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Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs Varonis Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 14, 2025

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

Cisco Secure Email Threat D...
Ranking in Email Security
22nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Varonis Platform
Ranking in Email Security
15th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (4th), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (3rd), Data Governance (4th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (1st), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (3rd), Compliance Management (7th), Ransomware Protection (7th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (6th), Insider Risk Management (1st), AI Security (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Varonis Platform is 0.8%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Varonis Platform0.8%
Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense1.1%
Other98.1%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2541525 - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Cyber Prevent and Defense Engineer at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Clawback feature performs well but analytics and integration capabilities need improvement
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 could be enhanced while it mostly integrates with cloud solutions, but not on-premise. 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. Regarding room for improvement, the significant number of false positives should be addressed. The solution does not adapt to behavioral analytics and does not make changes when it sees a pattern.
SureshKumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Consultant at Satcom Infotech Pvt Ltd
Has improved data visibility and protection while enabling automated compliance monitoring
Varonis Platform offers multiple features for data protection, such as data discovery and classification. We can identify, discover, and classify sensitive data effectively, which is crucial given the DPDP law in India and GDPR. The platform also excels in access and exposure tracking, enabling us to monitor users, permissions, and reduce access to sensitive files. Additionally, it includes UEBA for behavior analytics and threat detection, making it valuable for compliance and audit readiness. Varonis Platform has helped our organization primarily for DPDP compliance, although I currently don't have a specific example related to GDPR or HIPAA. A unique feature of Varonis Platform that stands out to me is that, in the current market, it is one of the best data classification solutions available. Compared to others such as Forcepoint, Varonis Platform is agent-based and AI-driven for detection and response, identifying data based on its content and context, and it includes automated remediation and lifecycle automation, making it a leading product in the market.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco has a threat mechanism called cloud-based Talos, where all the threats are inbuilt."
"Secure Email Threat Defense's scalability is good."
"I highly recommend it as one of the best choices."
"Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox can handle a complete portfolio, which is required to protect any kind of attack coming from emails. However, it does not have advanced phishing, but it is available through Cisco. If you compare Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox with the competition, in the competition you have to have one or two solutions together to address the customer's requirement, whereas Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox is addressing everything, such as web domain and email protection. If there is any kind of challenge it will come across through email."
"The features and functionalities are much better than Microsoft's in-built Defender plan."
"It has an efficient email filtering feature."
"On ease of use, it rates very high. It's something that I was able to get into without really looking at any documentation. I wanted to see what it felt like before I started looking at any documentation on how to use it, and it was very easy to use. It works very smoothly. The user experience is very intuitive. They did an amazing job on that."
"Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense's best features include user management of graymail, enhancing security awareness by allowing users to manage cold calls, sales-based items, and ensuring email compliance."
"There's also a 90-day policy where if a user is not using the warehouse, it will automatically delete that username."
"In my experience, the best features that Varonis Platform offers are data labeling, data classification, along with all the integrations and its easy-to-use platform."
"That alerting and reporting service is great."
"On the Varonis side, technical support is phenomenal. Their ability to explain is very good, and they seem to be very knowledgeable. When I get an alert that doesn't quite make sense, they dive in there and kind of take me through it. That's very useful and very good. There are some false alerts, but it is better to have a false alert than no alert at all."
"The analytics would have to be our most valuable feature."
"It can easily identify unusual behavior or access patterns that may pose a potential threat, while operating as a unified reporting system."
"The telemetry to capture everything and the reports are very easy to configure without having a developer degree."
"The 24/7 support is the most valuable feature. They have been able to answer support questions pretty quickly."
 

Cons

"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."
"We encounter issues while searching for missing emails."
"Customers will benefit greatly from monthly billing because the majority of customers today use the cloud, be it Office 365, or Google Cloud."
"The product's complexity at times results in redundant rule sets that are difficult to untangle, highlighting the need for streamlined management systems and a more user-centric approach to system configuration."
"The learning curve shows that in the beginning, there are numerous false positives. For one month, we had to reclassify the false positives manually until the system learned."
"From a technical point of view, Cisco is far behind in terms of cybersecurity, and it has to improve very much."
"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."
"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."
"While Varonis Platform is powerful, the initial data scanning and indexing can take significant time in large environments."
"I'd like to see automatic updates for this solution. Currently, it's a manual process to update all the keywords"
"The GUI should be more functional. There should be a process for connecting through Chrome, Internet Explorer, etc."
"The product is very complicated."
"The solution's interface is a little complicated with regard to setting up filters and reports."
"Varonis requires more access permissions for its core functions compared to competitors, which can be a concern for companies about data safety."
"The remediation process can be improved. There will be no existing permission group for the McAfee channel domains. We can create a new permissions group for the required folder."
"Be prepared that when you implement the product, you will have to tune it as you go."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution’s pricing is manageable."
"The feedback from vendors and customer is that it is expensive."
"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."
"Licensing is on an annual basis. Maintenance and renewal fees are separate. Varonis Datalert is quite expensive."
"It's expensive, kind of, really expensive."
"You could do a subscription, where you pay yearly, or you could purchase it outright. The licensing cost is based on the number of users on the system that you are monitoring."
"The platform is expensive. I rate the pricing a nine out of ten."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being the most expensive."
"Varonis Platform wasn't certainly the cheapest solution."
"The pricing is good. It neither expensive nor cheap. It is average."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Marketing Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Secure Email Threat Defense?
Comparatively with other products, the pricing of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is normal. As a technical guide, I am not very aware of the pricing details.
What needs improvement with Secure Email Threat Defense?
We have deployed Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense in two customer environments. It is still in development as a new product. Some customer requirements, such as sending logs to a Syslog server, ar...
What is your primary use case for Secure Email Threat Defense?
We are working with Cloud Mail Gateway and on-premise mail gateways. We have worked with Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense.
What do you like most about Varonis Platform?
The solution has significantly improved data security and compliance posture by allowing us to track and monitor activities. We can see who accesses data and when files are created and understand w...
What needs improvement with Varonis Platform?
While Varonis Platform is powerful, the initial data scanning and indexing can take significant time in large environments. However, this is not an issue in mid-level organizations. I suggest enhan...
What is your primary use case for Varonis Platform?
My main use case for Varonis Platform is for data classification on the user's machine, specifically for data visibility and protection. A quick, specific example of how I use Varonis Platform for ...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, Cisco CMD, Cisco Cloud Mailbox Defense
SlashNext Complete
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Luiss University, Lone Star College, T-Systems, Magyar Telekom
Nottingham Building Society
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs. Varonis Platform and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.