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Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Symantec Messaging Gateway comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Microsoft Exchange Online P...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (7th), Anti-Malware Tools (14th)
Symantec Messaging Gateway
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is designed for Anti-Malware Tools and holds a mindshare of 1.2%, up 1.2% compared to last year.
Symantec Messaging Gateway, on the other hand, focuses on Secure Email Gateway (SEG), holds 2.6% mindshare, down 2.7% since last year.
Anti-Malware Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)1.2%
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint6.9%
VirusTotal3.1%
Other88.8%
Anti-Malware Tools
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Symantec Messaging Gateway2.6%
Proofpoint Email Protection19.5%
Microsoft Defender for Office 36517.0%
Other60.9%
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

NancyHartman - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Layered email security has protected sensitive research and still flags phishing in real time
The valuable features of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) include providing an additional layer of protection, as it builds on the basic Exchange level of security that allows us to get our work done. Another feature I appreciate is the ability to question things, as our Exchange server allows us to identify in real-time if an email is a phishing email or spam email. It really helps us identify risks, especially through our external exchanges via email or through our cloud-based platforms. Our Exchange system blocks any embedded AI from all our applications and products, so we cannot use embedded AI in our daily work from our official laptops because we have secure information. The system is quite locked down.
Girish Vijay - PeerSpot reviewer
Deputy Manager IT at Carl Bechem Lubricants India Pvt. Ltd.
A stable and reasonably priced solution that performs well and has a very good malware database
Since Symantec merged with Broadcom, they might have lost some good technical engineers. Maybe that’s the reason why the product is performing poorly. When we have a good marketing and sales team, even though our product cannot perform, we will sell it at a high price because of the buzzwords. However, at the end of the day, the product should perform. Most of the products might not perform. Symantec is a very good product, but the services are basic. I rate the technical features of the product a nine out of ten. However, I would rate the services provided by the solution a six out of ten. Overall, I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I like most about Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is its integration with Windows, so we have one central view for all alerts and incidents."
"It is useful for local users and our company because we use Microsoft 365."
"I like the product's ZAP feature."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection has features like DLP (data loss protection), Safe Attachment, and Safe Links."
"Online Protection's most valuable feature is its admin interface."
"Overall, I think it's really a great product."
"It has a really nice web-based administration console."
"The initial setup of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection was easy."
"The solution is a leader in anti-spam email products and you can block 99% of spam emails, making it very effective with great performance."
"Symantec’s spyware and malware signature database is very good compared to other products."
"Messaging Gateway is stable."
"The setup is pretty simple."
"The solution is excellent at blocking spam."
"The solution is stable and the performance is good."
"I've been using Messaging Gateway for ten years."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway is stable and scalable. Installation is easy, and the deployment and maintenance can be done by one administrative person."
 

Cons

"Microsoft 365 Defender and EOP policies are stable with the proper license. However, with the basic policy, it's hard to say it's stable due to configuration limitations."
"It would be helpful for customers if Plan 1 features were included with EOP."
"Not all settings can be configured automatically and most still require manual configuration. However, there is an automation tool available that can be used to input all the configurations either as a script or a tool it would be helpful."
"The licensing can be on the expensive side, especially in the cloud space."
"If a company wants to put in line back-to-back anti-spam solutions, they need to work on that part because Microsoft recommends either you use EOP as a front line or you don't use it."
"The security features could be better."
"Having orchestration features added to Microsoft Exchange Online Protection, particularly automation and remediation, would be quite useful."
"The security features could be better and more secure in the next release."
"It is a nice product but is not user friendly in terms of the graphical interface. It is poor and is not rich in terms of the human interface."
"This product would benefit from better integration with Symantec Endpoint Protection."
"The biggest problem is it's an on-prem product and we're trying to get out of having equipment in data centers."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway should include better exclusions and exceptions for better administration."
"Since it was purchased by Broadcomm, we've found there's been a general slide in terms of the local services we have access to and we are considering replacing them."
"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."
"It is a nice product but is not user friendly in terms of the graphical interface. It is poor and is not rich in terms of the human interface."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway can improve detection because most of them are false negatives or false positives that we are trying to troubleshoot."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution falls on the higher or more expensive side of the spectrum."
"The solution should reduce the cost."
"The solution's pricing is subscription-based rather than a yearly licensing cost. Pricing is based on the size of the environment and company and can be expensive."
"It's a high price."
"The product is bundled with Microsoft 365."
"Online Protection is fairly expensive."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is very expensive, I rate the pricing a six. For licensing, we can make monthly or yearly payments. Right now, we pay 5 USD per month to secure a person's license."
"The solution is priced high and could be less expensive compared to other solutions."
"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."
"A subscription for technical support costs extra."
"They're a little costly compared to Microsoft."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway’s pricing is very cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Construction Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
From an end-user point of view, I am quite happy with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) because my favorite feature is the ease with which I can identify if an email is a phishing email or...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) serves as the main use case for my company because, as a research company, we require a very high level of security. We use multiple authentication method...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
My experience with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is from an end-user perspective, and I do not have admin management experience. I am not familiar with the Advanced Threat Protection f...
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Also Known As

Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
Symantec.cloud, Symantec Email Security.cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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 Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway and other solutions. Updated: January 2024.
893,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.