Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management comparison

Microsoft and Qualys are both solutions in the Vulnerability Management category. Microsoft is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.1, while Qualys is ranked #8 with an average rating of 9.2. Microsoft holds a 5.5% mindshare in VM, compared to Qualys’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Qualys users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management are competitors in the hybrid and multi-cloud security realm. Based on feature richness and integration capabilities, Microsoft Defender seems to have an upper hand, especially for Microsoft ecosystems, whereas Qualys provides superior real-time visibility and asset management.

Features: Microsoft Defender for Cloud offers robust security for hybrid and multi-cloud environments, with seamless integration with Microsoft 365 and Sentinel for unified management and regulatory compliance. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management specializes in excellent asset discovery, categorization, and management, providing insights into hardware and software configurations without restrictions to specific platforms. Both solutions deliver comprehensive threat protection.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Defender for Cloud can boost automation and improve compatibility with older operating systems. It also needs better integration with non-Microsoft cloud providers and optimized resource consumption. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management could offer more customizable reports and enhanced third-party tool integration. It also requires improved scan frequency control in the EASM module and expanded AI capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Defender for Cloud is noted for its ease of deployment in hybrid and multi-cloud settings, though customer service experiences are mixed, sometimes requiring issue escalation. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management supports seamless integration with minimal direct contact needed, yet navigation could be more intuitive for novices. Customer support is generally satisfactory for both, with Microsoft having longer response times due to scale.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Defender for Cloud is priced per user or workload and offers flexibility, though newer features can lead to high costs. Improved pricing transparency is needed despite its ROI in security posture enhancement. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management, while competitively priced, may be costly for smaller firms and could benefit from bundled options to boost value. Its ROI is evident in time and efficiency savings, although its cost as an add-on to VMDR may limit wider adoption.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

July 2025

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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

Zafran Security

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Zafran Security is 0.9%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is 5.5%, up from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is 1.1%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Vulnerability Management

Featured Reviews

Israel Cavazos Landini

Associate Director IT Security Operations at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees

Weekly insights and risk analysis facilitate informed security decisions

I appreciate the weekly insights Zafran provides, which include critical topics for networks and IT security, allowing us to evaluate which insights apply to our environment. The organization score feature is valuable to keep the leadership team updated on how our infrastructure fares security-wise. The applicable risk level versus base risk level feature is beneficial because prior to Zafran, we only used the base risk level, but now understand that risk depends on the asset itself. Zafran is an excellent tool.

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Vibhor Goel

Senior Cloud Platform Engineer at Deutsche Börse

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.

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Scott Frederick

Director of Vulnerability Management at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Well-integrated with our vulnerability scanning utilities and efficient in asset tagging and identification

Our favorite features are the tagging and the ability to quickly find assets in the portal. Additionally, I do like the fact that Qualys CSAM is integrated with the rest of our vulnerability scanning utilities. We use the full suite from Qualys. The fact that it is integrated makes it very easy to understand. It shares tagging information with VMDR. That is very nice. Qualys CSAM has discovered assets not previously covered by our vulnerability management program. Primarily, if we have assets without vulnerabilities, they become less visible, but Qualys CSAM alerts us to them because they have IP addresses and are attached to our network. It could discover everything from printers to servers to endpoints. It could discover UPSs, network devices, and across all operating systems. It discovers our security badge readers and digital signage. We have to feed that the IP address ranges, but beyond that, it finds everything in our internal network. We were able to realize its benefits within the first quarter of installing it. We did have to take some time to learn it and understand how to operationally leverage what it was telling us, but it was very quick. In addition to vulnerabilities, Qualys CSAM helps identify other risk factors to a degree. For instance, we can see if servers or assets have incorrect naming standards. We have our network segmented into development model, test, and production, and we have server naming standards that identify which management they should be in. If a production server has the naming standard of a development model server, we can find that. That is one area we have used it for. We are not fully using TruRisk, but we are using the Qualys detection score that is central to our corporate risk prioritization approach. It has completely replaced our homegrown one.

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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

"Zafran has become an indispensable tool in our cybersecurity arsenal."

"We saw benefits from Zafran Security almost immediately after deploying it."

"We are able to see the real risk of a vulnerability on our environment with our security tools."

"Zafran is an excellent tool."

"Overall, we have seen about eighty-seven percent reduction of the number of vulnerabilities that require urgency to remediate, specifically the number of criticals."

"The most valuable feature is the hunting feature, which integrates well into the entire Microsoft ecosystem."

"The technical support is very good."

"This is a platform as a service provided by Azure. We don't need to install or maintain Azure Security Center. It is a ready-made service available in Azure. This is one of the main things that we like. If you look at similar tools, we have to install, maintain, and update services. Whereas, Azure Security Center manages what we are using. This is a good feature that has helped us a lot."

"Provides a very good view of the entire security setup of your organization."

"Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a valuable tool that integrates seamlessly with Azure Policy and our Security SIEM, simplifying implementation and enhancing security posture."

"The dashboard is very good. It gives our clients a lot of information and allows them to have a complete overview of the system. Everything is visible in one glance."

"The most valuable feature is the regulatory compliance aspect, where we utilize predefined initiatives like NIST. Alert management is another useful feature. Alerts are directly integrated with our email or DevOps board for easy viewing, allowing us to identify problem areas efficiently."

"The UX and UI are very good. Users have more of a taste for Microsoft UI."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud pros

"The most valuable feature is the real-time visibility Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management provides into all assets across our development and operational environments."

"Qualys CSAM is valuable for providing end-of-life and end-of-sale information. It gives me visibility into the number of products or hardware items that are end-of-life."

"My favourite feature of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is its ability to target missing software."

"When you implement a dynamic tag using a query, you do not need to manually tag all the servers. It categorizes all the servers that come under that query. The tagging part is automatically done within a few minutes. It reduces the effort."

"Authorized and unauthorized software visibility is the best feature for me. It helps me understand security controls on our network and where we lack visibility. With a single security tool, we are able to get an extensive list."

"The best feature is asset discovery through their cloud agent or IP-based scanning."

"Our favorite features are the tagging and the ability to quickly find assets in the portal."

"The fact that it is integrated makes it very easy to understand."

More Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management pros

Cons

"Initially, we were somewhat concerned about the scalability of Zafran due to our large asset count and the substantial amount of information we needed to process."

"I think the ability to have some enhanced reporting capabilities is something they can improve on, as they have good reports but we have asked for some specific reporting enhancements."

"The dashboarding and reporting functionality of Zafran Security is an area that definitely could use some improvements."

"Sometimes, it's very difficult to determine when I need Microsoft Defender for Cloud for a special resource group or certain kinds of products. That's not an issue directly with the product, though."

"No possibility to write or edit any capability."

"There is no perfect product in the world and there are always features that can be added."

"I would like to see more connectors and plugins with other platforms."

"For improvements, I'd like to see more use cases integrated with Microsoft Sentinel and support for multi-cloud environments beyond just Azure."

"I recommend that they extend the scope for legacy infra assets."

"The pricing could be improved, as it is somewhat high for smaller companies."

"I would suggest building a single product that addresses endpoint server protection, attack surface, and everything else in one solution. That is the main disadvantage with the product. If we are incorporating some features, we end up in a situation where this solution is for the server, and that one is for the client, or this is for identity, and that is for our application. They're not bundling it. Commercially, we can charge for different licenses, but on the implementation side, it's tough to help our end-customer understand which product they're getting."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud cons

"We have had challenges modifying the agent configuration. Particularly, when we want to change the tenant that the agent is pointing to, we have had difficulties making that reliable and working properly."

"The Qualys CAPS service requires further exploration and improvement, particularly in its handling of protocols and reactivity with MAC and IP addresses for CAP agents."

"The UI needs improvement as it can become overwhelming after prolonged use."

"The Qualys CAPS service requires further exploration and improvement, particularly in its handling of protocols and reactivity with MAC and IP addresses for CAP agents."

"The only minor issue is occasionally being redirected to multiple teams, causing slight delays."

"Some areas that would be helpful are more comprehensive tagging and the ability to set up better dynamic rules."

"The main aspect that needs improvement is the user interface, which should be more intuitive."

More Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"The pricing is very difficult because every type of Defender for Cloud has its own metrics and pricing. If you have Cloud for Key Vault, the pricing is different than it is for storage. Every type has its own pricing list and rules."

"The cost is fair. There aren't any costs in addition to the standard licensing fee."

"There are two different plans. We're using the secure basic plan, but we have used the end security plan as well. There are additional costs, but it gives us more functionalities compared to the basic plan."

"Currently, Microsoft offers only one plan at the enterprise level which is $15 per machine."

"The licensing is straightforward but can become expensive if you cover everything. You must balance the cost against the importance of what needs covering."

"This is a worldwide service and depending on the country, there will be different prices."

"Its pricing is a little bit high in terms of Azure Security Center, but the good thing is that we don't need to maintain and deploy it. So, while the pricing is high, it is native to Azure which is why we prefer using this tool."

"Azure Defender is definitely pricey, but their competitors cost about the same. For example, a Palo Alto solution is the same price per endpoint, but the ground strikes cost a bit more than Azure Defender. Still, it's pricey for a company like ours. Maybe well-established organizations can afford it, but it might be too costly for a startup."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud pricing and cost advice

"Qualys offers excellent value for money."

"The pricing is market-competitive."

"Qualys is competitively priced for its features. Its pricing is suitable for large organizations with more than 4,000 assets, but for smaller organizations with few assets, such as banks, the costs might be high. They should come up with packages that are suitable for small organizations."

"Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management can be expensive, especially if we already have VMDR."

"The cost for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is high."

"The pricing for Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management is reasonable, with an annual subscription costing around $1,000 per year or a monthly subscription starting at approximately $72 per month, depending on the specific package and features included."

"The Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management pricing is well-aligned with our usage."

"Though the solution is considered expensive, if bundled with other services such as VMDR or cloud agents, its value would significantly increase. It is currently a bit costly, but with bundling, it could become attractive to more customers."

More Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zafran Security?

Since we stood Zafran Security up in our private cloud, we handle the maintenance on our side. As we opted not to use...

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What needs improvement with Zafran Security?

In terms of areas for improvement, Zafran Security is doing a really great job as a new and emerging company. Oftenti...

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What is your primary use case for Zafran Security?

My use cases for Zafran Security revolve around two primary areas. One is around vulnerability management and priorit...

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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 acros...

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What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

The entire Defender Suite is tightly coupled, integrated, and collaborative.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

The pricing is pretty standard.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?

The pricing is reasonable relative to the features provided, as it collects all module data and operates as a main, c...

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What needs improvement with Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management helps us prioritize assets according to operating system, kernel version, insta...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?

We are using Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management for daily activities such as identifying new assets through networ...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 37% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

ServiceNow Security Operations vs Zafran Security

Compared 8% of the time

Qualys VMDR vs Zafran Security

Compared 7% of the time

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AWS GuardDuty vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

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Compared 12% of the time

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Defender XDR vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 4% of the time

Orca Security vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 3% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

Amazon Inspector vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

Compared 10% of the time

Armis vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

Compared 8% of the time

Axonius vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

Compared 8% of the time

Bitsight vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Zafran Security

July 2025

Download Zafran Security product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

August 2025

Download Microsoft Defender for Cloud product report

Buyer's Guide

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

August 2025

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management report

Download Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender

No data available

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Zafran Security

Microsoft

Demo not available

Qualys

Overview

Zafran Security integrates with existing security tools to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities effectively, proving that most critical vulnerabilities are not exploitable, optimizing threat management.

Zafran Security introduces an innovative operating model for managing security threats and vulnerabilities. By leveraging the threat exposure management platform, it pinpoints and prioritizes exploitable vulnerabilities, reducing risk through immediate remediation. This platform enhances your hybrid cloud security by normalizing vulnerability signals and integrating specific IT context data, such as CVE runtime presence and internet asset reachability, into its analysis. No longer reliant on patch windows, Zafran Security allows you to manage risks actively.

What are the key features of Zafran Security?

Threat Exposure Management: Utilizes existing tools to prioritize vulnerabilities and manage threats.
Integrative Analysis: Combines security data with IT context for precise vulnerability management.
Real-time Risk Reduction: Enables immediate risk management without waiting for patches.
Hybrid Cloud Compatibility: Functions across diverse cloud environments for comprehensive security.

What benefits can users expect from Zafran Security?

Improved Security: Enhances protection by efficiently identifying and mitigating risks.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces unnecessary patching expenses by confirming non-exploitable vulnerabilities.
Time Savings: Frees developers to focus on root causes by handling immediate threats.
Comprehensive Insight: Offers a holistic view of security threats and vulnerabilities.

In industries where security is paramount, such as finance and healthcare, Zafran Security provides invaluable protection by ensuring that only exploitable vulnerabilities are addressed. It allows entities to maintain robust security measures while allocating resources efficiently, fitting seamlessly into existing security strategies.

Zafran Security

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a comprehensive security solution that provides advanced threat protection for cloud workloads. It offers real-time visibility into the security posture of cloud environments, enabling organizations to quickly identify and respond to potential threats. With its advanced machine learning capabilities, Microsoft Defender for Cloud can detect and block sophisticated attacks, including zero-day exploits and fileless malware.

The solution also provides automated remediation capabilities, allowing security teams to quickly and easily respond to security incidents. With Microsoft Defender for Cloud, organizations can ensure the security and compliance of their cloud workloads, while reducing the burden on their security teams.

Microsoft

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management provides advanced real-time asset visibility, dynamic tagging, and External Attack Surface Management. It streamlines asset discovery and management using cloud agents and IP-based scanning, enhancing risk management and software lifecycle tracking.

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management offers a comprehensive solution for managing asset inventories and tracking software lifecycle states. It facilitates network visibility and supports zero-day vulnerability solutions, enhancing security posture through efficient monitoring. Users benefit from its cloud-based interface, which provides in-depth asset configurations and insights. Key features include automated vulnerability scanning and unauthorized software management, reducing manual efforts. The platform also emphasizes the importance of timely remediation and ongoing risk mitigation across multiple environments. Despite its strengths, users note the need for enhanced integration with additional CMDBs beyond ServiceNow, as well as cost efficiency improvements. Requests also include better report customization, more scan control, and a simplified UI.

What are the key features of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?

Real-time Visibility: Offers continuous insight into asset status and condition.
Dynamic Tagging: Allows for flexible organization and assessment of assets.
External Attack Surface Management: Identifies potential threats from external sources.
Automated Vulnerability Scanning: Reduces manual scanning efforts and identifies vulnerabilities instantly.
Unauthorized Software Management: Detects and manages software not approved for use.
Asset Purge Rule: Automates the removal of obsolete assets from the inventory.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Enhanced Security Posture: Gains stronger defense through effective asset monitoring.
Efficient Risk Management: Identifies threats quickly, enabling timely resolutions.
Improved Compliance: Assists in meeting industry standards and regulations.
Reduced Manual Effort: Automates repetitive tasks, saving time and resources.
Comprehensive Insight: Provides detailed data for informed decision making.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and manufacturing, Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management enhances asset control by offering visibility into hardware and software configurations. It aids in maintaining security compliance and identifying unauthorized software, crucial for sectors with strict regulatory requirements.

Qualys

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is trusted by companies such as ASOS, Vatenfall, SWC Technology Partners, and more.

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

July 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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