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Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelligence and Threat Hunting vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud comparison

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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

Qualys TotalCloud
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (11th), Container Security (12th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (8th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (8th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (2nd), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (7th)
Check Point CloudGuard Clou...
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) (10th)
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (6th), Container Management (6th), Container Security (4th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (1st), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (4th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (4th), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (6th), Microsoft Security Suite (7th), Compliance Management (4th), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) (3rd)
 

Featured Reviews

RO
IT Security Expert at Alior Bank S.A.
Unified risk scoring has improved our cloud visibility and simplifies remediation priorities
Qualys TotalCloud provides unified vulnerability and threat assessment across both IAS and SaaS. This solution provides a single prioritized view of risk, which helps reduce the work I would have to do. We are no longer based on CVSS; we are based on Qualys risk scoring, which is based on CVSS plus internal findings made by Qualys, and then assigns its own score. The TruRisk insight feature has found a small number of assets with high vulnerability scores, though I am cautious since some information is classified. Qualys TotalCloud has positively impacted our bank's performance, and we have definitely seen benefits after implementing this solution.
Kishorekumar G - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Security Specialist at Novac Technology Solutions
Streamlined vulnerability management with efficient threat detection and compliance reporting
The best features that Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelligence and Threat Hunting offers include helpful integration for multiple cloud platforms, and it is used for audit compliance. We use features such as CIS Benchmark and cloud compliance, which Check Point CloudGuard provides by default. The integration, such as a read-only feature for reporting, is also very helpful, as it doesn't require any admin rights or changes. The remediation of vulnerabilities or findings or securing cloud configurations is also very helpful for us, allowing me to fix security flaws via Check Point CloudGuard itself. I find myself relying on the CIS Benchmark feature of Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelligence and Threat Hunting the most, as it is very helpful on a day-to-day basis to stay up to the current trend. Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelligence and Threat Hunting has positively impacted my organization by enabling us to keep fixing our cloud security postures, which is a day-to-day progress based on the open points. I have noticed specific outcomes with Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelligence and Threat Hunting, such as a much faster response time, making it easier to address vulnerabilities or security misconfigurations by using reports that help me pinpoint issues, leading to good outputs that keep improving. Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelligence and Threat Hunting made our work much easier as it serves as a centralized platform for all my cloud environment and provides workload protection such as malware protection for my entire cloud environment.
RW
Head Of IT at Cirrus Response
Cloud security has cut investigation time and now reveals threats faster but needs simpler oversight
When deploying AI applications, my key security concerns with Microsoft Defender for Cloud are data loss, leakage of data, and guardrails around the actual AI, and I am hoping that this is going to help me put those guardrails in place and identify data exfiltration. Microsoft Defender for Cloud has not helped me manage and secure multi-cloud environments, as we are 100 percent Microsoft and have not really got it in any other environment at all. I am not yet using the unified AI-powered security feature offered by Microsoft Defender for Cloud, but that is coming. I am not yet using the integrated XDR feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud, but that is coming. I am not yet utilizing the GenAI threat protection features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud. That is also coming and a lot of that will come from learning it here. I have enabled the agentless scanning in my cloud environment with Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Assessing the impact on my workload protection without needing to install agents with Microsoft Defender for Cloud makes it a lot easier, but it also identifies a lot more, which puts more load on me sometimes. I would advise another organization considering Microsoft Defender for Cloud that it is the most logical route to follow if their whole ecosystem is Microsoft. It is easy to implement and it is very self-explanatory when doing it, making sense to just follow the steps as it is too simple, really. I would rate this review a 7.5 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a cloud-native app that integrates with both IaaS and SaaS. It seamlessly integrates with other platforms."
"Qualys TotalCloud is an excellent platform, and the beauty of the platform is that we can get all the vulnerabilities, see all the reports in a single dashboard, view them segregated, and easily learn about critical, high, and medium findings with appropriately provided remediation steps."
"Qualys TotalCloud has significantly improved our organization by automating our reporting processes, reducing the time spent on report creation from two hours to less than fifteen to twenty minutes."
"TruRisk Insights is the most important innovation they've released this year."
"The most valuable feature of Qualys TotalCloud is the visibility it provides."
"TotalCloud offers a comprehensive suite of features, including EDR, XDR, and TrueRisk, providing a centralized platform for managing vulnerabilities and security risks."
"I highly recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users."
"I would recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users because it is cost-efficient and has a good return on investment."
"This solution helped me to improve and enhance our security posture."
"Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelligence and Threat Hunting made our work much easier as it serves as a centralized platform for all my cloud environment and provides workload protection such as malware protection for my entire cloud environment."
"During testing, I consistently saw a 70 or 75% faster investigation and reduced analyst workload, which is a concrete way it can deliver our work."
"The most valuable feature is the recommendations provided on how to improve security. It has made the cloud environment more secure, thanks to all the recommendations we can get."
"The dashboard is very good; it gives our clients a lot of information and allows them to have a complete overview of the system, with everything visible in one glance."
"Overall, Azure Security Center has greatly improved our company's security posture."
"It is very intuitive when it comes to policy administration, alerts and notifications, and ease of setting up roles at different hierarchies. It has also been good in terms of the network technology maps. It provides a good overview, but it also depends on the complexity of your network."
"I would rate Microsoft Defender for Cloud a nine out of 10."
"The most valuable features offer the latest threat detection and response capabilities."
"I would like to see more connectors and plugins with other platforms."
"Microsoft Defender for Cloud helps in improving our overall security posture. We have a nice overview of what is missing where and what can be improved."
 

Cons

"We encountered challenges identifying the correct resource category for certain items, such as those in containers or storage."
"From a downside perspective, the UI is not user-friendly and feels dated compared to other tools like Prisma Cloud."
"There is room for improvement in the support."
"I sometimes have difficulty detecting or uninstalling certain versions of applications, which I have to do manually."
"Regarding technical support from Qualys, they respond, but the response time can be too long. Sometimes we need to wait weeks for solutions to simple questions."
"I would like the ability to disable certain default built-in policies as they can be misleading when creating dashboards. That is the top one."
"Overall, we are satisfied with it. However, the response part of the Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) module can be improved. It is not yet in place according to requirements; it is not completely available even though the module has been released."
"Areas that need improvement in every solution include the remediation part. The remediation steps should be simple enough for everyone to understand."
"The product can be improved by optimizing performance."
"In my testing, Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelligence and Threat Hunting's scalability is not easy; it is a very challenging experience for me."
"Malware protection for my entire cloud environment is an area where improvements are needed."
"One of the issues with the product is that it's not possible to write or edit any capability."
"They could always work to make the pricing a bit lower."
"We haven't experienced issues with Microsoft Defender for Cloud for our company size of about five hundred people. However, I've heard there might be issues with scalability for larger enterprises."
"Agent features need to be improved. They support agents through Azure Arc or Workbench. Sometimes, we are not able to get correct signals from the machines on which we have installed these agents. We are not able to see how many are currently reporting to Azure Security Center, and how many are currently not reporting. For example, we have 1,000 machines, and we have enrolled 1,000 OMS agents on these machines to collect the log. When I look at the status, even though at some places, it shows that it is connected, but when I actually go and check, I'm not getting any alerts from those. There are some discrepancies on the agent, and the agent features are not up to the mark."
"You cannot create custom use cases."
"Defender could improve how data is represented. It can be unstructured or slow to load. The recent update allowing policy grouping into control groups is beneficial, but further enhancements for speed and clarity are needed."
"Pricing could be improved. There are limited options based on pricing for the government."
"When you work with it, the only problem that we're struggling with is that we have 21 different subscriptions we're trying to apply security to. It's impossible to keep everything organized."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Qualys TotalCloud offers good pricing that is affordable and competitive with the market. Our partnership also provides us with additional benefits."
"The pricing is comparable. It is built into our other product, so I cannot piecemeal it. It is a part of our subscription."
"The cost is high, but it meets our organizational needs."
"As a middle management member, I do not have direct pricing knowledge, but based on the knowledge from our meetings, its pricing is competitive."
"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive, but it offers a premier solution with no headaches."
"The pricing for TotalCloud is attractive and competitive in the market. Given the features, especially the dashboard, I have no concerns regarding pricing."
"While Qualys TotalCloud's pricing is currently acceptable, it is becoming increasingly expensive and may soon be considered overpriced."
"Qualys TotalCloud is cost-efficient and was selected for its value compared to other products."
Information not available
"The licensing cost per server is $15 per month."
"They have a free version, but the license for this one isn't too high. It's free to start with, and you're charged for using it beyond 30 days. Some other pieces of Defender are charged based on usage, so you will be charged more for a high volume of transactions. I believe Defender for Cloud is a daily charge based on Azure's App Service Pricing."
"The licensing is straightforward but can become expensive if you cover everything. You must balance the cost against the importance of what needs covering."
"We are using the free version of the Azure Security Center."
"I am not involved in this area. However, I believe its price is okay because even small customers are using Azure Security Center. I don't think it is very expensive."
"Azure Defender is a bit pricey. The price could be lower."
"I'm not privy to that information, but I know it's probably close to a million dollars a year."
"Its pricing is a little bit high in terms of Azure Security Center, but the good thing is that we don't need to maintain and deploy it. So, while the pricing is high, it is native to Azure which is why we prefer using this tool."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
No data available
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise31
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise49
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?
To be totally honest, I do not have any best features because I have had a bad experience using this tool, especially...
What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?
My main use case for Qualys TotalCloud is vulnerability management and exposure management. I use this tool to evalua...
What needs improvement with Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelligence and Threat Hunting?
I would like to see more flexibility in creating custom and scheduled reports in Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelli...
What is your primary use case for Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelligence and Threat Hunting?
I will honestly say that we are just testing Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelligence and Threat Hunting in my compa...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelligence and Threat Hunting?
The payment pricing is a business matter I discuss directly with the key account manager, and it's not something rela...
How is Prisma Cloud vs Azure Security Center for security?
Azure Security Center is very easy to use, integrates well, and gives very good visibility on what is happening acros...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Cloud?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing was that the license cost was the only consideration. Setup an...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Cloud?
To improve Microsoft Defender for Cloud, I think pricing-wise, the license price is a little bit higher from an inges...
 

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan
No data available
Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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Microsoft Defender for Cloud is trusted by companies such as ASOS, Vatenfall, SWC Technology Partners, and more.
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point CloudGuard Cloud Intelligence and Threat Hunting vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.