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Cortex XSIAM vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management comparison

 

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

Cortex XSIAM
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (13th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (6th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (7th)
Microsoft Defender External...
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Attack Surface Management (ASM) (12th), Microsoft Security Suite (33rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Security Software solutions, they serve different purposes. Cortex XSIAM is designed for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and holds a mindshare of 2.0%, down 2.6% compared to last year.
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, on the other hand, focuses on Attack Surface Management (ASM), holds 3.2% mindshare, up 2.7% since last year.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cortex XSIAM2.0%
Splunk Enterprise Security7.2%
Wazuh5.8%
Other85.0%
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
Attack Surface Management (ASM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management3.2%
CrowdStrike Falcon7.2%
Darktrace4.9%
Other84.7%
Attack Surface Management (ASM)
 

Featured Reviews

JohnTamakloe - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Architect at ostec
Efficient coordination improves operations with seamless integration and rapid automation
The typical use cases for Cortex XSIAM are diverse I would describe the impact of Cortex XSIAM's automation on my security operations center as efficient. I use Cortex XSIAM's behavior analytics, and it helps identify unusual activities. I leverage Cortex XSIAM's incident management features for…
AndyChan3 - PeerSpot reviewer
General manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Enhanced visibility and exposes vulnerabilities but needs more integration
I am currently in the pilot stage of implementing Microsoft External Attack Surface Management (EASM). My organization is transitioning to a comprehensive track of Microsoft solutions, and we will move to full-scale production in another year, maybe Microsoft External Attack Surface Management…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product integrates seamlessly with third-party solutions."
"The automation capabilities significantly improve response times by allowing us to respond to incidents from a single dashboard rather than navigating multiple dashboards."
"The flexibility for creating manual workflows stands out."
"I would give Cortex XSIAM a rating of ten out of ten."
"It is an effective solution in terms of performance and functionalities."
"The most valuable feature is the integration capability."
"The way the solution responds to detections and warnings is really impressive."
"One of the valued aspects of the product is its use of artificial intelligence to detect security vulnerabilities."
"It seems to be better at protecting from cyberattacks."
"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."
"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."
 

Cons

"I am not sure if any improvements are needed right now."
"The solution’s pricing and technical support could be improved."
"The first impression is that XSIAM would be more expensive than others we tried."
"Cortex XSIAM is pretty expensive, and the licensing process is not very comfortable compared to CrowdStrike."
"Further integration capabilities with various other software products that can seamlessly tie into Cortex XSIAM would be advantageous."
"At the beginning, we experienced some difficulties setting up the product with connectivity and infrastructure, but ultimately it functioned really effectively."
"Cortex could improve the detection and online resolution of security vulnerabilities."
"It could provide more integration with a large variety of products."
"The integration is not as seamless compared to competitors like Palo Alto."
"Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement."
"With Microsoft, support is always crazy, it's not easy to get support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product cost could be considered value for money compared to other solutions in the market, though it is quite high."
"The solution comes at a significant cost."
"In terms of pricing, we found Cortex XSIAM to offer a very reasonable and competitive rate."
"Since Palo Alto is trying to get as many new customers as possible, they're offering very competitive pricing."
"The solution is expensive compared to its competitors."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise4
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cortex XSIAM?
I did not participate in pricing discussions for Cortex XSIAM solutions, so I cannot provide a review regarding prices for this solution.
What needs improvement with Cortex XSIAM?
Cortex XSIAM is on the expensive side and requires substantial improvement in pricing. There are other features that could be improved, including integration with vendors such as CyberArk. I would ...
What is your primary use case for Cortex XSIAM?
With Cortex XSIAM, we installed an agent on Active Directory on-premise. We connected our Firewalls to the Data Lake and the Active Directory, and protected the Firewalls with another authenticatio...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?
Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement. Introduction of more AI automation into the products would also be beneficial. The integration is not as seamless co...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?
I am currently in the pilot stage of implementing Microsoft External Attack Surface Management (EASM). My organization is transitioning to a comprehensive track of Microsoft solutions, and we will ...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Splunk, Wazuh, IBM and others in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM). Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.