Cisco Umbrella vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jul 12, 2022

We performed a comparison between Cisco Umbrella and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Users of both solutions say that their initial setup is straightforward.
  • Features: Users of both products are happy with their stability and scalability. Cisco Umbrella users say it is robust, easy to use, flexible, and has good reporting tools. Several Cisco Umbrella users note that they would like better integration options. Microsoft Defender users say that it integrates well with other applications and has good monitoring features. A few Microsoft Defender users mention that the solution’s reporting process is complex.

  • Pricing: Most reviewers of both products feel that their prices are high.

  • ROI: Reviewers of both solutions report seeing an ROI.
  • Service and Support: Cisco Umbrella reviewers report being very satisfied with the level of support they receive. Some Microsoft Defender reviewers report being satisfied with the support but others feel there is room for improvement.

Comparison Results: Cisco Umbrella comes out on top in this comparison. It is easy to use and high performing. In addition, Cisco Umbrella’s support received better marks than Microsoft Defender’s.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Umbrella vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Report (Updated: May 2023).
710,326 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"One valuable feature is definitely its simplicity in terms of deployment. It is very easy to integrate it into the environment without any heavy lifting. Users didn't notice that we implemented it. You can start with a very low monitoring mode and start observing what Cisco Umbrella sees.""The Global Block List is one of the most valuable features because it's really easy to block domain names as well as URLs. Sometimes you don't want to block the whole site, you just want to block one URL. The Global Block and Allow Lists are the best features for us.""The most valuable features for us include tenant lock, content filtering, and DLP solutions, looking for PII and information being exfiltrated.""We are very new users of the solution and are still in the exploration stages, but we are happy with the product thus far.""It is user-friendly. It is easy to manage the solution.""I was able to implement it myself. It was really easy to install. You could install it on a server locally if you want to. If you have the biggest site, you would do that, but for my site, it was just directing all the traffic out through the Cisco Umbrella DNS. It was really handy. When the owners of the company went overseas, I knew that they would be secure because even if they were not on the company network, they would still go through the Cisco Umbrella servers. It was a complete solution for protecting the company with outgoing data.""The documentation is good, and we have been able to resolve any issues ourselves.""You can manage and create policies based on a group of users. It can permit some URLs and block others."

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"The most valuable feature of this solution is its monitoring.""The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is to stop shadow IT.""There are a lot of features with benefits, including discovery, investigation, and putting controls around things. You can't say that you like the investigation part but not the discovery. Everything is correlated; that's how the tool works.""The feature that helps us in detecting the sensitive information being shared has been very useful. In addition, the feature that allows MCAS to apply policies with SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive is being used predominantly.""One of the most valuable features is auditing. Some of the other protection services have issues with auditing. Microsoft Defender for Cloud has an excellent auditing technique that helps us avoid the risk of filtering or information loss. You can use different tools to guarantee these things. It allows you to conduct an in-depth exploration of applications, users, and files that are harmful or suspicious. You can also enhance your security setup by creating personalized rules or policies that help you better control traffic in the cloud.""On-demand scanning is the most valuable feature. In addition, it's a fairly fluid product. It syncs back to the cloud and provides metrics. It's pretty intelligent.""Threat detection is its key feature, and that's why we use this tool. It gives an alert if a PC is attacked or there is any kind of anomaly, such as there is a spike in sending emails or we see an unauthorized website being accessed. So, it keeps us on our toes. We get to know that there is something wrong, and we can isolate the user and find any issues with it. So, threat detection is very robust in this tool.""If your business requirements are relatively simple, it can get the job done."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Pros →

Cons
"There is room for improvement in the dashboard. It could stand to be a bit more detailed. I would also like to be able to customize the dashboard to focus more on what is important for my company.""We would like them to add more features to Cisco Umbrella.""The integration with Cisco could be better.""The design of the screens could be improved. Sometimes you're trying to look for information, for what you think is critical that should be on that first screen of the dashboard so that you can quickly take screenshots to have people help out, but you have to hop between screens to find little pieces of evidence.""The pricing changes too fast. We get the license and we need to relicense it because they already made changes to it. We always need to be on top of the licenses because they're always changing.""In my experience with Umbrella support, sometimes the response times take a bit more time than we would like... sometimes, if you go through email, it can take quite a while to get a response.""They should provide more integrations and bring things together so that there is a more standard feel to their platform. We also use Cisco ISE, and it has a very different feel from Cisco Umbrella.""Its price could be better."

More Cisco Umbrella Cons →

"The integration with macOS operating systems needs to be better.""There are challenges with detection and there are challenges with false-positive rates.""There are some features, such as user navigation content filtering, that are disabled by default, and it probably makes sense to enable them by default.""Defender for Cloud Apps could come with more configured policies out of the box. Also, integration could be easier. Integration is moderately difficult because Microsoft hasn't developed a solution that unifies device onboarding and management. You have to use Intune to manage devices and Defender for Endpoint to enforce policies. They need to fix their integration, but I believe they will straighten it out by the end of the year.""We sometimes get errors when we create policies, which is somewhat annoying because some policies stop working due to misconfigurations. We find this challenging because it limits our options for troubleshooting an issue.""I would like to see them include more features in the older licenses. There are some features that are not available, such as preventing or analyzing cloud attacks.""Sometimes, we'll get false positive alarms. For example, when a SharePoint path has no file sharing, but there is an external user, it will trigger an alarm that the file has been shared with an external user... the alerting mechanism should be more precise when giving you an alert about what activity has been done with the file...""Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps' initial setup was quite technical but we were prepared. The time of the implementation depends on the job and how many users are being set up."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "When talking about Cisco solutions in general there pricing model is horrible. For example, you can sell a Meraki-based solution, but if the customer starts shopping around, someone is going to have access to the pricing at a level that you cannot compete because they do not have uniform pricing. Not everybody gets fair pricing. Unless you are one of the real major corporations selling the solution your ability to compete is impossible. Cisco will acknowledge the situation and assure you next time it will be in your favor but it never becomes favorable for you. Cisco is not very good in this regard. However, Umbrella is good."
  • "The licensing fee is paid on a yearly basis."
  • "In the region I'm from, that of EMAR, Europe, the Middle East, Eastern Asia and Africa, our organizations do not have many liquid cash assets, so the price could be better."
  • "The price depends on the use case, and it's a bit linear. But it depends on the customer's strategy and how Cisco plans to optimize the costs."
  • "We were using the free version, and we implemented the paid version about two months ago. I'm paying a fair price, but everything is negotiable with Cisco. One of the benefits that I got by having Cisco Umbrella is the licensing of the Cisco AnyConnect VPN client."
  • "There are no hidden costs with Umbrella. Everything is included in the package."
  • "There is room for improvement when it comes to the cost."
  • "The pricing is pretty fair. It's good."
  • More Cisco Umbrella Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The pricing is a little bit high but right now, we are okay with it because of the compatibility with Office 365, Teams, and Azure AD."
  • "I'm not totally involved in the pricing part, but I think its pricing is quite aggressive, and its price is quite similar to Netskope. Netskope has separate licensing fees or additional charges if you want to monitor certain SaaS services, whereas, with MCAS, you get 5,000 applications with their Office 365. It is all bundled, and there's no cost for using that. You only have the operational costs. In the country I am in, it is a bit difficult to get people with the required skill sets."
  • "Its pricing is on the higher side. Its price is definitely very high for a small-scale company. As an enterprise client, we do get benefits from Microsoft. We get a discounted price because of the number of users we have in our company. We have a premier package, and with that, we do get a lot of discounts. There are no additional costs. It only comes in the top-tier packages. Generally, the top-tier license is the best license that you can get for your organization. If you want, you can buy it separately, but that's not a good idea."
  • "The price could be better and should be reconsidered."
  • "It is a little bit expensive. When you want to have the complete package with Office 365, Defender, and everything else, it is expensive."
  • "We are an MST and we do not pay for the solution. However, the price of the solution could be better."
  • "The cost could be improved when you need to pay for anything. For example, refreshing files takes time to load, though it may be my Internet. To improve the refresh time, Microsoft says that we need to pay for a Premium license, and I don't like paying for things that help make a solution better."
  • "The pricing is fair."
  • More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer: Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler Internet Access are two broad-spectrum Internet security solutions that I have tried. Zscaler Internet Access is a good option for carrying out multiple security… more »
    Top Answer:Cisco Umbrella is an integral component of the Cisco SASE architecture. It integrates security in a single, cloud-native solution, unifying multiple features like DNS-layer security, threat… more »
    Top Answer:The reports and notifications are the most useful part of the platform. As soon as you deploy the security layers, the reporting is very comprehensive. It helps you to have, at a glance, a clear view… more »
    Top Answer:Defender helps us control which applications are being used and gain more security insight into remote and hybrid users based on user identity and log in location. You can also integrate Defender for… more »
    Top Answer:Defender for Cloud Apps could come with more configured policies out of the box. Also, integration could be easier. Integration is moderately difficult because Microsoft hasn't developed a solution… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    45,640
    Comparisons
    32,570
    Reviews
    43
    Average Words per Review
    906
    Rating
    8.8
    Views
    17,618
    Comparisons
    13,552
    Reviews
    20
    Average Words per Review
    1,192
    Rating
    8.5
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    OpenDNS
    MS Cloud App Security, Microsoft Cloud App Security
    Learn More
    Overview

    Cisco Umbrella offers flexible, cloud-delivered security according to users’ requirements Cisco Umbrella includes secure web gateway, firewall, and cloud access security broker (CASB) functionality all delivered from a single cloud security service. Cisco Umbrella’s protection is extended to devices, remote users, and distributed locations anywhere. As company employees work from many locations and devices, Cisco Umbrella is the easiest way to effectively protect users everywhere in minutes.

    Cisco Umbrella uses machine learning to search for, identify, and even predict malicious domains. By learning from internet activity patterns, this DNS-layer security solution can automatically identify attacker infrastructure being staged for the next threat. These domains are then proactively blocked, protecting networks from potential compromise. Cisco Umbrella analyzes terabytes of data in real time across all markets, geographies, and protocols.

    Cisco Umbrella works with leading IT companies to integrate its security enforcement and intelligence. Built with a bidirectional API, Cisco Umbrella makes it easy to extend protection from on-premises security appliances to cloud controlled devices and sites.

    Cisco Umbrella is suitable for small businesses without dedicated security professionals, as well as for multinational enterprises with complex environments.

    Why use Cisco Umbrella?

    • Simplify security management: Cisco Umbrella is the fastest and easiest way to protect all users within minutes and reduces the number of infections and alerts sent from other security products by stopping threats at the earliest point. With no hardware to install and no software to manually update, ongoing management is simple

    • Reliable reporting: Cisco Umbrella reports show activity for each device or network in the system. Users gain a more complete picture of the security risks facing their organization and can take action to remedy them.

    • Manage and control cloud apps: Umbrella provides visibility into sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud services in use across the enterprise. Users can uncover new services being used, see who is using them, identify potential risk, and block specific applications easily.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Cisco Umbrella stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Some of the major ones are its DNS-based protection, ability to protect users no matter where they are located, stability, and high performance.

    Daniel B., a network specialist at Syswind Kft, writes, “We primarily use the solution as cloud security for our branches. It protects us from direct internet outbreaks. It makes for good flexibility. The solution is very easy to manage. We found the initial setup, for example, to be quite simple. Efficient protection on the DNS level and even higher. The sandboxing feature analyses and handles the complicated security risks.”

    Victor M., SOC & Security Services Director at BEST, notes, “It provides security for the remote workers and it helps to improve enterprise security in a very easy way. We mainly enjoy web software protection capabilities. It prevents the end-users from getting into bad sites or sites that potentially could have malware or could be phishing. It helps end-users avoid the wrong sites. The solution works very smoothly. The user interface is good.”

    Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is a comprehensive security solution that provides protection for cloud-based applications and services. It offers real-time threat detection and response, as well as advanced analytics and reporting capabilities. With Defender for Cloud Apps, organizations can ensure the security of their cloud environments and safeguard against cyber threats. Whether you're running SaaS applications, IaaS workloads, or PaaS services, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps can help you secure your cloud environment and protect your business from cyber threats.

    Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Benefits:
    • Provides comprehensive security for cloud applications
    • Integrates with other Microsoft security tools
    • Easy to use and deploy
    • Provides real-time threat detection and response
    • Strong protection against phishing attacks and other common threats
    • Highly customizable to meet specific needs of different organizations
    Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Use Cases:
    • Governance, authentication, security, and compliance. 
    • Detects shadow IT and anomalous user behavior
    • Controls access to applications
    • Provides auditing and filtering setups
    • Used for end-user compute devices, file monitoring, user investigation, and activity
    • Used for data governance, threat detection, and getting visibility over cloud applications
    • Used to identify information about applications beyond organizational boundaries
    • Prevent exfiltration and data filtration of corporate data
    • Used to deal with spam emails and detect shadow IT

    Reviews from Real Users

    Ram-Krish, Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm, says that Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps "Integrates well and helps us in protecting sensitive information, but takes time to scan and apply the policies and cannot detect everything we need".

    PeerSpot user, Senior Cloud & Security Consultant at a tech services, writes that Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps "Great for monitoring user activity and protecting data while integrating well with other applications".

    Simon Burgess,Infrastructure Engineer at SBITSC, states that Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is "A fluid, intelligent product for great visibility, centralized management, and increased uptime".

    Offer
    Learn more about Cisco Umbrella
    Learn more about Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    Sample Customers
    Chart Industries, City of Aspen, Eastern Mountain Sports, FLEXcon, George Washington University, Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, Ohio Public Library Information Network, PTC, Richland Community College, Smart Motors, Tulane University, VeriClaim
    Customers for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps include Accenture, St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ansell, and Nakilat.
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Comms Service Provider11%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Educational Organization9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Educational Organization10%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    Government6%
    REVIEWERS
    Educational Organization33%
    Government11%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    Engineering Company11%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company18%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    Government7%
    Comms Service Provider6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business37%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise40%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business20%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise60%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise28%
    Large Enterprise44%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business21%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise65%
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Umbrella vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    May 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Umbrella vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps and other solutions. Updated: May 2023.
    710,326 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Cisco Umbrella is ranked 1st in Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) with 47 reviews while Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is ranked 3rd in Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) with 19 reviews. Cisco Umbrella is rated 8.8, while Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Cisco Umbrella writes "We can see all of our locations in one place and only have to make changes once for all our locations". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps writes "Integrates well and helps us in protecting sensitive information, but takes time to scan and apply the policies and cannot detect everything we need". Cisco Umbrella is most compared with Zscaler Internet Access, Palo Alto Networks DNS Security, Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet FortiGate SWG and Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection, whereas Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is most compared with Zscaler Internet Access, Netskope , Qualys VMDR, Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks and Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection. See our Cisco Umbrella vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps report.

    See our list of best Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) vendors.

    We monitor all Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.