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Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) vs Symantec Messaging Gateway 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

Check Point Email Security ...
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (3rd), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (6th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (6th)
Symantec Messaging Gateway
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) is designed for Email Security and holds a mindshare of 3.7%, down 4.7% compared to last year.
Symantec Messaging Gateway, on the other hand, focuses on Secure Email Gateway (SEG), holds 3.1% mindshare, up 2.4% since last year.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration)3.7%
Proofpoint Email Protection5.9%
Microsoft Defender for Office 3655.0%
Other85.4%
Email Security
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Symantec Messaging Gateway3.1%
Proofpoint Email Protection16.7%
Mimecast Advanced Email Security14.5%
Other65.7%
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

Harish (Kumar) - PeerSpot reviewer
Cybersecurity And Information Governance Head at Aeren
Email security has blocked sophisticated phishing and now protects inboxes with AI detection
The only challenge with Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) is that it is an API-based solution. In an API-based solution, the major challenge is that it can read email content and Google Drive content. This presents a data privacy challenge, and we had to mitigate it by signing a Data Processing Agreement and other agreements. Because it is not a traditional in-line solution, Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) connects with Google Workspace using API permission and can access email, attachments, sender, recipient information, links, and all metadata is with Check Point. Data storage and everything else is with Check Point, which is the challenge. This solution has a drawback because of API deployment, while other solutions are traditional secure email gateways that are in-line solutions. In those solutions, we need to change the MX record, but with this solution we do not need to change the MX record, which is a pro of API-based deployment. However, there is also a con in that with API solutions, the email is scanned but after delivery in the mailbox.
Dennis O'Reilly - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber SecOps Principal at Dotcom Security
The product provides good content filtering options, but the false positive submissions must be improved
The tool is very stable. I rate the stability a seven out of ten. It's an on-premise application that runs on a virtual machine. It has dependencies on the hypervisor host that we're running it on. If it's not configured, the application can be influenced by it. Sometimes, there is a service stop error while the service is still running. Sometimes, the service just stops. Some policies do not act the way that we intend them to respond.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I can count the number of endpoints, emails, and collaborations being used in the environment."
"Check Point is very good for threat protection, which is our customers' primary concern."
"Checkpoint Harmony Email and Collaboration has significantly improved our email security by effectively blocking phishing, malware and ransomware threats."
"I recommend Check Point Harmony Email and Collaboration to all types of companies, from small businesses to enterprises."
"Over these eighteen months I have been working with the product, it has been very stable, and I would recommend it to most of my peers who have issues related to the email security piece."
"As Check Point is a leading technology in the industry, it provides maximum protection against email phishing attacks and provides the identity of users and visibility over shadow IT applications."
"This product enhances faster and more secure sharing of information among colleagues from different departments."
"Check Point adds value with east-west protection in the data center."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the content filtering policies because the solution offers huge options for configuration, such as hardware manipulation, et cetera, and the dictionaries make the work easier."
"We use the solution for its advanced virus protection, phishing and other features."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway is stable and scalable."
"The setup is pretty simple."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway is stable and scalable. Installation is easy, and the deployment and maintenance can be done by one administrative person."
"What I like most about Symantec Messaging Gateway is its usability. I also find its interface very friendly. The solution has a very good interface."
"It has very good capabilities for managing malware."
"The stability is good; it's not buggy or glitchy, it works well, the performance is good, and they kept up with security patches."
 

Cons

"They could help us be integrating features with solutions from third parties."
"I notice that there are areas for improvement in email security, particularly regarding Data Loss Prevention (DLP). It has limited functionality on outgoing DLP, meaning if someone is sending a sensitive file, I cannot rely solely on this solution for protection."
"The next release should focus more on email categorization and provide options for unlocking blocked safe emails."
"Other vendor support teams go after fixing the issue the moment that they join the remote session. The problem that I have faced with Check Point support is that they share the case number with me, then it takes at least two days for them to join a remote session with us, even though we have asked for this timeframe to change. Even though we have already explained the problems that we are facing or the business pain points in our network on the call or email, we have to repeat the problem statements again in the console. It can take four or five days to resolve the issue from the moment they understand the problem. This includes the time to teach their R&D or internal team whatever the issue is. I have faced timeframes as long as seven to 10 days for fixing some issues."
"Check Point should integrate with features available in Barracuda - like more advanced threat management."
"I have learned enough to make the product stable. However, the stability has some challenges."
"The only area for improvement is the language of the support. The support is only available in English."
"They should consider a module that allows the customizing of reports so we can generate executive information for the client (to explain in simple language the general security situation in the SaaS environment)."
"Messaging Gateway's advanced malware detection could be improved."
"The solution takes up a lot of memory."
"The solution interface is from 2003 and is outdated. Symantec Messaging Gateway needs to update the interface."
"If the customer has to think about budget and solutions to reduce IT cost, they should get away from Symantec and try using Microsoft."
"What needs to be improved in Symantec Messaging Gateway is its local partner support, as it's not as technical."
"Where it is not available, as is the case with unstructured data, this product fails miserably."
"They have updated the version of the Messaging Gateway and the new features they are adding the need to be re-evaluated. They have done some changes on the policy."
"We've had issues in the past where the user finds spam, and Symantec does not recognize it as spam."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is a very good product if you are on the cloud, but the price is a little more expensive."
"Due to its pricing, I would say that Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration is more suitable for medium to enterprise organizations."
"I rate the product's pricing a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"The cost is similar to other competitors. It's not much higher."
"Cost is the main concern that every customer takes into consideration, and Check Point always negotiates a price that is affordable."
"The pricing is in the middle. Check Point's pricing is not the highest in the competitive market."
"Having information stolen by a hacker would be more expensive than purchasing a license."
"Reasonable cost, quick and easy implementation, and transparent."
"It's a bit expensive compared to its competitor Barracuda Email Security Gateway but cheaper than Sophos Email."
"A subscription for technical support costs extra."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway’s pricing is very cheap."
"The cost of Symantec Messaging Gateway is too expensive in general. However, the appliance also includes the price of the license in the same bundle."
"They're a little costly compared to Microsoft."
"For 150 users, we pay INR 1,60,000."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
16%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Outsourcing Company
19%
Construction Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business73
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise37
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
We are not currently using this product. Six months back, we removed that product due to a few issues. The major issue is naturally the budget, as it is expensive. Our organization is expanding and...
What is your primary use case for Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
The major use case for Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) was Business Email Compromise, CEO fraud, and vendor impersonation. Phishing attacks were also a major...
What needs improvement with Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
The only challenge with Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) is that it is an API-based solution. In an API-based solution, the major challenge is that it can rea...
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Also Known As

Check Point CloudGuard, Check Point CloudGuard SaaS , Check Point Harmony Email & Office
Symantec.cloud, Symantec Email Security.cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Helvetia, Denham Capital, Daymark Solutions, Neopharm Group
Doric, Joblink Plus, Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta, PPB Advisory, Slater & Gordon Lawyers, Sydney Adventist Hospital Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about Proofpoint, Microsoft, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Email Security. Updated: October 2026.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.