Sophos Email vs Symantec Messaging Gateway comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Sophos Email and Symantec Messaging Gateway based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Email Security solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Sophos Email vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway Report (Updated: January 2024).
768,740 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 two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning.""Does a thorough job of examining email and URLs for malicious content.""The most valuable feature is protection against malicious links, fishing, and impersonation. You can train people to be aware of these threats, but they're not always careful. When they're using their phones between meetings, they click on a link, and it's game over.""Microsoft Defender for Office 365's most valuable feature is its performance.""The good part is that you don't have to configure it, which is very convenient.""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.""Defender for Office 365 has helped eliminate having to look at multiple dashboards and that is the aspect I like most about it. It is simpler, effective, and convenient. The users like the process efficiency.""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."

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"The most valuable feature of Sophos Email is the sandbox. We're able to scan the file, isolate it, and look at it before it is delivered. It is highly effective.""The platform is scalable when installed on server-based systems.""I have found Sophos Email to be scalable.""Sophos Email offers encryption and malware protection, provides visibility into emails, has 99% accuracy in catching spam, enhances organizational safety, integrates with various vendors like Microsoft, is deployable with any email service, prevents data loss, features authentication rules, synchronizes with Active Directory and Azure, and includes a self-service portal. The product is very flexible.""The most significant aspect is the response filtering concerning attachments and links.""I cannot guarantee any email by its name. It can be spam. Sophos Email helps to double-check whether an email is spam or not. It has a dashboard which gives an overview of the alerts.""The speed and stability were fine.""The best thing about it is the logs."

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"The solution is stable and the performance is good.""The setup is pretty simple.""The solution is excellent at blocking spam.""The solution is "set and forget". You pay for it and everything is done for you.""The cloud-based interface is very user-friendly.""Symantec Messaging Gateway is stable and scalable. Installation is easy, and the deployment and maintenance can be done by one administrative person.""Messaging Gateway is stable.""The anti-malware and spam features are valuable."

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Cons
"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.""About eight months ago, we started to measure the quantity of phishing and spam that we have been receiving, and it has been increasing a lot. That means that protection for our email is not as good as we were expecting.""Microsoft sometimes has downtime, and we'll get several incidents coming in back to back. We have a huge backlog of notifications, many of which may be false positives. However, there might be serious alerts, so we can't risk dismissing all of them at once.""There is room for improvement with the UI.""I'd like some additional features any product can give me to protect our environment in a better way.""The custom alerts have to improve a lot.""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 Defender for Office 365 should be more proactive."

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"The solution has not found a way to block certain kinds of phishing emails.""Their technical support is slow to respond.""Sophos Email can improve mail security.""There have been some issues with compatibility and effectiveness, particularly when integrating it with our firewall. The main challenge has been email protection, especially due to compatibility issues and difficulties with log access and email relay configuration.""The product could include all the essential features and capabilities, similar to the on-premise, server-based version.""The installation of Sophos Email could be easier. It's a bit difficult because setting up the email virtually requires some bit of technical knowledge.""The solution's technical support is slow and unresponsive. You need to book time in order to get support.""Sophos Email could improve DLP features."

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"It will provide Excel reports and PDF reports, but it would be great if they supported the concept of Crystal Reports.""It could be more scalable.""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.""They really need to create a good package that competes with Microsoft.""The solution interface is from 2003 and is outdated. Symantec Messaging Gateway needs to update the interface.""We've had issues in the past where the user finds spam, and Symantec does not recognize it as spam.""The solution takes up a lot of memory."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It's a user-base subscription."
  • "From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."
  • "Defender is a little bit more expensive as compared to others. We are in the manufacturing environment. So, we don't have a high budget for all of our endpoint devices. Its cost is a major concern for us."
  • "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."
  • "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."
  • More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "There is an additional fee for their central managed console."
  • "Licensing is paid on a yearly basis."
  • "Most of our clients are on a perpetual license. If there is a budget issue, they can choose a subscription. However, most of the clients choose the perpetual license."
  • "The pricing could improve by having additional discounts. For example, when customers buy have more than 50 or more users, there should be additional discounts."
  • "I rate the price of Sophos Email a four out of five."
  • "It is an expensive solution. On a scale of one to ten, where one is low price, and ten is high price, I rate the pricing a seven."
  • "The pricing is fair."
  • "The solution is expensive."
  • More Sophos Email Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "A subscription for technical support costs extra."
  • "It's a bit expensive compared to its competitor Barracuda Email Security Gateway but cheaper than Sophos Email."
  • "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."
  • "They're a little costly compared to Microsoft."
  • "For 150 users, we pay INR 1,60,000."
  • "Symantec Messaging Gateway’s pricing is very cheap."
  • More Symantec Messaging Gateway Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of various… more »
    Top Answer:The product must provide better malware detection. The detection algorithms don't perform the way I hope they would.
    Top Answer:It has enhanced our approach to tackling malware and spam. It is a reliable product with a good user interface.
    Top Answer:The platform is inexpensive. It offers a cost-effective licensing model. We purchase its yearly license.
    Top Answer:Sophos Email could improve DLP features.
    Top Answer:The solution takes up a lot of memory. The system becomes slow. The performance must be improved.
    Top Answer:We use the solution to secure our data and emails.
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    MS Defender for Office 365
    Sophos Email Security
    Symantec.cloud, Symantec Email Security.cloud
    Learn More
    Sophos
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    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.

    Sophos Email is a comprehensive email security solution designed to protect organizations from advanced threats and data loss. It offers robust protection against malware, phishing attacks, and spam, ensuring that only legitimate emails reach users' inboxes. 

    With advanced threat intelligence and machine learning algorithms, it can detect and block sophisticated attacks in real-time. Additionally, it provides encryption and data loss prevention capabilities to safeguard sensitive information. 

    The solution is easy to deploy and manage, with a user-friendly interface and centralized control. Sophos Email offers seamless integration with popular email platforms, ensuring uninterrupted communication while maintaining security. 

    With its comprehensive features and proactive approach, Sophos Email is a reliable choice for organizations looking to enhance their email security.

    Symantec Messaging Gateway is a comprehensive email security solution designed to protect organizations from advanced threats and spam. It combines multiple layers of protection, including anti-malware, anti-spam, and data loss prevention, to safeguard sensitive information and ensure email continuity. 

    With its advanced threat intelligence and machine learning capabilities, it can detect and block sophisticated attacks, such as ransomware and spear-phishing. The solution also offers robust encryption and authentication features to secure email communications. 

    Its intuitive management console provides administrators with granular control and real-time visibility into email traffic. Symantec Messaging Gateway is a reliable and scalable solution that helps organizations mitigate email-borne threats and maintain a secure messaging environment.

    Sample Customers
    Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
    Del Monte Foods, Terra Verde, spicerhaart, RIVERLITE, Dataprise, SureBridge, Reed's School, Sayfol International School
    Doric, Joblink Plus, Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta, PPB Advisory, Slater & Gordon Lawyers, Sydney Adventist Hospital Ltd.
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company16%
    Computer Software Company16%
    Comms Service Provider13%
    Logistics Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Government7%
    REVIEWERS
    Retailer33%
    Manufacturing Company17%
    Financial Services Firm17%
    Security Firm8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider10%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Construction Company8%
    REVIEWERS
    Pharma/Biotech Company27%
    Financial Services Firm18%
    Energy/Utilities Company18%
    Healthcare Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company21%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Government10%
    Comms Service Provider6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business42%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise42%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business30%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise51%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business78%
    Midsize Enterprise7%
    Large Enterprise15%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business39%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise41%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business55%
    Midsize Enterprise10%
    Large Enterprise35%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise56%
    Buyer's Guide
    Sophos Email vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway
    January 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Sophos Email vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway and other solutions. Updated: January 2024.
    768,740 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Sophos Email is ranked 10th in Email Security with 25 reviews while Symantec Messaging Gateway is ranked 6th in Secure Email Gateway (SEG) with 20 reviews. Sophos Email is rated 8.0, while Symantec Messaging Gateway is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Sophos Email writes "Ensures that there is maximum security enabled for our communication processes". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Symantec Messaging Gateway writes "A stable and reasonably priced solution that performs well and has a very good malware database". Sophos Email is most compared with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), Fortinet FortiMail, Proofpoint Email Protection, Barracuda Email Security Gateway and Avanan, whereas Symantec Messaging Gateway is most compared with Cisco Secure Email, Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), Fortinet FortiMail, Trend Micro Email Security and Trellix Collaboration Security. See our Sophos Email vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway 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.