Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs Symantec CloudSOC CASB comparison

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs. Symantec CloudSOC CASB

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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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) category, the mindshare of iboss is 4.5%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is 5.8%, down from 8.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec CloudSOC CASB is 1.5%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps	5.8%
iboss	4.5%
Symantec CloudSOC CASB	1.5%
Other	88.2%

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula

Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Cloud gateway has strengthened remote web security and now needs better Mac and ISP support

The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents. That is where in 2025, we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform. If your use case is for just Windows laptops,you can consider this platform as an option One issue is the data center resiliency part. In India especially, they are not tied up with the Tier 1 ISPs like Tata or Airtel; they were having Tier 2 ISPs and encountered many issues reaching few major sites that my organization depends on, and they were having problems that they could not fix quickly. They also lack a mechanism to route that traffic within their data center; rather, they ask customers to make a pac file change to route it to Singapore explicitly. It would be better if they route from their backend , i mean even if I send it to India DC, they should be able to route it internally to make that work; however, they fail to do that and ask the customer to route it in the pac file. Another suggestion is that in China, they do not have the proper setup; they used to have numerous problems with slowness and lack of premium circuits in China as well. That leads to multiple sites working slowly with latency-related issues. So the main issue is the ISP-related problems that need to be solved.

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Abdulrahman Muhammadi

information Security and IT Manager at Discover Dollar Technologies Pvt Ltd.

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.

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cto543714

CTO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Works very well in a hybrid environment in terms of DLP policies, but trying to do your own troubleshooting can be a little bit difficult

It does scale. They have different data centers spread out for you to do things. It scales just fine, but it is the setup and configuration that you have to do in order for it to scale the way you want it to. I know that some of the newer technologies, such as Zscaler, are doing SD-LAN type connections and things of that sort to improve performance and scalability. So, things are still evolving in terms of scalability. Depending on how you deployed it, you can run into some performance gotchas. If you take a VPN connection and try to overtax it, you can run into problems. You can't say that it didn't scale. You have to use a different method to get the traffic, or you may have to set up two VPN tunnels or things of that sort. So, if you want it to scale, you have to think it through and make sure you are deploying it in a manner to scale. It can scale, but you have to plan it and make sure you think everything through.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"As I mentioned, the return on investment is significant, as it saved our office locations' bandwidth because when you are working remotely at home, your internet traffic routes directly to iboss and will not go to your office building, saving bandwidth bottlenecks and ensuring that issues with our building internet circuits will not impact your internet connectivity because you are directly going to the iboss data center."

"I would say iboss is a very good product; its scalability is very good, and it's seamless for the user."

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent."

"From a use-case scenario, what I like the most is the plug-in. I like the fact that we can do the filtering of these devices offsite independent of the network they are connected to, and we do not have to have traffic coming back inside our network."

"iboss has significantly lowered the number of security incidents. It is crazy how much it blocks and how much it is aware of the outside danger."

"The console is cloud-based, which is something I really appreciate."

"From a corporate perspective, I understand that it's important to keep the company data safe."

"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."

More iboss pros

"It is very easy to use, which is what we look for in these types of solutions."

"The solution does not affect a user's workflow."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is its monitoring."

"The benefit you get is that you are able to monitor all your applications and control the data that goes out of those applications."

"Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is very comprehensive, providing a complete 360-degree view of applications within an organization."

"The most valuable feature is the ease of management. It's important."

"There are a lot of features with benefits, including discovery, investigation, and putting controls around things. You can't say that you like the investigation part but not the discovery. Everything is correlated; that's how the tool works."

"The integration within the entire Defender suite is highly valuable because it allows for communication between different components and offers pretty decent correlations."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps pros

"The value in some of these solutions is just the integration of technologies with their on-prem DLP solution. So, you can tie on-prem and cloud DLP policies together. You can apply on-prem policies to the cloud to have consistent policies in a hybrid environment. So, it works very well in that hybrid environment of on-prem and cloud."

"This solution has improved my organization because it enables us to have visibility and monitoring over our global workforce connectivity to Office 365 and for Service Now."

"One of the most valuable features of Symantec CloudSOC CASB is its detection functionality. It uses the same base as Data Loss Prevention, allowing for close integration between on-premises DLP and the Symantec CloudSOC CASB. This integration lets you manage policies and incidents across both platforms."

"The active directory integration is very valuable as we can connect to the list of users that we have and the cloud control, the blocking, the access control of the cloud, can be handled by this product."

"The stability of the solution is great, and it's one of the most stable products on the market."

"The stability of the solution is very good; it's one of the most stable products on the market."

"The monitoring and threat protection were the solution's most valuable features."

"The ability to monitor for threats is the solution's most valuable aspect."

More Symantec CloudSOC CASB pros

Cons

"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."

"For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company ExxonMobil."

"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."

"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."

"iboss can be improved because the integration could be better; you need to import all the sites that you access today, and there are a few problems whenever you import thousands of websites, making the integration process messy for the users."

"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."

"The dashboards for local use could be better."

"File integrity monitoring would be very advantageous as an additional feature."

More iboss cons

"There have been instances where the alerts generated have been false positives."

"Sometimes the support is actually lacking."

"The response time could be better. It will be helpful if the alerts are even more proactive and we can see more data. Currently, the data is a little bit weak. It is not complete. I can't just see it and completely know which user or which device it is. It takes some effort and time on my part to investigate and isolate a user. It would be great if it is more user-friendly or easy for people to understand."

"The graph displayed in the Defender portal mostly doesn't capture the full picture as we see in endpoint-related or identity-related alerts; we can see a complete graph of what is happening there, but Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps still falls short in capturing that whole aspect in the graph."

"There are challenges with detection and there are challenges with false-positive rates."

"Sometimes, we'll get false positive alarms. For example, when a SharePoint path has no file sharing, but there is an external user, it will trigger an alarm that the file has been shared with an external user... the alerting mechanism should be more precise when giving you an alert about what activity has been done with the file..."

"If you have more elaborate needs or if you have some more sophisticated use cases, for example, if you need an in-line component, or if you need to distinguish between sanctioned and unsanctioned applications, this solution doesn't cut it."

"It is a new thing for Microsoft, and it still has a lot of room to improve."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps cons

"I would like to see them develop the ability to integrate it with a central management system."

"The tool's deployment is complex. The environment can be challenging, especially if unfamiliar with the product."

"The solution needs to focus on data security."

"They have some room for improvement in terms of being able to do troubleshooting. If you're trying to troubleshoot it, you have to work a lot with their backend people in order to get to a solution. So, trying to do your own troubleshooting can be a little bit difficult."

"The data security needs improvement. We should be able to leverage it a bit better for situations where someone may be trying to upload documents onto the cloud application."

"The solution should work to incorporate some machine learning policies like IDM and VML."

"The data security needs improvement."

"It's a niche product. Not many people use it, and therefore there isn't as much of a knowledge base surrounding it."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"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."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"The pricing is in the middle. It isn't too cheap or expensive compared to other antivirus or security products. It is priced according to industry standards."

"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."

"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."

"We utilize the Microsoft E5 licensing, which encompasses the entire Microsoft suite; however, it is costly."

"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 cost could be improved when you need to pay for anything. For example, refreshing files takes time to load, though it may be my Internet. To improve the refresh time, Microsoft says that we need to pay for a Premium license, and I don't like paying for things that help make a solution better."

"I'm not totally involved in the pricing part, but I think its pricing is quite aggressive, and its price is quite similar to Netskope. Netskope has separate licensing fees or additional charges if you want to monitor certain SaaS services, whereas, with MCAS, you get 5,000 applications with their Office 365. It is all bundled, and there's no cost for using that. You only have the operational costs. In the country I am in, it is a bit difficult to get people with the required skill sets."

"We are an MST and we do not pay for the solution. However, the price of the solution could be better."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps pricing and cost advice

"It compares well with the competition because they're all priced on a per-user basis. I've seen the rest of them. There is definitely a huge price difference between them."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

19%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	11

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	19

No data available

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

I think iboss could be improved by making reporting and dashboard customization more flexible, and simplifying troubl...

What is your primary use case for iboss?

I use iboss as a cloud-based secure web gateway to provide secure internet access, web filtering, and protect remote ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

My experience with iboss's pricing structure, setup cost, and licensing model has been positive, straightforward, and...

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Cloud App Security?

At the time of implementation, when the size of our organization was small, it was a more affordable product. Since a...

What needs improvement with Microsoft Cloud App Security?

The fidelity of the signal in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps has been a challenge in some areas. There have been i...

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

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Comparisons

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Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs iboss

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Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Compared 2% of the time

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Compared 20% of the time

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Compared 13% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Symantec CloudSOC CASB

Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

iboss

Download iboss product report

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Download Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps product report

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps report

Symantec CloudSOC CASB

Download Symantec CloudSOC CASB product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

MS Cloud App Security, Microsoft Cloud App Security

CloudSOC, Symantec CloudSOC

Overview

Iboss offers a comprehensive cloud-based security platform valued for its scalability and autonomous features, ensuring robust security with easy deployment and management capabilities.

Renowned for its robust security architecture, Iboss integrates seamlessly within diverse networks, delivering efficient granular filtering and advanced content categorization. Its single pane of glass console provides ease of management, allowing rapid scalability suitable for rapidly deploying environments. Operates in BYOD setups due to inline filtering without device installation. Integration with cloud-based applications enhances user control, and features like SASE, SSL inspection, and ChatGPT risk protection stand as highlights. Despite its strengths, users have pointed out areas for enhancement like direct navigation in reports, SSL decryption, and better cloud integration while having room to improve data loss prevention.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

Scalability: Supports rapid deployment across diverse networks.
SASE: A consolidated approach to secure access.
SSL Inspection: Ensures safe data transmission.
Granular Filtering: Detailed control over accessible content.
Single Pane Management: Unifies control through a centralized console.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Cost-effectiveness: Offers competitive pricing with robust features.
Autonomous Operation: Reduces management overhead.
Responsive Support: Provides assistance when needed.
Flexible Deployment: Available for both cloud and on-premises environments.

The usage of Iboss spans educational institutions, specifically K-12, to enforce internet policies, protect data, and support remote work environments. It provides web filtering and security frameworks to ensure safe browsing. Its platform-as-a-service model offers flexibility for both cloud-based and on-premises requirements, integrating seamlessly to deliver enhanced security features suitable for various deployment needs including zero trust, CASB, and network security for work-from-home setups.

iboss

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is a robust tool for shadow IT detection, cloud integration, and threat detection, enhancing security management with capabilities in auditing and data protection.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps strengthens cloud security by providing comprehensive insights into user activities, seamlessly integrating with Microsoft security products and platforms like SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive. Its investigative capabilities enhance threat detection, while real-time alerts and policy applications improve security posture. Organizations benefit from its monitoring, auditing, and privileged identity management features that contribute to enhanced security management and data protection.

What are the key features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps?

Shadow IT Discovery: Identifies and manages unsanctioned applications across cloud environments.
Cloud Integration: Seamlessly connects with Microsoft security products and platforms.
Threat Detection: Offers powerful tools for identifying and mitigating threats in real-time.
Policy Application: Facilitates enforcement of policies across SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive.
User Activity Visibility: Provides detailed insights into user behavior and actions.

What benefits and ROI should organizations consider?

Enhanced Security Posture: Increases the effectiveness of overall security management.
Real-Time Alerts: Offers immediate notifications to improve response times to threats.
Compliance Support: Aids in maintaining compliance through integrated monitoring and governance.
Data Protection: Protects sensitive corporate data through detailed auditing and monitoring.
Integration with Azure: Enhances threat detection through cohesive integration with Azure services.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps implementation varies across industries, crucial for sectors needing stringent data protection and compliance, like finance and healthcare. Firms use it to monitor user activity, enforce data loss prevention policies, and ensure security across multi-cloud environments while integrating with Azure services for comprehensive threat management. These implementations are particularly beneficial in improving compliance efforts and protecting sensitive data.

Microsoft

Symantec CloudSOC CASB is a cloud security platform that delivers robust monitoring and threat detection capabilities. It integrates seamlessly with on-premises DLP for consistent policy application across hybrid environments, providing effective management of cloud-based resources and ensuring security compliance.

Designed for enterprises transitioning to cloud environments, Symantec CloudSOC CASB offers powerful tools for monitoring and controlling sensitive data. It effectively integrates with active directory for streamlined user management, enabling secure access control. Enterprises leverage its capabilities to block unauthorized activities and protect sensitive information as they adapt to cloud services, benefiting from reliable logging and hybrid policy management. While scalability and integration with existing systems are strong suits, there's potential for enhanced data security, endpoint solution integration, and improved Azure AD connectivity.

What are the key features of Symantec CloudSOC CASB?

Monitoring and Threat Detection: Provides continuous oversight and threat identification.
Seamless DLP Integration: Ensures hybrid policy application across environments.
Active Directory Integration: Simplifies user management and access control.
Logging and Access Control: Offers reliable logging and blocks unauthorized storage access.
Hybrid Environment Support: Facilitates management of cloud and on-premises policies.

What benefits can users expect from adopting Symantec CloudSOC CASB?

Enhanced Security: Improves protection of sensitive data in cloud transitions.
Efficient Access Management: Streamlined user control with directory integration.
Scalable Solution: Adaptable to growing organizational needs.
Policy Consistency: Ensures unified policy application across platforms.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Helps identify and mitigate threats effectively.

Organizations in industries such as finance, healthcare, and technology implement Symantec CloudSOC CASB to manage cloud migrations securely. They utilize its modules like Securelet and Gatelet to prevent data leakage, control shadow IT, and regulate access to cloud collaboration tools like Office 365. By establishing keyword-based policies, they monitor uploads, effectively addressing shadow data concerns and reinforcing data security during cloud adoption.

Broadcom

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.

Customers for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps include Accenture, St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ansell, and Nakilat.

Globe Telecom

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs. Symantec CloudSOC CASB