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Fortinet FortiMail vs Mimecast Email Security comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Organizations saw increased productivity, cost savings, and enhanced security with Microsoft Defender for Office 365's advanced features.
Sentiment score
7.6
Fortinet FortiMail boosts email security, saves costs, reduces spam, and consolidates functions, increasing reliability and efficiency for users.
Sentiment score
3.5
Mimecast Email Security prevents breaches and blocks phishing, significantly enhancing business security despite challenges in quantifying its ROI.
It has also decreased our time to detection and response by about 15 to 20 percent.
It offers cost savings compared to Cisco, which was very expensive.
There is definitely a return on investment when using Mimecast, as it blocks phishing emails, reducing the risk of significant financial losses.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 support is praised for responsiveness but has inconsistencies, especially in first-level assistance.
Sentiment score
6.5
Fortinet FortiMail is praised for competent support, though some experience delays; elite support offers quicker assistance for a fee.
Sentiment score
5.5
Mimecast Email Security support is responsive but often redirects to unclear articles; mixed reviews on speed and flexibility.
Any issues are addressed quickly by Microsoft's support.
Customer service and support have been fantastic.
I have direct communication with Kenyan system engineers and local support in Ethiopia, enabling good support.
Fortinet's technical support offers high-quality support.
Support personnel are hesitant to engage in remote sessions, preferring to share documentation via email.
Mimecast technical support is generally quite good.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 scales effectively, seamlessly expanding capacity with minimal maintenance, suitable for large and growing organizations.
Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiMail is scalable, integrates well with infrastructures, effectively handles email volumes, and is favored by various industries.
Sentiment score
7.9
Mimecast Email Security is scalable, adaptable, and allows easy license adjustments but may face occasional feature challenges.
We have never faced scalability problems, and Microsoft manages it effectively.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is reliable, with 99.9% availability and efficient bug fixes, offering seamless performance and stability.
Sentiment score
8.4
Fortinet FortiMail is praised for its high stability, minimal downtime, and user satisfaction in both on-premises and cloud deployments.
Sentiment score
7.5
Mimecast Email Security is praised for stability and integration, with rare downtimes, few bugs, and high user satisfaction.
The solution is stable, as we have been using it for the past two years.
This stability is consistent across Fortinet products, including FortiGate firewall.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 needs enhanced threat detection, integration, support, usability, documentation, and transparent pricing to address customer concerns.
Fortinet FortiMail needs upgrades in interface, integration, user management, security features, and overall user-friendliness for improved functionality.
Mimecast Email Security struggles with detection, user interface, support, costs, configurations, and database reliance, affecting overall user satisfaction.
Microsoft could improve by offering recommendations for domain spoofing attacks, especially scenarios where DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are not properly published.
The main area for improvement is simplifying the implementation and rollout process.
I would reduce the cost.
The transition from on-premises devices to virtual appliances may be necessary as more organizations migrate email services to the cloud.
Providing comprehensive documentation on how to deploy and configure would improve the solution.
The area that could use some improvement in Fortinet FortiMail is the integration process.
A lot of emails were missed despite being known samples.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Office 365, often pricey for SMEs, offers extensive security features with complex user-based licensing.
Fortinet FortiMail offers flexible, cost-effective pricing from $28,000 to $100,000, influenced by features, company needs, and regional factors.
Mimecast Email Security is seen as costly, though features and updates justify the price; competitors offer cheaper alternatives.
Microsoft is quite affordable with a lot of features available for any size organization.
Money-wise, it is a part of the Office 365 suite, making it slightly more expensive compared to Trend Micro.
Fortinet FortiMail is considered overpriced by Indian rupee standards.
The pricing is higher for Mimecast, particularly for the Indian market, where it is considered expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers integrated protection with features like anti-malware and threat detection, enhancing security through AI.
Fortinet FortiMail offers advanced spam detection, easy management, comprehensive security, scalability, performance, and cost-effective email filtering with real-time updates.
Mimecast Email Security excels in threat protection, spam filtering, and user-friendliness, with strong Microsoft 365 integration and technical support.
It provides end-to-end visibility on email threats such as phishing, extending beyond Exchange Online Protection.
It ranks the threats and allows us to prioritize those hitting us the hardest, such as email threats.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is now part of a centralized tenant for my entire group.
Its threat detection capabilities have been beneficial.
The most valuable features are Fortinet FortiMail's ability to protect from advanced features of email-based attacks, including protection against ransomware and malware attacks.
Fortinet FortiMail offers capabilities like settings for mail delivery, mail filtering, spam controls, and email bursting prevention.
One of the most useful features is the threat remediation module, which can be used to remove malicious emails that may have been delivered or manually remove them.
A distinct advantage of Mimecast is its ability to block phishing and impostor attacks, which are significant threats currently.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Offi...
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Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (11th)
Fortinet FortiMail
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (6th)
Mimecast Email Security
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Office 365 Protection (5th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Email Security
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

Tolu Omolaja - PeerSpot reviewer
Great URL scanning and attachment scanning, but I would like more proactive threat analysis
The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning. URL scanning involves an automatic scan of links and emails. When a user clicks on a link within an email, the system promptly checks the link's safety. If the link is deemed safe, access is granted automatically. However, if it is flagged as unsafe, we receive feedback and notification to caution us about the potentially harmful link. At this point, we are presented with the option to proceed or return. I have personally witnessed the system identify a few unsafe links, making this the primary advantage of using the solution. The second crucial aspect is the scanning of attachments. When an email containing an attachment arrives, we receive a notification of the new email, along with information that the attachment is being scanned for threats. This additional layer of security provides peace of mind for our organization. While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers numerous features, these two stand out as particularly impressive and valuable to us.
MOHAN SUKUMAR - PeerSpot reviewer
Secure email management improves through advanced filtering and dynamic virus scanning
Fortinet FortiMail offers capabilities like settings for mail delivery, mail filtering, spam controls, and email bursting prevention. It also allows for email forwarding, dynamic filtering, and scanning based on virus signatures. I can set varying levels of security. The tool is flexible and provides essential features for mail security and management.
Frank Rawson - PeerSpot reviewer
It gives clients peace of mind and helps them educate their users about threats
A few years ago, our team found the implementation to be somewhat challenging. It has gotten easier as we've grown more experienced. The difficulty depends on the expertise of the person doing it. I don't work with Mimecast every day, so it might be more difficult for me than it is for one of my techs who regularly does Mimecast implementations. It requires some specific in-depth product knowledge and an understanding of email solutions. The deployment time varies. In South Africa, it depends on who you use to deploy it. If you use one of Mimecast's local partners, it can take up to two weeks because of their process. However, it's only about four to eight hours of work. After deployment, there isn't much maintenance aside from supporting and educating your customers. Users require constant education on how to use the Mimecast client and release an email that has been blocked.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Educational Organization
44%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Government
4%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of variou...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Money-wise, it is a part of the Office 365 ( /products/office-365-reviews ) suite, making it slightly more expensive ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
The main area for improvement is simplifying the implementation and rollout process. There are many conditions to be ...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail?
Detailed documentation regarding deployment options and configuration would be beneficial. Providing comprehensive do...
What do you like most about Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection?
The interface of this solution is very easy to navigate and user-friendly. There is no delivery in email and other co...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection?
The pricing is higher for Mimecast, particularly for the Indian market, where it is considered expensive.
What needs improvement with Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection?
There is nothing that notably stands out in need of improvement at present.
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
FortiMail
Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.
Azizi Developments, Affinity Credit Union, Aftercare, Al Abbar Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiMail vs. Mimecast Email Security and other solutions. Updated: January 2024.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.