

Barracuda Email Security Gateway and Cisco Secure Email compete in the email security category. Barracuda seems to have the advantage with its straightforward cloud integration, while Cisco stands out with its advanced threat detection features.
Features: Barracuda offers anomaly-based spam detection, cloud integration with LDAP and Active Directory, and comprehensive logging. Cisco Secure Email provides intelligent content filters, integration with Cisco Talos for threat intelligence, and advanced threat detection capabilities.
Room for Improvement: Barracuda could enhance backup and recovery processes, API functionalities, and DoS attack handling. Cisco users find the deployment complex, needing improvements in user interface and sandboxing capabilities.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Barracuda is available on-premises and in public and hybrid clouds, with mixed support reviews. Cisco offers similar deployment flexibility with well-regarded support, though SMARTnet support can be costly.
Pricing and ROI: Barracuda is a more affordable option with modular pricing and good ROI but faces criticism for regional price discrepancies. Cisco, while pricier, justifies the cost through extensive security features and is viewed as delivering good value for money.
From the vendor, I would give the technical support an eight out of ten.
Regarding my interaction with the technical support of Cisco Secure Email, it was zero downtime for the mail production.
Cisco's tech support can be hit or miss, depending on the engineer you get.
The support is pretty decent, with a rating of eight out of ten.
The on-premises hardware is not very scalable, but switching to the SaaS offering is expected to improve scalability.
My thoughts on the scalability level of Cisco Secure Email is nine because of the delay in making a configuration and the slowness in the console.
Based on my experience, the stability of Cisco Secure Email is very strong.
Sometimes there are false positive emails coming through, so they should improve further on detection technologies and techniques.
If it's considered a phishing email, it should be blocked for all users, not just some.
Some mails pass while others are dropped without any apparent logic, despite having the policy set for specific recipients or senders.
The solution should better analyze the actual content rather than only focusing on the email header or origin.
It may take nearly an hour to get back to normal while configuring policies.
It would be beneficial to have the functionality of the Email Threat Defense integrated into the Email Security Gateway so customers don't have to buy two products for full email protection.
Compared with others, Barracuda Email Security Gateway is cheaper.
Its cost is bundled with other Cisco products.
The licensing is a mess and needs sorting out.
The pricing structure is good as it is user-based or email client-based, which is positive for clients.
The real-time threat intelligence feature is particularly useful as it detects all kinds of threats identified by incoming mails.
Whenever mail comes, the Barracuda gateway scans it and maintains advanced threat protection capability.
The integration of Cisco AMP for Advanced Malware Protection with Cisco Secure Email has helped our organization's security posture.
It is highly effective in catching phishing and spam emails.
It also possesses multiple modules for spam detection, malware detection, and threat intelligence, which are valuable in categorizing emails and determining actions.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Barracuda Email Security Gateway | 9.0% |
| Proofpoint Email Protection | 21.1% |
| Microsoft Defender for Office 365 | 19.9% |
| Other | 50.0% |
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Cisco Secure Email | 5.2% |
| Microsoft Defender for Office 365 | 8.8% |
| Proofpoint Email Protection | 8.1% |
| Other | 77.9% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 34 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 13 |
| Large Enterprise | 13 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 22 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 18 |
| Large Enterprise | 26 |
Barracuda Email Security Gateway is a robust security solution that allows users to protect themselves from external threats as well as from potential data leaks. It can be managed and monitored from a centralized location. Users can efficiently and easily keep track of every aspect of their security suite all at one time. Customized protections can also be set up in a matter of minutes.
Benefits of Barracuda Email Security Gateway
Some of the benefits of using Barracuda Email Security Gateway include:
Reviews from Real Users
Barracuda Email Security Gateway is an email security tool that stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are the high level of flexibility that it gives to users and the solution’s powerful filtering feature. Barracuda Email Security Gateway offers users the ability to enact customizations that enable them to align the solution with their specific needs. It is highly flexible and allows for the completion of many different tasks. Additionally, it employs a powerful spam filter feature that gives users the ability to stop a large percentage of the threats to their devices before they get anywhere near their machines.
Mohammed N., the assistant general manager at CoLoCity Data Center, writes, “There are many customizable options:
The client has the option to blacklist or whitelist any email address or domain based on the sender and recipient filters. If they want, they can restrict any IP addresses so email won't be received from those IP addresses. Another interesting feature of Barracuda Email Security is the content filtering. If there is any word or sentence that we or our customers want to block, then we can add that thing in Barracuda Email Security Gateway. The content contained in the email will not be delivered or received by the recipient. Maximum customization options are available.”
Igor G., the information security officer and data protection officer at a manufacturing company, writes, “The spam filtering feature, in particular, is very important for us. We have a large volume of emails each month, something like 200,000, and Barracuda filters about 85 percent of the spam, malware, and phishing that comes in. It prevents our users from receiving this content on their computers.”
Cisco Secure Email provides email security with advanced threat protection, spam filtering, and easy integration with Cisco Talos, ensuring comprehensive protection against cyber threats like phishing and malware.
Cisco Secure Email offers a comprehensive platform for organizations seeking robust email security. With advanced threat protection and seamless integration with Cisco Talos, it enhances threat intelligence. The tool provides easy-to-use spam blocking and granular policy customization. Effective ransomware, phishing, and malware protection ensures stable network performance. It includes logging and reporting features, along with Active Directory integration, delivering enhanced security without extra hardware. Although it addresses threats efficiently, improvements in synchronization with reporting tools and phishing detection are needed. Organizations find cost and licensing complexities challenging for smaller networks and seek more intuitive configuration, advanced AI threat detection, and comprehensive reporting. Enhanced support, documentation, and cross-platform compatibility are desirable for better management and scalability.
What are the most important features?In industries like finance, healthcare, and IT, Cisco Secure Email is key to securing email communications. It serves as the primary email gateway in datacenters, scanning and filtering emails to defend against phishing, malware, and spam. Many organizations integrate it with Sophos Antivirus and Talos Threat Intelligence for heightened protection. It plays a crucial role in outbound message control and data loss prevention, ensuring compliance with security policies.
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