Symantec Data Loss Prevention Reviews

The primary use case of this solution is for data loss prevention and confidential classification for internal public architecture.

We are trying to prevent the data loss of sensitive files that are confidential, and not let them out of the organization's control.

The dashboard, management section, and reporting are good.

We are having support issues. We had local support but since the acquisition, the support is now only five teams. It is very difficult to log in to create a support ticket because no one is available to support our queries. In India, it's especially needed.

It has some feature deficiencies, as well. For example, it won't monitor the remote desktop and the file-sharing to the RDP. It's not detecting it and RDP is not supported well. The issue is not only with RDP, but rather it's with the product used to provide the remote support. If the data is leaked through that application, then Symantec doesn't monitor that section.

There are some features that are not available, which are required by every data loss prevention solution.

In the next release, encryption should be available. For example, if an extended drive is plugged into the endpoint and someone tried to copy the data to the external drive, the Symantec DLP component doesn't encrypt the drive. If you want the encryption feature you have to purchase an additional component for it. This could be an integral part of Symantec today.

This solution is stable. We have not experienced any issues.

There is a problem with technical support. It's not available.

I submitted a case two months ago, and still, I have not received a response.

We deployed locally in our environment. All of the channels such as emails, web, and endpoints are covered.

The pricing is reasonable.

Technical support is very poor. I am frustrated and irritated by the issue, so it is difficult to offer advice or recommend this solution.

If someone would ask me if they should implement this solution, I would have to say no, only because of the support issue. It is a very big concern.

I would rate this solution a four out of ten.

We use this solution for development source code security.

It provides an efficient solution but the enforce server is difficult to understand.

The data matching features are the most valuable due to the easy policy setup and implementation.

I would like to see this solution made more user-friendly, and the administration needs improvement.

The enforce service is difficult to understand, and free courses made available on the internet would be useful.

DLP's most valuable feature is that it's more granular in terms of creating block-based policies, which gives you more options to create policies in a filtered way.

DLP could be improved by implementing a cloud-based console. The implementation and installation process could also be made less complicated.

I've been using Symantec DLP for three months.

DLP is stable.

If DLP has been deployed correctly, it's stable - if not, you will end up with multiple issues.

Symantec's technical support is generally good, and their responsiveness is ok, but it varies on a case-to-case basis.

The initial setup was complex and couldn't be done without expert help.

We used an integrator.

We compared Forcepoint, which I think is better than Symantec.

I would rate DLP seven out of ten.

The primary use case is to protect the content our data, e.g., if a document is marked as a confidential, it should not suddenly be sent into the Internet via email.

I have been the product for two years.

We are able to contain our confidential data in our environment. Previously, we had no controls placed on our documentation. 

• The administration part is pretty simple. 
• Detection is pretty accurate.

They could improve the predefined reports because they don't have much information. We would like detailed reports.

If they could include the same features for their mobile device product, like Android and iOS, it would be helpful.

It is stable. Maintenance only takes one person.

It is pretty scalable.

We have around 1500 users, which include the accounting department, HR department, and other business units.

The technical support is very good.

We were not using a solution before Symantec DLP.

The initial setup is complex; it was not a very straightforward implementation.

The deployment took less than two months.

Our implementation strategy was simple. We started the rollout with a few users, then to the documents and emails, and afterwards, the policies. 

We had a local implementation partner who helped us with the implementation. We had a good experience with them.

Deployment took two engineer from our team.

The pricing and licensing are based on per user endpoints.

We did not evaluate other solutions.

Determine what data you want to protect before implementing this solution.

In Pakistan, this solution is used mainly in the banking sector for protecting the credit card payment industry. Our clients are generally small businesses. We are partners with Symantec and I'm the manager of information security. 

The most valuable feature is the end point encryption and the solution provides good data loss prevention. 

Symantec needs to improve the policies. If they could gear the policies, or the templates, and publish them, enabling customers to download them, it would simplify things.  They currently have a package uploaded in the system with some policies but there is no option to download our link device. There are some difficulties on the portals with Symantec. In general, the softwares are not available for partners on their portal. If a new patch requires updating on customer sites, those particular softwares are not available on the partner portal. The products they're giving the agent for Linux operating system could be simplified but Symantec is not geared for writing that option for Linux and running windows on it. Symantec doesn't have any agent for DLP on the operating system.

I've been using this solution for 10 years. 

The solution is stable. 

The solution is scalable. 

The initial setup is quite complex and can take around two hours. 

Licensing costs are based on the number of users and can be purchased on an annual, three-year or five-year basis. The cost is high compared to other solutions.

I rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

I am a consultant, and this is one of the solutions that I help to implement for my customers.

The most valuable feature of this solution is endpoint security.

The network discovery is very helpful.

This product is very powerful but it is very complex, so making it simpler to use would be an improvement. It takes eight or ten services to activate all of the features, which is too difficult to manage.

This solution is very stable.

This is a very scalable solution.

The technical support for this solution is very good.

The complexity of the initial setup depends on the requirements, but most of the time it is very difficult to implement.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

The Network Monitor component is the most advanced on the market. Combined with the other Network DLP components (Prevent for Web, Prevent for Email, Discover and Prevent), Symantec offers one of the best network DLP solutions in the market. Another component that is very valuable from my point of view is the Data Insight component that allows the client to have full visibility into the company data.

Data Insight is a very good component that steps outside the standard DLP functions, but helps the client to gain visibility over the data usage, ownership and permissions.

The Symantec DLP solution is very complex, and installation requires many components. Also, Oracle is only the DB used by Symantec.

I have experience with Symantec DLP since 2013.

Sometimes the Oracle instance need to be restarted, when using full Windows deployment.

When in a heavy-usage environment, you can have some latency problems when the DLP management page loads. If the problem persists and the loading time is too high, you should restart the service. Usually, this behavior is very rare and I saw it on the Windows implementation.

When implementing the DLP solution, we use the Symantec sizing guide, and we use the recommended configuration. The Symantec DLP license is per user, so it's hard to have issues with scalability

Usually, we use the local distributor team for issues and they are very OK. When needed, we opened cases at Symantec support, and it was a pretty decent relationship. Some clients complained that they didn't fulfill the request very fast.Starting again this year we have a local vendor presence and that helps us in front of the clients.

Symantec L3 technical support technicians are very good.

Initial setup is straightforward, as you use the same installation kit, and you choose which component to install.

Symantec only sells the DLP software. When you buy, it you should budget the server licenses, the storage and the hardware. Scale your implementation when you have your exact number of the monitored users. Be prepared to extend the resources if you increase the number of users. The Oracle DB is licensed for use only with Symantec.

If you are a small firm with less than 150 users, Symantec can be too pricey.

We also evaluated McAfee DLP, WebSense (Forcepoint) DLP, and Digital Guardian.

We are a system integration firm, and we also sell McAfee DLP and WebSense DLP (Forcepoint).

Our primary use case for this solution is to protect data from being stolen from the company. It protects and monitors data that moves out without us knowing about it. 

The features I like most about this solution is the endpoint modules because it gives us the protection we need. 

I do have a problem with the database. It uses the Oracle database and sometimes this causes some problems. I would prefer it to use the MS SQL database because it has a more stable connection than the Symantec database.

I think it is very stable. The only problem is the Oracle database where the connection sometimes works through the enforce server. But other than that it's very stable.

The scalability is good because some of the environments we are implementing it in, has 7,000 users. Others have 1,000 users. So it all depends. My job is only to implement it and enforce the policies at the customer.

The technical support is perfect. If there is any problem or if anything goes wrong, the technical support team answers me immediately and they solve the problem, so it's a very good technical support team.

I used Forcepoint DB and the McAfee DB. I implement all of them, so I didn't switch.

The initial setup was not complex and it was very easy to install the Symantec database. It comes with a guide that explains every small step in detail. The deployment took about two to three days. However, if you install all the modules, it may take up to two weeks.

I am an integrator for this solution and I work mostly alone.

I compared this solution with Cisco Stealthwatch. And I work on solutions like Forcepoint DP too. But I prefer Symantec DLP and I usually recommend this solution first when a client asks about the different options. It is, however, the more expensive option. So if the client's budget doesn't allow it, I recommend Forcepoint.

I would recommend others to read the manual carefully before they start implementing it because it explains every small detail on how it works. 

I will rate it a nine out of ten.