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Dell Encryption Enterprise [EOL] vs Microsoft BitLocker comparison

 

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

Dell Encryption Enterprise ...
Average Rating
7.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft BitLocker
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Encryption (1st), Mobile Data Protection (1st)
 

Featured Reviews

LM
Helpful auto-decryption features and great tech support, but problems with adding new applications and a time-consuming decryption process
I see a lot of room for improvement in a couple of areas. One is that the decryption process is a bit complex and takes a lot of time, depending on how many files you have. If that can be improved, it would be great. Second, whenever there is an operating system-related problem, for example, if the OS gets corrupted and I need to reinstall the operating system, it's very difficult because first, I have to move the data onto another disk. From there, I have to decrypt and install the operating system and then copy it back, which consumes a lot of time. So if that can be improved, it would also be great. One additional feature I would be interested in is an easy way to unlock a file. Whenever a file gets locked or encrypted, the admin should have an easy unlock mechanism or some superior control to get the file unlocked on the fly, which would save a lot of time.
Ibrahin Gamal - PeerSpot reviewer
Data protection improves while users adapt to user access complexities
Recovery options are useful with Microsoft BitLocker. When we get the recovery key from Microsoft, people who we show how BitLocker works did not know the facts about BitLocker. When we tell them about recovery keys, it is very difficult for them to get to the users who have issues in their PCs and do not have the knowledge. When IT asked about the scenario, it was difficult for them. They needed something where they could go to the administration portal to unlock the PC for the user, but we tell them that when a user asks for a recovery key, it consists of 32 numbers to unlock their PC. They observed cost savings after implementing Microsoft BitLocker because they requested BitLocker with System Center. They found that it did not have a high cost, as it is a built-in feature in Windows. When they asked about other solutions, it was very expensive for large numbers in other corporates or organizations. They were very satisfied with Microsoft BitLocker with System Center Configuration Manager.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One place where I can give them top level is the tiered administration, whereby you can assign roles to the support team to say, "You would be responsible for changing passwords. You would be responsible for system management and configurations, and you are the major admin of this." They have that on lockdown. The active directory integration is also pretty okay. It is not so bad. It does have normal features that most of the encryption tools have, such as full-disk encryption, volume encryption, and external drive encryption. I am not sure if they do file-level encryption and if DLP is integrated with the encryption product. I would like to assume that these features are there."
"The technical support provided by Dell EMC comes with proactive technical support."
"We like the auto-decryption features. For example, a file is auto-decrypted when it is moved to a different location, either over the network, through email, or through upload to a web server."
"It is easy to implement and has AD integration."
"The solution works the way it's supposed to - stability and scalability are fine."
"The ease of use is the most valuable feature. The ability to import data to build your frontend on top of the data is very simple and very useable."
"The most valuable feature is the TPM (Trusted Platform Module), which makes the PC security stronger because somebody who is not from the team cannot access the PC without the decryption PIN."
"The platform provides good performance."
"It is easy to use. It is usually easy to recover someone's privacy. The manageability is much easier than McAfee. I think that Microsoft is a leader in this area. We are in the Microsoft school so our judgment of McAfee will be a little bit unfair as we recommend Microsoft all the time because of the easy manageability and support. I think that McAfee is designed for a different customer and every time we open a ticket with their support, it takes a very, very long time. The main difference is just the manageability and support. In terms of the solution itself or the functionality, I know that McAfee is very strong, but manageability and support, for us, is much more important. It's strengthens the solution for us."
"You can do a silent remote deployment very fast."
"Microsoft BitLocker is a Microsoft native product that provides good encryption."
 

Cons

"It is not working properly for us because of which we had to decrypt all our encryptions. I have not used it much, and based on what I have heard, it is very tough to manage. Managing this system is not as easy as it should be. The central management is awful, and the encryption process is tedious. There are too many issues with even recovering passwords. Its ease of deployment is awful. Their support needs to be improved. It is just my fifth week working with this organization, and since I got here, it has been about, "Oh! We have these issues with Dell, and it is not working properly. It is so hard to work with, and please get on with the support team so we can get this resolved as soon as possible." To get the support on the phone is usually a big problem, and by the time they call you back and tell you it is going to take, for instance, about an hour, we end up spending like four hours, and we don't get anything done. The firm has finally decided that Dell is not going to be the way to go. We are now exploring other encryption products. In terms of new features, it should have cloud tenancy encryption. Everything is moving to the cloud, and it would be cool if the next version of Dell encryption can offer that. Based on my research, it seems that a few solutions can do that right now, particularly the McAfee Complete Protection suites. It would be good if Dell can also move away from on-prem. The solution that we're working with is an on-prem solution. I don't know if it is available in the cloud, but it would be good if they can make it available in the cloud. This probably would also help with the cloud tenancy encryption. Another feature that I would've loved them to have is for the passphrase self-recovery for a user. Such a feature would reduce some bit of burden on the help desk team. Currently, people forget their passphrase every single week, and they have to get to the help desk to reset their password. It would have been pretty cool if a passphrase self-recovery option was available for a user."
"Some customers have less security in the solution regarding their data."
"As soon as we introduce any new tools or applications, we have to work with the back-end team to handle new problems that are created. Once they're figured out, the solution will stabilize, but the problems keep coming up whenever we introduce a new tool or application. It has been a challenge."
"The reporting in Microsoft is very minimal."
"The migration itself is a nightmare."
"They can improve the security of the application and include an encryption disk in the next feature."
"I would recommend BitLocker only because of the economic side, not the technical side. If the features were included in the already existing licenses I would use it. If not, I would recommend other products."
"Lacks a portal that can be managed rather than just existing."
"It would be good if Microsoft offered improved recovery options or if it could automate the recovery options a bit."
"The encryption takes a long time to complete, and our system runs very slowly while it is encrypting."
"User profiles can be improved so that people can create their own passwords. It has one password per machine, which is a problem. We would prefer each user to have his or her own boot password. Each user can have a username and password or biometrics, such as fingerprints and iris scanner, integrated into the boot process, but I really can't see that coming anytime soon, if ever."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It is free. It is enabled as part of the operating system. Once you have an operating system license, you're licensed for Bitlocker."
"We can activate the product at no cost."
"The tool is cheap compared to the products offered by competitors. If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the tool's price as one."
"BitLocker is included in our license and doesn't cost us anything extra."
"Microsoft BitLocker is a free feature when you are using Microsoft solutions."
"It is a totally free solution."
"For reasons unknown, Microsoft products seem to be getting more expensive."
"It's not about pricing, because we are working with Enterprise companies that already have Windows Enterprise, so BitLocker comes already included as a Windows feature. It's free for Enterprise users. The price is only for deployment. The customer will pay for McAfee, however."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business35
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

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What should one take into account when replacing PGP with Microsoft BitLocker?
Beware to make backup of useful data, then use reverse decryption policy from Symantec panel/McAfee ePO to decrypt the DE partitions while it is sometimes more straightforward and faster to reinsta...
Would you choose Microsoft BitLocker or McAfee Complete Data Protection?
Microsoft BitLocker is very intuitive and easy to maintain. It is basically the global standard solution for drive encryption and successfully fulfills regulatory needs in terms of data protection....
How does Microsoft BitLocker compare with Symantec Endpoint Encryption?
Microsoft BitLocker is very intuitive and easy to maintain. It is basically the global standard solution for drive encryption and it successfully fulfills regulatory needs in terms of data protecti...
 

Also Known As

No data available
BitLocker, MS BitLocker
 

Overview

Information not available
 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
ACV, Proaxis Therapy, Choice Hotels International, adnymics GmbH, Intermedia, NMBS/SNCB
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