Cisco SecureX vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
Cisco Logo
2,736 views|1,144 comparisons
100% willing to recommend
Microsoft Logo
6,000 views|4,488 comparisons
97% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jul 7, 2023

We performed a comparison between Cisco SecureX and Microsoft 365 Defender based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Features: Cisco SecureX earns high marks for its automated utilities, comprehensive visibility, and seamless integration with external resources. Microsoft 365 Defender offers effortless integration with other Microsoft solutions. Users praised its flexibility and comprehensive protection against multiple threat types. Users say Cisco SecureX needs better documentation and integration with on-premises systems. It would also benefit by expanding its compatibility with third-party solutions.  Microsoft 365 Defender could upgrade its machine learning and AI capabilities. Some users suggested adopting Zero Trust features.

  • Service and Support: Some users describe Cisco support as dependable and efficient, while others noted a decline in quality due to personnel changes. Some of our reviewers were satisfied with Microsoft support, but others complained about slow responses and lackluster problem-solving capabilities.

  • Ease of Deployment: Setting up Cisco SecureX is generally considered to be straightforward in cloud environments, but it requires more effort to integrate the solution with on-premise products. Setting up Microsoft 365 Defender is potentially complex and may involve integrating with existing policies. Some users reported longer deployment times.

  • Pricing: A few users said Cisco SecureX’s price could be lower, given that it is included for free with certain Cisco products. Some users say that Microsoft 365 Defender is good value, but others perceive it as more expensive than similar competing products.

  • ROI: Cisco SecureX provides a positive ROI by speeding up detection and resolution. It also decreases workloads through automation and proactive information gathering. Microsoft 365 Defender offers savings, attack prevention, consolidation of security measures, and proactive threat detection.

Comparison Results: Our users recommend Cisco SecureX over Microsoft 365 Defender due to its data consolidation, centralized platform, automation tools, and affordability. In contrast, Microsoft 365 Defender has received mixed reviews regarding its complexity, pricing, and support. Cisco SecureX appears to offer a more comprehensive and user-friendly solution.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco SecureX vs. Microsoft Defender XDR Report (Updated: May 2024).
772,649 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
"Using SecureX, a tool provided by Cisco, we can easily integrate it with many of our other Cisco products such as Cisco ISE and many networking devices.""The automation and orchestration tools are the most valuable features.""I like that I don't have to jump around to five different products and log into five different places to view the data that it returns.""The ability to create firewalls online has been most valuable including the ability to create rules.""Integrates well with our existing security infrastructure.""The most valuable feature is its ability to manage all the applications and visibility. For example, if there is malware, spam, or another component that wants to attack the company in my servers, network, or applications, then SecureX will react to the problem.""SecureX enables us to have all the threat intelligence and threat event data in one place.""The forensics are amazing because when you have enrichment, and the solutions talk with each other, when you need it, you have the ability to know everything in the organization: when, why, whatever."

More Cisco SecureX Pros →

"The visibility into threats is also very impressive because Microsoft helps you predict things and provides analytics to help you really improve your security. And all of this technology works across the domain, so it is pretty helpful in terms of threat analytics.""Defender is easy to use. It has a nice console, and everything is all in one place.""The most valuable feature is the network security.""Microsoft XDR's system of analysis and investigation is super convenient for our customers. It integrates with other Microsoft solutions like Defender for 365 to protect email traffic from malicious external web links and phishing.""It's a great threat intelligence source for us, providing alerts for things it detects on the network and on the machines. We've used it often when there is a potential incident to see what was done on a computer. That works quite nicely because you can see everything that the user has done...""I like that it's stable. It's been stable for a long time, and Microsoft Defender has done a good job there.""The integration between all the Defender products is the most valuable feature.""The comprehensiveness of Microsoft's threat detection is good."

More Microsoft Defender XDR Pros →

Cons
"One of the improvements the product needs is more integration with collaboration platforms.""The front-end work controls the new algorithm and the firewall rules. The search feature of these rules could be improved.""They could put in more third-party [integrations]... also more playbooks, out-of-the-box, for automation [would be helpful].""They could expand into more areas. The more third-parties that we have tied into it, the better. The capabilities are there. As they just continue to involve the product, the more things that you can look into, then the more analytics that you can get. Also, the more data that we can get, then the better off we will be.""what's missing right now is the multi-tenant capability.""The documentation can be improved and the on-prem integration. The set of applications that it was integrated with wasn't comprehensive.""The automation and orchestration could be simpler. It could be that all the other parts are that easy to use so that these stick out as a negative, but that's the trickiest part for us. The workflows within the orchestration are just a bit more difficult.""Enhancing automation capabilities could further improve the product."

More Cisco SecureX Cons →

"Because of the training model, Defender XDR's automatic response sometimes blocks legitimate users and activities. Also, the UI sometimes responds slowly.""The mobile app support for Android and iOS is difficult and needs improvement.""The data recovery and backup could be improved.""Microsoft Defender XDR is not a full-fledged EDR or XDR.""There is definitely scope for improvement in the automation area. Because the solution is a SaaS platform, we don't have the overall ability to automate stuff.... There is no direct way to go ahead because it's a SaaS platform.""There is no common area where we can manage all the policies for the EDR, third-party solutions, devices, servers, Windows, Mac, etc., but it's on the road map, and we ware waiting for that feature.""The console is missing some features that would be helpful for a managed services provider, like device and user management.""I would like more of the features in Defender for 365 to be included in the smaller licenses. Even if I buy a small license and don't need everything, security shouldn't be a question. Security is one of the main aspects of all projects from our side, so it would be nice to have more features in the smaller licenses."

More Microsoft Defender XDR Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "For the value you get, the pricing of the solution is excellent."
  • "You can spend less money for another solution, but if you really want to have a good solution you have to pay. We are happy that we are getting such a good solution for what we are spending."
  • "The pricing is competitive, especially for education institutions. Licensing can be a little bit difficult to navigate, especially with resellers with Cisco, but for us it has been pretty easy."
  • "The product is absolutely free to any customer. As such, the only thing one must keep in mind is that as long as he already has one Cisco security product, irregardless of what that product is, SecureX is available for free."
  • "It comes free with all Cisco products. So, it is a good price."
  • "It would be nice if they had a different pricing model. Most of our budget for projects goes towards Cisco."
  • "The pricing is the best part of this solution. It is free if you buy Umbrella or Duo Security. It is also a good solution."
  • "It is free. It can't get any better than that."
  • More Cisco SecureX Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The solutions price is fair for what they offer."
  • "The price could be better. Normally, the costs depend on the country you're located in for the license. When we were in the initial stage, we went with the E5 license they call premium standard. It cost us around $5.20 per month for four users."
  • "The price of the solution is high compared to others and we have lost some customers because of it."
  • "Microsoft is not competitive with the pricing of the solution. The competitors are able to offer lower discounts. The price of the solution is higher."
  • "We have a lot of problems in Latin America regarding the price of Microsoft 365 Defender, because the relationship between dollars and the money of the different countries, it's is a lot. Many customers that have small businesses say that they would like the solution but it is too expensive. However, large companies do not find the cost an issue."
  • "The most valuable licensing option is expensive, so pricing could be improved. Licensing options for this solution also need to be consolidated, because they frequently change."
  • "Microsoft should provide lower-level licensing options. They should do it in such a way that even an individual could purchase a license, and it should be entirely flexible."
  • "They have moved from a licensing model to pay-per-use... The question is: What happens if, for any reason, there's not enough budget to accept this model? That could be a great problem."
  • More Microsoft Defender XDR Pricing and Cost Advice →

    report
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions are best for your needs.
    772,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Integrates well with our existing security infrastructure.
    Top Answer:Cisco SecureX is more expensive than Trend Micro. However, considering the integration capabilities with other solutions and the quality of technical support, I believe there's justification for the… more »
    Top Answer:One area for improvement in SecureX could be additional on-premises options for organizations like ours that require more control over certain aspects of the platform. I also think enhancing… more »
    Top Answer:Microsoft Defender XDR provides strong identity protection with comprehensive insights into risky user behavior and potential indicators of compromise.
    Top Answer:Microsoft Defender XDR is expensive, especially for the full suite functionality. However, when compared to buying multiple-point solutions separately, it may be comparable in price. Overall, it is… more »
    Top Answer:Improving scalability, especially for very large tenants, could be beneficial for Microsoft Defender XDR. Additionally, enhancing the privilege access management capability would make it a better… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    2,736
    Comparisons
    1,144
    Reviews
    7
    Average Words per Review
    543
    Rating
    8.9
    Views
    6,000
    Comparisons
    4,488
    Reviews
    60
    Average Words per Review
    1,181
    Rating
    8.4
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Kenna.AppSec, Kenna.VI
    Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender
    Learn More
    Overview

    Cisco SecureX is an integrated security platform that connects the breadth of Cisco's integrated security portfolio and the customer's infrastructure to create a consistent experience. The solution unifies visibility, enables automation, and strengthens your security across network, endpoints, cloud, and applications. Cisco SecureX is embedded within every Cisco Security product and supports integrations with SIEM and SOAR, so customers will not need to replace any solution or worry about layering on new technology.

    Cisco SecureX Features

    Cisco SecureX has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Unified overview: Cisco SecureX offers key metrics on transactions and threats for network, endpoints, cloud and applications. In addition, the SecureX interface is integrated into all Cisco Security technologies.
    • Automation and an increase in operational efficiency: With Cisco SecureX, you gain better automation of workflows for products of the Cisco Security portfolio and third parties, allowing you to focus on other more important tasks. By eliminating manual work (through automatic identification of threats using analytical data of Cisco Talos and other sources), the solution helps your organization save a significant amount of time.
    • Security strengthening: Cisco SecureX makes it easy to compare analytical data from a set of various sources with the telemetry received from network, endpoints, e-mail, cloud, and third-party products.

    Cisco SecureX Benefits

    Some of the benefits of using Cisco SecureX include:

    • Secure every business endeavor with an open, integrated platform that has out-of-the-box interoperability and scales to meet security needs.
    • Advance your security maturity level using existing resources.
    • Turn security from a blocker into an enabler. Cisco SecureX allows you to add new security capabilities for the threat landscape.
    • Maximize your operational efficiency, helping you get the most from your security investments.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Cisco SecureX users.

    PeerSpot user Wouter H., Technical Team Lead Network & Security at Missing Piece BV, shares several reasons why he thinks the solution is fantastic. In his opinion, “SecureX takes all the separate pieces of security within your company, adds in intelligence from different sites and services on the internet, and makes them work together. If an email is received on a machine and malware is being executed, it can be put into lockdown mode. The fact that you can have a single solution that combines endpoint intelligence with email intelligence, firewalls, and publicly available intelligence is really helpful. Also, SecureX provides us with contextual awareness throughout our security ecosystem. Before SecureX, things that were not possible, or that would take days, now literally take seconds to find out.

    Michal S., Infrastructure Engineer at a media company, says, “SecureX provides many measurements and has a really good dashboard. Working with it you are able to see things very clearly and you have every detail on a single display. That saves us money and time.” He also adds, “It brings all our data into a central point. It also shows us many data connections between many of our environments. SecureX gives you really good information about potential risks. You are able to find the source of a risk, a potential risk from a user or a machine.”

    Blair A., Technology Director at Shawnee Heights USD #450, explains, "One of the most valuable features is the simplicity of deploying SecureX. It's very easy to do that and then you gain very detailed visibility into everything that's going on in your network and, obviously, at the device level. There's just a wealth of information that you can pull from all of these products that are part of SecureX. You know exactly if you have an issue or not."

    Microsoft Defender XDR is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect against threats in the Microsoft 365 environment. 

    It offers robust security measures, comprehensive threat detection capabilities, and an efficient incident response system. With seamless integration with other Microsoft products and a user-friendly interface, it simplifies security management tasks. 

    Users have found it effective in detecting and preventing various types of attacks, such as phishing attempts, malware infections, and data breaches.

    Watch the Microsoft demo video here: Microsoft Defender XDR demo video.

    Sample Customers
    NHS, Rackspace, UNC Pembroke, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Missing Piece
    Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm20%
    Comms Service Provider20%
    Educational Organization10%
    Consumer Goods Company10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company35%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    Government6%
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company16%
    Computer Software Company16%
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Government9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Government8%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business29%
    Midsize Enterprise50%
    Large Enterprise21%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise67%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business40%
    Midsize Enterprise24%
    Large Enterprise36%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise56%
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco SecureX vs. Microsoft Defender XDR
    May 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco SecureX vs. Microsoft Defender XDR and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
    772,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Cisco SecureX is ranked 14th in Extended Detection and Response (XDR) with 13 reviews while Microsoft Defender XDR is ranked 5th in Extended Detection and Response (XDR) with 80 reviews. Cisco SecureX is rated 9.0, while Microsoft Defender XDR is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Cisco SecureX writes "Gives our customers visibility and they don't have to go multiple management consoles anymore". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Defender XDR writes "Includes four services and four products, which can help organizations a lot". Cisco SecureX is most compared with Trend Vision One, Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, Splunk SOAR, Cisco Secure Network Analytics and Wazuh, whereas Microsoft Defender XDR is most compared with CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager, Wazuh and Fortinet FortiEDR. See our Cisco SecureX vs. Microsoft Defender XDR report.

    See our list of best Extended Detection and Response (XDR) vendors.

    We monitor all Extended Detection and Response (XDR) 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.