Cisco Secure Email Reviews

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.

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.

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.

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.

I have been using Cisco Secure Email for 15 years.

I purchased two gateways, one as a backup, but I have never had to use it. Cisco Secure Email is stable.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I will rate it 8 out of 10.

They were helpful.

Positive

Migrating to cloud systems could be challenging. 

We handle end-to-end implementation and also provide support services.

It is expensive. I would rate it 2 out of 10, where 1 is the most expensive and 10 is the cheapest. 

I consider Cisco Secure Email to be a top-notch product and would rate it as a ten out of ten.

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.

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.

I  have been using it for two years. 

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. 

I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. 

The customer service and support are very good. 

Positive

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.

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.

I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten. 

Our customers use the solution as an email security tool.

The product blocks spam emails.

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.

I have been reselling the solution since 2010.

I rate the tool’s stability an eight out of ten.

I rate the tool’s scalability a seven out of ten. Our customers are medium and enterprise-level businesses.

I rate the ease of setup a seven or eight out of ten. The deployments takes one to two weeks.

I rate the product a seven out of ten on a scale where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

Sometimes, customers choose Forcepoint or Barracuda. Usually, if the customers have a Cisco setup, they choose Cisco Secure Email.

Cisco is an integrated solution. Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.

We have a number of different types of customers and organizations who need to secure their environment. These range from healthcare professionals to financial organizations to very small organizations. They have a number of security requirements, whether it's just to secure the actual environment where they're working and also to provide additional services, such as VPNs and remote access for their remote workers.

Most of the customers that I work with tend to be on-prem, and a lot of them go with the centralized management system, FMC, purely because it has larger memory and larger hard disk space, and it can hold reports for a much longer period of time. Also, as their network infrastructure scales, FMC can manage more and more of their devices, and they're not having to manage individual devices. It's all centralized for them. 

A lot of our customers use another Cisco product already, so they have confidence in Cisco products. The firewalls they are currently deploying and using have evolved from their older ASA products. They are now moving to the new Firepower Threat Defense, which incorporates many more features and allows them to get the latest ALOFT download and feeds for any security vulnerabilities and they're able to react very quickly to any vulnerabilities that have been highlighted.

Initially, when the firewalls were first marketed and came onto the market, the visibility wasn't very good. But as the software evolved over time, that visibility has increased a lot more, and that is giving customers a lot more competence in the traffic and the traffic flows that they're seeing through the actual devices, so they can better understand the types of applications that they have on their network.

The good thing about the actual firewall itself is that it can integrate with other Cisco products, such as Cisco ISE so that it allows full end-to-end visibility of connectivity. It gives very good visibility. It's that integration with other products, not just what that individual firewall can do itself.

Talos is obviously fundamental to the actual firewall, reporting on vulnerabilities that are happening day to day. And the regular downloads, obviously, give customers confidence that their products are as secure as they can actually be.

There are a number of valuable features because we have that sort of single product that can do a number of different things, but remote access for users is very important, and visibility of the types of traffic that are passing through the actual appliances is very good, and the reporting of the devices is very good. 

It's not just the firewalls themselves, but one thing I think, where certainly firewalls and other products could actually improve, is in the licensing. Licensing is quite complicated for a number of customers, including ourselves. The licensing appears to be changing on a regular basis depending on the product and the software versions, so we are constantly having to keep up to speed with the different licensing types.

I have been using Cisco Secure Email for over ten years.

When most software evolves, the software becomes more stable and feature-rich. As we're seeing with the latest version from seven onwards, it's a lot more resilient and a lot more robust. The actual GUI interface is also a lot slicker now, whereas before it was a little bit clunky. We've definitely seen improvements with the latest version of Secure Firewall.

We typically work with customers to price space. We don't typically work with customers in the service provider realm where they would typically have very large scaling of firewalls. They would do clustering and things like that. We know that these features are available, but that's not a particular area that we would actually work in. But, obviously, there's a breadth of Firepower products and platforms, and we can actually scale or arrange the correct firewall for the particular needs of that customer.

As with most Cisco products, we typically find Cisco and their support very good. In the unlikely case, we have to raise a tech issue, they're very responsive, and they generally always provide a quick resolution to any encountered problems.

The tech engineers are very knowledgeable. The tech engineers who pick up cases know the product very well. And they always dive deep into the problem and provide regular updates to us or to the customer. If there are any other problems that are noticed after we've had an issue, the case can be reopened and investigated further.

Positive

We and our customers use a variety of different firewall manufacturers, not just Cisco. And as with all vendors, some have better properties or better features than others. Cisco Firewalls for Firepower had to use the centralized management system, FMC, but where some customers prefer just an On-Box GUI to configure the device, Cisco was playing catch up with other vendors who were operating in that same area. But what we found is that with later versions of Firepower and also FDM which is the On-Box management, those features have now come leaps and bounds. They are now on par with the centralized FMC to the FDM, allowing customers an easier way to deploy these products not only on-premise but also in the cloud.

I would give Cisco Secure Firewall an eight out of ten. We're expecting that with later versions of software, again, more features will become available.

We have approximately 2000 employees and we sell a variety of Cisco solutions and products. 

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.

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.

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 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.

We've been a partner of Cisco for more than 10 years, and we've mostly done integration of solutions. 

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.

Positive

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.

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.

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.

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.

I use Cisco Secure Email mainly as a email security gateway, including internal email distribution.

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 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.

I have been using Cisco Secure Email for the past twenty years.

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.

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.

The technical support is satisfactory.

Positive

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.

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 .

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.

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.

We use the solution for endpoint protection, including email protection, such as antivirus, anti-phishing, content filtering, outbreak filtering, and greymail protection.

An important feature is retrospective analysis, which allows the solution to retrieve emails sent even a week ago, even if they have already been delivered. This is done by analyzing emails for malicious content after they have been sent.

Cisco Secure Email focuses on cloud-based threat intelligence and endpoint security. The current version improves on the on-premises version by integrating Threat Grid and Advanced Malware Protection, which helps users quickly identify malicious emails.

The product is stable. We never had issues. If everything is configured right, it's something you can easily forget about.

The solution is scalable.

1300 users are using this solution.

We used it once when the appliance was acting up and then realized that an upgrade was needed. We follow up on the requirements upgrades and patching. It doesn't require much patching.

The initial setup is straightforward.

Cisco Secure Email can be integrated in-house, but we are too busy. Therefore, we have decided to use an integrator.

Even though Cisco Secure Email is not cheap, it offers a good return on investment. Cisco needs to ensure that its products are functional and have a long support timeline.

The solution is not cheap.

Cisco Secure Email is a fast data service. Because of this, most of its features are already pre-configured. All clients need to do is customize and tailor the service to their specific use cases.

I would recommend anyone using the on-premise ports move to the cloud.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

The tool has a DLP solution which we can implement. Its database is updated regularly. 

The tool's pricing can be improved. 

I have been using the solution for seventeen years. 

Cisco Secure Email is stable. 

We have more than 1500 users for the product. 

The tool's support is good. 

Cisco Secure Email's installation was straightforward. We discussed with the integrator, designed the implementation and tested the product. 

An integrator helped us with the product's installation. 

Cisco Secure Email is not expensive, and licensing costs are yearly. 

I rate Cisco Secure Email a nine out of ten. 

We use Cisco Secure Email for email security.

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.

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.

I've been using Cisco Secure Email for ten years. Currently, I'm using the latest version.

The stability of the product is a ten on ten.

Scalability-wise, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

I've had a good experience with Cisco's customer service and support team. They respond immediately.

Positive

We have worked with Barracuda Email Security and Trend Micro Email Security.

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.

It is a reasonably priced solution. I rate its pricing as a seven out of ten.

Cisco Secure Email is easy-to-use. I highly recommend it and rate it an eight out of ten.