ConnectWise SIEM vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint comparison

ConnectWise and Microsoft are both solutions in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category. ConnectWise is ranked #54 with an average rating of 6.0, while Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3. ConnectWise holds a 0.3% mindshare in EDR, compared to Microsoft’s 10.1% mindshare. Additionally, 66% of ConnectWise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

ConnectWise SIEM

Read 3 ConnectWise SIEM reviews

1,064 Views
372 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender for Endp...

Read 198 Microsoft Defender for Endpoint reviews

37,815 Views
17,773 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

ConnectWise SIEM

Microsoft Defender for Endp...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 2024

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and ConnectWise SIEM are both robust cybersecurity solutions competing in the same category. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has the upper hand in pricing and customer support, while ConnectWise SIEM is preferred for its advanced features, despite higher costs.

Features: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's valued features include threat detection, automated investigation, and quick response times. ConnectWise SIEM is praised for its extensive integrations, customizable alerts, and detailed reporting. While both products offer strong features, ConnectWise SIEM’s customization and integration options give it an edge.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint could improve its alert accuracy and integration abilities. Users recommend enhancing the learning curve and reducing complexity for ConnectWise SIEM. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint needs better integrations, while ConnectWise SIEM requires simplification to be more user-friendly.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is noted for its straightforward, quick deployment and responsive customer service. ConnectWise SIEM, while comprehensive, has a more complex deployment process and varied customer service experiences. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint stands out with easier deployment and better service.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is appreciated for reasonable setup costs and a solid ROI. In contrast, ConnectWise SIEM has higher setup costs but delivers enhanced ROI through its advanced features. Users see Microsoft Defender for Endpoint as cost-efficient, while ConnectWise SIEM’s high ROI justifies its expense for those needing complex features.

To learn more, read our detailed ConnectWise SIEM vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

ConnectWise SIEM vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

July 2025

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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

ConnectWise SIEM

Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

54th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (51st), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (24th), Managed Detection and Response (MDR) (28th)

Microsoft Defender for Endp...

Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

198

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (3rd), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of ConnectWise SIEM is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 10.1%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint	10.1%
ConnectWise SIEM	0.3%
Other	89.6%

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Featured Reviews

Giulio Valeri

Owner at SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS SRL

Efficiently monitoring and detecting suspicious activities

One valuable feature of ConnectWise Fortify is the ability to add other teams and receive notifications when customers make changes or remove multi-factor authentication in Microsoft or SAP environments. For instance, once we were connecting different parts in China, and we had to reserve resources for the blue source of the login of task no v. ConnectWise Fortify successfully mitigated the issue and monitored any suspicious activity in the Microsoft environment. Despite the inconvenience, the Microsoft environment is still active and susceptible to cyber threats. We do a lot of research and utilize ConnectWise Fortify to restart and restore the system. It's essential to have a solution like ConnectWise Fortify to protect against cyber threats.

Read full review

NaySan @ Suraj Verma

Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies

Has effectively blocked sophisticated attacks and malicious activities while providing excellent support

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is very good, but one suggestion is that in some products, we may need to configure security-related settings, whereas Microsoft Defender for Endpoint works completely differently, providing automatic recommendations and actions that we may need to perform ourselves. Regarding the pricing of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, during the last three years, we set up the product and sold it, but we faced difficulties because Microsoft pricing is always the same. For example, whether I purchase Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for one year or for the next three years, the pricing remains constant with no discounts available. In contrast, competing products offer reduced pricing for long-term commitments, which makes it difficult for us in that environment. Microsoft should consider this option to remain competitive, but otherwise, everything else is fine.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have found the solution has great functionality and it is easy to use."

"One valuable feature of ConnectWise Fortify is the ability to add other teams and receive notifications when customers make changes or remove multi-factor authentication in Microsoft or SAP environments."

"The integration capabilities of ConnectWise SIEM are off the shelf, making it easy to buy and use; you just unpack it and use it."

"The integration with all variations of Microsoft Defender, for Endpoint, 365, and Cloud is valuable."

"Defender for Endpoint has one dashboard with security-related information, vulnerability-related information, and basic recommendations from Microsoft, all in different tabs. That's helpful because if we want to fix only the recommended ones, we can go fix all of them..."

"A few years ago, when I was using a different product, I was affected by a virus that destroyed everything. Since using Microsoft Defender, I have not had this kind of problem."

"Defender for Endpoint is a robust solution that works well out-of-the-box."

"The most important and the most relevant features of Defender for Endpoint are the malware and ransomware protection."

"We like that it has a free version available."

"The technical support from Microsoft is very good. We are part of the Microsoft Suite, and from being part of this we have consistent news regarding Microsoft Defender for Endpoint."

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is scalable. Currently, we have 600,000 users in our organization."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pros

Cons

"The manage portion of the solution is complicated and should be simplified by having different versions to meet the needs of different size companies."

"ConnectWise SIEM is primarily focused on notifications and is limited in that aspect, while Wazuh can automate the elimination process."

"ConnectWise Fortify could work on covering more areas, like phishing messages, which have become more complicated to detect."

"The time it takes to implement policies has room for improvement."

"Auto recovery is the most important feature that we would need from this solution. For decryption, similar to Malwarebytes, there should be something to be able to recover the data up to the last normal status. Its ability to recover data to the last normal copy must not exceed 5 to 10 minutes."

"Windows Firewall is integrated with Windows Defender. Over the last few days, I have had a problem with defining a wildcard on Windows Firewall. For example, I wanted to pull out the connection of my program and install a software package with a lot of executable files. I wanted to prevent it from accessing the internet. I could not select executables by using a wildcard. I had to select a single executable with its full name."

"Sometimes, there are difficulties in downloading a file considered as malicious."

"There could be an increase in security for the solution."

"Localization is always a challenge, especially with new products you typically want. Solutions are designed to be deployed where the most licenses are being consumed, such as in the United States. They focus on US products, devices, and networks. Specialized deployments for other countries would allow for a smoother experience in transition."

"Lacks some additional integration."

"The product should reduce updates since it is hard to keep up."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive."

"When compared with other vendors, the pricing is very high."

"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows 10."

"The price was a problem for me three years ago, but they improved their E3, E5, and a la carte licensing. In other words, you have to get all of E5. That used to be a problem because you had E3, Defender, and guardrails, but you needed an E5 license to get the management suite and the analytics. It's more flexible now. You can switch from a la carte to the entire suite when it starts to make sense. It's becoming more economically competitive to go that route."

"Everybody would like to see a lower price on everything. The Slovenian market is basically an SME market with clients having up to 100 seat licenses, comprising 90% of the company. They're very price sensitive. So, the price could be cheaper."

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is included with a Microsoft E5 license."

"This solution is part of an enterprise license we have."

"There is no license needed, the solution comes with Microsoft Windows."

"Microsoft Defender is an expensive product in my country."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

University

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	79
Midsize Enterprise	34
Large Enterprise	87

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with ConnectWise Fortify?

I haven't utilized the advanced threat intelligence capabilities with ConnectWise SIEM. Advanced threat intelligence is an option, but I haven't explored this feature yet. The advanced threat intel...

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What is your primary use case for ConnectWise Fortify?

I do not have experience with ConnectWise SIEM for RMM, as I mostly work on Wazuh, and I have a team that handles ConnectWise SIEM. I'm linking with them, serving as the bridge. I am solely working...

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What advice do you have for others considering ConnectWise Fortify?

The review can be made anonymous if just my name and not the company name is used. I would assess the real-time visibility for my organization as somewhat real-time, but it's not fully real-time. T...

See all answers

How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface, applies behavioral-based endpoint protection and response, and includes risk-ba...

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Which offers better endpoint security - Symantec or Microsoft Defender?

We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior solution. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security s...

See all answers

How does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint compare with Crowdstrike Falcon?

The CrowdStrike solution delivers a lot of information about incidents. It has a very light sensor that will never push your machine hardware to "test", you don't have the usual "scan now" feature ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Huntress Managed EDR vs ConnectWise SIEM

Compared 34% of the time

Wazuh vs ConnectWise SIEM

Compared 29% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon Complete MDR vs ConnectWise SIEM

Compared 27% of the time

Cynet vs ConnectWise SIEM

Compared 11% of the time

More ConnectWise SIEM Competitors

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 5% of the time

HP Wolf Security vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 5% of the time

F-Secure Total vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 4% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 4% of the time

Trellix Endpoint Security Platform vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

August 2025

Download ConnectWise SIEM product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

August 2025

Download Microsoft Defender for Endpoint product report

Also Known As

ConnectWise Security Management, ConnectWise Fortify, Continuum Fortify, ConnectWise SIEM, ConnectWise SASE

Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

ConnectWise

Microsoft

Overview

IT solution providers are the first—and often only—line of defense for every kind of business in every part of the world. Whether managing mom-and-pop businesses or high-profile clients, providing preventive security measures is a must-have in today’s cybersecurity landscape. Security information and event management (SIEM) solutions offer an additional layer of security for your clients; however, most SIEM solutions are routinely difficult to manage, expensive to deploy, and require a significant amount of in-house cybersecurity expertise.

ConnectWise SIEM offers a powerful alternative to expand your security perspective to both prevention and detection. The solution includes comprehensive, flexible SIEM software that streamlines safety and security across your network without additional full-time employee costs or complicated implementations.

ConnectWise

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a comprehensive security solution that provides advanced threat protection for organizations. It offers real-time protection against various types of cyber threats, including malware, viruses, ransomware, and phishing attacks.

With its powerful machine-learning capabilities, it can detect and block sophisticated attacks before they can cause any harm. The solution also includes endpoint detection and response (EDR) capabilities, allowing organizations to quickly investigate and respond to security incidents. It provides detailed insights into the attack timeline, enabling security teams to understand the scope and impact of an incident.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint also offers proactive threat hunting, allowing organizations to proactively search for and identify potential threats within their network. It integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft security solutions, such as Microsoft Defender XDR, to provide a unified and holistic security approach. With its centralized management console, organizations can easily deploy, configure, and monitor the security solution across their entire network.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a robust and scalable security solution that helps organizations protect their endpoints and data from evolving cyber threats.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Techvera, Syrex, Clark Integrated Technologies

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health

Buyer's Guide

ConnectWise SIEM vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

July 2025

Free Report: ConnectWise SIEM vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

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