Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Palo Alto Networks VM-Series comparison

Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and Palo Alto Networks VM-Series based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two ATP (Advanced Threat Protection) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Report (Updated: September 2023).
745,775 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The solution is very easy to use. All you have to do is to assign the license to the end-user and it's done. The customer will only have the feature activated, and the solution will monitor the emails to determine if they are a threat or not.""It also gives the vulnerability status according to the versions you have selected. Let's say you have Google Chrome. It mentions the versions it has, and it updates. Within two hours of an update, it is reflected in the dashboard. That's really nice to have.""Microsoft Defender for Office 365's most valuable features are safe attachments and safe links.""The technical support is good and quick to resolve issues.""Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a stable solution.""It gives us visibility into threats and, for endpoints, it helps us to prioritize threats. We used to have a lack of visibility, but now our time to detect and respond has decreased.""There are several features that I consider valuable.""I like its investigation capabilities, as that is what is most important to me. It is fairly simple with a user-friendly interface."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Pros →

"Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is easy to maintain...From a security point of view, I find Palo Alto Networks VM-Series to be a better product compared to the other solutions in the market.""The main advantage of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series stems from the fact that you can access it with the help of cloud services.""With the improved visibility we now have, the traffic is being properly monitored, which means that we are better able to manage it. These are improvements that we saw very quickly.""Palo Alto Networks VM-Series has everything centralized. You have the VPN solution, firewall, routing, UDR, flexibility, updates, and full visibility of your traffic.""We can monitor the traffic manually and detect threats. Additionally, we can block different IP addresses and URLs.""The VM-Series reports how much bandwidth a particular IP is using. You don't need to regularly log into a website, like a Cisco command, to see what kind of ACL it's getting. There isn't an ACL use portal event. You can go there and see how much my ACL has been getting me.""Centralized management is valuable because it allows us to configure settings in one location and apply them across all three locations.""Palo Alto Networks VM-Series's most valuable feature is the visibility of the environment."

More Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Pros →

Cons
"The company should focus on adding threats that the solution is currently unable to detect.""One area for improvement is integration. For example, when it comes to external SaaS platforms, we were not able to get a lot of information on integrations with such apps for security and authentication.""One area for improvement is support, in terms of being able to reach them and, especially, technical support for configuration.""We are always looking for others tools to increase automation on tasks. There can be better integration with other solutions, such as PowerPoint and email.""They have moved features from one console to another. Things have been moved around in the interface and it takes me time to find where certain features are.""The certification training for Defender for 365 needs to be deeper and incorporate Sentinel. I took all the security courses except one, and Sentinel isn't included.""Microsoft Defender for Office 365 should be more proactive.""There is room for improvement in terms of reporting."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Cons →

"Palo Alto should update their documentation to make it more readable and provide easier-to-follow instructions through videos.""We feel that the setup was complex. So, we asked the tech team about the setup process. They explained how to deploy it in the right way, which made it very simple.""It would be helpful if we had a direct number for the support manager or the supporting engineer. That would be better than having to email every time because there would be less wait.""Recently, they introduced their Prisma Cloud solution. Compared to the previous technologies, like Panorama, which is used for centralized firewall management, or even the individual firewalls, it's a bit challenging to integrate the traditional firewall policies into Prisma Cloud.""The product's AIOps process needs improvement.""There are some delays that I have observed when my company communicates with Palo Alto's support engineers.""There's room for improvement in terms of integration with the load balancer. It isn't like Fortinet, which has a load balancer built into its firewall. It is effortless to integrate within the load balancer-plus-firewall solution.""There could be dynamic DNS features similar to Fortinet in the product."

More Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."
  • "Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
  • "The solution saves money so we have seen a return on investment."
  • "Defender for 365 comes in various plans and licenses, along with other Microsoft security solutions. Purchasing this kind of package or security bundle gives good value for money, and that's what I recommend."
  • "The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
  • "The solution could be better by simplifying the business model of their licensing. It was hard to figure out how to get the licensing done for the environment, initially."
  • "It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."
  • "Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
  • More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Palo Alto definitely needs to be more competitive compared to other products. The problem that I have faced is that the price of licensing is very high and not very competitive."
  • "Initially, pricing was high. Later on, we were able to negotiate the pricing and get something that fits our budget."
  • "This is not the cheapest firewall but it's not the most expensive of the options on the market."
  • "Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is notably cheaper than other firewall vendors, except Fortigate."
  • "The product's most valuable feature is pricing."
  • "It is an expensive product."
  • "The solution is expensive. I rate its pricing a three out of ten."
  • "I rate Palo Alto Networks VM-Series pricing an eight out of ten."
  • More Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Pricing and Cost Advice →

    report
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which ATP (Advanced Threat Protection) solutions are best for your needs.
    745,775 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning.
    Top Answer:For small and medium organizations, the pricing might not be affordable. Although Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a good product; something all organizations should have. However, the question… more »
    Top Answer:Microsoft Defender for Office 365 should be more proactive. As a major global player, Microsoft possesses the platform to gather more information than any other company. Utilizing this information… more »
    Top Answer:In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it kind of depends what you value most PA is good at app control, web filtering and… more »
    Top Answer:Both products are very stable and easily scalable The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the overall cost is reasonable. Azure Firewall offers a solid threat awareness, can… more »
    Top Answer:The main advantage of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series stems from the fact that you can access it with the help of cloud services.
    Ranking
    Views
    4,825
    Comparisons
    3,786
    Reviews
    25
    Average Words per Review
    633
    Rating
    8.1
    Views
    501
    Comparisons
    305
    Reviews
    12
    Average Words per Review
    710
    Rating
    8.6
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    MS Defender for Office 365
    Learn More
    Overview

    Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect organizations against advanced threats in their email, collaboration, and productivity environments. It combines the power of Microsoft's threat intelligence, machine learning, and behavioral analytics to provide real-time protection against phishing, malware, ransomware, and other malicious attacks.

    With Microsoft Defender for Office 365, organizations can safeguard their email communication by detecting and blocking malicious links, attachments, and unsafe email content. It employs advanced anti-phishing capabilities to identify and prevent sophisticated phishing attacks that attempt to steal sensitive information or compromise user credentials.

    This solution also offers robust protection against malware and ransomware. It leverages machine learning algorithms to analyze email attachments and URLs in real-time, identifying and blocking malicious content before it reaches users' inboxes. Additionally, it provides advanced threat-hunting capabilities, allowing security teams to proactively investigate and respond to potential threats.

    Microsoft Defender for Office 365 goes beyond email protection and extends its security features to other collaboration tools like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. It scans files and documents stored in these platforms, ensuring that they are free from malware and other malicious content. It also provides visibility into user activities, helping organizations detect and mitigate insider threats.

    Furthermore, this solution offers rich reporting and analytics capabilities, providing organizations with insights into their security posture and threat landscape. It enables security administrators to monitor and manage security incidents, track trends, and take proactive measures to enhance their overall security posture.

    Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is a highly effective advanced threat protection (ATP) solution and firewall that can be hosted on cloud computing technologies designed by many different companies. It decreases the amount of time that it will take administrators to respond to threats. Users that deploy VM-series have 70% less downtime than those who use similar firewalls. Neither protection nor efficiency are concerns when this next-generation firewall is in play.

    VM-Series is being deployed to protect both public and private cloud environments. This level of flexibility empowers organizations to run the environment or environments that best meet their needs without worrying that they are going to be exposed to digital threats due to the environment that they choose.

    In the public cloud, users of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series can automate their deployment and dynamically scale up their environment while experiencing a consistent level of protection. This dynamic scalability means that they also integrate their security into their DevOps workflows so that their security can keep up with their activities and requirements. Users of private cloud environments can set up security policies that can be automated to be provisioned as the need arises. Organizations don’t need to slow down when they deploy VM-Series because it makes the task of defending them so simple that they can set their defenses and forget that they are even there.

    Users gain a deep level of visibility when they deploy Palo Alto Networks VM-Series. App-ID technology enables organizations to see their network traffic on the application level and spot threats that might be trying to sneak in through vulnerable points in their defenses. It also leverages Palo Alto Networks WildFire and advanced threat protection to block the threats before they can escalate.

      Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Features:

      • Central management system - It has a central management system that enables users to set up and control their security operations from one location. Users don’t need to search for the tools that they need. This system allows for security consistency and complete control without requiring businesses to spend large periods of time to do so.
      • Blacklisting and whitelisting - Organizations can utilize blacklisting and whitelisting tools to ensure that their network traffic only contains the type of traffic that they want to be present. These tools make it possible for them to set specific web traffic sources as being either undesirable and thus blocked from entering their network or desirable and thus allowed to enter. 
      • Automation feature - The product’s automation feature can automate many critical functions that users would otherwise have to handle manually. Security policy updates are an example of a function that users can automate.

      Reviews from Real Users:

      Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is a solution that stands out when compared to other similar solutions. Two major advantages that it offers are its ability to protect users without degrading the efficiency with which their networks perform and its centralized management system. 

      Jason H., the director of information technology at Tavoca Inc, writes, “There is no noticeable trade-off between security and network performance. In fact, so far, we've not seen any negative network performance with it. We're very impressed in that regard.”

      An information technology manager at a tech services company says, “We use Palo Alto’s Panorama centralized management system. We have an on-prem firewall where Panorama is very good for pulling logs in from the cloud so we can see what is going on. It gives us visibility into that as well as shows us what attacks are coming in. Palo Alto’s Panorama centralized management system simplifies our security posture based on our requirements. Instead of manually pulling logs, then generating them into readable formats, it gives us the console in a readable format to view.”

      Offer
      Learn more about Microsoft Defender for Office 365
      Learn more about Palo Alto Networks VM-Series
      Sample Customers
      Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
      Warren Rogers Associates
      Top Industries
      REVIEWERS
      Manufacturing Company17%
      Computer Software Company17%
      Comms Service Provider13%
      Government7%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Computer Software Company17%
      Financial Services Firm8%
      Government7%
      Manufacturing Company7%
      REVIEWERS
      Computer Software Company18%
      Manufacturing Company18%
      Financial Services Firm14%
      Government14%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Computer Software Company16%
      Financial Services Firm11%
      Government7%
      Manufacturing Company6%
      Company Size
      REVIEWERS
      Small Business43%
      Midsize Enterprise14%
      Large Enterprise43%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Small Business29%
      Midsize Enterprise19%
      Large Enterprise52%
      REVIEWERS
      Small Business40%
      Midsize Enterprise27%
      Large Enterprise33%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Small Business24%
      Midsize Enterprise14%
      Large Enterprise61%
      Buyer's Guide
      Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series
      September 2023
      Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series and other solutions. Updated: September 2023.
      745,775 professionals have used our research since 2012.

      Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is ranked 2nd in ATP (Advanced Threat Protection) with 27 reviews while Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is ranked 9th in ATP (Advanced Threat Protection) with 13 reviews. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is rated 8.2, while Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 writes "Great URL scanning and attachment scanning, but I would like more proactive threat analysis". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series writes "Many features are optimized for troubleshooting real-time scenarios, saving a lot of time". Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is most compared with Proofpoint Email Protection, Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection, Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), Barracuda Email Security Gateway and Cisco Secure Email, whereas Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is most compared with Azure Firewall, Fortinet FortiGate-VM, Fortinet FortiGate, Cisco Secure Firewall and OPNsense. See our Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series report.

      See our list of best ATP (Advanced Threat Protection) vendors.

      We monitor all ATP (Advanced Threat Protection) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.