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Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 24, 2025

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

Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Ranking in Container Management
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (7th), Container Security (7th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (1st), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (4th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (4th), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (4th), Microsoft Security Suite (8th), Compliance Management (5th), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) (2nd)
Nutanix Kubernetes Platform...
Ranking in Container Management
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Vibhor Goel - PeerSpot reviewer
A single tool for complete visibility and addressing security gaps
Currently, issues are structured in Microsoft Defender for Cloud at severity levels of high, critical, or warning, but these severity levels are not always right. For example, Microsoft might consider a port being open as critical, but that might not be the case for our company. Similarly, it might suggest closing some management ports, but you might need them to be able to log in, so the severity levels for certain things can be improved. Even though Microsoft Defender for Cloud provides a way to temporarily disable certain alerts or notifications without affecting our security score, it would be better to have more granularized control over these recommendations. Currently, we cannot even disable certain alerts or notifications. There should be an automated mechanism to design Azure policies based on the recommendations, possibly with AI integration. Instead of an engineer having to write a policy to fix security gaps, which is very time-consuming, there should be an inbuilt capability to auto-remediate everything and have proper control in place. Additionally, enabling Defender for Cloud at the resource group level, rather than only at the subscription level, would be beneficial.
TAIYAB HASAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Has centralized microservices and enabled autonomous team operations through clustered access
I find everything useful in Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) scenario, especially now that we have management clusters separate from production clusters, which gives us more flexibility to work independently, allowing application teams, database teams, or web server teams to work without any involvement from the admin team. Before, it was a bit confusing for all the teams because it was a mix and match, but now it's clear, having multiple clusters running on NKP, with cluster-based access or role-based access, which is one of the best features now in NKP. Automation in Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) is one of the very useful features, as it allows us to define automation, so whether we are there or not, it works as per the requirement, reducing the need to involve everyone every time. The Nutanix intuitive interface looks good; it's not confusing because if you are working on Nutanix HCI, it's a different interface, and if you are working on Nutanix Kubernetes (NKP), it's also a different interface. If you've worked before on Kubernetes, it gives you the same feel and look, making it familiar as the Kubernetes app API is already inbuilt in NKP. The security features of Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) help protect applications; we are utilizing the security level provided by NKP and also using a third-party tool, Palo Alto, to protect in two ways.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the regulatory compliance aspect, where we utilize predefined initiatives like NIST."
"Good compliance policies."
"I would rate Microsoft Defender for Cloud a ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature is the recommendations provided on how to improve security. It has made the cloud environment more secure, thanks to all the recommendations we can get."
"The solution is up-to-date with the latest updates and identified threats."
"Defender lets you orchestrate the roll-out from a single pane. Using the Azure portal, you can roll it out over all the servers covered by the entire subscription."
"Technical support is helpful."
"Defender is user-friendly and provides decent visibility into threats."
"Before working with Nutanix Kubernetes (NKP), I was working on Dockers, which required separate setups for each microservice, application, or web server, but now everything is under one umbrella, allowing us to manage it all without going here and there."
"The stability of Nutanix is exceptional; when operational, it performs flawlessly and demonstrates remarkable resilience."
"Migration from public cloud to private cloud and vice versa is actually seamless using Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP), making it very handy when providing a Kubernetes platform for customers needing on-premises solutions during application modernization."
"The platform is stable."
"The platform is easy to set up, maintain, and update."
 

Cons

"Customizing some of the compliance requirements based on individual needs seems like the biggest area of improvement. There should be an option to turn specific controls on and off based on how your solution is configured."
"Consistency is the area where the most improvement is needed. For example, there are some areas where the UI is not uniform across the board."
"However, some Copilot features aren't available in the GCP environment. This is something we hope will be addressed in the future."
"One of the main challenges that we have been facing with Azure Security Center is the cost. The costs are really a complex calculation, e.g., to calculate the monthly costs. Azure is calculating on an hourly basis for use of the resource. Because of this, we found it really complex to promote what will be our costs for the next couple of months. I think if Azure could reduce the complex calculation and come up with straightforward cost mapping that would be very useful from a product point of view."
"I would like to see more connectors and plugins with other platforms."
"We haven't experienced issues with Microsoft Defender for Cloud for our company size of about five hundred people. However, I've heard there might be issues with scalability for larger enterprises."
"The pricing could be improved, as it is somewhat high for smaller companies."
"Features like code scanning and pipeline scanning are not included in the solution."
"There are some limitations with the non-air gap version as it requires complete internet access, which poses restrictions due to government regulations."
"A significant limitation of the Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) is its requirement for extensive Kubernetes knowledge."
"In Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP), I believe the migration process needs to be much simpler, similar to other Kubernetes platforms we are using, with all steps being clear and direct to facilitate an easier experience for everyone."
"They have to improve their marketplace offering for Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) which is currently limited."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I am not involved in this area. However, I believe its price is okay because even small customers are using Azure Security Center. I don't think it is very expensive."
"The solution is expensive, and I rate it a five to six out of ten."
"The tool is pretty expensive."
"It is bundled with our enterprise subscription, which makes it easy to go for it. It is available by default, and there is no extra cost for using the standard features."
"Our clients complain about the cost of Microsoft Defender for Cloud."
"Defender's basic version is free, which is good. Many of our teams are evaluating the paid version against third-party products."
"The product's pricing policy is generally favorable."
"This solution is more cost-effective than some competing products. My understanding is that it is based on the number of integrations that you have, so if you have fewer subscriptions then you pay less for the service."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Retailer
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise45
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How is Prisma Cloud vs Azure Security Center for security?
Azure Security Center is very easy to use, integrates well, and gives very good visibility on what is happening across your ecosystem. It also has great remote workforce capabilities and supports a...
What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Cloud?
The entire Defender Suite is tightly coupled, integrated, and collaborative.
What needs improvement with Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP)?
The interface in Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) deviates from Nutanix's claim of providing a single pane of glass experience. It presents a different GUI and management system, not integrated wi...
What is your primary use case for Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP)?
As an infrastructure professional, I work with Docker and Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) marginally, primarily using Acropolis as a virtual machine system. For container management, we utilized ...
What advice do you have for others considering Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP)?
I have tested Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) two or three times. My last interaction with Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) was approximately six months ago. As a Nutanix partner, I would recomm...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is trusted by companies such as ASOS, Vatenfall, SWC Technology Partners, and more.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
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