No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

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
7.1
Microsoft Defender for Cloud boosts efficiency, cuts remediation time, improves security, and reduces overhead despite varied cost perceptions.
Sentiment score
4.9
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management boosts efficiency, reduces costs, enhances security, and delivers a 95% ROI with 35% cost reduction.
Defender proactively indexes and analyzes documents, identifying potential threats even when inactive, enhancing preventative security.
Endpoint management at a government with 10,001+ employees
Identifying potential vulnerabilities has helped us avoid costly data losses.
Manager at CBTS
Compared to not having Microsoft Defender for Cloud in place, we definitely saw an advantage by not having downtime due to a security threat.
Principal Microsoft Consultant at MicroAge
Improvements to our security infrastructure contributed to overall business growth of approximately 150 percent over the past year.
Android Developer at Droidforge
By automating tasks, it significantly reduces the human resources required, leading to increased efficiency and productivity.
Senior Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
It has reduced the number of development and scripting hours along with maintenance hours.
Security Operations Manager at Solventum
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.3
Microsoft Defender for Cloud support receives mixed reviews, with praise for documentation but issues with response times and escalation.
Sentiment score
7.5
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management's customer service is highly praised for its responsiveness, effectiveness, and swift problem resolution capabilities.
Since security is critical, we prefer a quicker response time.
Manager at CBTS
The support team was very responsive to queries.
Programme Manager- Cyber Fusion- Group CISO at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
They understand their product, but much like us, they struggle with the finer details, especially with new features.
Endpoint management at a government with 10,001+ employees
The support team was knowledgeable and offered a variety of quick resolution options.
Android Developer at Droidforge
Their SMEs have sufficient knowledge, and if they are not the right contact, they quickly redirect us to someone who can help resolve issues.
Senior Information Security Engineer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
I would rate their customer support a ten out of ten.
Information Security Lead at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is scalable, easily deployable, integrates well, and adapts to growth but may incur higher costs.
Sentiment score
7.8
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management excels in scalability, supporting diverse environments with numerous users, networks, and large datasets efficiently.
As we have reduced our on-premises infrastructure, it is about how we can migrate workloads to the cloud to make it easier, and then having everything fully encompassed and secured within that area makes it much easier for us to scale as needed and grow.
Principal Microsoft Consultant at MicroAge
We are using infrastructure as a code, so we do not have any scalability issues with Microsoft Defender for Cloud implementation because our cloud automatically does it.
Senior Cloud Platform Engineer at Deutsche Börse
It has multiple licenses and features, covering infrastructures from a hundred to five hundred virtual machines, without any issues.
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
We have about 300,000 assets installed with agents worldwide.
Information Security Lead at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
The scalability is excellent as we manage more than one hundred thousand assets, including over one hundred thousand endpoints, approximately 2,600 servers, and more than 1,200 network devices.
Cyber Security Specialist at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management has proven to be a highly scalable solution for us over the past couple of years.
Manager Information Security at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is stable and reliable, with minor issues quickly resolved, earning high user ratings.
Sentiment score
7.5
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is stable, highly rated, with minimal issues, and appreciated for its consistent enhancements and features.
Defender's stability has been flawless for us.
Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
I have not experienced any crashes or downtime.
Head Of IT at Cirrus Response
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is very stable.
Cloud architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
I would rate the stability of Qualys CSAM a ten out of ten.
IT Engineer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
The product stability has notably declined over the last two months, and the performance to fulfill a page request is very slow compared to its previous performance.
SENIOR MANAGER, CYBERSECURITY THREAT, RISK & ARCHITECTURE at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
They are constantly adding capabilities.
Director of Vulnerability Management at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Cloud needs enhanced customization, integration, automation, scalability, support, pricing, and user experience for better efficiency.
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management struggles with integration, configuration flexibility, tagging accuracy, and performance issues needing improvement.
Microsoft, in general, could significantly improve its communication and support.
Endpoint management at a government with 10,001+ employees
It would be beneficial to streamline recommendations to avoid unnecessary alerts and to refine the severity of alerts based on specific environments or environmental attributes.
Works at Coca-Cola HBC
The artificial intelligence features could be expanded to allow the system to autonomously manage security issues without needing intervention from admins.
Cloud Consultant at i-Community AG
Qualys is currently not able to identify assets lacking DNS information.
Senior Information Security Engineer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Features enhancing the interaction with IT or security teams should be added, such as a ticketing feature that, if an issue arises in the CSAM module, enables direct ticket creation in systems like ServiceNow.
Senior Security Consultant at CyberNxt Solutions LLP
If there's one key aspect to focus on, it's discovery—the ability to identify assets that you are not aware of, even when you can see they are present.
Information Security Engineer at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Cloud pricing varies by workload and region, with some finding value and others noting hidden costs.
Qualys offers high yet flexible pricing, valued for comprehensive features and cost-effectiveness, especially when bundled with other services.
Security has essentially no cost when compared to the cost of a breach.
Director, Cloud and Modern Workplace at Informanix Technology Group
Every time we consider expanding usage, we carefully evaluate the necessity due to cost concerns.
Programme Manager- Cyber Fusion- Group CISO at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
We appreciate the licensing approach based on employee count rather than a big enterprise license.
Manager, Microsoft Technology Alliance at Silverfort
A cost-effective solution.
Senior Security Consultant at CyberNxt Solutions LLP
I believe that the stability and reliability of Qualys offer great value for the money.
Information Security Engineer at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
A monthly subscription starting at approximately $72 per month, depending on the specific package and features included.
Android Developer at Droidforge
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Cloud provides comprehensive security with CSPM and CWPP, enhancing threat detection, compliance, and automation across multi-cloud environments.
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management enhances security with real-time visibility, integration, TruRisk scoring, and simplified asset and patch management.
The most valuable feature for me is the variety of APIs available.
Programme Manager- Cyber Fusion- Group CISO at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
This feature significantly aids in threat detection and enhances the user experience by streamlining security management.
Cloud Consultant at i-Community AG
The most valuable feature is the recommendations provided on how to improve security.
Cloud architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
By correlating this with QDS scores, we can accurately assess the risk level of high or low QDS scores associated with each asset and monitor them accordingly.
Senior Information Security Engineer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
The most valuable feature is the real-time visibility Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management provides into all assets across our development and operational environments.
Android Developer at Droidforge
It also performs scans to identify any vulnerabilities, which helps to take proactive measures before those vulnerabilities are identified by any attacker.
Information Security Lead at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
Container Management (6th), Container Security (5th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (1st), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (4th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (4th), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (5th), Microsoft Security Suite (7th), Compliance Management (4th), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) (3rd)
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset ...
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
7th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
Patch Management (5th), Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management (CAASM) (3rd), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (2nd), Software Supply Chain Security (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is 3.1%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management is 1.3%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Cloud3.1%
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management1.3%
Other95.6%
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

RW
Head Of IT at Cirrus Response
Cloud security has cut investigation time and now reveals threats faster but needs simpler oversight
When deploying AI applications, my key security concerns with Microsoft Defender for Cloud are data loss, leakage of data, and guardrails around the actual AI, and I am hoping that this is going to help me put those guardrails in place and identify data exfiltration. Microsoft Defender for Cloud has not helped me manage and secure multi-cloud environments, as we are 100 percent Microsoft and have not really got it in any other environment at all. I am not yet using the unified AI-powered security feature offered by Microsoft Defender for Cloud, but that is coming. I am not yet using the integrated XDR feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud, but that is coming. I am not yet utilizing the GenAI threat protection features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud. That is also coming and a lot of that will come from learning it here. I have enabled the agentless scanning in my cloud environment with Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Assessing the impact on my workload protection without needing to install agents with Microsoft Defender for Cloud makes it a lot easier, but it also identifies a lot more, which puts more load on me sometimes. I would advise another organization considering Microsoft Defender for Cloud that it is the most logical route to follow if their whole ecosystem is Microsoft. It is easy to implement and it is very self-explanatory when doing it, making sense to just follow the steps as it is too simple, really. I would rate this review a 7.5 out of 10.
Nicki Møller - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Engineer at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Enables automation and quick access to necessary information
One of the significant challenges Qualys is discovery, which I know Microsoft excels at. I can't recall how well Qualys performs this function; it seems I might be missing some details. However, if there's one key aspect to focus on, it's discovery—the ability to identify assets that you are not aware of, even when you can see they are present. Understanding what those assets are is crucial. With Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management, it was very difficult to extract detections from the system. The features within Qualys are limited to what they have developed. Sometimes a complete overview is needed to push to a Power BI dashboard, Splunk, ServiceNow, or other platforms. The export process is incredibly challenging. We needed a developer to write a hundred-line Python script that would loop over certain assets due to export limitations. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management could improve its integration capabilities. While it generates substantial data, correlating it with other data sources can be challenging. The export process is difficult, and pre-built integrations with other tools could be enhanced for better process implementation.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Vulnerability Management solutions are best for your needs.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise49
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise23
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Cloud?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing was that the license cost was the only consideration. Setup and support had no issues.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Cloud?
To improve Microsoft Defender for Cloud, I think pricing-wise, the license price is a little bit higher from an ingestion cost perspective. Depending on what license you choose, you might have to p...
What needs improvement with Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
I think the one thing Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management can do better is the package management and the updating process. Knowing that you can't update any of the packages until you've done the...
What is your primary use case for Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management?
I primarily use it for a small, single-site, multi-source setup with multi-WAN inputs. I have a main fiber connection and a couple of failovers while managing different networks across different se...
 

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. Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.