Avanan vs Sophos Email comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Offi...
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Ranking in Email Security
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (9th)
Avanan
Ranking in Email Security
6th
Average Rating
9.2
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (7th)
Sophos Email
Ranking in Email Security
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Office 365 Protection (4th)
 

Market share comparison

As of June 2024, in the Email Security category, the market share of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 13.2% and it decreased by 33.9% compared to the previous year. The market share of Avanan is 4.3% and it increased by 6.0% compared to the previous year. The market share of Sophos Email is 3.3% and it decreased by 19.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security
Unique Categories:
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
12.3%
Microsoft Security Suite
1.5%
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
0.2%
Office 365 Protection
23.3%
 

Featured Reviews

Jamie LeClair - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 28, 2023
File-sharing options and ease of collaboration or meetings allow for quick collaborations and chats
I work in my company's IT department, so I use all of the products under Office 365 daily, including Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams, and all the other components in the product. My company can't make it through a day or go by without using the products offered under Office 365. Some of our manufacturing workers may use Office 365 a lot less, but it is still necessary for things like Microsoft Outlook and Exchange. I found Microsoft Teams to be the most valuable feature of the solution, along with all of the products and features offered under Office 365. My organization has remote workers, and we can't run the company without meetings organized with the help of Microsoft Teams.
AB
Mar 2, 2023
Great support with good spam filtering and a simple deployment
Avanan Cloud Email Security is one of the tools that give us confidence when we exchange emails and share files with our colleagues. It uses advanced AI that prevents malicious attacks from landing in our inboxes.  It has eliminated cases of cyber fraud with robust security features that block any…
Adeyemi Adedokun - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 18, 2024
Ensures that there is maximum security enabled for our communication processes
There has been issues when I have interacted with the support in the past, especially regarding technical issues. I have found them responsive for basic queries, but when I have raised issues for complex issues, there is a delay in the response from the support team. During the initial setup, when I faced challenges, the support team took a lot of time to address the issue and escalate it to the required personnel. In another issue raised, I was trying to confirm the status of a domain name. The support team was not able to help me out and provide with the necessary information. I suggest that there should be improvement in the support team towards handling such complex issues and technical concerns.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Defender enables us to secure all 365-related activity from a single place. It gives us visibility into everything happening in Outlook, protecting us against phishing and other email-based threats. Defender helps us detect any suspicious behaviors."
"Defender for Office 365 has helped eliminate having to look at multiple dashboards and that is the aspect I like most about it. It is simpler, effective, and convenient. The users like the process efficiency."
"The product's scalability is good."
"Does a thorough job of examining email and URLs for malicious content."
"The risk level notifications are most valuable. We get to know what kind of intrusion or attack is there, and we can fix a problem on time."
"There are several features that I consider valuable."
"It also gives the vulnerability status according to the versions you have selected. Let's say you have Google Chrome. It mentions the versions it has, and it updates. Within two hours of an update, it is reflected in the dashboard. That's really nice to have."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365's most valuable features are safe attachments and safe links."
"Email inspection has saved many employees from spam attacks and viruses from unauthorized sources."
"Avanan is a stable software. My company hasn't faced any issues, bugs, or problems with the performance of Avanan."
"I like Avanan's SmartDLP module. It's seamless, and the administrative overhead is low. We aren't a very sophisticated operation. We just want to reduce our exposure, so we find ThreatCloud helpful. Avanan's acquisition by Check Point was beneficial for them."
"The most valuable feature of Avanan is its effectiveness. When scanning incoming emails for threats it can in an automated fashion, quarantine suspicious attachments."
"This technology is one of Check Point's acquisitions, and it is currently a powerful tool that provides all the protection that is not found in other tools."
"The threat detection tools enable us to ascertain malware and phishing messages across the email network infrastructure."
"The integration with all our existing and new applications is great."
"It can detect corrupted files and filters out documents with viruses."
"There are many features that are important, but among those, the spam protection feature is very valuable. It help us to safeguard the email against phishing and ensures that there is maximum security enabled for our communication processes. It has a huge role in protecting our emails from potential threats."
"It's easy to use and the configuration is straightforward."
"The tool is a good solution for protecting against email attacks and monitoring networks. It supports our compliance efforts and is easy to use and stable."
"The platform is scalable when installed on server-based systems."
"The most valuable feature is its email security."
"The speed and stability were fine."
"Our client recently received many emails, and their employees didn't realize these emails were phishing attempts. Consequently, they clicked on them and fell victim to the attack. Therefore, it is important to secure their system with Sophos Email Security."
"The most valuable feature of Sophos Email is the sandbox. We're able to scan the file, isolate it, and look at it before it is delivered. It is highly effective."
 

Cons

"You should be able to deploy Defender for every subscription without the need to add servers."
"The visibility for the weaknesses in the system and unauthorized access can be improved."
"Microsoft security solutions work as expected. They are constantly updating the solutions to make them better. At the same time, the changes can impact a customer's environment, and we need to adjust settings. Sometimes we aren't aware of the changes, and nothing is pushed from the backend automatically."
"In one of the reports I can get the exact place where a vulnerable file resides. But for that, I need to explicitly go into the device and check. If they could include that file part in the report, without my having to go to the device itself, that would help."
"Configuration requires going to a lot of places rather than just accessing one tab."
"About eight months ago, we started to measure the quantity of phishing and spam that we have been receiving, and it has been increasing a lot. That means that protection for our email is not as good as we were expecting."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 should improve the troubleshooting tools. It's unclear whether the device is blocked at the firewall level or at the device itself. The granularity needed for troubleshooting is currently lacking. From my perspective, Microsoft should address this issue to benefit many users who likely share the same sentiment."
"Microsoft wants its well-paying customers to finish testing some of its half-baked products, find bugs, and report bugs back to Microsoft's team, which is a little frustrating for those who have to manage it and roll it up to thousands of people across the organization."
"Familiarization with performance for new teams may take a long time."
"The customer service team could come up with clear tutorials on how to use this platform to help new teams."
"Avanan doesn't cover certain tool segments."
"They should come up with a mobile application so that it can be more flexible."
"When sending bulky emails, the system slows down and takes a long time before it responds effectively to our requests."
"It should reduce the amount of time needed for thorough scanning."
"The system response in a slow computing device affects performance when sending and receiving emails."
"It is very difficult to find the required documentation."
"Sophos Email needs to increase the number of promos."
"The security of the solution could improve."
"The product could include all the essential features and capabilities, similar to the on-premise, server-based version."
"I would like to see improvements in the initial setup process, ensuring better compatibility with diverse customer infrastructures."
"The tool’s stability should be improved."
"Lacks visibility into spam emails."
"Sophos Email has few improvements to implement, including the handling of incoming emails in the systems. It needs to add additional feature that helps in enhancing the scanning processes of these emails. While adding these features, it should work towards improving the current features also."
"The solution has not found a way to block certain kinds of phishing emails."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."
"The pricing has become expensive."
"Defender is a little bit more expensive as compared to others. We are in the manufacturing environment. So, we don't have a high budget for all of our endpoint devices. Its cost is a major concern for us."
"The product is very expensive."
"Defender for 365 comes in various plans and licenses, along with other Microsoft security solutions. Purchasing this kind of package or security bundle gives good value for money, and that's what I recommend."
"The product is not the cheapest in the market."
"The pricing of Avanan is reasonable."
"Having the flexibility and modeling to do the pricing that best fits the needs of the organization is incredibly ideal. That is what Avanan does. They know exactly how many users are using it, etc. We can tune the invoicing associated with how we are using the product so we can charge it back to the shows appropriately."
"Good pricing arrangement as an SaaS offering."
"We have a monthly license that is $4 to $8 per user."
"Avanan’s price is comparable to Barracuda."
"The product is cheaper compared to other solutions."
"We use exchange licenses, for which we get immediate support from Sophos."
"Sophos Email is a little expensive for us, but it's necessary. We have a subscription and renew it every three years."
"Most of our clients are on a perpetual license. If there is a budget issue, they can choose a subscription. However, most of the clients choose the perpetual license."
"There is an additional fee for their central managed console."
"I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten."
"The tool's pricing is medium."
"Licensing is paid on a yearly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
48%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Construction Company
4%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of variou...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
The product must provide better malware detection. The detection algorithms don't perform the way I hope they would.
What do you like most about Avanan?
Spam protection is the most valuable feature.
What needs improvement with Avanan?
Avanan doesn't cover certain tool segments. Barracuda provides backup and retention of emails and Microsoft 365’s bac...
What do you like most about Sophos Email?
The solution's identity proxy feature is very good and reliable.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Email?
We use exchange licenses, for which we get immediate support from Sophos.
What needs improvement with Sophos Email?
The solution's sandboxing and spam control features could be improved. I have faced a few issues with false positives...
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
No data available
Sophos Email Security
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Bethel School District, ServiceSource, Capital Caring
Del Monte Foods, Terra Verde, spicerhaart, RIVERLITE, Dataprise, SureBridge, Reed's School, Sayfol International School
Find out what your peers are saying about Avanan vs. Sophos Email and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
787,061 professionals have used our research since 2012.