your cloud environment, be it Azure, Amazon Web Services, or Google Cloud, to stay up-to-date.

If you have a trusted partner familiar with Qualys, leverage their expertise.  Also collaborate with the assigned Qualys Technical Account Manager. Don't hesitate to ask questions; both Qualys' TAMs and the Qualys community are valuable resources. Qualys offers free training and online documentation to help you with most tasks.

I recommend Qualys TotalCloud to others.

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: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor. The reviewer's company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
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Manager SOC at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Streamlined onboarding elevates client cloud operations
Pros and Cons
  • "I appreciate Qualys TotalCloud's ability to onboard any type of device with ease, including containers."
  • "I highly recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users."
  • "Qualys's ticketing system can be confusing when assigning tasks to individuals, and support could be improved by offering instant call solutions with engineers in addition to ticket replies."
  • "The support process is inefficient due to the excessive number of replies required when submitting tickets."

What is our primary use case?

We typically onboard all clients in both cloud using Qualys TotalCloud and on-premises environments.

How has it helped my organization?

We began to see the benefits of Qualys TotalCloud within the first month, despite initially having few clients with cloud-based environments. Most of our clients were on-premises, limiting our exposure to TotalCloud's capabilities. However, in recent months, we've gained more experience with the platform as we've acquired clients utilizing cloud assets. This increased usage has highlighted the tool's increasing user-friendliness, particularly noticeable in the improved query functionality, which was initially quite challenging.

Qualys TotalCloud provides a unified vulnerability and threat assessment across both IS and SaaS.

Qualys TotalCloud provides a single prioritized view of risk. We can prioritize the threats with TruRisk. A single prioritized view of risk reduces effort by allowing us to accept certain risks as exceptions, focusing only on the critical ones. This streamlined approach saves time and resources for both us and our clients. This saves us around 20 percent of our costs.

Qualys' TruRisk Insights provides comprehensive risk assessment using its own risk calculation system. This system automatically generates an asset risk score based on the criticality of assets and any provided context. By analyzing vulnerabilities and their potential impact on the environment, TruRisk effectively flags them, allowing for a comprehensive approach to risk prioritization. For instance, high-severity vulnerabilities with high CVSS scores affecting multiple assets would be prioritized for remediation. The system's ability to flag vulnerabilities based on the environment and asset criticality makes it a reliable tool for risk management.

TruRisk Insights sometimes identifies assets with high vulnerability scores. For clients onboarded in TotalCloud, patching is managed by the client, while for on-premise clients, patch management is handled using Qualys. Monthly and weekly reports are provided to all clients, highlighting high vulnerabilities and major risks based on asset criticality. Remediation steps, available through Qualys, are included in the reports to assist clients in addressing identified vulnerabilities.

TruRisk Insights has improved our security posture by providing a genuine number of critical vulnerabilities that need to be addressed immediately based on risk level.

What is most valuable?

I appreciate Qualys TotalCloud's ability to onboard any type of device with ease, including containers. This user-friendly platform provides a comprehensive inventory of all assets and allows for customized policy and control design, a feature I find unmatched by other tools.

What needs improvement?

Qualys's ticketing system can be confusing when assigning tasks to individuals, and support could be improved by offering instant call solutions with engineers in addition to ticket replies.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Qualys TotalCloud for almost two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability of Qualys TotalCloud eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability of Qualys TotalCloud eight out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

The support process is inefficient due to the excessive number of replies required when submitting tickets. A more efficient solution would be to provide instant call options with engineers, comparable to features offered by other tools.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We switched from Rapid7 to Qualys because the latter offers a more comprehensive suite of modules, greater flexibility, and more advanced querying capabilities.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Qualys TotalCloud is easy. If all the required information is available, it takes less than an hour to deploy.

What about the implementation team?

Deployment and other technical tasks are generally handled by two people, but the reporting team consists of many people.

What was our ROI?

Though I'm not deeply involved with the financial aspects, I estimate that at least twenty percent of costs are saved thanks to Qualys.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Qualys TotalCloud nine out of ten.

Our clients consist of small and medium businesses.

I highly recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users. Their strong technical team consistently delivers high-quality solutions and demonstrates a commitment to ongoing research and improvement, effectively addressing problems in a timely and long-lasting manner.

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?

Other
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Buyer's Guide
Qualys TotalCloud
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Qualys TotalCloud. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
831,071 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Harshal Mahajan - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Information Security Consultant at LTIMindtree
Consultant
We can now know the exact risk to our organization which helps with risk prioritization and also saves time
Pros and Cons
  • "The agent and agentless scanning in TotalCloud, particularly the FlexScan method, is incredibly valuable. With traditional scanning approaches, we had to give IP ranges and whitelist IPs. All that is now simplified. FlexScan requires minimal intervention, and after configuration, it automatically collects data and performs necessary scans."
  • "Qualys TotalCloud fulfills all these needs."
  • "There is room for improvement in vulnerability scanning, particularly for PaaS environments. Currently, Qualys does not have full access to these instances, which limits its effectiveness."
  • "Their customer support needs improvement."

What is our primary use case?

Qualys TotalCloud is a comprehensive solution that provides cloud security, cloud-related metrics, and a better understanding of our Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM). Vulnerability assessment and our progress in terms of vulnerability remediation are also included.

How has it helped my organization?

By implementing Qualys TotalCloud, we wanted a single pane of glass for our cloud-related functions. We wanted to be able to see the security posture and compliance status and also do a vulnerability assessment or remediation. Qualys TotalCloud fulfills all these needs.

QFlow helps automate our remediation efforts. We can automatically do the remediation of vulnerabilities.

Previously, for Azure scanning, there was a very limited scope. We also did not have much scope for compliance. We wanted to have something that could give us this combination of vulnerability assessment and compliance posture. Our compliance posture has improved. We got to know where we are not compliant. All these things have contributed to our organization.

Qualys TotalCloud provides unified vulnerability and threat assessment across both IaaS and SaaS. It also provides a single, prioritized view of risk. Previously, we used to follow a traditional method of severity-based remediation, but now, the technology has evolved. With TruRisk, we can now know the exact risk to our organization. It helps with risk prioritization and also saves time. 

Qualys has been a market leader for more than 20 years. They have vast information resources. They collect the data for us. We do not have to go out and search for vulnerabilities.

What is most valuable?

The agent and agentless scanning in TotalCloud, particularly the FlexScan method, is incredibly valuable. With traditional scanning approaches, we had to give IP ranges and whitelist IPs. All that is now simplified. FlexScan requires minimal intervention, and after configuration, it automatically collects data and performs necessary scans. We need to do some configuration in the connector, and it handles the rest of the things. Data compliance, vulnerability assessment, and remediation parts are taken care of by Qualys. We get all the required data. The connector collects all the metadata for our cloud environment. Scans are performed automatically. There is no intervention from our side.

What needs improvement?

There is room for improvement in vulnerability scanning, particularly for PaaS environments. Currently, Qualys does not have full access to these instances, which limits its effectiveness. We rely on other solutions like Microsoft's Defender for these scenarios and hope Qualys can improve its assessment capabilities for PaaS services.

For how long have I used the solution?

As an organization, we have been using Qualys TotalCloud for more than three to four years. It was previously known by a different name. They have now standardized all cloud security-related things under TotalCloud.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Qualys TotalCloud is quite stable. I would rate its stability as an eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate its scalability a seven out of ten as there are some aspects we need to explore further.

How are customer service and support?

Their customer support needs improvement. It is not up to mark. While we do get responses, the quality varies considerably based on the expertise of the support individual. We get a better response from a senior person, but we struggle a bit with a less experienced person. It can take three to four days to get an initial reply. I would rate their support a seven out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use Microsoft Defender.

How was the initial setup?

We have a hybrid model. Its deployment is neither easy nor complex. It was a mid-level effort.

We have one tenant, and under that, we have multiple departments such as HR. There are only a few departments that are focused on Azure. Rest all are on-prem. Most things are on-prem, but something that is critical is hybrid. We have five to six people working with Qualys.

It does not require any maintenance from our side.

What other advice do I have?

It is a good product for organizations looking to have a comprehensive view of their vulnerability assessment, remediation, and compliance posture. It is an effective solution.

I would rate Qualys TotalCloud an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
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reviewer2590986 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
MSP
Top 20
Focuses on identifying data leakage vulnerabilities and managing compliance risks
Pros and Cons
  • "Qualys TotalCloud's most valuable features are its security capabilities that help identify and mitigate risk factors."
  • "Qualys TotalCloud's most valuable features are its security capabilities that help identify and mitigate risk factors."
  • "Enhancing clarity regarding its compliance capabilities would be beneficial, as the current scope is limited in geographic coverage."
  • "Qualys TotalCloud has the potential to improve by integrating a hybrid platform for comprehensive management of both on-premises and cloud infrastructures."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary function for Qualys TotalCloud is managing SaaS applications within cloud environments. It focuses on identifying data leakage vulnerabilities and managing compliance risks.

How has it helped my organization?

Qualys TotalCloud offers written explanations to guide remediation and mitigate cyber risks. These explanations are crucial because they allow us to simulate the attack steps within a virtualized environment, fostering quicker comprehension and facilitating strategic responses as needed.

Qualys TotalCloud has provided frequent updates and support, drastically changing and enhancing the solution with additional features. 

Qualys TotalCloud has offered unified vulnerability and threat assessment across both IaaS and SaaS environments, improving the organization's cloud security posture. This solution has instilled confidence in using the cloud infrastructure by overcoming challenges related to exposure and open internet access.

Qualys TotalCloud offers a unified, prioritized view of risk by combining the features of a compliance manager with other security management tools. This approach helps our organization effectively identify, assess, and prioritize risks, ultimately improving our overall security posture. The centralized platform provides a comprehensive view of risk while reducing the manual effort involved in identification. Previously, manual identification often failed to uncover risks that are now easily revealed by the platform.

The TruRisk Insights feature identifies assets with high vulnerability scores and the authorities to whom penalties may be owed.

TruRisk Insights has successfully identified all assets, including those with high vulnerability scores. We are able to use the information to quickly check for patches or fixes and address critical vulnerabilities.

The TruRisk Insights feature has improved our security posture by 80 percent.

What is most valuable?

Qualys TotalCloud's most valuable features are its security capabilities that help identify and mitigate risk factors. By providing a comprehensive view of the cloud environment's security, it detects malware, data leakages, and vulnerabilities. Additionally, the solution offers visualized attack paths to facilitate better understanding and implementation of security strategies.

What needs improvement?

Qualys TotalCloud has the potential to improve by integrating a hybrid platform for comprehensive management of both on-premises and cloud infrastructures. Additionally, enhancing clarity regarding its compliance capabilities would be beneficial, as the current scope is limited in geographic coverage. Expanding these features to provide a more comprehensive compliance solution would be advantageous.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Qualys TotalCloud for over six months to a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability of Qualys TotalCloud nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability of Qualys TotalCloud nine out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

While customer service is satisfactory, providing necessary support, frequent updates, and beneficial training, more communication from the vendor would be appreciated.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Qualys TotalCloud took two months and involved four to five people. The setup process was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation team consisted of four to five full-time employees who were involved in deploying the solution over a period of two months.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Qualys TotalCloud eight out of ten.

We have Qualys TotalCloud deployed in multiple departments.

Qualys TotalCloud requires maintenance for servers, licensing, and additional features.

I would recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users due to its scalability, insightful risk analysis, and overall effectiveness.

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?

Other
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IT Engineer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
MSP
Top 5Leaderboard
Makes remediation, policy management, and compliance reporting easy
Pros and Cons
  • "The best feature would be the ability to create policies. It is easy to control and update policies as required."
  • "The scalability is good as well. I would rate it ten out of ten."
  • "In TotalCloud, I would suggest improvements in policy checks to cater to various inventory types like VPCs, subnets, S3 buckets, or IAMs. There is a lack of data segregation according to criticality or inventory."
  • "There is a lack of data segregation according to criticality or inventory."

What is our primary use case?

We use TotalCloud for CSPM or Cloud Security Posture Management. We have integrated our cloud accounts with TotalCloud, allowing us to do the posture management of those accounts and virtual machines. 

By implementing TotalCloud, we wanted configuration compliance reports. We wanted to determine the compliance percentages of our infrastructure. We wanted to see if particular mandatory controls have been implemented.

How has it helped my organization?

It provides information about where a particular data or issue exists. If we want to remediate, there is also a remediation option. It gives a brief description, and there are also some URLs that we can refer to remediate. We have security posture visualization, and we also have detailed information with cloud posture ID, etc.

TotalCloud reduces the work we would have to do to combine multiple sources to prioritize risk. We have a dashboard to prioritize the security posture-related information based on criticality.

What is most valuable?

The best feature would be the ability to create policies. It is easy to control and update policies as required. Additionally, it is easy to check the security posture through the UI. We could segregate based on three different providers or an EC2 instance. This kind of virtual machine-related segregation is very easy.

What needs improvement?

In TotalCloud, I would suggest improvements in policy checks to cater to various inventory types like VPCs, subnets, S3 buckets, or IAMs. There is a lack of data segregation according to criticality or inventory. For example, they should provide percentages for security posture scores at the VPC level. Further differentiation and risk percentages should also be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using TotalCloud for about ten months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good, and I would rate it as a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Its scalability is good as well. I would rate it ten out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support for TotalCloud is satisfactory, but there have been multiple glitches here and there, so I would rate them as an eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously, we did not use any cloud management solutions. TotalCloud is the first solution we are utilizing for this purpose. We were tracking everything manually, so we did not have visibility into everything. After implementing TotalCloud, we could see how many machines have not been updated and where data has not been properly configured. We were able to get all the details in a single report.

How was the initial setup?

The deployment was easy because our integration was done at the tenant level, which simplified the process.

We have used it for AWS, Azure, and GCP clouds. Its maintenance is handled by Qualys. It is a SaaS platform.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend TotalCloud from the posture management and integration perspectives, as these areas are strong. However, due to limitations in risk and inventory management, one might consider waiting until those features are improved. Overall, I would rate TotalCloud 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?

Other
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CIO at a venture capital & private equity firm with 11-50 employees
Real User
Daily reporting enables timely security actions
Pros and Cons
  • "One of the features I appreciate is the ability to generate daily reports without relying on anyone else."
  • "Qualys TotalCloud has improved our security posture."
  • "It has been working very well, but it would be helpful if the dashboard could generate reports tailored to specific compliance needs. For example, in India, we have to comply with RBI and SEBI guidelines. It w"

What is our primary use case?

We use Qualys TotalCloud for patching and vulnerability management. We implemented it to improve patching and compliance for security purposes.

How has it helped my organization?

Qualys TotalCloud has been beneficial for our organization. We are getting a lot of functions in the portal for security assessment related to the third party. It tells us about vulnerabilities in the servers.

The vulnerability information available through the portal reduces my cyber risk. Qualys TotalCloud has improved our security posture. We receive daily security and vulnerability reports, which we act upon. We can remediate the issues on time.

I knew about the benefits of this product before buying it. We started seeing its benefits within two to three days of deployment.

What is most valuable?

One of the features I appreciate is the ability to generate daily reports without relying on anyone else. This feature has been very beneficial as it allows us to address security gaps and remediate them promptly.

What needs improvement?

I have been using Qualys TotalCloud for onyly two months. It has been working very well, but it would be helpful if the dashboard could generate reports tailored to specific compliance needs. For example, in India, we have to comply with RBI and SEBI guidelines. It would be great to have reports related to RBI and SEBI compliances.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Qualys TotalCloud for not more than two months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate its stability as nine out of ten. It is a stable solution, which is why we chose it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate its scalability a nine out of ten. The solution scales well.

We started our organization about nine months back. We started with about 30 users, and we now have more than 100 users. At first, we had one branch, but now, we have four branches. Some branches are based in India, and some are out of India.

How are customer service and support?

We have been working with it for only about two months. We have not used technical support. We have been in contact with presales and the deployment team. We have not had the need to engage with their customer support.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not use any other solution before implementing Qualys TotalCloud. We have started a new organization where I have taken full services from Qualys. We chose Qualys based on familiarity from past experiences in other organizations.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. 

It is an easy product. I was familiar with it from the previous organization. Other colleagues were not very familiar, but they were able to understand it. It is not command-based. It is GUI-based.

Its implementation took 10 to 15 days. We are a small organization. We do not have a large number of APIs and servers. There is no issue.

It does not require any maintenance from our side.

What was our ROI?

The solution is proving beneficial, allowing us to remediate vulnerabilities before any issues arise. Daily reports alleviate all the concerns that we had previously. We have seen more than 50% improvement.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The cost is high, but it meets our organizational needs.

What other advice do I have?

It is a very good solution. I would rate it a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
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Jignesh Baleshwaria - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Helps manage compliance and gives a consolidated view of our security posture
Pros and Cons
  • "CSPM is currently the most used feature, and we are enjoying the new feature, FlexScan, which is valuable for Internet-facing VMs."
  • "Qualys TotalCloud has helped us view our risk structure, vulnerabilities, and security posture."
  • "Overall, we are satisfied with it. However, the response part of the Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) module can be improved. It is not yet in place according to requirements; it is not completely available even though the module has been released."
  • "The response part of the Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) module can be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We are using the Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and the Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) module. CSPM helps manage configuration compliance, and we have configured FlexScan in our environment for Internet-facing VMs. 

We are in the process of evaluating further advanced features like Cloud Detection and Response and IAC.

How has it helped my organization?

TotalCloud provides written explanations to help guide remediation paths and eliminate cyber risk. These explanations are very helpful because not everyone is well-versed in the technology. We have different layers of team. Everyone does not know the technology well. The explanations help across the board.

It provides a single, prioritized view of risk. That is absolutely what we want. We want everything organized in one place. It helps to focus on high risks.

Qualys TotalCloud has helped us view our risk structure, vulnerabilities, and security posture. It does require some fine-tuning, but we do see very good results.

Our risk team uses TruRisk insights, and we have heard very positive feedback about it.

What is most valuable?

CSPM is currently the most used feature, and we are enjoying the new feature, FlexScan, which is valuable for Internet-facing VMs. With everything moving to the cloud, it is something interesting.

What needs improvement?

We are still exploring it. Currently, we only have two modules. Overall, we are satisfied with it. However, the response part of the Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) module can be improved. It is not yet in place according to requirements; it is not completely available even though the module has been released.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using TotalCloud for approximately one and a half years, but we have been using Qualys products for the last 10 to 12 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate it a seven out of ten in terms of stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability. It has been fairly scalable for our needs.

How are customer service and support?

The support from Qualys is excellent. They meet delivery timelines very well, and the response times are satisfactory.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We have been a Qualys customer for a long time and have not yet used any alternatives to TotalCloud.

How was the initial setup?

FlexScan was a bit tricky, but CSPM was fine. Overall, it was easy. It took us approximately three months to fully align and deploy.

It took us some time to realize the benefits of TotalCloud. Being a new product, it took us some time to adapt and fine-tune TotalCloud to our infrastructure and security requirements. Once we went through that cycle, we started seeing its benefits.

What about the implementation team?

We received support from Qualys. Our TAM helped us in arranging resources.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

As a middle management member, I do not have direct pricing knowledge, but based on the knowledge from our meetings, its pricing is competitive.

What other advice do I have?

We are yet to explore it fully. I would rate TotalCloud an eight out of ten.

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Eshan Kshirsagar - PeerSpot reviewer
retired at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Has immensely helped us reduce active vulnerabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a cloud-native app that integrates with both IaaS and SaaS. It seamlessly integrates with other platforms."
  • "I would definitely recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other customers."
  • "The patching process with Qualys Patch Management, which is part of TotalCloud, does not cover installing certain prerequisites on the servers or workstations. This shortcoming means we must rely on SCCM when any service stack updates or additional prerequisites are needed."
  • "The patching process with Qualys Patch Management, which is part of TotalCloud, does not cover installing certain prerequisites on the servers or workstations."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is to create an automated workflow that involves tagging assets, creating remediation policies, and automated patching. This process is intended to cover everything from asset discovery to remediation.

How has it helped my organization?

Qualys TotalCloud helps us with patching. There are certain limitations with SCCM when it comes to patching. A request needs to be created, and then it takes a lot of time, whereas Qualys TotalCloud, specifically in terms of remediation, is pretty much touchless, so zero-touch patching is what we have been trying to achieve. It helps us greatly in patching certain vulnerabilities that, for example, are Chrome-related. We do not have to depend on any other tool for patching.

Discovery is automated here. We have scheduled scans that discover. We have built an automation for that.

Qualys TotalCloud provides unified vulnerability and threat assessment across both IaaS and SaaS. We are using it more for SaaS environments. We are using it in Azure as well so that we can get a good security posture for it. We have a different team for IaaS.

Qualys TotalCloud has immensely helped us reduce active vulnerabilities. It has greatly affected our ability to build dashboards because we use it through the API. We have generated a lot of content and dashboards based on API integration, which provides us with up-to-date metrics. We have deployed cloud agents across Linux and Windows workstations. We get pretty much up-to-date data from Qualys scans. We also have vault integration. We have integrated it with CyberArk Vault. A lot of features have been helpful.

We are able to see the risks associated. It helps us prioritize based on the risk score. It helps us identify ground rules and remediate risks on them.

It has saved a lot of time and effort, but I do not have any metrics.

The TruRisk Insights feature gives us a good risk posture, but it is not yet embedded in our automation. We have built the GUI dashboards to view the risks and prioritize them.

The risk analysis is good. We are ingesting a lot of resources or products to see how we can improve the accuracy. The risk score helps us with accurate prioritization. There can be a scenario where something with a high vulnerability score might contribute to lower risk.

It has helped us in prioritizing the remediation and preparing better dashboards for our CISO's review.

What is most valuable?

It is a cloud-native app that integrates with both IaaS and SaaS. It seamlessly integrates with other platforms.

The features we use the most include zero-touch assessment for quick patch creation and deployment. Every time any vulnerabilities are identified, we can create quick patches and deploy them. Those are the ones that we basically use.

We are also trying to implement a risk-based program, although it is currently limited.

What needs improvement?

The patching process with Qualys Patch Management, which is part of TotalCloud, does not cover installing certain prerequisites on the servers or workstations. This shortcoming means we must rely on SCCM when any service stack updates or additional prerequisites are needed.

For how long have I used the solution?

I was a part of Qualys previously. I have used the whole Qualys VMDR suite for almost five years there and three years here. It has been a year or so with TotalCloud.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the solution is strong. I would rate it a nine out of ten for stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is absolutely scalable, and I would rate its scalability as nine out of ten.

We have multiple locations. The assets are spread across the globe, so we have deployments at multiple locations.

We have a team of five people working on this project, but we have many other projects and about 200 to 300 people working on TotalCloud.

How are customer service and support?

Support is good overall. While they do take some time to assess issues, we are generally satisfied with the support received. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We have used Qualys for this project since its inception, and we did not use a different solution beforehand.

How was the initial setup?

The deployment was easy. On the infrastructure side, we have added agents to the base image itself. Automated scanning using discovery features helps ensure seamless operation.

We use Azure and OCI Cloud. The documentation provided was clear for our cloud setup. It was easy to install our scanners. The networking was set up by our cloud team, so it was easy to set it up.

We follow the whole change management request process here. The change request needs to be raised two weeks prior to installing the agents. There are a lot of processes involved where a sign-off is made for the agent to be deployed. It takes about two weeks for cloud agents to be deployed. For scanning through existing scanners, since the environment is already built up, we can scan within hours. That is not an issue. Scanner-based scanning is easy. We can scan seamlessly from the cloud and on-prem. Once an agent is a part of the base image, it is provisioned within hours. If we have to upgrade the agent, it goes through a whole change management process, which takes around two weeks.

It does require maintenance because we have to update our agents regularly. That is done as a part of our change management process. Its maintenance includes cleanups. There could be certain stale entries. We have to remove those stale entries in Qualys because there is no mechanism built in right now to clean them.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other customers. The accuracy of vulnerability detection signatures and the over-the-air updates for both scanners and agents ensure that everything is kept up-to-date.

I would rate Qualys TotalCloud a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
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Updated: January 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Qualys TotalCloud Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.