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PeerSpot user
Senior Network Administrator at a tech services company
Real User
Top 20
We use it to receive, send, scan, and filter our incoming and outgoing email
Pros and Cons
  • "The system enables end users to manage their own whitelists/blacklists."
  • "The system provides our service desk with the means to troubleshoot email delivery issues with ease."
  • "Administration of the email domains and custom filters are easily done via the web interface."
  • "The user interface could be updated."
  • "Better dashboards and more interactive overviews would be nice, but the current functionality is sufficient."

What is our primary use case?

The Cisco Email Security Appliance is being used as the primary email gateway for our datacenter. We use the Cisco Email Security Appliance to receive, send, scan, and filter our incoming and outgoing email.

We use the Talos Threat intelligence to filter out known 'bad' email sender. The Sophos Antivirus plugin for antivirus scanning and the DKIM signing for our outgoing mails.

How has it helped my organization?

The system enables end users to manage their own whitelists/blacklists and provides our service desk with the means to troubleshoot email delivery issues with ease.

What is most valuable?

On-box DKIM and DMARC features let us secure our email flows and reduce the risk of our domains being used for spamming.

Administration of the email domains and custom filters are easily done via the web interface.

What needs improvement?

The user interface could be updated. Better dashboards and more interactive overviews would be nice, but the current functionality is sufficient.

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Email
November 2025
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Email. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2025.
872,869 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to five years.

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

The Cisco Email Security Appliance has enabled us to reduce spam by at least 30% compared to our previous solution.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user404388 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Department IT Security & Network at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
We're now protected against spam emails.​ The CLI needs to be improved.

Valuable Features:

  • Facility of management
  • Documentation

Improvements to My Organization:

We're now protected against spam emails.

Room for Improvement:

We use the CLI for management, but it's not very good. It's based on Java and it's very difficult to use.

Deployment Issues:

We've had no issues with deployment.

Stability Issues:

It's very stable. We've had no issues with instability.

Scalability Issues:

The scalability has been OK.

Initial Setup:

We had to configure it, but it wasn't complex.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user433407 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user433407IT Infrastructure Engineer at a tech company with 11-50 employees
Real User

FortiMail advantages:
no per user mailbox pricing;
three modes of deployment (Server mode--fully featured e-mail server & e-mail protection, Gateway mode-- e-mail protection and Transparent mode--No changes required to existing MX records and MUA/MTA configurations );
not need for third party antivirus licensing
higher spam detection percentage based tests and certifications by Global Third-Party Certification Authorities

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Email
November 2025
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Email. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2025.
872,869 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user6381 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager of Infrastructure at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Vendor
Solid 1U appliance, but we had problems with the XML file rule not working

Valuable Features:

We chose Cisco Iron Port as it delivers strong email security protection and our company needed it to protect the company's email systems from spam, email viruses, .exe files, unwanted email from unwanted sender etc. For this, we choose Cisco Iron Port c160. Cisco Iron Port is a solid 1U appliance, no need for additional hardware, easy to plug into existing network. Email channel protection worked across the board without regard for which email client we used. When Cisco engineers became aware of the XML file rule not working as designed they immediately recorded this in their internal issues database and provided us with an issue ID. More significantly, they quickly supplied a workaround that allowed us to block XML files using a different type of rule.

Room for Improvement:

More than a few steps are required to apply rules and these are not essentially intuitive. Even though we were able to get real-time event information from the email logs, it would be nice if the higher-level journalism tools could synchronize more quickly. Price might be an obstacle for smaller networks. Need to reduce the price so that small organizations can use this product.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user3882 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Administrator at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
Simple to add to our network and efficient to troubleshoot

Valuable Features:

• Cost-effective since they do not require extra hardware • They are simple to plug into the available network • Protection of mail channel works well regardless of the email client used • Efficient to troubleshoot

Room for Improvement:

• Requires several actions to employ rules • It takes time to harmonize information from the email log events with higher level reporting tools

Other Advice:

Security risks presented by web-based malware, spyware and web traffic exposes organizations to compliance and productivity dangers introduced by improper usage of the web within the organization. IronPort allows visibility into the problem and an easy way to pinpoint policy offenders. It includes a user friendly interface and easy content incorporation, filtering and reporting infrastructure.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user386826 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user386826Distribution Systems Analyst at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor

I would not suggest Cisco Ironport to anyone, just installed a 40mb circuit and it's not going well pings to 108.171.131.161 are just sad. We are reviewing the configuration but overall it is just a waste of our time and money. I'm not impressed at all...

See all 2 comments
it_user2871 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a university with 51-200 employees
Vendor
Cisco IronPort is a powerful device that adds more to traditional Cisco NAC appliances the capability to defend against application and operating system attacks

Valuable Features:

Our company was facing a problem of user complaints with network performance despite the fact that we used Cisco ASA and Cisco IPS. When we scanned the mail server with antivirus we found a lot of threats that couldn't be treated, so we need to use IronPort. Cisco IronPort mail security was very helpful by blocking threats, viruses, worms and Trojans from attacking the mail accounts and user PCs.

Room for Improvement:

-Added cost and delay to the network traffic, but performance did remain stable. -Requires knowledge and operation time to manage an added security device to the network devices besides IPS and ASA.

Other Advice:

Cisco IronPort is Cisco's new network access controller (NAC). Cisco IronPort email and web security products are used online with the firewall Cisco ASA and Cisco IPS to filter attacks, threats, phishing and data loss.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer2317701 - PeerSpot reviewer
M365 Team Lead at a media company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
A stable and scalable product that provides excellent security features
Pros and Cons
  • "The security features are valuable."
  • "The user interface is a bit complex."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is an email gateway.

What is most valuable?

The security features are valuable. I am satisfied with the product.

What needs improvement?

The user interface is a bit complex. It is not very easy to learn the product. It is not very intuitive.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for more than three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The tool is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The tool is scalable. We have eight to ten administrators. All our emails go through the solution.

How are customer service and support?

There is a bit of a communication gap in support. The support persons must improve their responses.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The solution is cloud-based. The initial setup is straightforward.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Secure Email Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Secure Email Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.