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Michael Maertzdorf - PeerSpot reviewer
IT System Administrator at Data 4 Information Technology B.V.
Real User
Jul 19, 2023
A stable solution that can be used for email filtering and protection from spam and phishing
Pros and Cons
  • "URL scanning and online relay service are the most valuable features of Proofpoint Email Protection."
  • "Integration and filtering out who you want and don't want to have integrated ID could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use Proofpoint Email Protection mostly for email filtering, spam, and phishing.

What is most valuable?

URL scanning and online relay service are the most valuable features of Proofpoint Email Protection.

What needs improvement?

Integration and filtering out who you want and don't want to have integrated ID could be improved. Sometimes it takes longer for an email sent through Proofpoint Email Protection to reach the client.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Proofpoint Email Protection for five years.

Buyer's Guide
Proofpoint Email Protection
October 2026
Learn what your peers think about Proofpoint Email Protection. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2026.
921,749 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Proofpoint Email Protection has no stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Proofpoint Email Protection is easy to scale. Around 50 users are using the solution in our organization.

How was the initial setup?

The solution’s initial setup is pretty straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Proofpoint Email Protection has comparable pricing. The solution has a monthly license. Suppose Proofpoint Email Protection can have 50 users, but you have only 30 current employees; then you only pay for those that are active.

What other advice do I have?

We are using the latest version of Proofpoint Email Protection. Depending on the number of users, one or two people are required for the maintenance of Proofpoint Email Protection.

I would recommend others to compare Proofpoint Email Protection with other tools before choosing it.

Overall, I rate Proofpoint Email Protection an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Anita Brüggemann - PeerSpot reviewer
System Administrator at emco Bautechnik GmbH
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Jun 12, 2023
Easy to set-up and effectively drops spam and phishing emails
Pros and Cons
  • "It was easy to set up."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use it for our email flow. We use it for our daily operations. For example, it helps in dropping spam and phishing emails.

    What needs improvement?

    There is room for improvement. One aspect that could be enhanced is finding a better way to follow outgoing mail. This would be particularly useful in situations where customers or suppliers claim they did not receive our messages.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using this solution for seven years. We are also using a Proofpoint protection server and Proofpoint Threat Response.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. We have about a thousand people using it.

    How are customer service and support?

    The customer service and support team is okay.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Positive

    How was the initial setup?

    It was easy to set up. I would rate my experience with the initial setup a nine out of ten. The deployment took half a day. 

    What about the implementation team?

    We worked on the deployment process together with our provider.

    What other advice do I have?

    Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. We are really satisfied with the solution. 

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Proofpoint Email Protection
    October 2026
    Learn what your peers think about Proofpoint Email Protection. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2026.
    921,749 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Mohamed-Kamal - PeerSpot reviewer
    Tech manager at MKTech
    Reseller
    Oct 12, 2022
    Reliable and straightforward to set up but does have mail flow issues
    Pros and Cons
    • "The spam filter for email is good."
    • "The stability is good; there are no bugs or glitches, it doesn't crash or freeze, and it's reliable."
    • "Proofpoint has a lot of false alarms. Even their mail flow rules are not the best thing."

    What is most valuable?

    The stability is good.

    The spam filter for email is good.

    The solution can scale. 

    We have found the initial setup to be straightforward. 

    What needs improvement?

    I have some concerns about Proofpoint mail flow rules. It's not smart.

    Proofpoint has a lot of false alarms. Even their mail flow rules are not the best thing. Mimecast and Microsoft Office 365 are better than them. Many emails are marked as spam unnecessarily. I've had issues and have had to open many tickets. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've used the solution for five years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability is good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    While most of my clients have under 100 users, my understanding is if it works for 100, it can work for 1,000 or 10,000 users. Scaling shouldn't be an issue. 

    How are customer service and support?

    I've talked to support about creating rules and the issues we've had. I've had to open many tickets with them. 

    For example, last month our web application sent an invoice for one of the customers, and it relayed the email on behalf of the customer domain. This email was marked as phishing. Even when the SBS was correct and the DCOM was correct. I opened a ticket. The rule didn't work. They responded fast. Even though I have problems, I find them to be responsive. 

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I have used Defender, Proofpoint, and Mimecast. I use them daily for different companies and have subscriptions for all three. In my company, we use Defender.

    Mimecast and Microsoft are better than Proofpoint when it comes to mail rules. On Proofpoint, the rules don't work as expected. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The solution is straightforward and simple to set up. It's not overly complex. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I'm a freelancer working to support some companies that are using Proofpoint. 

    Sometimes I create a subscription for them and configure everything from scratch; sometimes, I take it already configured and just maintain it.

    Anyone with basic knowledge of the solution and how to configure items will not have an issue with this product.

    I'd rate it seven out of ten based on the mail flow issues I have witnessed.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller/Implementer
    PeerSpot user
    Sathish Mani - PeerSpot reviewer
    Senior Manager - Cybersecurity Operations at Likewize
    Real User
    Sep 21, 2022
    Mature with great targeted attack protection and good filtering
    Pros and Cons
    • "It's a mature product. It does a good job in detection."
    • "The targeted attack protection that we use has been great, as has the email filtering and the rules that we have set for Proofpoint."
    • "The false positives are an issue."
    • "The false positives are an issue. There are many false positives that come in, which you report to Proofpoint."

    What is most valuable?

    The targeted attack protection that we use has been great, as has the email filtering and the rules that we have set for Proofpoint. The quarantine capabilities are very useful.

    You can scale the solution.

    It's a mature product. It does a good job in detection. 

    What needs improvement?

    The false positives are an issue. There are many false positives that come in, which you report to Proofpoint. Sometimes they take time to update those things. They say there's an option that we can use to report false positives. However, it is not a quick remedy. You go and report it, and still, you have to take action on it and clear those emails getting blocked. It's too cumbersome. 

    We don't have the option to scan a password-protected attachment. I have to either blindly whitelist it as it will get blocked since an email with attachments normally gets scanned. We'd like to have some mechanism in place where we can scan these protected attachments or whitelist the domain.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been working with the solution for two years. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We purchased some licenses, and we are using all of them. For us, scalability is not a problem. We have been able to scale it. 

    We have more than 5,000 people working on the product.

    How are customer service and support?

    Technical support is good. The expertise that they offer is good. The only thing that I have a problem with is we have our support operations in India and their availability for a call can be mismatched. That would normally take some time. You don't get a suitable person in the time zone available around the clock.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We did not previously use a different solution.

    How was the initial setup?

    I was not there when it was deployed. We only manage at the application level.

    We do not need that many admins to maintain it. We might need three or so. Most of the time, it's only checking on the blocked emails, which are actually good emails, and sometimes if there are investigations required and maintenance, they would handle those tasks. At a minimum, you need three, depending on the size of your organization. They would maintain it for the shift, for fixed operations hours, not on a rotational basis. You might have to put in more resources if you have rotational.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Depending upon your company's revenue, you can make up your mind about whether you want to invest that money or not. However, the offering is niche in the market today compared to other products, like Exchange Online Protections, which is an evolving product. It's growing. In contrast, Proofpoint has been around in the listing for quite some time, so they mature in terms of detection of suspicious emails and its email filtering system. Of course, while the pricing is rather fair, clients would always prefer to pay less. 

    I cannot speak to the exact price. 

    The price is fixed. It doesn't change according to companies. It gives you multiple package options, so you can pick what suits you. 

    You also get other add-on services, which if you've got a subject matter expert within Proofpoint, then you don't have to buy additional personnel from them to coordinate. You wouldn't need a customer success manager or somebody doing a health check for it. That might increase your cost. 

    Next time, if I get an opportunity to reapply for a license, I might think of removing some of the add-on services, which might reduce the cost or the overall price that we are paying today. I don't know the actual standalone product cost, meaning what would be the product cost alone. It's dealt with by our procurement team, or they can check with Proofpoint to see the product pricing.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    I have cross-checked this solution with Defender right now. We're doing a cost-benefit analysis and seeing if it makes sense for us to use it at all or not.

    What other advice do I have?

    I'm a customer and end-user.

    We are using Proofpoint Essentials right now. 

    When you are an SME, every product company is trying to promote a product and sell it to you; however, if you don't know how it functions and its capability and effectiveness, then you probably end up buying what you need. Constantly evaluate any product you're buying. I've seen Proofpoint used in the last three companies that I worked with, so I have a lot of experience with this particular solution.

    I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Larry Etzler - PeerSpot reviewer
    CEO at JL Computers
    Real User
    Aug 7, 2022
    Easy to use interface, useful blocking capabilities, and quick setup
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable feature of Proofpoint Email Protection is the blocking capabilities, it blocks a lot of potential threats."
    • "My advice to others is the solution seems to be good and stable with a very easy-to-use user interface."
    • "Proofpoint Email Protection could improve on the training. Every organization is different and to fine-tune it to block everything properly there needs to be better training. Sometimes it can block some of the information it shouldn't."

    What is our primary use case?

    I am using Proofpoint Email Protection for blocking out spam and malware from the emails. Proofpoint Email Protection is linked to our Microsoft Office365

    How has it helped my organization?

    Proofpoint Email Protection has improved the way our organization functions by blocking threats.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature of Proofpoint Email Protection is the blocking capabilities, it blocks a lot of potential threats.

    What needs improvement?

    Proofpoint Email Protection could improve on the training. Every organization is different and to fine-tune it to block everything properly there needs to be better training. Sometimes it can block some of the information it shouldn't.

    In a feature release, phishing blocking could improve.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Proofpoint Email Protection for approximately one year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Proofpoint Email Protection is a stable solution.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability of Proofpoint Email Protection is good.

    We have between 50 to 100 people using this solution in my organization.

    How are customer service and support?

    I have not used the technical support from Proofpoint Email Protection.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I have previously used SolarWinds Mail Assure prior to Proofpoint Email Protection. The main reason we switched was that the price was better for Proofpoint Email Protection.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup of Proofpoint Email Protection is very easy. The full process took approximately 15 minutes.

    What about the implementation team?

    We did the implementation of Proofpoint Email Protection in-house. It did not require a lot of maintenance. We only have to watch out for the quarantine list that gets emailed to us.

    What was our ROI?

    We have received a return on investment. Less spam is coming in through email. 

    I rate the ROI of Proofpoint Email Protection a four out of five.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    I rate the price of Proofpoint Email Protection a four out of five.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We evaluated other options before choosing Proofpoint Email Protection.

    What other advice do I have?

    My advice to others is the solution seems to be good and stable with a very easy-to-use user interface.

    I rate Proofpoint Email Protection a nine out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Gerald Ashokan - PeerSpot reviewer
    Global Account Executive at Tata Consultancy
    Real User
    May 3, 2022
    Stable platform that detects malware, viruses, and other email scams and the setup is not too complicated
    Pros and Cons
    • "Proofpoint Email Protection is stable enough and does its job of virus, malware, and email scam detection. Setting it up is not too complicated."
    • "At this point in time, there's nothing that needs to be changed or improved in the tool."
    • "Pricing for the platform could still be cheaper."
    • "Every client always finds it expensive, but I don't know how much they're paying for it."

    What is our primary use case?

    Proofpoint Email Protection is used as an email security platform to detect all kinds of malware, viruses, and unethical acts being done through email solicitations.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've been dealing with Proofpoint Email Protection for at least three years. We've been providing the support for it and deploying it across different countries within the group.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Proofpoint Email Protection is stable enough, and it has a good image within the group. It's doing its job.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup for Proofpoint Email Protection is not too complicated. I won't classify it as complicated or complex, though it does require a certain level of technical skills to manage and run the platform, which is also required on similar platforms.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    My clients pay for an annual subscription of Proofpoint Email Protection. Every client always finds it expensive, but I don't know how much they're paying for it. The price for the license could still be cheaper, in general.

    What other advice do I have?

    I provide products to clients. I have clients who use a product for email protection that I provided: Proofpoint Email Protection. They use it in their corporate offices.

    At this point in time, there's nothing that needs to be changed or improved in the tool. We have regular updates for Proofpoint Email Protection, so there's no specific need to change anything.

    I have two to three clients using the tool, but globally, within our group, I don't have information on the total number of clients using Proofpoint Email Protection.

    My company provides L3 support, and we reach out to Proofpoint for typical, vendor-type support, L4 support via a ticketing system.

    I'm rating Proofpoint Email Protection eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
    PeerSpot user
    DavidGriffiths - PeerSpot reviewer
    CTO at DSM Technology Consultants, LLC
    MSP
    Apr 30, 2022
    Straightforward installation, little maintenance, and good support
    Pros and Cons
    • "Proofpoint Email Protection's initial installation is straightforward. It took us less than a day to complete the implementation."
    • "Proofpoint Email Protection is a very robust solution."
    • "Proofpoint Email Protection could improve the Mail Trace feature and make navigation easier."

    What is our primary use case?

    Proofpoint Email Protection is used to protect your entire email.

    How has it helped my organization?

    Proofpoint Email Protection has improved the organization by reducing spam emails.

    What needs improvement?

    Proofpoint Email Protection could improve the Mail Trace feature and make navigation easier.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have used Proofpoint Email Protection within the last 12 months.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability of Proofpoint Email Protection is very good.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I have not had an issue with the scalability of Proofpoint Email Protection.

    We have had projects with 5,000 users and some with 50 users using Proofpoint Email Protection. We are using this solution extensively and we plan to increase our usage of the solution.

    How are customer service and support?

    The support from Proofpoint Email Protection is very good. 

    I would rate the support from Proofpoint Email Protection a four out of five.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We previously used Proofpoint Email Protection on-premise to Proofpoint Email Protection on the cloud.

    How was the initial setup?

    Proofpoint Email Protection's initial installation is straightforward. It took us less than a day to complete the implementation.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The solution charges per user per month to use it. There are not any additional fees in addition to the standard living fees.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We did evaluate other options before we choose Proofpoint Email Protection.

    What other advice do I have?

    Proofpoint Email Protection is a very robust solution. I would advise others to read the manual before use.

    I rate Proofpoint Email Protection an eight out of ten.

    It does have some issues, but it's very good.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Data Security Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
    Real User
    Aug 18, 2021
    Excellent quarantining function and very powerful
    Pros and Cons
    • "Provides better control over emails, especially those sent via Office 365 on the cloud."
    • "We've observed that we have almost 99.9% control over our emails now in an easy to configure and easy to implement solution."
    • "Integration for reporting needs to be improved, it's a little complex."

    What is our primary use case?

    Our primary use case is the encryption tooling of email security. Emails sent externally are automatically encrypted as is all the information included. There are some DLP related options available in Proofpoint, which we enabled with the help of classifying the emails, like internal, external, private, public, sharing. That's our main use. We are customers of Proofpoint.

    What is most valuable?

    The value for us is that we now have much better control over emails, especially those sent via Office 365 on the cloud. We've configured it so that all emails go to Proofpoint and are quarantined or encrypted. I believe the quarantine email function is very rare to find in other solutions. It's a powerful tool and I believe cost effective.

    What needs improvement?

    Integration for reporting needs to be improved, it's a little complex. Right now we have integrated with Power BI to get logs and information from Proofpoint. That has to be improved with the API and there are also latency issues which need to be simplified and improved. Those are the areas I've observed that need improvement. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is hosted by Proofpoint on Amazon AWS, with some on servers on-prem. We've done the load balancing and I believe it's pretty strong now. We haven't experienced any issues. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Scalability is good, we have around 100,000 employees. For now, we have implemented two data centers. It covers 60% of traffic. We're moving ahead so that by the end of the year we'll have 100% implementation. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is relatively good although the solutions and ticketing system requires a lot of improvement.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We were previously using Symantec but switched to Proofpoint because Symantec didn't offer the email quarantine function. Cost was another issue with Symantec being a more expensive solution. But the main reason we switched was because we were looking for more control over the cloud email, especially with the sensitive information we have. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was a mixed experience. Nothing is simple nowadays and we were dealing with both cloud and on-prem, dividing the load blancing. As a result, it's taken almost six months to get full implementation. We were testing for a lot of that time. We initially implemented only in the cloud. And later on we integrated it with the reporting applications, and lastly we implemented on-prem. We are a team of seven, and implemented ourselves. I did a lot of demos and trainings which helped us a lot when it came to deploying ourselves.
    We now have around 10 staff who have access to the administration portal; the project manager, a couple from the messaging team, architects, and security engineers. 

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We evaluated Forcepoint and McAfee but both dropped out in the middle stage and we moved on to testing with Proofpoint. Both solutions had an easy environment, with an easy to configure and straightforward dashboard. However, when it came to security controls, including inscription and quarantine options, those things were more available in Proofpoint. 

    What other advice do I have?

    We've observed that we have almost 99.9% control over our emails now in an easy to configure and easy to implement solution. It's simple and easy for the administration as well. We're looking forward to any upgrades or updates they provide. I recommend this solution if it suits your needs and requirements. If you have concerns about data floating in emails, it's a good solution. If that's not an issue then you can choose something else.

    I rate the solution nine out of 10. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Hybrid Cloud

    If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

    Amazon Web Services (AWS)
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1550484 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Chief Information Officer at a consumer goods company with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    May 16, 2021
    Reliable, scalable, protects your email from threats, and has good support
    Pros and Cons
    • "The setup was easy."
    • "We have a lot fewer malicious emails coming in since implementing this product."
    • "I would want better spear phishing protection in the essentials package."
    • "To move to a more sophisticated email security solution was cost-prohibitive. When you compare it to others, it was too expensive."

    What is our primary use case?

    I am the CIO, I have consultants.

    We use Proofpoint Email Protection to filter out malicious emails.

    How has it helped my organization?

    We have a lot fewer malicious emails coming in since implementing this product.

    What is most valuable?

    The setup was easy.

    What needs improvement?

    It was easier to use Microsoft than Proofpoint.

    We had some issues with their sales consultant. We got into a dispute and he ended up leaving the company. It's unknown if he was unhappy being at the company, or if it was a reflection of the company, but I can say that their sales consultant was not good.

    I think they have everything that I would want in the advanced version.

    There are certain things, I would want. I would want better spear phishing protection in the essentials package.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with Proofpoint Email Protection for two years.

    It's a subscription, and we are always using the latest version.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability is fine.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability is good.

    I am going to reiterate. To move to a more sophisticated email security solution was cost-prohibitive. When you compare it to others, it was too expensive.

    All users of the company, all departments were using this solution.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support was okay. I think it was good, although it wasn't outstanding.

    It would be excellent, f they had chats and instantaneous responses. That would make it better.

    We always struggled with getting on the phone with someone.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We were able to get the same security levels using Microsoft that we were getting with Proofpoint.

    With this company, we used Proofpoint straight out of the gate.

    We have now switched to Microsoft. The features were definitely there. It was more integrated; people don't have to go to a different website to see what was quarantined. They can see it right in their account on Outlook.

    Microsoft is easier to use, it's more integrated, and it's cheaper. It was cheaper than their advanced module, for sure, but it was comparable to their basic package.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was straightforward. It was easy to set up.

    It took few hours to set up. It was really quick.

    We have an admin that would go in to see what was quarantined every now and again a quarter of full-time equivalent approximately 10 hours a week.

    This solution was being used every day, 24 hours a day.

    What about the implementation team?

    We used a consultant to deploy the solution.

    I have had a relationship with this consultant for more than 20 years. If I keep a consultant for that long it's because they are worth their weight.

    It is always a pleasant experience working with them.

    What was our ROI?

    For sure, we have seen a return on investment. It does what it's supposed to do, which is to protects you.

    If Proofpoint was the only product out there, I would gladly pay for it. It would be fine and good. But they are not the only game in town. Their competitors managed to give the same level of protection for much less.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The Basic Email Coverage is pretty close to the same price as the Extended Email Security of other companies.

    To start basic at Proofpoint, let's say more expensive than other basic packages.

    To jump into the Advanced versions of Proofpoint, the costs multiply four or five times, which made it not feasible for us. Being multiple times more expensive, it very much less attractive.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would advise people to look at the options.

    It does what it says it's going to do. The only issue is the cost.

    I would rate Proofpoint Email Protection an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1515735 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Information Technology Help Desk Technician at a consumer goods company with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Mar 22, 2021
    Flexible, very secure, and offers excellent technical support
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution offers very good flexibility. You can blacklist or whitelist with ease."
    • "The biggest ROI for us was when it stopped a ransomware attack, which could have cost us a ton of money and been detrimental to the company, so it basically paid for itself right there."
    • "The Secure Mail aspect should have an Outlook add-in, instead of an external dashboard that outside users have to access."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use it as a corporate or as an exchange email filter to protect, to stop any executables from coming through email, and to halt phishing scams. Basically, the product is for email security. We use it for our network.

    Also, if a user thinks that they didn't get an email, we can access the Proofpoint dashboard and go find missing mail that either people didn't get so we can rerelease it to them. Or if it did get quarantined, we can release and approve a sender.

    You can blacklist and whitelist sender lists. If you are getting phishing scams that get through the filter, you can end up shutting those down. You can actually block the entire domain so that domain can never email you ever again. 

    If there is an external email outside of your network or your company, you can whitelist them if it's an unknown sender, so you don't ever have to worry about missing their emails. 

    How has it helped my organization?

    We had an attempt for a ransomware attack and we were able to block them through Proofpoint Essentials. It's keeping us very safe. Our antivirus shut down the first one and then when the attacker tried again, we were able to block and cease all attacks. In the end, we didn't end up becoming a victim of a ransomware attack.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution offers very good flexibility. You can blacklist or whitelist with ease.

    Their entire dashboard is excellent. It's completely user-friendly, it's easy to navigate. Anything you need to get done, you can do right from the dashboard, which is incredible. 

    What makes it so easy is the features of Proofpoint and how secure it is. 

    You could have no IT experience and go in there and control Proofpoint. If your company says "Hey, we need somebody to control Proofpoint," you could hire a kid out of high school to learn it. That's how easy it is.

    What needs improvement?

    The Secure Mail aspect should have an Outlook add-in, instead of an external dashboard that outside users have to access. If we send a payment to one of our customers or an ACH or a form to fill out, they have to go through this entire subscription process on a separate website to read the secure mail.

    It should be like Ignite, where you can access the internal portal so then our customers aren't having to go through all these hoops just to read an email that we're trying to send them securely. That would be the one thing I would change. Basically, the Secure Mail portal wouldn't be its own portal; it would be an add-in.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using the solution for two years and the company itself has used it for five.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is 100% stable. It's incredible. We haven't had any issues with it. No downtime, no hiccups. Obviously, it's not going to catch everything, however, we have the ability to go in there and block stuff that it does miss. It's an incredible solution.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability capability is based on the packages. We're not at the highest package, however, from what I've read, it's got some incredible scalability. With our package, it does everything we need and we have over 200 users.

    It does more than what we need it to. There's stuff we don't even use as we don't use those capabilities of it. The scalability would be incredible as with 200 users we still don't touch all of its features.

    As far as I know, we'll continue using it. The company has been happy with it for over five years and I've been around it for two years and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Now that we've added Secure Mail, it's really probably not going anywhere.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I'd rate technical support eight out of ten.

    You pay for what you get, and we didn't pay for the enterprise tier, so we're in a middle tier. Sometimes it does take 24 hours to hear back, however, if it's a high priority that they'll call you within 30 minutes. It's pretty incredible how prompt they are. 

    Once you do get a hold of them, it's not like, "Okay, well, we'll look this up and we'll call you back." No - they sit there and they'll work you through it. They'll remote into your machine if you need them to. They're excellent.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I haven't previously used any other solution. Before, the company only used the security features in Exchange Online admin center, which obviously wasn't as secure as they wanted it to be. That's why they went to Proofpoint.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was straightforward. It's real easy to integrate with Active Directory exchange online. You just pretty much point and click and follow the prompts and it's there. Now, some of the whitelisting, you would have to have some experience, however, not too much. You would want someone knowledgeable to just navigate some of the approved domains and stuff like that to whitelist IPs as that portion was a little more work. 

    It probably took about six hours to whitelist IPs. The deployment is a moderate amount of work, however, not much, not a lot.

    We didn't do a very complex setup since most of our users are silent users. They have it, however, we don't allow them access as we don't want them to be able to release something onto the network. It probably was a six-hour job to just get everybody added in from Active Directory and integrated into the system.

    The maintenance is basically two people. It's all it really takes. It really only takes one person, however, there are usually two of us here that can access it and go in and clean stuff up. And as far as the roles, there's not really assigned roles for who goes in and does what. As far as users, they're silent users and active users, and only active users can actually access the portal, and then the administration is the only one that can change settings.

    What about the implementation team?

    We did use a consultant to help us with the implementation. Our network admin did most of the work, however, the consultants were there just to guide us through it, just in case we hit a hiccup, which we didn't. 

    The consultants were great. They were easy to work with. They were prompt in responses.

    What was our ROI?

    The biggest ROI for us was when it stopped a ransomware attack. It could have cost us a ton of money. It could have been detrimental to the company. It basically paid for itself right there.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The licensing is basically $8/user. We pay yearly, however, they do allow for month-to-month billing.

    It's just a straight licensing fee. For support, you'll pay extra for that. If you want to move up to a higher tier, I don't know how much it is, however, I know you pay more to get a higher level of support. Tier One support is way cheaper than Tier Four. You are paying pretty much to have your own project manager. Proofpoint literally assigns someone to you. When you call, it's getting taken care of by his or her team. That's pretty expensive, however, I'm not sure of the cost.

    What other advice do I have?

    I'd advise users to get the package with the Secure Mail feature and then make sure that you whitelist all your important IPs and then add domains of all known users, so you don't run across any blocked or missing mail.

    Our users have learned to be more careful and look for more phishing attempts from it, because now they know what a normal email should look like instead of, "Hey, here's a link you need to update your password." And then just clicking away. Through this they've been able to see, because we can show them, "Look, this is blocked, this wasn't, here's why." Right. So we've been actually able to teach that culture and teach the hesitancy. With this solution, our users have become much more informed.

    I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. It's a great product and they have great customer service, a great support team.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Proofpoint Email Protection Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: October 2026
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Proofpoint Email Protection Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.