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Cisco Secure Email vs IceWarp comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Cisco Secure Email
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (5th), Cisco Security Portfolio (6th)
IceWarp
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Email Applications (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. Cisco Secure Email is designed for Email Security and holds a mindshare of 4.7%, down 5.1% compared to last year.
IceWarp, on the other hand, focuses on Email Applications, holds 4.7% mindshare, down 5.2% since last year.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Email4.7%
Proofpoint Email Protection5.9%
Microsoft Defender for Office 3655.0%
Other84.4%
Email Security
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IceWarp4.7%
Google Workspace17.7%
Amazon WorkMail11.1%
Other66.5%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

KS
Technical Associate Network Security at Valuepoint Systems
Email security has protected financial data and provides clear tracking for every branch message
The areas of Cisco Secure Email that could be improved or enhanced are the slowness in the console. I don't think it was a database error or something, but we feel some slowness in configuring DLP and other content filters compared to other consoles. It may have been due to on-premises, but it was much noisy at some times while configuring DLP. When we tried to configure a DLP policy, the console became much slower. In that case, we cannot see what had happened in the mail which was blocked at that time. It may take nearly an hour to get back to normal while configuring policies. That is the major issue in the product.
AvinashLotke - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivery Head at Team Computers
Useful for collaboration and storage but improvement is needed in API integration
The solution has traditional SSL integration, SAML, and Federation Services. In its latest version, it added SAML integration. However, it needs to work on API integration, especially for dashboards or integration with SAP for log and data system management. It doesn't yet have the kind of API that Google and Microsoft provide for synchronizing users with Active Directory. I think IceWarp needs to improve in a few areas. They have two types of admin consoles - a web-based one and a remote one. I'd like to see these combined into a single web-based admin console. The log reading and information system also needs improvement. The current way of showing incoming and outgoing logs isn't very clear. For new users, it's hard to understand these logs, especially compared to Office 365 and other systems with easier-to-read logs. They should also add an export option to get all logs with a single click whenever we need them.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"IronPort really helped with the mail filtering and load balancing between the Exchange servers they had."
"The solution works well."
"Overall, it is a very good product, and I'm very happy with it."
"Administration of the email domains and custom filters are easily done via the web interface."
"The system provides our service desk with the means to troubleshoot email delivery issues with ease."
"The logs are easily readable and help diagnose problems, although they can be difficult to find initially. The solution addresses our email security, but for the rest of our security, we would use multiple vendors. It covers everything through email, like antivirus, IDS, and IPS."
"Introducing Cisco Secure Email Gateway systems was a set change for us and reduced the number of unwanted emails by a huge factor, a benefit that has continued from when we first got the devices until today."
"The product is used very extensively in my company since we have around 1,500 users using it. Also, there is no requirement for any administrators to manage the product by the people who own the solution."
"Its price is the most valuable. It is definitely one of the lowest price solutions."
"The most valuable feature of IceWarp is the chat rooms and file-sharing, they are useful. It is convenient that everything is in one place. You can easily share and collaborate documents, making the program's unity a significant advantage."
"The solution's voice services work well for our company."
"It has great communication capabilities for team chatting and web conferences."
"If you have a small to medium business and you require a professional collaboration server that focuses on the main services of emails and calendar scheduling, I recommend IceWarp."
"The groupware module is the most valuable feature."
"The solution has a very good log-in to the UI when compared to other solutions."
 

Cons

"There are some concerns in the way the architecture is set up, making it an area where improvements are required."
"My opinion on the licensing of this solution is that it is a mess that needs sorting out. I am not particularly bothered by pricing as I administer it and make recommendations for people to buy or not to buy."
"We cannot manage multiple devices from a single UI."
"The interface is dated. It has looked pretty much the same for 15 years or so. It would be helpful to be able to do everything from one spot. The centralized quarantine and reporting are completely separate from policy administration."
"It would be nice to have an easier way to check on the health of the system, how stressed these appliances are. Sure, you can do it, but it would be helpful to have an easier way to do it, maybe even at a glance."
"The Forged Email Detection feature needs improvement, particularly with domain. The sensors are not that good and the rules sets are unclear."
"That's why I wouldn't give it anywhere near a perfect score, because the artificial intelligence just isn't there yet."
"We have Microsoft and we have the E5 licenses, they have more EDR responses on certain emails. That's something that Cisco ESA on the cloud doesn't have. They don't do anything about MITRE attacks. They only detect if there is a malicious email or a threat and they remove it."
"Although it is not a tool, video conferencing should be scalable and operate in a professional and efficient way."
"It is difficult to disable user rights on the console so some users accidentally delete their documents or user details."
"The exchange compatibility mode is rather limited. Their technical support can also be better. They only provide online support, and there should be some option for escalating."
"The solution needs improvements in security, particularly regarding document management."
"The database query for creating new database and querying about activities are too simplistic."
"The Exchange compatibility mode is rather limited."
"With multiple databases for VOIP, chat and web IMAP, maintenance is cumbersome."
"Support should be improved. Most of the time, the queries are not resolved within the SLA."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the pricing a ten out of ten on a scale where one means it is less cost-effective, and ten means it is the most cost-effective solution."
"Licensing costs depend on how many users there are. It could range between $5 and $7 per month, per user."
"The solution is expensive."
"There are additional fees for adding features."
"As per market availability, this solution is more expensive than other vendors."
"I rate the product price as six on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is a very expensive tool."
"In addition to the standard licensing, there is a cost for SMARTnet as well."
"Cisco Secure Email is not expensive, and licensing costs are yearly."
"The license is based on the number of users."
"Price-wise, it's a cheaper solution, without a doubt. Price is the reason we are still using the tool."
"It is definitely one of the lowest price solutions."
"Pricing and licensing is very competitive and in some cases, cheap."
"The solution is inexpensive which is its main benefit."
"I would rate the pricing and eight out of ten."
"I don't see any challenges for the Indian market. For example, 1 GB is available for around 399 INR, and 2 GB for 499 INR. They offer a range of plans, from basic to professional and enterprise, with multiple features. IceWarp's aggressive pricing is competitive compared to other market solutions like Zoho and Microsoft. One significant advantage is that IceWarp does not impose user capping like Google and Microsoft, which allows for substantial cost savings and flexibility in user conversion."
"The solution is priced well."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise27
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Email?
The pricing structure is good as it is user-based or email client-based, which is positive for clients.
What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Email?
The areas of Cisco Secure Email that could be improved or enhanced are the slowness in the console. I don't think it was a database error or something, but we feel some slowness in configuring DLP ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Secure Email?
We are using Cisco Secure Email to monitor the outgoing and incoming mail traffic in our financial institute. We have nearly 900 branches all over India. We have an on-premises mail server in which...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IceWarp?
IceWarp was very cost-effective, offering services at a significantly lower cost than Google, which was appealing for our organization.
What needs improvement with IceWarp?
The solution needs improvements in security, particularly regarding document management. Users currently have the rights to delete smart documents, which poses a challenge for administrators. A mor...
What is your primary use case for IceWarp?
We managed approximately one thousand user accounts with IceWarp for company communications. We utilized features such as smart attachments and document solutions. Our setup was primarily on-premis...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Email Security, IronPort, Cisco Email Security, ESA, Email Security Appliances
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

SUNY Old Westbury, CoxHealth, City of Fullerton, Indra
Marriott, Toyota, Sony, Wendy's, Canon
Find out what your peers are saying about Proofpoint, Microsoft, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Email Security. Updated: October 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.