The user reviews highlight the key differences between Proofpoint Email Protection and Microsoft Defender for Office 365. Proofpoint is praised for its robust threat detection capabilities, customizable email filtering, and user-friendly interface, while Microsoft Defender stands out for its advanced threat protection, URL detonation, and safe attachment features. However, Proofpoint users have raised concerns about pricing and customer support, while Microsoft Defender users have suggested improvements in customization options and integration with other Microsoft services. In terms of cost savings and productivity, both solutions offer positive results, with users reporting increased security and protection against phishing attacks. Customer service for both products is rated highly for responsiveness and expertise.
Features: Proofpoint Email Protection shines with its robust threat detection capabilities and customizable email filtering options. Users also appreciate its user-friendly interface. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 excels in advanced email filtering and anti-phishing measures, URL detonation, and safe attachment features. Additionally, its management dashboard provides real-time threat intelligence and actionable insights for proactive defense against cyber threats.
Pricing and ROI: Users have found the setup cost for Proofpoint Email Protection to be reasonable and competitive, with straightforward setup and flexible licensing. In comparison, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 also offers good value, with straightforward setup and flexible licensing options. Proofpoint Email Protection users experienced significant cost savings and productivity increases by blocking spam and phishing emails, ensuring a secure email environment. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 users saw improved security and protection against phishing attacks, reducing risks of data breaches and malware infections.
Room for Improvement: Proofpoint Email Protection could benefit from a more user-friendly interface and lower pricing. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 lacks customization options and better integration with Microsoft applications. Users also seek improvements in reporting and analytics capabilities.
Deployment and customer support: The implementation timeframe for Proofpoint Email Protection varies widely among users, with deployment taking up to three months and setup an additional week. In contrast, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 shows more consistency in time frames, with some users completing both phases within the same timeframe. Proofpoint Email Protection excels in customer service with quick response times, expert support, and friendly representatives. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 also offers prompt and efficient support with highly rated customer service.
The summary above is based on 146 interviews we conducted recently with Proofpoint Email Protection and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.
"Safe attachments, safe links, policies, and the ability to protect from zero-day threats are the most valuable features."
"Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of various email campaigns, pinpointing where they emanate from, and identifying the individuals within our organization who are affected."
"The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365's most valuable features are safe attachments and safe links."
"The product's scalability is good."
"There are several features that I consider valuable."
"Defender enables us to secure all 365-related activity from a single place. It gives us visibility into everything happening in Outlook, protecting us against phishing and other email-based threats. Defender helps us detect any suspicious behaviors."
"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."
"The solution blocks malicious emails containing viruses and malware and reduces them out of spam."
"Proofpoint Email Protection is stable enough and does its job of virus, malware, and email scam detection. Setting it up is not too complicated."
"The solution scales well."
"Its anti-phishing functionality is the most valuable. Certainly, the biggest problem I have is phishing."
"They have customized security rules, mature rules, anti-virus protection, as well as email authentication similar to SPF, DKIM, and DMARC."
"The most valuable feature of Proofpoint Email Protection is the blocking capabilities, it blocks a lot of potential threats."
"It was easy to set up."
"Proofpoint Email Protection offers an additional layer of protection compared to other brands like Microsoft, Mimecast, and Barracuda. While these major companies excel at detecting malicious attachments, the solution goes further by analyzing the context of emails, allowing for more nuanced decision-making."
"We noticed that from time to time, Microsoft's stability does have problems. Sometimes the service goes up and down. Sometimes they change without prior notice."
"Microsoft security solutions work as expected. They are constantly updating the solutions to make them better. At the same time, the changes can impact a customer's environment, and we need to adjust settings. Sometimes we aren't aware of the changes, and nothing is pushed from the backend automatically."
"The custom alerts have to improve a lot."
"The XDR dashboard has room for improvement."
"There's room for improvement regarding the time frame for retrieving emails."
"The UI needs to be more user-friendly."
"I'd like some additional features any product can give me to protect our environment in a better way."
"You should be able to deploy Defender for every subscription without the need to add servers."
"Some use cases haven't been dealt with yet."
"They do not have an on-demand scan for the internal viruses and internal users, and they don't have a scan for the exchange server against viruses and spam as Symantec does."
"You only receive one model in Proofpoint Email Protection and the other ones you have to purchase at a high price. There should be more available with the solution and additional models should be less expensive."
"The initial setup is complex."
"The accessibility of Proofpoint Email Protection, particularly access to product trials, could be improved. It's hard to get a trial for Proofpoint Email Protection, and many customers prefer not just to do the POC or demo but try the product out."
"Proofpoint has a lot of false alarms."
"It has too many screens. It is kind of a conglomeration of products. In other words, they built product A, product B, and product C, and they are yet to integrate them into a single administrative console. I would certainly like to see a more seamless administrative interface. I would also like to see them include more bang for the buck, by including features like email fraud protection, rather than making their product so piecemeal, where you are buying little pieces. I agree with the idea of having multiple tiers or layers, but maybe as small, medium, and large, as opposed to an a la carte menu."
"The largest complaint that we hear from our customers is that there is no local support."
More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Pricing and Cost Advice →
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is ranked 1st in Email Security with 41 reviews while Proofpoint Email Protection is ranked 1st in SEG (Secure Email Gateway) with 44 reviews. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is rated 8.4, while Proofpoint Email Protection is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 writes "Allows for easy reporting of problems, valuable anti-phishing, and anti-malware support". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Proofpoint Email Protection writes "A reasonably priced product that offers protection to emails, along with spam filters". Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is most compared with Mimecast Email Security, Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), Barracuda Email Security Gateway, Cisco Secure Email and Microsoft Defender for Business, whereas Proofpoint Email Protection is most compared with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), Palo Alto Networks WildFire, Cisco Secure Email, Fortinet FortiMail and KnowBe4. See our Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Proofpoint Email Protection report.
We monitor all Email Security 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.
If you're looking for Managed Email Security, it can be hard to decide between Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and Proofpoint Email Protection. It's like choosing between two delicious flavors of ice cream — both are good, but what flavor do you prefer?
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is managed by Microsoft’s Security & Compliance Center and provides managed email security for Office 365 customers. It offers comprehensive protection against malicious emails, phishing attacks, and other advanced threats. On the other hand, Proofpoint Email Protection is managed by a third-party provider and provides managed email security for businesses of all sizes. While it doesn't have as many features as Defender, Proofpoint still offers robust protection against malicious emails, phishing attacks, and other advanced threats.
In the end, it comes down to personal preference. Do you prefer managed email security managed by Microsoft or a third party? It all depends on your individual needs. Whichever solution you choose, make sure that managed email security meets all of your requirements!