No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 24, 2026

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

Check Point Email Security ...
Ranking in Email Security
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (6th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (6th)
Cisco Secure Email Threat D...
Ranking in Email Security
22nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) is 3.7%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration)3.7%
Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense1.1%
Other95.2%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

Harish (Kumar) - PeerSpot reviewer
Cybersecurity And Information Governance Head at Aeren
Email security has blocked sophisticated phishing and now protects inboxes with AI detection
The only challenge with Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) is that it is an API-based solution. In an API-based solution, the major challenge is that it can read email content and Google Drive content. This presents a data privacy challenge, and we had to mitigate it by signing a Data Processing Agreement and other agreements. Because it is not a traditional in-line solution, Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) connects with Google Workspace using API permission and can access email, attachments, sender, recipient information, links, and all metadata is with Check Point. Data storage and everything else is with Check Point, which is the challenge. This solution has a drawback because of API deployment, while other solutions are traditional secure email gateways that are in-line solutions. In those solutions, we need to change the MX record, but with this solution we do not need to change the MX record, which is a pro of API-based deployment. However, there is also a con in that with API solutions, the email is scanned but after delivery in the mailbox.
GC
Senior Cybersecurity Engineer at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
Provides robust email security features but requires improved modernization and complexity management
Modernization is an area that could be improved for Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense, as some features have lagged behind newer competitors, potentially offering more advanced analysis capabilities. The initial setup is not straightforward and requires expertise and time to master configurations such as spoofing and DLP. More control over backend functionalities and simplifying rule management could enhance user experience. The product's complexity at times results in redundant rule sets that are difficult to untangle, highlighting the need for streamlined management systems and a more user-centric approach to system configuration. Furthermore, the pricing might deter new users who could opt for alternative, more cost-effective solutions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It provides visibility of events, what's going on with the environment, what we're missing with our other solution, and the user behavior."
"The solution helps to block spam emails."
"The most valuable feature is the sandboxing feature. It provides a sandboxing environment where you can open links and see where they lead. You can see what is presented in the link after opening it."
"Check Point adds value with east-west protection in the data center."
"As with most of the other Check Point products, the CloudGuard SaaS has the advanced visibility of the events and alerts."
"We need the phishing detection and email quarantine. Once an email is considered malicious, it stays in the quarantine where we can interrogate it. We can check out why it was quarantined and see if it should be delivered to the individual."
"For us, I prefer Check Point before Palo Alto and before other brands because Check Point is most effective in attack mitigation and attack detection."
"In my opinion, it's one of the best products. It does protect other things like Slack and Salesforce, which are more about communication."
"Regarding stability, Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is very stable."
"The ability to see east-west traffic is its most valuable feature. Traditionally, email defense focuses on north-south, inbound-outbound, egress-ingress traffic. With Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, it's able to quickly identify, track, tag, and categorize emails that are internal. That can typically give us visibility into if there's an internal compromised account (for example). Someone can then use that internal compromised account to email additional accounts with either malicious software or links, but internal within that Office tenant. Effectively, that email message never leaves the tenant. Any of the mail gateways really do not have any method or way of seeing this traffic since it's not leaving the environment."
"Overall, it's certainly a very good idea to integrate another layer on top of Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection."
"Cisco's technical support is very good."
"Currently, the ease of deployment is the low-hanging fruit for Cisco email security."
"I highly recommend it as one of the best choices."
"The solution is stable."
"It's very easy to deploy and configure."
 

Cons

"After updates, the internet connection fails, and I have to restart my desktop to resume initial functionalities."
"Check Point needs to address the pricing segment for SMEs."
"We have used technical support, but their response time is very slow. It needs to be improved."
"Stability is the main area that Check Point needs to focus on."
"I have learned enough to make the product stable. However, the stability has some challenges."
"The dashboard is the major area for improvement, but apart from that, all the rest is acceptable."
"It would be good to have the option to export the respective record data from dashboards or logs to .csv or other files."
"Integration is currently limited to Microsoft Office 365 and Google G Suite."
"The product's complexity at times results in redundant rule sets that are difficult to untangle, highlighting the need for streamlined management systems and a more user-centric approach to system configuration."
"We encounter issues while searching for missing emails."
"Customers will benefit greatly from monthly billing because the majority of customers today use the cloud, be it Office 365, or Google Cloud."
"From a technical point of view, Cisco is far behind in terms of cybersecurity, and it has to improve very much."
"This solution could be improved by integration with Sandbox."
"Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox can improve by adding advanced phishing, then the solution would become the best in the market. However, this could increase the price even more. Additionally, if CES with domain protection could be added it would be an even better solution."
"There is still room for improvement in terms of integrations with other Cisco tools and non-Cisco tools. There is also some room for improvement needed in terms of the reporting."
"The learning curve shows that in the beginning, there are numerous false positives. For one month, we had to reclassify the false positives manually until the system learned."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Do a full feature evaluation (interactive) with a support person. That is what I did."
"Having information stolen by a hacker would be more expensive than purchasing a license."
"As we are a non-profit organization, we got the tool with a good offer. On a yearly basis, we pay 10,000 Euro for 500 users, which also includes the technical support part."
"Due to its pricing, I would say that Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration is more suitable for medium to enterprise organizations."
"The price is very good, based on what they deliver."
"The product is expensive."
"Check Point is more expensive. That's the honest truth. So far, it's a good value for the money."
"The product’s price is very high."
"It is expensive compared to other vendors."
"The feedback from vendors and customer is that it is expensive."
"Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox does not have any competition with Sophos, Trend Micro, or other vendors of the world. However, there is a pricing premium for the solution. One has to look at it from that angle that while they are buying Cisco, there will be a premium, and Cisco justifies that premium value. That's why they're charging a high price."
"The solution’s pricing is manageable."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Security solutions are best for your needs.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
16%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Marketing Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business73
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise37
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
We are not currently using this product. Six months back, we removed that product due to a few issues. The major issue is naturally the budget, as it is expensive. Our organization is expanding and...
What is your primary use case for Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
The major use case for Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) was Business Email Compromise, CEO fraud, and vendor impersonation. Phishing attacks were also a major...
What needs improvement with Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
The only challenge with Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) is that it is an API-based solution. In an API-based solution, the major challenge is that it can rea...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Secure Email Threat Defense?
Comparatively with other products, the pricing of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is normal. As a technical guide, I am not very aware of the pricing details.
What needs improvement with Secure Email Threat Defense?
We have deployed Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense in two customer environments. It is still in development as a new product. Some customer requirements, such as sending logs to a Syslog server, ar...
What is your primary use case for Secure Email Threat Defense?
We are working with Cloud Mail Gateway and on-premise mail gateways. We have worked with Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense.
 

Also Known As

Check Point CloudGuard, Check Point CloudGuard SaaS , Check Point Harmony Email & Office
Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, Cisco CMD, Cisco Cloud Mailbox Defense
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Helvetia, Denham Capital, Daymark Solutions, Neopharm Group
Luiss University, Lone Star College, T-Systems, Magyar Telekom
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) vs. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.