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Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Barracuda Email Security Ga...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
DMARC Authentication Software (4th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (5th)
Cisco Secure Email Threat D...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (25th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. Barracuda Email Security Gateway is designed for Secure Email Gateway (SEG) and holds a mindshare of 6.2%, down 8.6% compared to last year.
Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense, on the other hand, focuses on Email Security, holds 1.1% mindshare, up 1.0% since last year.
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

RobertSmith15 - PeerSpot reviewer
Email security offers superior protection with good personalization
I have experienced the Barracuda team as very cooperative, and they are readily available for calls with technical support via email. I have had no issues with ongoing support throughout the product's lifecycle. Assistance was provided to me when transferring archived information from a legacy email service. They also recommended an additional service to streamline the process, making it as easy as possible.
Enrique-Diaz Jolly - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides comprehensive threat protection with suggestions for modernizing controls
I use the email gateway as the core of the email exchange between the Internet and our domain. The email gateway serves as the email exchanger The product offers protection, email security, anti-spam, and antivirus. It includes threat intelligence with advanced malware protection and many…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It can effectively combat phishing attacks, block spam, provide confirmation, and ensure operational manageability with a strong focus on product stability."
"The protection from Barracuda Email Security Gateway is essentially a sandboxing solution."
"Great at blocking spam."
"This appliance has helped in that we now eliminate the thousands of scams, spam, and malware emails that are destined for our users."
"The solution's anti-spam features are its most valuable aspect."
"With the cloud service, one of the nice things about Barracuda is the quarantine service. It gives the ability for our users to go in and check what has been quarantined, and then connect with our IT staff to release anything that should be fine so that we can test it before we release."
"We find the product to be scalable."
"The feature that sets Barracuda apart from other solutions is the Office 365 cloud-to-cloud backup."
"It has an efficient email filtering feature."
"I would say it's very comprehensive, with multiple antivirus OEMs, virus encrypt features, encryption, and more."
"The product offers protection, email security, anti-spam, and antivirus."
"The solution is stable."
"Cisco has a threat mechanism called cloud-based Talos, where all the threats are inbuilt."
"Regarding stability, Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is very stable."
"I highly recommend it as one of the best choices."
"The features and functionalities are much better than Microsoft's in-built Defender plan."
 

Cons

"The solution should include an improvised anti-phishing feature, since it blocks certain genuine emails."
"We still have critical threats coming into our environment and delivered to our users. When we compare it with other solutions, these other solutions can already detect those threats."
"Barracuda Email Security Gateway should add auto-remediation to improve the solution. Additionally, there are times when we have false positives and our general emails get locked, we have mentioned this to Barracuda."
"The pricing is a little bit high, and it is causing the company to rethink renewal. If they could lower the pricing, that would be ideal."
"Some of the phishing emails are not being blocked. Another problem is that we are not able to manage the date and time in our time zone."
"There are some times when legit emails are trapped on Barracuda and we are unable to get that information unless we actually log on to the network to find out."
"The solution could improve by adding DomainKeys (DKIM) functionality. This is something that is essentially required nowadays for outbound security. They do not have it on their on-premise solution appliance but they have alternate arrangements for their cloud solution."
"Spam is not always detected, and it should be more automated. We have seen that some emails are allowed by these emails, which are then stopped by Microsoft."
"The search area has room for improvement. When you go to the next page, it remains at the bottom of the current page that you're on. Also, under the reports section, it allows you to see any "convictions," but if you want to search for those convictions you have to remember when they all came in and go back and edit the search accordingly. You cannot click on the list of convictions to actually see if you had a spike at a certain time."
"This solution could be improved by integration with Sandbox."
"Cisco's multiple product lines and verticals made this just one of their many verticals, and we could see a shift in focus."
"We encounter issues while searching for missing emails."
"The behavioral analysis capability of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is not particularly helpful for identifying new, evolving threats within my company, as it keeps flagging legitimate emails as malicious."
"From a technical point of view, Cisco is far behind in terms of cybersecurity, and it has to improve very much."
"The physical appliance has been discontinued, although the platform still exists."
"The tool gives false positives and it needs to be more accurate. I would like to see AI as a new feature."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution should be reduced. The price in the USA is less than where we are. Our local distributor of the solution is manipulating the market."
"The regular pricing was initially very reasonable, but three years ago, Barracuda revised their price list and SKUs, resulting in a significant doubling of the standard prices."
"I rate the price of Barracuda Email Security Gateway a ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"As far as advanced email security systems, this product is mid-range on the pricing scale."
"For overall value and cost, Barracuda came in as most appropriate, price as well as services provided. In terms of price, it's average . It's not the most expensive, it's not the least expensive but it works well."
"The price of this solution is very high, but it's working fine."
"Compared to other products, this solution is quite affordable."
"Our licensing fees are approximately $4,000 per year, and this includes updates for the antivirus and spam signatures."
"The feedback from vendors and customer is that it is expensive."
"The solution’s pricing is manageable."
"Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox does not have any competition with Sophos, Trend Micro, or other vendors of the world. However, there is a pricing premium for the solution. One has to look at it from that angle that while they are buying Cisco, there will be a premium, and Cisco justifies that premium value. That's why they're charging a high price."
"It is expensive compared to other vendors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
29%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
29%
Healthcare Company
7%
Government
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Barracuda Email Security Gateway?
Barracuda Email Security Gateway is very simple to use.
What needs improvement with Barracuda Email Security Gateway?
Barracuda Email Security Gateway should include ATP in the next release.
What do you like most about Secure Email Threat Defense?
Secure Email Threat Defense's scalability is good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Secure Email Threat Defense?
Cisco's closest competition is Proofpoint. Both are in the same range in terms of pricing. Pricing is on the higher side. That said, you get what you pay for.
What needs improvement with Secure Email Threat Defense?
The integration capability with other threat intelligence platforms is not optimal, as I have experienced difficulty in sending logs to our SIEM. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense's flexibility cou...
 

Also Known As

Barracuda Spam and Virus Firewall, Barracuda Sentinel
Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, Cisco CMD, Cisco Cloud Mailbox Defense
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Evolution Recruitment Solutions, Evans Delivery Company, Osoyoos Credit Union, Synovis Life Technologies, Camden County Technical Schools, DEK, Evans Delivery Company, Colgate Rochester Crozer, Hemmera, South Carolina Heart Center, Ferma Corporation, Major League Baseball (MLB), Healy Brothers Automotive Group
Luiss University, Lone Star College, T-Systems, Magyar Telekom
Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense and other solutions. Updated: January 2024.
859,687 professionals have used our research since 2012.