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Check Point SandBlast Network vs Microsoft Defender for Identity comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.1
Check Point SandBlast Network improved security, reduced costs, enhanced incident handling, and allowed users to focus on responsibilities efficiently.
Sentiment score
4.4
Microsoft Defender for Identity is cost-effective and efficient, offering incident prevention and resolution without complex hardware setups.
Protecting around 2,000 users from cyber threats, including ransomware, has positively impacted the organization's growth by reducing disruptions and business loss.
Technical Specialist at Softcell Technologies Limited
We have seen a good return on investment since implementing Check Point SandBlast Network, as we are spending less time on forensics and it is also preventing us from potential breaches, which itself justifies the cost.
Deputy Manager at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees
Check Point SandBlast Network has saved our money because we don't need to be concerned about security or invest in any sandboxing.
Network Security Engineer at Digitaltrack
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.9
Mixed reviews for Check Point SandBlast Network support highlight slow responses, long resolution times, but commend knowledgeable representatives.
Sentiment score
6.9
Opinions on Microsoft Defender for Identity support vary, highlighting responsiveness, but issues include delays, contact challenges, and false positives.
In troubleshooting, they are very helpful and knowledgeable.
Network Security Engineer at Digitaltrack
The customer support for Check Point SandBlast Network is great, as the security team has extensive knowledge and provides proper solutions.
Penetration Tester at Digitaltrack
I did get the best from Check Point SandBlast Network's support team; they were very helpful while troubleshooting any kind of issues we faced.
Business Development Manager at Digitaltrack
Generally, the support is more effective than other providers like Oracle.
Owner at Alopex ONE UG
The quality of support is very good, but troubleshooting can take time due to complex setups and the need to provide many logs.
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
The people I normally use for support are very knowledgeable, especially when they help remote in and get to where I need to go and show me much faster and help me understand what I should be doing.
Technology Coordinator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Check Point SandBlast Network is scalable, offering cloud and on-premises options, though large organizations may face resource challenges.
Sentiment score
7.2
Microsoft Defender for Identity efficiently integrates and scales globally, supporting diverse organizational needs within Microsoft’s ecosystem effectively.
The scalability of Check Point SandBlast Network meets our organization's needs as we grow.
Technical Specialist at Softcell Technologies Limited
The scalability of Check Point SandBlast Network is very nice.
Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
It is scalable but requires growing the box itself because it is a resource-intensive solution.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
In a Microsoft-centric organization, especially with Azure infrastructure and Office 365, Microsoft Defender for Identity is scalable.
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Check Point SandBlast Network is highly stable with minimal downtimes and excellent performance when properly configured and resourced.
Sentiment score
7.0
Microsoft Defender for Identity is highly reliable, with minimal incidents, seamless operation, and consistent ratings between seven and nine.
When configured correctly with adequate resources, it functions properly.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
In my experience, Check Point SandBlast Network is stable and I have not encountered any downtime or reliability issues.
Deputy Manager at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees
Check Point SandBlast Network is stable in my experience, providing proper security to our organization.
Penetration Tester at Digitaltrack
Microsoft Defender for Identity is quite robust and built on Azure hyperscale infrastructure, with a 99% availability.
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
We do not see any issues with the stability of Microsoft Defender for Identity.
Deputy Manager at Servion Global Solutions
Having recently started using it, reliability is affirmed, but manual investigation is often performed to verify if alerts identified by auto-remediation are accurate.
Instrumentation Engineer at Toyo Engineering Corp
 

Room For Improvement

Check Point SandBlast Network needs improved third-party integration, performance, support, file handling, and more intuitive management features.
Microsoft Defender for Identity users seek improved cloud integration, user-friendly features, better support, and streamlined processes for enhanced threat management.
Simplification of granular tuning for false positive reduction and bypassing benign files would benefit non-expert users.
Technical Specialist at Softcell Technologies Limited
The customer support for Check Point SandBlast Network could be improved as they are sometimes late with their responses.
Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
Sometimes when we enable a feature in our security gateway, the CPU of the device goes high, so that can be improved.
Network Security Engineer at Digitaltrack
If Microsoft could develop a feature that indicates when impossible travel is caused by VPN connections, it would prevent unnecessary password resets and session disruptions, especially for VIP users in organizations.
CyberSecurity Engineer | Information Security Management at Self Employed
One improvement I would recommend is the integration of an admin application within Teams, allowing easy access to attack information on a mobile platform.
Owner at Alopex ONE UG
Reducing false positives is something we've been working on with Microsoft.
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Users find Check Point SandBlast Network pricing high yet necessary for security, with potential savings when integrated with existing systems.
Microsoft Defender for Identity is cost-effective with E5 licenses despite complex pricing and competitive against other security solutions.
My experience with pricing and setup cost is that pricing was a bit high.
Deputy Manager at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees
Pricing is a bit costly, but considering the features and security offered by Check Point SandBlast Network, it is reasonable.
Technical Specialist at Softcell Technologies Limited
If they can reduce the costs, organizations will be happy, and it will compensate for using the Azure environment, which is more expensive on the infrastructure as a service side.
CyberSecurity Engineer | Information Security Management at Self Employed
Ensuring a fair price according to market standards.
Owner at Alopex ONE UG
From an organization perspective, using E5 licenses is value for money, especially if Azure and Office 365 are already in use.
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Check Point SandBlast Network provides zero-day threat prevention with real-time analysis and AI-powered detection for comprehensive security.
Microsoft Defender for Identity integrates with Azure to offer comprehensive threat detection, identity protection, and advanced real-time security insights.
The key features of Check Point SandBlast Network include its ability to detect zero-day attacks, provide sandboxing capabilities, and offer real-time protection with threat extraction.
Technical Specialist at Softcell Technologies Limited
Check Point SandBlast Network has positively impacted my organization as it's very accurate and gives almost no false positives, providing excellent threat prevention and protecting against server zero-day attacks.
Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
It detects zero-day exploits in suspicious and normal files, and includes forensic and reporting features that provide detailed incident analysis, malware behavior reports, and indicators of compromise.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We receive an advance report of risky users, allowing us to take preemptive action before an attack causes damage to organization details.
Instrumentation Engineer at Toyo Engineering Corp
The most valuable feature is its hybrid artificial intelligence, which gathers forensic data to track and counteract security threats, much like the CSI series in effect.
Owner at Alopex ONE UG
The advanced threat protection is one of the strengths of Microsoft Defender for Identity, as it utilizes user and entity analytics and can detect indicative attacks.
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Check Point SandBlast Network
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for Iden...
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
8th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (4th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Check Point SandBlast Network is 3.1%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Identity is 4.5%, down from 5.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Check Point SandBlast Network3.1%
Microsoft Defender for Identity4.5%
Other92.4%
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

MW
Technical Specialist at Softcell Technologies Limited
Comprehensive security solution mitigates advanced threats
Improvements for Check Point SandBlast Network can be seen in dashboard usability; the threat emulation logs and analysis reports could be made more intuitive and visually appealing. Enhancing the system for granular tuning to reduce false positives and allowing benign files to bypass checks more simply for non-expert users would be beneficial. Additionally, faster emulation times could be achieved by increasing file scanning speed through hardware productivity enhancements. A specific instance where file scanning speed posed an issue was when the time taken depended on the file size. Scanning can take less than a minute or up to 2 minutes for larger files. Enhancing the file scanning time would be a significant improvement to the system.
RK
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Protect on-premises and hybrid environments with advanced threat detection and seamless integration
Our Active Directory implementation is a hybrid one. The advanced threat protection is one of the strengths of Microsoft Defender for Identity, as it utilizes user and entity analytics and can detect indicative attacks. It identifies lateral movements, privilege escalations, and alerts on potential attacks. The tool is also used for security posture assessment. The seamless integration with other Microsoft solutions within our Microsoft-centric environment is also a major advantage.
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881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Retailer
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point SandBlast Network?
My experience with pricing and setup cost is that pricing was a bit high, but the setup cost was initially justified.
What needs improvement with Check Point SandBlast Network?
I feel that Check Point SandBlast Network could be improved with slight delays in cleaning the file delivery. Additionally, I think it requires proper tuning to avoid unnecessary notifications.
What is your primary use case for Check Point SandBlast Network?
My main use case for Check Point SandBlast Network is advanced threat protection, especially for scanning emails, attachments, web downloads, and incoming files through a sandbox environment. A qui...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Identity?
I really would have to sit down to think about how Microsoft Defender for Identity can be improved. I didn't take stock in what needs to be improved because I appreciated having the tools right the...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Identity?
My main use cases for Microsoft Defender for Identity include Conditional Access, checking risky users, remediating risky users, and user sign-ins. I can easily remediate or determine what the user...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Defender for Identity?
I don't really use Microsoft Defender for Identity a lot because my new role doesn't allow me to take time to do so. I don't really use the threat intelligence feature of Microsoft Defender for Ide...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Azure Advanced Threat Protection, Azure ATP, MS Defender for Identity
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Edenred, State Transport Leasing Company (STLC), Edel AG, Laurenty, Conseil Départemental du Val de Marne, Koch Media
Microsoft Defender for Identity is trusted by companies such as St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ansell, and more.
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point SandBlast Network vs. Microsoft Defender for Identity and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.