CloudLock vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Cisco and Microsoft are both solutions in the Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) category. Cisco is ranked #22, while Microsoft is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.4. Cisco holds a 1.3% mindshare in CASB, compared to Microsoft’s 6.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps and CloudLock are competitors in the Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) market. Defender for Cloud Apps leads in integration capabilities within Microsoft's ecosystem, while CloudLock stands out for its extensive third-party application support.

Features: Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps offers seamless integration with the Microsoft suite, real-time threat detection, and comprehensive compliance management. CloudLock provides adaptability across diverse platforms, strong policy enforcement, and robust data loss prevention capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps could enhance its third-party app integration, improve alert customization options, and streamline user interface navigation. CloudLock may improve its integration with certain niche platforms, enhance its threat intelligence features, and improve user experience consistency across applications.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Defender for Cloud Apps benefits from efficient deployment in Microsoft environments with responsive customer service. CloudLock offers straightforward cloud-based deployment suitable for diverse IT ecosystems, but customer service experiences can vary.

Pricing and ROI: Defender for Cloud Apps offers cost advantages for Microsoft-centric organizations with efficient ROI through its feature set. CloudLock might have higher initial costs, but the ROI is often justified by its comprehensive feature suite that caters to varied IT landscapes.

To learn more, read our detailed CloudLock vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

CloudLock vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

September 2026

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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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) category, the mindshare of iboss is 4.4%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CloudLock is 1.3%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is 6.0%, down from 7.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps	6.0%
iboss	4.4%
CloudLock	1.3%
Other	88.3%

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula

Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Cloud gateway has strengthened remote web security and now needs better Mac and ISP support

The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents. That is where in 2025, we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform. If your use case is for just Windows laptops,you can consider this platform as an option One issue is the data center resiliency part. In India especially, they are not tied up with the Tier 1 ISPs like Tata or Airtel; they were having Tier 2 ISPs and encountered many issues reaching few major sites that my organization depends on, and they were having problems that they could not fix quickly. They also lack a mechanism to route that traffic within their data center; rather, they ask customers to make a pac file change to route it to Singapore explicitly. It would be better if they route from their backend , i mean even if I send it to India DC, they should be able to route it internally to make that work; however, they fail to do that and ask the customer to route it in the pac file. Another suggestion is that in China, they do not have the proper setup; they used to have numerous problems with slowness and lack of premium circuits in China as well. That leads to multiple sites working slowly with latency-related issues. So the main issue is the ISP-related problems that need to be solved.

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reviewer779877

Senior Software Engineer with 501-1,000 employees

Screens sensitive data but it should be a bigger part of an end-user device

The only improvement is that it has to be a bigger part of an end-user device. It should look at how endpoints appear on the EDR rather than creating an API to integrate into the agent app which need additional development effort. We have to integrate the source code into the system endpoint and make it as part of the connected app.

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reviewer2777910

Partner & Chief Executive Officer at a consultancy with 51-200 employees

Enforces dynamic policies and blocks risky behaviors to safeguard sensitive data

The fidelity of the signal in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps has been a challenge in some areas. There have been instances where the alerts generated have been false positives. A lot of work has to go into scoping and tuning the policies so that actual value can be achieved, especially when not doing outright blocks. When monitoring is the approach, it can be overwhelming for security teams to review all of the alerts and determine which ones require action. When a legitimate alert is found that requires action, the tools are available to take that direction, but it can take considerable time to determine if an alert is real or not, and that represents a problem. There is uncertainty about how well Microsoft is keeping up with the changing landscape of threats, as new artificial intelligence services and software as a service applications appear every day.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent."

"I recommend iboss for organizations looking for strong cloud-based web security and centralized access control."

"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."

"From a use-case scenario, what I like the most is the plug-in. I like the fact that we can do the filtering of these devices offsite independent of the network they are connected to, and we do not have to have traffic coming back inside our network."

"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."

"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."

"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."

"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."

More iboss pros

"The solution is very stable and reliable."

"It is a good CASB solution for protection of collaboration of content."

"I like CloudLock because when data gets sent out, I do not want it to get out of the environment. In today's world, a lot of users will remotely use the application. It screens all of the sensitive data. That data will really be as part of the environment that you do not want it to be part of. CloudLock is protection for sensitive data."

"I like CloudLock because when data gets sent out, I do not want it to get out of the environment."

"CloudLock is a great solution if you use multiple cloud systems like Google, Salesforce, AWS, and so on, because you can scan all systems with one tool."

"The cloud infrastructure is the solution's most valuable feature."

"It allows us to know where sensitive data is really stored and offers the ability to quarantine based on data types and sharing criteria."

"We have become more aware of what services our users are using, how often they are using them, and what data is being sent out of the organization and to which services. So, it is really a lot about visibility and helping us make decisions based on that. It drives some of our policy decisions for adding extra security controls."

"We have seen a 35% to 45% cost reduction with this solution."

"The impact of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps on our organization's ability to assess and manage app related risks has been significant because we have more visibility."

"It is very easy to use, which is what we look for in these types of solutions."

"Defender for Cloud Apps has given us good visibility regarding what we've allowed in our environment until now. It helps us to know our inventory, understand what our customers are using, and steer them toward safer practices."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is that we are primarily using only the Defender for Cloud on the Azure Cloud."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is to stop shadow IT."

"Threat detection is its key feature, and that's why we use this tool. It gives an alert if a PC is attacked or there is any kind of anomaly, such as there is a spike in sending emails or we see an unauthorized website being accessed. So, it keeps us on our toes. We get to know that there is something wrong, and we can isolate the user and find any issues with it. So, threat detection is very robust in this tool."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps pros

Cons

"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."

"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."

"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."

"The area I would like to see improvement in is the ability with in the reporter to navigate directly to the content the user is traversing. It is kind of there, but it's not perfect. Quite frequently, I receive links that lead me to pages with error messages."

"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."

More iboss cons

"As long as this issue exists, CloudLock or any other product is only a band-aid solution."

"The solution needs to have better integration capabilities. I have a lot of customers asking about how they can integrate it better."

"The only improvement is that it has to be a bigger part of an end-user device. It should look at how endpoints appear on the EDR rather than creating a separate agent. We have to integrate the source code into the system endpoint and make it an agent."

"Like all CASB products, this product also needs to expand its capabilities and features in order to increase scope of application."

"The only improvement is that it has to be a bigger part of an end-user device."

"I would prefer to have filtering options incorporated within the policies, enabling the solution to perform tasks beyond mere blocking or allowing."

"However, the price of the solution could be better."

"In the future, I would like to see more plug-and-play capabilities that use AI to tell you what needs to be done. It would be helpful if it scanned our devices and made security suggestions, on a configuration basis."

"Sometimes the support is actually lacking."

"Defender could integrate better with multi-cloud and hybrid environments. It requires some additional configuration to ingest data from non-Azure environments and integrate it with Sentinel."

"Since implementing this solution, we have had more support calls regarding false positives."

"The areas of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps that need improvement are related to IAM, as they do not provide much support for local users."

"I would like to see them include more features in the older licenses. There are some features that are not available, such as preventing or analyzing cloud attacks."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

Information not available

"It is a little bit expensive. When you want to have the complete package with Office 365, Defender, and everything else, it is expensive."

"Its pricing is on the higher side. Its price is definitely very high for a small-scale company. As an enterprise client, we do get benefits from Microsoft. We get a discounted price because of the number of users we have in our company. We have a premier package, and with that, we do get a lot of discounts. There are no additional costs. It only comes in the top-tier packages. Generally, the top-tier license is the best license that you can get for your organization. If you want, you can buy it separately, but that's not a good idea."

"The pricing is in the middle. It isn't too cheap or expensive compared to other antivirus or security products. It is priced according to industry standards."

"It has fair pricing. You pay for what you get. As far as I know, there are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fee."

"The E5 license offers everything bundled. People are moving to Microsoft because you buy one license and it gives you everything."

"It has pretty good pricing."

"I'm not totally involved in the pricing part, but I think its pricing is quite aggressive, and its price is quite similar to Netskope. Netskope has separate licensing fees or additional charges if you want to monitor certain SaaS services, whereas, with MCAS, you get 5,000 applications with their Office 365. It is all bundled, and there's no cost for using that. You only have the operational costs. In the country I am in, it is a bit difficult to get people with the required skill sets."

"Our clients normally use the Microsoft E1 licensing, which is renewed yearly."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

No data available

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	15

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	19

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

iboss could be improved by making the dashboard more user-friendly, providing more detailed real-time alerts, and imp...

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What is your primary use case for iboss?

iboss is primarily used for cloud security, helping to protect users when they access websites and cloud applications...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

The pricing and licensing for iboss were reasonable for the security features. The setup costs were manageable, thoug...

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Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Microsoft Cloud App Security?

Cisco Umbrella is an integral component of the Cisco SASE architecture. It integrates security in a single, cloud-nat...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Cloud App Security?

At the time of implementation, when the size of our organization was small, it was a more affordable product. Since a...

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What needs improvement with Microsoft Cloud App Security?

The fidelity of the signal in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps has been a challenge in some areas. There have been i...

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Comparisons

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs iboss

Compared 2% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs CloudLock

Compared 22% of the time

Skyhigh Security vs CloudLock

Compared 16% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs CloudLock

Compared 14% of the time

Akamai Enterprise Application Access vs CloudLock

Compared 9% of the time

Qualys Exposure Management vs CloudLock

Compared 4% of the time

More CloudLock Competitors

Netskope vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Compared 8% of the time

Skyhigh Security vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Compared 7% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

October 2026

Download iboss product report

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)

October 2026

Download CloudLock product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

October 2026

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps report

Download Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

No data available

MS Cloud App Security, Microsoft Cloud App Security

Overview

iboss is the Zero Trust SASE platform that gives organizations complete visibility and governance over their AI, data, and applications through one unified platform, one console, one policy engine, and one data lake.

Your endpoints may already stop malware. Your data and application activity can still be invisible. iboss decrypts and understands every connection, then turns that signal into answers security leaders can act on.

The platform leads with three capabilities in this order: AI Security and Visibility, Data Security and Visibility, and App Visibility and Control. Zero Trust Network Access, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN sit underneath as the access fabric that carries those three. Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

- AI Security and Visibility: conversation capture, shadow-AI discovery, AI DLP, and agent governance across Claude, Co-Work, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, and emerging services.

- Data Security and Visibility: full SSL/TLS decryption, deep content inspection, MIP label compliance, and one-click compliance reporting.

- App Visibility and Control: signatureless CASB, dual risk scoring, in-app controls, and SSPM for major SaaS.

- Containerized Zero Trust SASE: dedicated containers, isolated SSL keys, one console, one policy engine, one data lake.

- Access fabric: ZTNA, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN under the same platform.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

- Complete visibility over AI, data, and applications from one platform instead of separate point tools.

- Encrypted traffic is inspected by default so data decisions use content and context together.

- Shadow SaaS and new web tools appear as they are used, with enforceable controls in one console.

- Native data sovereignty through dedicated containers, in-region inspection, and per-customer SSL key custody.

- Scale proven in published materials: 10M+ users, 100+ countries, 150B+ transactions, 2.5B+ threats blocked.

Economic buyers are CISOs, CIOs, and VPs of Security. Champions include security architects, network and infrastructure leaders, SecOps, and GRC. Primary segments: enterprise and business, financial services, government (including FedRAMP Gov Cloud), healthcare, manufacturing, legal and professional services, retail and hospitality, and MSP/MSSP partners. Education, including K-12, is one vertical among these.

iboss

CloudLock provides advanced security solutions for cloud-based environments by allowing organizations to monitor, control, and secure data without affecting user functionality.

CloudLock offers an integrated approach to data protection, helping businesses manage compliance and security challenges across their cloud platforms. It enables real-time policy enforcement and anomaly detection across cloud applications, ensuring sensitive data is adequately safeguarded while facilitating seamless collaboration.

What are CloudLock's essential features?

Policy Management: Implements policies to control data access and sharing in cloud environments.
Threat Detection: Identifies suspicious activities using behavioral analytics to enhance security measures.
Compliance Monitoring: Assists organizations in adhering to industry regulations through continuous compliance tracking.
App Discovery: Detects and manages third-party applications connected to organization networks.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces costs by preventing data breaches and compliance penalties.
Operational Efficiency: Streamlines security processes, allowing teams to focus on core objectives.
Risk Reduction: Minimizes risks through comprehensive monitoring and threat intelligence.
Enhanced Security Posture: Strengthens defenses with advanced threat detection capabilities.

In various industries like healthcare and finance, CloudLock is adopted to ensure that data meets regulatory compliance standards. By integrating seamlessly across cloud platforms, businesses in these fields can protect sensitive information, supporting stringent privacy requirements while promoting operational efficiency.

Cisco

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is a robust tool for shadow IT detection, cloud integration, and threat detection, enhancing security management with capabilities in auditing and data protection.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps strengthens cloud security by providing comprehensive insights into user activities, seamlessly integrating with Microsoft security products and platforms like SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive. Its investigative capabilities enhance threat detection, while real-time alerts and policy applications improve security posture. Organizations benefit from its monitoring, auditing, and privileged identity management features that contribute to enhanced security management and data protection.

What are the key features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps?

Shadow IT Discovery: Identifies and manages unsanctioned applications across cloud environments.
Cloud Integration: Seamlessly connects with Microsoft security products and platforms.
Threat Detection: Offers powerful tools for identifying and mitigating threats in real-time.
Policy Application: Facilitates enforcement of policies across SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive.
User Activity Visibility: Provides detailed insights into user behavior and actions.

What benefits and ROI should organizations consider?

Enhanced Security Posture: Increases the effectiveness of overall security management.
Real-Time Alerts: Offers immediate notifications to improve response times to threats.
Compliance Support: Aids in maintaining compliance through integrated monitoring and governance.
Data Protection: Protects sensitive corporate data through detailed auditing and monitoring.
Integration with Azure: Enhances threat detection through cohesive integration with Azure services.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps implementation varies across industries, crucial for sectors needing stringent data protection and compliance, like finance and healthcare. Firms use it to monitor user activity, enforce data loss prevention policies, and ensure security across multi-cloud environments while integrating with Azure services for comprehensive threat management. These implementations are particularly beneficial in improving compliance efforts and protecting sensitive data.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

Dominion Enterprises, Quality Distribution, Clark Construction Group LLC, Ahold, Middlesex Hospital, Austin Community College (ACC), Dominion Enterprises, The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Oakland Unified School District, Sunnova, Damballa, Financial Times, Boise State University

Customers for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps include Accenture, St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ansell, and Nakilat.

Buyer's Guide

CloudLock vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

September 2026

Free Report: CloudLock vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Find out what your peers are saying about CloudLock vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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