We compared ESET PROTECT Enterprise and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint based on our users' reviews in six categories. We reviewed all of the data, and you can find the conclusion below.
Features: ESET PROTECT Enterprise is praised for its performance and intuitive, powerful management interface, with dynamic folders and group capabilities. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint excels in file protection, encryption, and ransomware defense. It integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft security products. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface and scalability.
Room for Improvement: ESET PROTECT Enterprise users have suggested that file downloads should be enabled in ESET File Security. They also want more automation and better dashboard reporting. Users say Microsoft Defender for Endpoint should improve its central console and auto-recovery feature. Users also requested better reporting capabilities and integration with third-party platforms.
Ease of Deployment: ESET PROTECT Enterprise is generally considered easy to set up, but some users struggled with proxy configuration. On-prem setups take longer and require additional configuration, but cloud setups are problem-free. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's setup is straightforward. While it can be more complex for larger organizations, it is generally considered simple, particularly for smaller companies or those familiar with Microsoft environments.
Service and Support: Customers have had positive experiences with ESET’s customer service, rating it highly. Microsoft customer service garnered mixed feedback. Some praised the fast response times and expertise of the support engineers, while others were dissatisfied with slow replies and a lack of coordination among the support teams.
Pricing: ESET PROTECT Enterprise offers low licensing costs. Users find its pricing reasonable. Reviewers say Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is fairly priced, noting that it is typically included for free with Windows or Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions. However, some users believe that Microsoft's pricing could be more affordable, and others noted that their licensing models can be complex.
ROI: Users said that ESET PROTECT Enterprise delivered a positive ROI. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint delivers cost savings, enhanced efficiency, and heightened threat management.
Comparison Results: ESET PROTECT Enterprise is an affordable solution that is highly regarded for its impressive performance, resource efficiency, and hassle-free setup. At the same time, users say ESET PROTECT Enterprise could enhance its file downloading capability and automation. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers sophisticated protection against ransomware, easy deployment, and smooth integration with Microsoft solutions. However, Microsoft’s customer support has received middling reviews, and users would like better compatibility with third-party solutions.
"It's helped us with restrictions and knowing which users we can provide permissions to and which users we need to restrict."
"ESET PROTECT Enterprise is reliable."
"The solution offers a lot of configuration capabilities."
"The product enabled Zero-Day Protection for our environment. We never encountered any issues regarding threats."
"We can easily manage resources, disable or enable clients and update them."
"The most valuable features of ESET File Security are the performance and it doesn't take too many resources."
"ESET is better in some ways than other vendors because it fulfills many areas where we'd otherwise have to use different products."
"The most valuable feature of ESET Protect is the security while accessing any transaction, such as online banking systems. When I access a banking website a new browser opens which is more secure, which I find very useful."
"I've started to test it from the security point of view. There are plenty of features that are interesting, but at this time, the XDR functionality is most valuable. It is endpoint security on steroids."
"The integration with all variations of Microsoft Defender, for Endpoint, 365, and Cloud is valuable."
"The most valuable features are that it's easy to use and the updates are very simple."
"It's a Microsoft product; it's easier to deploy this product than other options."
"Defender is stable. The performance is good."
"The most important and the most relevant features of Defender for Endpoint are the malware and ransomware protection."
"The primary advantage is that you don't need to install it. It's included in the Windows 10 delivery."
"The fact that it's from Microsoft, you don't have many false positives, unlike products from other vendors might have."
"ESET Protect could improve the performance. The performance of the home computers and laptops becomes slow due to their heavy software load. It would be a benefit to make a lighter version of the software which does not have any impact on the performance of the computer's hardware."
"The solution can be quite technical and therefore is challenging for new users."
"Its automation can be improved."
"I would like to see more features on the reporting side of things."
"I would like to see more in managing mobile devices in an on-premise solution. The latest news I've heard is that ESET drops mobile management module development for the on-prem version. It's moving to the cloud. Like in endpoint client protection, I would also like to see more of the vulnerability management features and additional app control functionality in ESET Protect."
"The availability and sustainability could also be improved."
"In terms of management accounts, there's a lot of manuals that seem to be mixed up. Sometimes, it's a little bit confusing."
"In the current version of ESET File Security, you cannot download a file, it always wants the real-time upload which you have to wait until the file is ready. This is annoying. In previous versions, you were able to use the downloaded engine."
"Microsoft should improve support for third-party platforms, because not all functionality is available for all of them. It's a good product, but they should just extend the functionality for all platforms."
"Sometimes the software doesn't work the way we expect it to, and in those cases, we can't communicate with a device because it may be infected."
"In active mode, it's great that it gives you so much information, but it does record every keystroke so you have a lot of logs... that amount of data logging started to add up in the cost."
"The solution can be more user-friendly."
"Notifications are always popping up — I hate that."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint could improve by adding more security features."
"It is using a large space in your memory all the time. While an antivirus will use some of your memory, if they could reduce the load of the antivirus to some extent that would be good."
"There are alternative solutions that offer a greater range of dashboard insights when compared to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint."
More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Pricing and Cost Advice →
ESET PROTECT Enterprise is ranked 14th in Anti-Malware Tools with 10 reviews while Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is ranked 1st in Anti-Malware Tools with 182 reviews. ESET PROTECT Enterprise is rated 9.0, while Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of ESET PROTECT Enterprise writes "Constantly improving their online resources to make it easier for new users to work with it". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint writes "Eliminates the need to look at multiple dashboards by automatically providing one XDR dashboard to show the security score of each subscription". ESET PROTECT Enterprise is most compared with ESET Endpoint Protection Platform, Wazuh, Avira Antivirus, VirusTotal and Cybereason Next-Generation Antivirus, whereas Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is most compared with Symantec Endpoint Security, Intercept X Endpoint, CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity Complete and Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks. See our ESET PROTECT Enterprise vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint report.
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