The tool has a DLP solution which we can implement. Its database is updated regularly.
Senior operations manager at Orange
Comes with a DLP solution and updates database regularly
Pros and Cons
- "The tool has a DLP solution which we can implement. Its database is updated regularly."
- "The tool's pricing can be improved."
What is most valuable?
What needs improvement?
The tool's pricing can be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for seventeen years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Cisco Secure Email is stable.
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Email
August 2026
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Email. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2026.
907,816 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have more than 1500 users for the product.
How are customer service and support?
The tool's support is good.
How was the initial setup?
Cisco Secure Email's installation was straightforward. We discussed with the integrator, designed the implementation and tested the product.
What about the implementation team?
An integrator helped us with the product's installation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Cisco Secure Email is not expensive, and licensing costs are yearly.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Cisco Secure Email a 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.
Information Security Specialist at City Of Hamilton
Has effortless spam control, improves security posture, and frees up our IT department's time
Pros and Cons
- "Spam controls are excellent because they are a powerful feature that operates almost effortlessly."
- "I have some frustrations with the user experience in the interface, specifically with regard to making a list of people for whom I want to allow email access."
What is our primary use case?
Originally, Cisco Secure Email was primarily intended to combat spam. The day we installed it, we immediately noticed a significant difference. Since then, it has proven to be one of the best investments we have made in the fight against spam. However, its functionality has expanded beyond spam prevention. It now includes features such as Data Loss Prevention, quarantining of malicious attachments, compliance with workplace policies, and assistance in battling against phishing attempts.
How has it helped my organization?
From a security perspective, our organization is much stronger in the email domain. We have effectively monitored spam patterns, and with the rise of phishing in recent years, our capabilities have further improved. This has been beneficial for our organization since we can identify and prevent specific types of phishing emails.
We have the ability to customize certain aspects ourselves, which has also aided our organization. Additionally, relying solely on users to make secure decisions regarding phishing emails is not always reliable. Asking non-security personnel to make security-related choices can be risky. Therefore, Cisco Secure Email has been instrumental in relieving users of this responsibility. By implementing specific metrics and criteria, we can intercept and block such emails, allowing the system to handle the workload. Although the process requires some manual intervention on our part, it is acceptable considering our large user base of 9,000 individuals. Cisco Secure Email has played a crucial role in shouldering this burden and has greatly benefited our organization.
The effects of Cisco Talos on our security operations are really good. In the past, there was a philosophy that some security professionals used called defense in depth. It has two dimensions. One is implementing defense at the edge of our network, then progressing further inside the network, all the way to the desktop. We continue to implement security at different points, including the desktop, to ensure comprehensive coverage. Another interpretation of defense in depth is implementing security measures from different vendors. Each vendor has its own strengths, such as better virus scanning or more effective firewalls. By using a mix of vendors, we cover a wider range of potential threats and minimize vulnerabilities. However, I believe this approach is no longer necessary because of tools like Cisco Talos. Talos provides such extensive coverage that it quickly addresses new threats. We no longer need to worry about relying on multiple vendors to catch up. Cisco Talos has been great for our security.
It has significantly saved our IT staff a considerable amount of time. Without it, we would likely be dedicating four times the current amount of time to managing email and spam. Currently, one staff member spends five hours per week on this task. Without Cisco Secure Email, that number would increase to twenty hours per week, equivalent to one hundred hours per month. Thus, I estimate a time saving of around three hundred percent. Additionally, the absence of Cisco Secure Email would result in a three to four hundred percent increase in staffing requirements, as we currently have a team member solely responsible for managing the product on a daily basis. However, the time spent by this individual using the solution is far less than it would be if they were dealing with email issues without the solution. Thus, Cisco Secure Email has had an immense impact.
Cisco Secure Email helps us consolidate some tools. When we installed Cisco Secure Email, we had another email PMDF gateway that had extremely outdated capabilities for blocking things. It was ineffective. Cisco Secure Email surpassed our previous methods by leaps and bounds.
Cisco Secure Email has aided our organization in enhancing its cybersecurity resilience. Without Cisco Secure Email, our cybersecurity posture and resilience would be significantly compromised.
What is most valuable?
Spam controls are excellent because they are a powerful feature that operates almost effortlessly. Therefore, the device performs this function exceptionally well right from the start. That's what makes it one of the most powerful features. The entire center-based ecosystem functions as an app. It's a hands-off product, but it's a hands-on process in terms of spam control. The main action we take is whitelisting certain senders whom we trust. Apart from that, we adjust the sensitivity of our spam classification system to determine how aggressively the device identifies something as spam. We do this by sliding a slider or modifying a score, depending on our organization's willingness to accept the associated level of risk. This is essentially the extent of our involvement in spam control. Once configured, we allow the system to perform its job.
What needs improvement?
I have some frustrations with the user experience in the interface, specifically with regard to making a list of people for whom I want to allow email access. Let's say I have ten people, all of them being VIPs. I allow emails for them because they frequently communicate important information. However, working with these lists is quite challenging. It's difficult to rearrange or manipulate the entries once they are added to the list. The interface could definitely benefit from some improvements.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Secure Email for 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I purchased two gateways, one as a backup, but I have never had to use it. Cisco Secure Email is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The current hardware I have is a few years old. Just last week or two weeks ago, we received a large number of emails, and as a result, the device experienced some slowdown. Considering the scale of traffic and activity, I am encountering an issue with it. I acknowledge that the cloud is more efficient in handling such large platforms. I would say the scalability for on-premises systems could be improved, but it's also partly due to the fact that I am using an older chassis. I may have to consider moving to the cloud eventually because the service remains the same through the client portal in the cloud.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is amazing. I have some Palo Alto firewalls and some Cisco firewalls. Whenever I encounter a problem with Cisco, I call Cisco TAC, and their response is consistently fast. I always get connected with an engineer, and I never feel like I have to explain myself to a level-one technician. Sometimes we require a high level of expertise because we face complex issues, and Cisco TAC delivers that.
In contrast, my experience with Palo Alto and other vendors is different. We often start at level one, where we explain our problem to a junior or someone at a lower escalation level. Unfortunately, the message is sometimes lost in translation, or they struggle to grasp it. This creates a challenge as we try to escalate the issue through their support system to reach someone who can assist us effectively. It can be quite frustrating.
We don't encounter this friction with Cisco TAC and their escalation process. Our experiences with Cisco TAC have consistently been positive.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
I was not a security personnel at the time of deployment; however, I was the network personnel displaying an interest in security. Therefore, I was assigned the task of installing the email gateway. Technically, the setup was simple. I connected it to the network and redirected all emails to that gateway. Once this was done, the installation was complete.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Cisco Secure Email is expensive, but we get what we pay for. Many organizations consistently make this mistake—they don't want to invest in top-notch solutions. However, it is crucial to consider the cost of a breach. An organization could end up spending far more due to a breach caused by using an inferior solution, compared to the expense of implementing Cisco Secure Email. Personally, I am satisfied with the pricing because Cisco Secure Email is a superior solution.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Cisco Secure Email a ten out of ten. The solution performs effectively and accomplishes its intended purpose better than anything else I have encountered.
I do not subscribe to the Cisco Secure Email end-to-end model, but I have witnessed its effectiveness in action. It works exceptionally well for securing the infrastructure from end to end and aids in detecting and mitigating threats.
If an organization has the budget for Cisco Secure Email, I would not give another solution a second thought. We have been using this solution for 15 years and have not explored other options. Recently, we migrated our email to Exchange Online, but we chose to retain Cisco's defenses instead of relying on Microsoft's cloud Exchange Online Protection. We decided to stick with Cisco because I would have needed to replicate the policies from my Cisco investment in Microsoft, and I lack the resources to do so. Additionally, I wasn't confident in Microsoft's ability to match Cisco's performance in the security field at that time. I didn't observe the same level of quality in security and spam filtering with Microsoft. Cisco was setting the standard while Microsoft was still trying to catch up.
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.
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Email
August 2026
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Email. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2026.
907,816 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
Designed to secure email activities and interactions within such systems
Pros and Cons
- "Cisco Secure Email is part of Cisco's extensive efforts and investments in technology, especially in the realm of cyber security. The product is one among many security solutions offered by Cisco."
- "While Cisco offers excellent solutions and innovations, the pricing may not be suitable for everyone. The cost of the software is relatively high. In the current market, there are numerous competitive alternatives that focus on security, enterprise networks, and various other aspects. Cisco, being a comprehensive provider, extends its expertise across data, servers, storage, and security, making them a preferred choice for many enterprises. However, when it comes specifically to security solutions, there are other vendors that specialize solely in this domain, offering competitive options."
What is our primary use case?
We use Cisco Secure Email for email security, aiming to safeguard email communications. It plays a crucial role in protecting the integrity of email integrations, particularly as many companies now opt for Microsoft email services. It's designed to secure email activities and interactions within such systems.
What is most valuable?
Cisco Secure Email is part of Cisco's extensive efforts and investments in technology, especially in the realm of cyber security. The product is one among many security solutions offered by Cisco.
What needs improvement?
While Cisco offers excellent solutions and innovations, the pricing may not be suitable for everyone. The cost of the software is relatively high. In the current market, there are numerous competitive alternatives that focus on security, enterprise networks, and various other aspects. Cisco, being a comprehensive provider, extends its expertise across data, servers, storage, and security, making them a preferred choice for many enterprises. However, when it comes specifically to security solutions, there are other vendors that specialize solely in this domain, offering competitive options.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've personally been working with Cisco Secure Email for the past three to four years. However, in a professional capacity, I've been dedicated to the field of security for about one year and eighteen months.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I will rate it 8 out of 10.
How are customer service and support?
They were helpful.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
Migrating to cloud systems could be challenging.
What about the implementation team?
We handle end-to-end implementation and also provide support services.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is expensive. I would rate it 2 out of 10, where 1 is the most expensive and 10 is the cheapest.
What other advice do I have?
I consider Cisco Secure Email to be a top-notch product and would rate it as a ten out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Easy to maintain and good TAC support
Pros and Cons
- "This solution provides some benefits, like comfortable access to TAC support. You get prompt support when working directly with Cisco."
- "In future releases, I would like to see two main improvements come to mind. First, the current solution requires maintaining two separate operating systems for FTD, which can be cumbersome. I'd love to see a single operating system for the FTD box."
What is most valuable?
This solution provides some benefits, like comfortable access to TAC support. You get prompt support when working directly with Cisco. Moreover, the current integration level is fine.
What needs improvement?
There are some drawbacks, like the pricing. It's not a default version, and the cost can be prohibitive. If you're working on projects where winning the bid is crucial, then the high price tag can be a major obstacle. Partnerships are required to use the solution. So it can be more affordable.
In future releases, I would like to see two main improvements come to mind. First, the current solution requires maintaining two separate operating systems for FTD, which can be cumbersome. I'd love to see a single operating system for the FTD box.
Second, some improvements could be made in the documentation and reporting.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Performance is actually very good. I have deployed around 10 to 15 instances of this solution, and so far, I haven't encountered any major issues. As of now, it's a good product.
I would rate the stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
The customer service and support are very good.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not that easy. We needed experienced engineers because FTD is a new technology, especially if you're used to VMware or other on-box solutions. Cisco provides both on-box and VM solutions. However, deploying the FTD with the on-box option requires managing two separate operating systems: the FXOS and the FTD. It's not the most user-friendly process, but once deployed, management is quite easy.
You can use the FMC to manage all Cisco security products from one place, making management convenient. However, deployment is still a bit clunky.
What about the implementation team?
Deployment typically takes a whole day. The time can vary depending on the number of firewalls involved. Updating the system can also be time-consuming, especially with the new FCDI and FCDO operating systems.
Maintenance is actually quite easy after initial deployment. Once a supplier sets it up, ongoing maintenance is straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. MSP
Sr. Director, Business Development & Sales Operations at connect professional services
A stable and easy-to-deploy tool that provides good integrations and blocks spam emails
Pros and Cons
- "The product blocks spam emails."
- "The scalability must be improved."
What is our primary use case?
Our customers use the solution as an email security tool.
What is most valuable?
The product blocks spam emails.
What needs improvement?
The scalability must be improved. The product is a bit traditional. There are many vendors in the market. A customer might not always choose Cisco.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been reselling the solution since 2010.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s scalability a seven out of ten. Our customers are medium and enterprise-level businesses.
How was the initial setup?
I rate the ease of setup a seven or eight out of ten. The deployments takes one to two weeks.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the product a seven out of ten on a scale where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Sometimes, customers choose Forcepoint or Barracuda. Usually, if the customers have a Cisco setup, they choose Cisco Secure Email.
What other advice do I have?
Cisco is an integrated solution. Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller
Regional Manager at Digitaltrack
An easy-to-use product with good security features
Pros and Cons
- "It is a user-friendly product."
- "There could be additional DLP functionality for it."
What is our primary use case?
We use Cisco Secure Email for email security.
What is most valuable?
The product stands out compared to other vendors in simplicity and ease of use. It is competitive and should be considered a user-friendly option. Its integration capability is good as well.
What needs improvement?
It would be beneficial to have additional DLP functionality, particularly in the email DLP aspect. It could be included in the next release of the product.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Cisco Secure Email for ten years. Currently, I'm using the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the product is a ten on ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability-wise, I rate the product a nine out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
I've had a good experience with Cisco's customer service and support team. They respond immediately.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have worked with Barracuda Email Security and Trend Micro Email Security.
How was the initial setup?
We have deployed Cisco Secure Email both on-premises and in the cloud. One can use it as a private cloud solution or a virtual appliance in a cloud environment. The implementation and configuration process, including the dashboard, was user-friendly and straightforward. Along with it, the on-premises deployment was easy. It took less than an hour to complete.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is a reasonably priced solution. I rate its pricing as a seven out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
Cisco Secure Email is easy-to-use. I highly recommend it and rate it an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Pre Sales Manager at Logix
A hybrid solution for email security that filters spam emails that needs to improve its UI
Pros and Cons
- "The strong point of the solution is that we hardly get any spam emails because of Cisco Secure Email."
- "Scalability has certain shortcomings and needs to be improved because there are service providers who provide better scalability.v"
What is our primary use case?
The product is used for email security. We have around forty boxes of Cisco and cater to around four million users.
What is most valuable?
The strong point of the solution is that we hardly get any spam emails because of Cisco Secure Email. It has been a long time since I saw a spam email in my inbox.
What needs improvement?
Scalability has certain shortcomings and needs to be improved because there are service providers who provide better scalability.
Our company constantly checks out what the solution needs to improve. We need to be updated with what is available in the market and which application performs better.
The solution's UI needs little tweaking because most customers find it to be a very detailed and technically designed UI. If a person does not know email security or how Cisco devices work, he cannot manage it.
Other solutions are user-friendly. Even if the admin has a basic knowledge of managing the services, he can use them.
Cisco Secure Email needs to work on the security part, but it also needs to work on UI since it makes part of the entire solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Secure Email since 2010. My company is an email security service provider. I am using the solution's latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable.
I rate the solution's stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have four million users using the solution. In India, we are a premium service provider of Cisco Secure Email catering to many institutions.
I rate the solution's scalability a six out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Cisco's technical support is good. I rate the technical support an eight and a half out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used Sophos and Mimecast before in our company.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward, but a new person needs to be trained to use this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution has very good pricing.
I rate the pricing a ten out of ten on a scale where one means it is less cost-effective, and ten means it is the most cost-effective solution.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend Cisco Secure Email to those planning to use it.
Around 40 administrators are required for maintenance.
Overall, I rate the solution a seven 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?
Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Provides reliable protection, brings awareness, and has adaptable pricing
Pros and Cons
- "The advanced phishing protection and the integration with the awareness tool that Cisco has embedded into the solution to bring awareness to the customers about the dangers of phishing attacks and other things that come from email are the most valuable features."
- "Cisco is already providing a very good environment with the IronPort solution, but there could be some more integration with other products. For instance, an integration with the EDR solution could be there to raise an alert."
What is our primary use case?
I work at S21sec, which is a partner of Cisco in Portugal. We do integration of different Cisco solutions for our customers. Nowadays, we mostly do integration of Cisco cloud solutions for customers.
Cisco Secure Email is the solution that we deploy for customers in Portugal mostly as a backup of an existing solution such as Office 365 because it guarantees that the customer never falls out of options if the main product has some problem. If they rely on having an email solution that cannot fail, that's an excellent option for them to have in place. It's the oldest solution that we deploy for customers in Portugal. It has a very nice history and very good quality. It's perceived by our customers as an email solution that functions all the time.
How has it helped my organization?
One benefit is the resilience of the solution when implemented in conjunction with other solutions, and the other one is the new features that Cisco is adding to the solution itself, such as awareness of advanced phishing threats. The environment that Cisco is building around this primary product in its catalog is helpful.
We offer almost all of the Cisco Security solutions, but recently, we've been working more with cloud solutions. It's easier for customers to adopt them. We also continue to deploy some of the firewall solutions with the physical devices and also email protection solutions either with the VM solutions or with the physical appliances. We've been seeing evermore integration of the products based on the browsing console, which is very nice for customers because they only need to have a browser to access all the different consoles of different products. They can be consolidated with SecureX. It's an advantage for the customer to be able to handle all the different consoles for different integrations that the customer has in one place.
Cisco Talos is a very nice complementary solution to the email protection suite. It gives you the threat intel regarding the latest news and infections that can be problematic for the customers. They become aware of what's happening and any latest vulnerabilities they may have on-prem.
What is most valuable?
The advanced phishing protection and the integration with the awareness tool that Cisco has embedded into the solution to bring awareness to the customers about the dangers of phishing attacks and other things that come from email are the most valuable features.
What needs improvement?
Cisco has already improved this solution with some add-ons to the basic product. Cisco is already providing a very good environment with the IronPort solution, but there could be some more integration with other products. For instance, an integration with the EDR solution could be there to raise an alert.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been a partner of Cisco for more than 10 years, and we've mostly done integration of solutions.
How are customer service and support?
We usually give the first line of support to the customer, and then only, we go to the Cisco support. We have a very strong Cisco security team in Portugal, so whenever we need any support, we use those resources. I don't remember a time when I had to open a ticket because the local team has been very good.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Cisco Secure Email hasn't helped clients consolidate any applications. In Portugal, there's no business for that because what you usually do is implement several solutions that are regarded as the better solutions in terms of the market. In some cases, it could be Cisco, and in other cases, it could be another player. At S21sec, we try to give a better solution to customers and adapt and customize it to the specific needs of our customers.
The main difference between Cisco Secure Email and other solutions is the reliability and the capability to offline the email if there are some problems on the customer side. We can also overcome problems that may arise in terms of the local telecommunication operators that handle the communication. If there's a failure there, we can overcome those problems with the relays from the Cisco solution.
How was the initial setup?
The deployment model varies a little bit. In Portugal, some sectors still rely on on-prem solutions, but we are trying to build awareness that the new solutions relying on the cloud are better for the customers because they don't have to worry about getting new patches and new security updates and patching the infrastructure. They only need to rely on having a service that is provided by Cisco for having the best security. They don't have to worry about the maintenance of the platform itself. The cloud provider that our clients use varies. We work a lot with the banks and financial organizations in Portugal. They are historical customers that don't want to go for public cloud solutions. They still rely on on-prem solutions. They have evolved to having virtualized solutions instead of appliance solutions, but they still rely on having mostly private cloud solutions. They use local providers. We are seeing a shift to global providers but not with all of them.
It's a very modular solution. We have some customers who have deployments all over the world. We clusterize the solutions in each of those locations, and then they connect them with the global management solution. We can manage all the operations of the different clusters spread around the world from one site. It's a very good solution in terms of redundancy even in different geographies.
It's a very easy solution. You can go for a very customizable environment, but usually, for the day-to-day needs of most customers, it's very easy to deploy. You can just customize the options to make it more secure for a customer's environment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's adapted to the market. It's similar to other vendors. We at least don't have many problems regarding that because Cisco is adaptable on that side. When we present the solutions to the customers, we tend to achieve the goals that the customer has in terms of the budget for such implementations.
We offer the best solution for what customers intend to do and the type of problems that their business may have. When a solution is adaptable and customizable to the customer environment, customers tend to go ahead with it. Even if it requires more investment, we find a way of getting it to the budget and getting a good return on investment.
What other advice do I have?
To those evaluating this solution, I'd recommend trying the product. Cloud solutions are very easy to use, and you can do a PoC. In a matter of hours or a day, you can deploy the solution and use it fully.
We are Cisco partners. Cisco has a very nice solution and a very good security team in Portugal, but obviously, they can't cater to all the customers. An integrator does that part. With the relationship that we have with the customers, we can apply and customize the solutions that Cisco has in its portfolio according to the environment and specific needs of each customer.
Our partnership with Cisco is pretty close to a 10 out of 10 because we are getting different kinds of solutions. We at S21sec handle just security. We don't do storage, and we don't do servers. We are very focused on security, and the partnership that we have with Cisco is ever-growing because nowadays, for instance, OT solutions are also a very huge concern for us, and what we have seen with Cisco solutions that are being brought to the market is that they also started to handle the new security issues that we find in other sectors. They are not only into IT. They are also going into the OT and the IoT world. They are able to customize and bring new solutions, even some developed insights, by buying other companies and adapting them to the Cisco reality. They are able to devise a product that handles the needs of different kinds of customers in different areas of the business, not just the IT world but also the industrial world.
I would rate Cisco Secure Email a nine out of ten. It's growing up to be much more than just an email protection tool. It's going for the awareness of the customers, and that's a good complementary solution that addresses other problems that come from using email nowadays.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller
Network Security Engineer at Galaxy Backbone Ltd
Good support, integrates well with SMA, and does what it is designed to do
Pros and Cons
- "It is doing its work. It is doing what it was actually designed to do. It has ensured we don't have business email compromises, and it has also ensured that our brand Galaxy is unique all year round."
- "Email service is one of the services that we offer at Galaxy, and Cisco ESA has improved our business so much that our customers want to maintain their business with us for email security, with over 500 domains on our email platform and improved profitability in everything."
- "The area of license renewal should be improved. We normally renew our license every year. There is a feature called smart licensing, and I switched from the legacy mode to the smart licensing mode because of what I thought smart licensing does. I thought it would make licensing renewal seamless and very swift, but ever since I've switched to smart licensing, each time I want to renew my license, it is a whole lot of headache. The process is not smooth, and I had to keep calling Cisco TAC to see how the issue can be resolved. At one point, I wanted to revert back to the legacy mode, but I can't revert. Once you switch from the legacy mode to the smart licensing mode, you can't revert. They should improve on the visibility of the smart licensing mode so that it can indeed be smart and easier to use for the license renewal every year. That is one challenge."
- "The area of license renewal should be improved. We normally renew our license every year."
What is our primary use case?
It is our email gateway. We have the Exchange Servers, but the Exchange Servers don't relay directly with the internet. We have ESA in-between, and every incoming and outgoing email must pass through ESA before it gets to the internet.
We are using Email Security Appliance C690, and we have three of them in a cluster. They are on-premise. We have decided not to go to the cloud. It is primarily because most of our clients are government agencies and the government, and they have this suspicion about the cloud. So, right now, we are still on-premise.
Currently, we are on version 13.8. There is a newer version, but we are yet to migrate to that version.
How has it helped my organization?
We use ESA with Security Management Appliance (SMA). We have SMA M690. The integration of ESA and SMA makes the whole work easier. SMA is the central content appliance, and we have three ESAs. The SMA is able to collaborate with the clustered ESAs for log management and other things. It gives some stability in terms of what is happening. ESA keeps a lot of logs, so SMA is able to move through ESA and get those logs out. This integration has really helped us to drive our operation in the email platform.
It does a lot in terms of preventing phishing and business email compromise with DP and Advanced Phishing Protection. DMARC gives visibility for preventing spoofing and social engineering attacks. ESA has been able to help and protect us from those attacks. It is doing a lot of work. Gartner has always rated Cisco's ESA appliance as one of the major players.
It is doing a lot to prevent spam, malware, and ransomware. Everything is also tied to how you have configured it. Some of the spam emails don't get to the customers. We can quarantine a spam email, which gives us the visibility to look at it and see if it is actually spam or not. It is doing its work. It is. There are no false positives. It is working perfectly.
Email service is one of the services that we offer at Galaxy. ESA has improved our business. Our customers want to maintain their business with us for email security. We have over 500 domains on our email platform. It has improved our profitability in everything.
What is most valuable?
They have a lot of features such as Advanced Malware Protection, Email Protection, Advanced Phishing Protection, Antispam, Antivirus, and Outbreak Filters. They are very important.
It is doing its work. It is doing what it was actually designed to do. It has ensured we don't have business email compromises, and it has also ensured that our brand Galaxy is unique all year round.
What needs improvement?
The area of license renewal should be improved. We normally renew our license every year. There is a feature called smart licensing, and I switched from the legacy mode to the smart licensing mode because of what I thought smart licensing does. I thought it would make licensing renewal seamless and very swift, but ever since I've switched to smart licensing, each time I want to renew my license, it is a whole lot of headache. The process is not smooth, and I had to keep calling Cisco TAC to see how the issue can be resolved. At one point, I wanted to revert back to the legacy mode, but I can't revert. Once you switch from the legacy mode to the smart licensing mode, you can't revert. They should improve on the visibility of the smart licensing mode so that it can indeed be smart and easier to use for the license renewal every year. That is one challenge.
Another challenge is that there is no way for me to know my level of utilization. For example, if I have a subscription of 2,000, there should be a way for me to know my level of utilization. Currently, I don't know my level of utilization. So, if my license is renewed on 20,000 subscribers and I'm using less than 20,000, I wouldn't know. It doesn't improve my ROI. If I'm using less than the subscription I've applied for, there should be a way the system should tell me, rather than me going to find out manually. When I go to the smart licensing profile, I should be able to see my utilization. I should be able to see that I've subscribed for 20,000 but I'm only using 12,000. This means that if I'm going to renew, I should reduce my licensing mode from 20,000 to maybe 15,000. This kind of information should be given to the customers, but right now, we don't have that.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution since 2017. My organization has been using it before that. It has always been in use as our email security gateway.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable. They have AsyncOS, which is the OS that runs on the appliance. They've released different versions. There is a general version, a limited version, etc. They keep coming with more services just to improve the platform.
We never experienced downtime. We have ESAs, and they are in a cluster. If one ESA fails, there is no downtime. The remaining two can handles email communication and relay. We have high availability and redundancy. So, we don't experience any downtime.
We do ESA health checks with OEM during which they connect with us virtually. They connect to the device and then check if all security features are still well configured and if there is any other way to improve. Doing this quarterly has really helped to make sure that the appliances are up to date.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
They are very good. I would rate them a nine out of 10. If possible, I would rate them a 10, but I just want to be a little bit reserved.
They've really been very knowledgeable and very patient, and they've always ensured that for any issue, any ticket, or any case that is opened with them, they are prompt. They are quick to ensure that they resolve an issue as soon as possible.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
It has always been ESA from the onset.
How was the initial setup?
I wasn't part of the team from the beginning to the end. I came when they were almost done. It was complex but also very interesting. It took two weeks or so if I'm not mistaken.
For the setup, you need to look at the low-level design and the architecture, and then you look at the network interfaces, listeners, routes, default routes, etc. If there is a way they can come up with step-by-step information about configuring it, that would really be nice. The guide right now is too cumbersome and bulky. If there is more straight-to-the-point and procedural information, it would be better.
What about the implementation team?
Cisco service engineers were the ones in charge.
What was our ROI?
We have seen an ROI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
At times, we feel the pricing is a bit too high, but then, there is also room for discounts. We enjoy a lot of discounts, and that is why we are still with them. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have evaluated other solutions, such as FortiMail from Fortinet, but we stuck with Cisco ESA. ESA's pricing and licensing were what led to us trying to see how we can bring it all together.
What other advice do I have?
It is stable and credible. I would always tell someone else to try it out. Of course, before you try it out, you can look at what Gartner is saying. Gartner has always placed the Cisco Email Security Appliance up there along with Mimecast and other top players.
It is well-secured. Security is everyone's concern, so I will always tell people to go for it. It is very secure. Its pricing has been a little bit high, but you can always ask for a discount from your account managers, country manager, or whoever is in charge in your region.
I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.
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.
Owner at Jolly Security Inc
A threat detection solution for email security gateway, including internal email distribution
Pros and Cons
- "We rely heavily on antivirus protection, email content filtering, and authentication mechanisms to ensure compliance with email security. Regarding phishing attempts, while phishing protection features are crucial, we also emphasize user education as a critical defence. The intelligence services Cisco provides, such as the Cisco Intelligence Center, play a significant role in analyzing and validating threats, including phishing attempts, in our email security practices."
- "The discontinuation of physical hardware solutions is a significant area for improvement in Cisco Email Security Appliance. This decision has posed challenges as virtual appliances are now the only option, which may not be suitable for all industries. The uncertainty regarding the future of the hardware aspect of the solution is a notable concern."
What is our primary use case?
I use Cisco Secure Email mainly as a email security gateway, including internal email distribution.
What is most valuable?
We rely heavily on antivirus protection, email content filtering, and authentication mechanisms to ensure compliance with email security. Regarding phishing attempts, while phishing protection features are crucial, we also emphasize user education as a critical defence. The intelligence services Cisco provides, such as the Cisco Intelligence Center, play a significant role in analyzing and validating threats, including phishing attempts, in our email security practices.
What needs improvement?
The discontinuation of physical hardware solutions is a significant area for improvement in the Cisco Email Security Appliance. This decision has posed challenges as virtual appliances are now the only option, which may not be suitable for all industries. The uncertainty regarding the future of the hardware aspect of the solution is a notable concern.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Secure Email for the past twenty years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In terms of stability, there have been minimal issues, mainly typical hardware-related ones like hard disk failures. However, overall, it's a competent solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My experience with the scalability of Cisco Email Security Appliance has been positive, as it can handle our processes efficiently. We do have plans to increase usage based on business needs.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is satisfactory.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The setup process for Cisco Email Security Appliance is straightforward in my experience. Integration with our existing ecosystem of Cisco tools was seamless for networking features.Maintenance primarily involves tuning and understanding SMTP and email infrastructure and general email operations.We deployed it on our private cloud, and the physical enablement on the network was relatively fast, usually within a day.
What was our ROI?
Regarding return on investment, I find it highly valuable and worth its cost in the email security market. I recommend this solution to others, as it stands out as one of the best options .
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing for Cisco Email Security Appliance involves recurring costs for licenses based on the contracted time frame, such as one year, three years, or five years. Renewals are required after the license expires.
What other advice do I have?
Cisco Secure Email may incorporate AI capabilities, but I'm not directly familiar with its implementation in threat detection. I would rate it as a nine out of ten due to its effectiveness, reliability, and value for investment.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Updated: August 2026
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