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Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence [EOL] comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 16, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.5
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall boosts security and efficiency, reducing incidents and costs while enhancing monitoring and intrusion prevention.
Sentiment score
8.2
Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence enhances security, saves on budgets, and improves detection, offering significant ROI and value.
The centralized management and automation features have reduced manual monitoring efforts, saving our IT team several hours per week.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
I have seen a return on investment as it helps to prevent cyber attacks and optimize network and user management.
Senior Data Engineer at Foodics
It has drastically reduced the amount of infections from cybersecurity threats and makes managing close to 50 clients or more for our engineers much easier, hence saving a lot of time and cost.
Dotnet Developer at Kohl's
It's a value-for-money product.
Mobility & IT Project Manager at Voicevine Pty Ltd
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall's customer service is praised for responsiveness but criticized for varying response times and expertise.
Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Defender support is rated very good, with knowledgeable level two assistance, competent partners, and a helpful community platform.
The support team is responsive and knowledgeable, assisting us promptly whenever we have faced configuration questions or technical issues.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
Barracuda's partner support is better than the majority, and it stands out as one of their strengths.
Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami
The overall security has been satisfactory, with no breaches.
Director Of Technology at PT Exa Teknologi Indonesia
Level two support is knowledgeable and knows how the product works, which is very good.
Cloud Solution architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
I would give Microsoft an eight for their technical support.
Mobility & IT Project Manager at Voicevine Pty Ltd
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall offers scalable solutions for businesses, supporting diverse environments with flexible deployment and positive user feedback.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence is highly scalable, adaptable for businesses of all sizes, and supports thousands of endpoints efficiently.
Its flexible licensing and hybrid deployment options allow it to adapt to evolving network requirements, ensuring continuous security and reliable operations.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
Regarding scalability and the ability to scale and expand with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, there is no issue, so I would rate it a ten.
IT Director at a retailer with 51-200 employees
When positioning into customers, some larger enterprise customers tend to move towards one of the top three: either Cisco, Fortinet, or Palo Alto.
Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami
If there were some customizations available, I would rate its scalability as nine out of ten.
Cloud Solution architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is stable and reliable, with efficient issue resolution, praised for performance and integration ease.
Sentiment score
8.0
Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence is seen as stable and secure, with high reliability and effective phishing prevention despite occasional outages.
Its robust infrastructure and real-time monitoring give us the confidence that our network remains secure and operational at all times.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
We have very few issues with Barracuda Firewall, even in the case of zero-day vulnerabilities.
Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami
In my experience, Barracuda CloudGen Firewall has been reliable and very high performing.
Software Engineer at Ernst & Young
It provides a high level of security and avoids phishing and scam emails.
Cloud Solution architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall requires improved UI, ease of use, support, reporting, security, performance, documentation, training, and pricing.
Microsoft Defender needs price adjustments, improved integration, better accuracy, enhanced AI, and smoother user experience for evolving cybersecurity.
Integration with AI would be helpful as modern attacks often utilize AI.
Director Of Technology at PT Exa Teknologi Indonesia
It would be beneficial to merge the existing application policy with the main policy into a single unified policy to improve manageability.
System Engineer for Network & Security at Projekt IP d.o.o.
One area that could be enhanced is the user interface, making it slightly more intuitive for new users.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
Providing code customization would help keep pace with new vulnerabilities and threats.
Cloud Solution architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
The main area of improvement for Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence is related to how information is conveyed.
Mobility & IT Project Manager at Voicevine Pty Ltd
From the telemetry data standpoint, I would prefer Defender data to be more open in future updates.
Consultant at Dell Technologies
 

Setup Cost

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall offers flexible, reasonably priced solutions with transparent licensing, hardware replacement, and easy purchase via AWS Marketplace.
Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence is cost-effective in bundles, but SMEs face challenges with standalone pricing and evolving licensing.
Our experience with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall pricing and licensing has been reasonable and transparent.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
The license price of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is lower than others, and maintenance or support is included.
Director Of Technology at PT Exa Teknologi Indonesia
It is neither the cheapest nor the most expensive option available.
System Engineer for Network & Security at Projekt IP d.o.o.
 

Valuable Features

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall offers robust security, threat protection, and network optimization with features like TINA VPN and centralized management.
Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence excels in integration, threat detection, user interface, data retention, real-time protection, and analytics.
This integration helps secure our data and applications from attackers trying to gain access and detect malicious activity.
Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami
The real-time monitoring helps us quickly identify unusual traffic patterns and potential threats, allowing us to respond immediately and maintain secure and uninterrupted network operations.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall has positively impacted my organization by increasing the level of network protection against threats from twenty percent to forty-five percent.
Software Engineer at Ernst & Young
If it wasn't for that real-time threat detection on the vulnerability, I think we would not have survived the attack.
Mobility & IT Project Manager at Voicevine Pty Ltd
One of the best features is that it provides a certain level of customization, allowing us to set our spam confidence levels.
Cloud Solution architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Our threat detection is enhanced due to the AI agents in Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence, which helps in detecting automatically.
Consultant at Dell Technologies
 

Categories and Ranking

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (25th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (9th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (19th), IoT Security (6th), WAN Edge (10th)
Microsoft Defender Threat I...
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Jennifer  Bernice - PeerSpot reviewer
Dotnet Developer at Kohl's
Centralized firewall management has saved time and improved network security across locations
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall could be improved as it has a very high learning curve. It is definitely not a one and done firewall, as a one and done firewall requires a lot of dedicated time to get the machine running the way you want. To improve Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, there should be a lot of tutorials and videos online to help new users. Multiple ways to configure for the same service or feature takes time to determine your customized build. In addition to previous points, the interface can sometimes be clunky when trying to determine how it is organized or arranged.
Charles Mokoena - PeerSpot reviewer
Mobility & IT Project Manager at Voicevine Pty Ltd
Has strengthened our ability to detect threats in real time and improved internal security decision-making
The features that I find most valuable in Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence include the Sentinel part of it. There are several features we've looked at, including Sentinel as well as extended Defender, which is XDR. I've used those two, and that's what I've found quite useful for us, especially in the hardening and analysis part of the whole threat analysis. We use the real-time threat detection features in Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence. If it wasn't for that real-time threat detection on the vulnerability, I think we would not have survived the attack. The integration capabilities of Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence with other Microsoft security tools have benefited our organization's threat management process by initially being quite a challenge, especially coming from other security tools such as Fortinet and Check Point. However, once you've gotten used to it, it's quite easy and user-friendly. The dashboard, especially the threat analysis dashboard, is quite detailed in terms of providing a view of which areas in our environment need attention, making it quite useful.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
7%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?
My experience with pricing is that while the licensing cost can be reduced and is somewhat costly, the price is good and affordable.
What needs improvement with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?
One of the main challenges that we face with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is that the URL filtering and application control license are not perpetual and need to be renewed every year, so it can be ...
What is your primary use case for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?
My main use case for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is that we purchased it to replace our current Cisco firewall tool. We have always suffered issues trying to manage the Cisco firewall, which is the...
What do you like most about Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence?
It just runs in the background. I don't have to worry about, making sure it's Intelligence. So, you know, this kind of makes it very easy, have to worry about installing. It is easy to use.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence?
From the telemetry data standpoint, I would prefer Defender data to be more open in future updates.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence?
We have tried Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence. I have expertise with Microsoft Defender products. I am not familiar with Microsoft Defender for IoT because we did not use that in our environ...
 

Also Known As

Barracuda NextGen Firewall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewalls
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ARZ, Bauer, CBCX Technologies, Diamant-groep, Eissmann Group Automotive, European Youth Olympics, Exalo Drilling, FineLine Technologies, Geocell, Grimaldi, Infront Sports & Media, Odlo, Schenker Deutschland AG, Tilak, Verbandsgeneinde Zell, Conservas El Cidacos S.A., Institute for Emergency Medicine and Medicine Management, Erwin Muller GmbH, Info-Tech: NGF is Champion, Schoellerbank, IZB Informatik-Zentrum, RHI AG, Berglandmilch, Antenne Bayern, Sanochemia
Information Not Available
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