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Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

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

Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Sponsored
Ranking in Email Security
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (10th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (1st)
Check Point Anti-Spam and E...
Ranking in Email Security
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Secure Email Threat D...
Ranking in Email Security
20th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 12.6%, down from 17.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade is 0.9%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is 1.1%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

Tolu Omolaja - PeerSpot reviewer
Great URL scanning and attachment scanning, but I would like more proactive threat analysis
The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning. URL scanning involves an automatic scan of links and emails. When a user clicks on a link within an email, the system promptly checks the link's safety. If the link is deemed safe, access is granted automatically. However, if it is flagged as unsafe, we receive feedback and notification to caution us about the potentially harmful link. At this point, we are presented with the option to proceed or return. I have personally witnessed the system identify a few unsafe links, making this the primary advantage of using the solution. The second crucial aspect is the scanning of attachments. When an email containing an attachment arrives, we receive a notification of the new email, along with information that the attachment is being scanned for threats. This additional layer of security provides peace of mind for our organization. While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers numerous features, these two stand out as particularly impressive and valuable to us.
NareshKumar9 - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers robust threat protection and saves costs significantly
One area for improvement in Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade involves the firmware updates; sometimes, until I update the firmware of the Check Point Quantum Sparks, I cannot access the GUI to see my data usage. If Check Point resolves this issue, everything will be much better.
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

"The benefit that stands out to me is the ability for multiple individuals to collaborate simultaneously within the same document. Additionally, there is the option to save the document directly in the integrated OneDrive or SharePoint."
"Microsoft Defender has a feature to protect each and every attachment. Even if it's an encrypted attachment, it will check for any potential threats."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a stable solution."
"My experience deploying Microsoft Defender for Office 365 was seamless."
"Defender for Office 365 has helped eliminate having to look at multiple dashboards and that is the aspect I like most about it. It is simpler, effective, and convenient. The users like the process efficiency."
"It also gives me good visibility because, with Defender, I'm using a Microsoft product to defend Microsoft products. The integration was really seamless and I have wide visibility because it picks up almost everything. Literally, I can see almost every activity that happens, from the e-mail to the workstation itself."
"It’s easy to handle integrations, and we don't need a lot of people in our IT team."
"It has significantly decreased my time to detection and response."
"The solution can be monitored on a single dashboard with actionable insights and reporting."
"Since implementing Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade, we have observed a dramatic reduction in successful phishing attempts and malware delivery to end-user boxes."
"Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade positively impacts my organization by protecting our network from cyber threats such as malware and unauthorized access, helping control traffic and keeping our data safe, thus making our internet more secure and reliable and providing peace of mind."
"Since the engine is made to block by IP, domains, and reputation, we minimized the spam threats that end up in the user's mailbox."
"The most valuable feature for me is real-time detection and remediation."
"The policies and port blocking are the most valuable features. We have a significant amount of spam emails passing through our network."
"It is easy to install, and the deployment is super easy as well."
"The functionality is better."
"This solution is easy to use."
"The solution is stable."
"I would say it's very comprehensive, with multiple antivirus OEMs, virus encrypt features, encryption, and more."
"The features and functionalities are much better than Microsoft's in-built Defender plan."
"It has an efficient email filtering feature."
"It's very easy to deploy and configure."
"Regarding stability, Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is very stable."
"The ability to see east-west traffic is its most valuable feature. Traditionally, email defense focuses on north-south, inbound-outbound, egress-ingress traffic. With Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, it's able to quickly identify, track, tag, and categorize emails that are internal. That can typically give us visibility into if there's an internal compromised account (for example). Someone can then use that internal compromised account to email additional accounts with either malicious software or links, but internal within that Office tenant. Effectively, that email message never leaves the tenant. Any of the mail gateways really do not have any method or way of seeing this traffic since it's not leaving the environment."
 

Cons

"Configuration at the mid-level could be improved for the support team."
"Specifically, within Microsoft Defender for Office 365, I want it to improve the DLP capabilities."
"The changes to customer service, specifically the new model for support agreements, are not favorable."
"This product's effectiveness could be improved, in terms of detecting unwanted spam or even malware between the emails, compared to other products."
"In the areas of improvement for Microsoft Defender for Office 365, the console is the biggest challenge for me."
"We still see many false positives from time to time with Microsoft Defender for Office 365, so it would be good if we can reduce those false positives and provide better workflows for our end users, as sometimes they may not know what to do when they encounter a false positive."
"The GUI is sometimes slow to fetch the device report and could be improved."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365's Mac functionality requires improvement to deliver the same level of protection found on Windows devices."
"The anti-spam features could be upgraded to be able to detect unnoticeable spam."
"Many would love to have this solution and be able to manage it from any device, including native applications or applications that can be installed on devices such as Android or iOS."
"It would be useful to have more logs and in aggregate mode, perhaps through a specific report, that can be more easily used for troubleshooting."
"I would like this solution to be more integrated into other applications that Check Point has so that it could be managed quickly and safely from the Infinity Portal."
"It is expensive but worth it."
"Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade could improve by focusing more on promoting and marketing its products. Despite having a great solution, it hasn't captured a larger market share, possibly due to insufficient promotion. It should also incorporate a module to monitor client identities, similar to CrowdStrike. It could also improve by systemizing and simplifying their documentation to make it easier to find needed information."
"I think that the pricing for the Check Point products should be reconsidered, as we found it to be quite expensive to purchase and to maintain."
"The solution's technical support is an area with shortcomings that need to be improved for the better."
"Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox can improve by adding advanced phishing, then the solution would become the best in the market. However, this could increase the price even more. Additionally, if CES with domain protection could be added it would be an even better solution."
"There is still room for improvement in terms of integrations with other Cisco tools and non-Cisco tools. There is also some room for improvement needed in terms of the reporting."
"The solution is a bit expensive."
"Customers will benefit greatly from monthly billing because the majority of customers today use the cloud, be it Office 365, or Google Cloud."
"The physical appliance has been discontinued, although the platform still exists."
"Cisco's multiple product lines and verticals made this just one of their many verticals, and we could see a shift in focus."
"This solution could be improved by integration with Sandbox."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
"I know that the product is incredibly expensive."
"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
"The product is expensive."
"The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users."
"The solution could be better by simplifying the business model of their licensing. It was hard to figure out how to get the licensing done for the environment, initially."
"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."
"Choosing the correct set of licenses is essential because, without the additional software blade licenses, the Check Point gateways are just a stateful firewall."
"Reasonably priced solution."
"For licensing, my company makes yearly payments, which is expensive."
"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."
"I rate the pricing as an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
"This is a simple system with a very low cost and basic functions, which surely is ideal for a small company."
"The cost is competitive with other security products on the market."
"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."
"The feedback from vendors and customer is that it is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Security Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
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 Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of variou...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Microsoft is quite affordable with a lot of features available for any size organization.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Microsoft could improve by offering recommendations for domain spoofing attacks, especially scenarios where DNS recor...
What needs improvement with Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade?
One area for improvement in Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade involves the firmware updates; so...
What is your primary use case for Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade?
My main use case for the Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade within the Check Point 1600 applianc...
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 s...
What needs improvement with Secure Email Threat Defense?
The physical appliance has been discontinued, although the platform still exists. Improvements here and there could b...
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
No data available
Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, Cisco CMD, Cisco Cloud Mailbox Defense
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
SF Police Credit Union (SFPCU)
Luiss University, Lone Star College, T-Systems, Magyar Telekom
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade vs. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
858,469 professionals have used our research since 2012.