Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Symantec Messaging Gateway comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (9th)
Symantec Messaging Gateway
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2024, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 13.8%, down from 20.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Messaging Gateway is 1.6%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security
Unique Categories:
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
13.5%
Microsoft Security Suite
1.9%
 

Q&A Highlights

CO
Dec 09, 2022
 

Featured Reviews

Chris-Atkinson - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 28, 2023
Provides good visibility and increased security and enables organizations to take proactive steps against threats
We get a lot of good visibility. When we look for something, it's pretty easy to see the IP from which the user signed in. We get to know where the person is logging in from. It lets us know quickly whether a particular IP should be logged in at a particular time. The solution does not help us prioritize threats. It helps us mitigate some of the threats we identify. I don't think prioritization is important. Whoever makes the most has the highest priority. The solution’s threat intelligence helps us take proactive steps, especially with Safe Links. It helps us track down and look at logs, see what document libraries a threat might have gone to, and try to review the exposed data and potentially exfiltrate it. The solution has saved my company's money. The tool has decreased our time to respond by a couple of hours per incident. I don't have to involve my network or security teams. We could click through to determine whether an access is legitimate. There may be more cost-effective solutions in the market. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten for its functionality.
SK
Jul 20, 2022
Good Solution for Spam and Malware Filtering
I have supported the product for a couple of customers and handled migrations for others.  It is basically used to receive emails and then check its hygiene, detect spam, report block-listed emails, and detect viruses. It provides all that reputation filtering that is part of policy group…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Since we have started using the solution, there have been fewer compromises."
"Safe attachments, safe links, policies, and the ability to protect from zero-day threats are the most valuable features."
"I would say that 90% of the spam and phishing attack emails get blocked right off the bat."
"The most valuable feature is the integration. It's a single console, so we don't have to switch around between multiple products. Another valuable feature is the ease of operations and maintenance."
"The initial setup is straightforward. You just add the license, click it, and then you can set up the rules. It is quite simple."
"Microsoft Defender has a feature to protect each and every attachment. Even if it's an encrypted attachment, it will check for any potential threats."
"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 setup is pretty simple."
"Symantec is a secure product."
"The cloud-based interface is very user-friendly."
"It has very good capabilities for managing malware."
"The solution is excellent at blocking spam."
"Messaging Gateway is stable."
"What I like most about Symantec Messaging Gateway is its usability. I also find its interface very friendly. The solution has a very good interface."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway has a good GUI, and it is very powerful in detecting viruses and spam."
 

Cons

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 should be more proactive."
"They can improve their security in a way where a customer can know if all their attachments are safe or not to open through a report. The solution does its job perfectly, but it never reports to the customer whether those attachments have been stopped before or not."
"There's room for improvement regarding the time frame for retrieving emails."
"We need to be able to whitelist data at the backend."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 should improve the troubleshooting tools. It's unclear whether the device is blocked at the firewall level or at the device itself. The granularity needed for troubleshooting is currently lacking. From my perspective, Microsoft should address this issue to benefit many users who likely share the same sentiment."
"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."
"We need a separate license and we don't know how to get the license that is required."
"The custom alerts have to improve a lot."
"The documentation could have more detailed examples of how to use the product in various situations. As more companies shift to the cloud, they could better integrate the on-prem and cloud versions through an on-prem client."
"The false positive submissions must be improved."
"Sometimes the solution picks up false positive for viruses during scans."
"It will provide Excel reports and PDF reports, but it would be great if they supported the concept of Crystal Reports."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway can improve detection because most of them are false negatives or false positives that we are trying to troubleshoot. Additionally, we are having routing problems and they are somehow connected to DNS issues."
"Messaging Gateway's advanced malware detection could be improved."
"What's lacking when you compare it with Proofpoint and other threat protection solutions is that it does the basic stuff, but we need more advanced threat handling."
"The product must improve the user dashboards."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
"For licensing, it's usually a yearly package for customers who are subscribed to Office 365, but they can also pay on a monthly basis."
"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."
"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."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway’s pricing is very cheap."
"A subscription for technical support costs extra."
"They're a little costly compared to Microsoft."
"The cost of Symantec Messaging Gateway is too expensive in general. However, the appliance also includes the price of the license in the same bundle."
"It's a bit expensive compared to its competitor Barracuda Email Security Gateway but cheaper than Sophos Email."
"For 150 users, we pay INR 1,60,000."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
9%
Construction Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
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 indi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 necessitates pricier E3 or E5 subscriptions, the extensive functionality offered by these licenses across various Microsoft products justifies the investment.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is a very good solution that allows you to use a single port or tool to control everything happening with your organization's different cloud applications. Configu...
What needs improvement with Symantec Messaging Gateway?
The solution takes up a lot of memory. The system becomes slow. The performance must be improved.
What is your primary use case for Symantec Messaging Gateway?
We use the solution to secure our data and emails.
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
Symantec.cloud, Symantec Email Security.cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Doric, Joblink Plus, Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta, PPB Advisory, Slater & Gordon Lawyers, Sydney Adventist Hospital Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway and other solutions. Updated: January 2024.
793,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.