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Forcepoint CASB vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

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

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (5th), Internet Security (3rd), Web Content Filtering (1st), ZTNA as a Service (8th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (8th)
Forcepoint CASB
Ranking in Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)
18th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for Clou...
Ranking in Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (14th), Microsoft Security Suite (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.2%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Forcepoint CASB is 1.3%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is 8.9%, down from 11.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps8.9%
iboss2.2%
Forcepoint CASB1.3%
Other87.6%
Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)
 

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford - PeerSpot reviewer
It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless
One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured
Edwin Eze Osiago - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable, easy to set up and offers good visibility
It could be more robust, especially around custom applications. We've not really seen value around our custom applications, most especially when these applications are hosted on-premise. If there's a way Forcepoint can do something to ensure that the CASB also protects applications that are hosted on-premise, that would be ideal. Currently, basically, cloud-hosted applications, that are internet-facing are protected. If we can also have a CASB sit in front of our on-prem hosted applications, it would be massive. Forcepoint removed the ability to scan for unsanctioned applications on the CASB. Initially, CASB used to have that feature where you can scan for the applications and be able to support unsanctioned applications being used by the user. They moved it to another product. If there is an opportunity to speak to the product managers and get some features back, that would be ideal.
Abdulrahman Muhammadi - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration with existing cloud workflows has simplified compliance and threat detection
Licensing cost is a significant concern. With Defender Plan 1, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps comes with a pay-per-use model. Each feature has its own pricing when activated on VMs. For example, the vulnerability assessment has separate pricing, the base model including encryptions has separate pricing, and the compliance features have separate pricing. This applies to each VM and Azure resource individually. It is not straightforward where you can take one license and apply it to everything. Each feature has its own pricing model which can be tedious, as the costs keep accumulating. The only lacking feature currently is XDR (extended detection and response). Apart from that, I have only positive experiences with the whole Microsoft suite, except for the pricing structure.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device."
"Technical support is pretty sharp and very responsive."
"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."
"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device. It operates on the network side and is not device-based. This feature was one of the main reasons why we stayed with them for so long."
"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."
"The console is cloud-based, which is something I really appreciate."
"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."
"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."
"As it is based on AWS, it is not a problem."
"The most valuable aspect for us is the fact that the product seamlessly integrates with the Forcepoint DLP."
"Generally, most of our customers are happy with it though."
"The tool's most valuable feature is its management ease."
"It gives you value for your investment."
"Macro integration is a good feature."
"The product offers an easy initial setup."
"The most valuable feature is the seamless integration across different clouds."
"Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is very comprehensive, providing a complete 360-degree view of applications within an organization."
"All of the features are valuable because all of the features are related."
"The most valuable feature is its policy implementation."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its monitoring."
"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."
"Shadow IT discovery is the feature I like the most."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of management. It's important."
 

Cons

"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."
"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."
"File integrity monitoring would be very advantageous as an additional feature."
"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."
"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."
"The area I would like to see improvement in is the ability with in the reporter to navigate directly to the content the user is traversing. It is kind of there, but it's not perfect. Quite frequently, I receive links that lead me to pages with error messages."
"The reporting feature needs improvement. It doesn't give you the expected results. It is quite difficult to get the specific reports needed, and it is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform."
"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."
"There are various modules to secure a public cloud, such as Cloud Security Posture Management. You might have seen these features available if you've reviewed solutions like Zscaler or Netskope. A full-fledged CASB should be manageable. However, the tool does not seem to offer complete public cloud visibility. While it provides some cloud visibility and can manage API traffic for Web 2.0, it lacks a specific module for securing public cloud environments."
"The solution needs to be easier to install, and they need to clean up the backend, so stuff doesn't break."
"Lacks different ways to authenticate users."
"Forcepoint removed the ability to scan for unsanctioned applications on the CASB."
"When using the Forcepoint CASB, and you are a remote worker, basically not in the office, you have to have an agent on your computer, a Forcepoint agent. However, with many other CASB solutions, they can integrate with MDM."
"They should work on the possibility of consolidating all of the products with the group of agents."
"Integration is an area of the solution that needs to be improved."
"It doesn't actually decrease the time to respond. This has been an issue with Microsoft recently. Sometimes, there is a delay when it comes to getting an alert policy email... Sometimes it takes two or three hours for that email to be sent."
"The insights could be improved, especially in reporting. While it is possible for me to see the usage from different cloud apps, determining if critical data has been uploaded or if it is just normal transport data is difficult."
"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."
"We are having trouble with our continuous reporting configuration and struggling with configuring the collector properly with our log parsing."
"I would like for it to be available on Mac and for it to support all of the features of Microsoft financing products. It is really for Windows."
"The product is very good so far, however, it would be better if it could include more up-to-date threat protection."
"It takes some time to scan and apply the policies when there is some sensitive information. After it applies the policies, it works, but there is a delay. This is something for which we are working with Microsoft."
"There are challenges with detection and there are challenges with false-positive rates."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."
"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."
"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."
"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."
"The solution is not that expensive compared to Zscaler. Netskope is between Forcepoint CASB and Zscaler in terms of cost. Forcepoint CASB would be the first choice because it negotiates well and offers a perpetual license, though it may seem subscription-based. I rate its pricing a six out of ten."
"The pricing really depends on the size of the customer's business because it is price-relevant to the environment."
"The price could be better and should be reconsidered."
"It has fair pricing. You pay for what you get. As far as I know, there are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fee."
"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."
"Where we are right now, this is an acceptable pricing. I would like to see more transparency given to the end user. The end user given to us is via the cloud service provider. There are different programs and license models. Some include this, and some include that. It is all over the place. There can be a little more consistency or simplification in the pricing so that your parts list is not ten pages long, and you are not trying to determine, "If I have an E3, does this cover that?", or "Do I need to pay separately for the license?" Simplification would probably be better."
"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 E5 license offers everything bundled. People are moving to Microsoft because you buy one license and it gives you everything."
"It is a little bit expensive. When you want to have the complete package with Office 365, Defender, and everything else, it is expensive."
"It has pretty good pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?
For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
Previously when I used iboss, we did the POC for iboss for ExxonMobil. Four or five people wanted to move from our ol...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?
Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern. There are cheaper alte...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Forcepoint CASB?
The solution is not that expensive compared to Zscaler. Netskope is between Forcepoint CASB and Zscaler in terms of c...
What needs improvement with Forcepoint CASB?
There are some areas that could be improved, particularly regarding support issues. Forcepoint could enhance their pr...
What is your primary use case for Forcepoint CASB?
People typically use Forcepoint CASB along with other Forcepoint tools such as Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway.
Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Microsoft Cloud App Security?
Cisco Umbrella is an integral component of the Cisco SASE architecture. It integrates security in a single, cloud-nat...
What do you like most about Microsoft Cloud App Security?
It does a great job of monitoring and maintaining a security baseline. For us, that is a key element. The notificatio...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Cloud App Security?
My impression on the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is that it's fair. I do...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
Imperva Skyfence
MS Cloud App Security, Microsoft Cloud App Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.
Zions Bank, GE Healthcare, HomeAway, Logitech, Universal, California National Resources Agency and many mor
Customers for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps include Accenture, St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ansell, and Nakilat.
Find out what your peers are saying about Forcepoint CASB vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,676 professionals have used our research since 2012.