Fortinet FortiCASB vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Fortinet and Microsoft are both solutions in the Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) category. Fortinet is ranked #20 with an average rating of 7.0, while Microsoft is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.4. Fortinet holds a 0.7% mindshare in CASB, compared to Microsoft’s 6.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Fortinet FortiCASB and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks, Cisco, Netskope and others in Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB).

To learn more, read our detailed Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) Report (Updated: October 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)

October 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 Fortinet FortiCASB is 0.7%, up from 0.5% 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%
Fortinet FortiCASB	0.7%
Other	88.9%

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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Vijayakumar Yohannan

Delivery Head - NOC Operations at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Seamlessly customize security features but need improved deployment speed

I find Fortinet FortiCASB easily customizable. It allows me to leverage features that cover almost eighty percent of use cases required by my clients. The compliance management feature supports GDPR and HIPAA compliance, effectively meeting those use cases. The hybrid model of Fortinet offers seamless deployment on cloud or hybrid best suited for customers, making it adaptable in various scenarios.

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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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

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

"iboss is definitely very good in terms of service."

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent. That's something that really helped us out. It's not just a simple proxy that just blocks the insights of potential threats that come on behind it. They do malware detection and that helps us a lot."

"Deploying iboss leads to good return on investment, estimated around 70% to 80%."

"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."

"The iboss solution gives me the ability to scan the traffic through all the ports, through all the 131,000 PCP and UDP ports, and with this ability, we have the granularity also for consults over social media and applications on mobile, and this is an advantage that the customers are looking for right now."

"First of all, the security policies are essential. I do not have to rely solely on Active Directory for our users."

More iboss pros

"I find Fortinet FortiCASB easily customizable."

"From what I've seen, it's a good product."

"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."

"The compliance capabilities of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps are quite extensive."

"The discovery function and the discovery catalog are really valuable, and the ability to sanction unsanctioned apps using Secure Score benchmarking, included in Cloud, enhances the organization by helping to manage and control cloud app usage effectively."

"In Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, there is an option to enable files. Once you enable that, it will give you all the files in your organization and where they are located in the cloud... That feature is very useful for investigation purposes."

"The solution is bundled with E3 and E5 licenses; that's the reason it's most commonly deployed, as it's part of the bundle and not a separate cost, and if your business requirements are relatively simple, it can get the job done."

"Defender's integration with our identity solutions is critical in our current setup."

"The product helps us with privileged identity management to control who has access to what and for how long."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps pros

Cons

"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."

"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."

"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."

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

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."

"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."

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

More iboss cons

"The turnaround time to deploy Fortinet FortiCASB could be improved. The learning curve for deploying, configuring use cases, and rules can be better."

"They need to improve the attack surface reduction (ASR) rules."

"If you have more elaborate needs or if you have some more sophisticated use cases, for example, if you need an in-line component, or if you need to distinguish between sanctioned and unsanctioned applications, this solution doesn't cut it."

"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."

"Sometimes the support is actually lacking."

"Sometimes, we'll get false positive alarms. For example, when a SharePoint path has no file sharing, but there is an external user, it will trigger an alarm that the file has been shared with an external user... the alerting mechanism should be more precise when giving you an alert about what activity has been done with the file..."

"This service would be better if it had a separate license, only for this service, that could be used to track usage."

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

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

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"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."

"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."

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

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

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

Information not available

"Where we are right now, this is an acceptable pricing. I would like to see more transparency given to the end user. The end user given to us is via the cloud service provider. There are different programs and license models. Some include this, and some include that. It is all over the place. There can be a little more consistency or simplification in the pricing so that your parts list is not ten pages long, and you are not trying to determine, "If I have an E3, does this cover that?", or "Do I need to pay separately for the license?" Simplification would probably be better."

"It has pretty good pricing."

"We utilize the Microsoft E5 licensing, which encompasses the entire Microsoft suite; however, it is costly."

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

"The price could be better and should be reconsidered."

"The cost could be improved when you need to pay for anything. For example, refreshing files takes time to load, though it may be my Internet. To improve the refresh time, Microsoft says that we need to pay for a Premium license, and I don't like paying for things that help make a solution better."

"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."

"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."

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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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiCASB?

The price point could be better, and improvements are desired in staying on top of evolving threats while keeping cos...

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What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiCASB?

The turnaround time to deploy Fortinet FortiCASB could be improved. The learning curve for deploying, configuring use...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiCASB?

My primary use case for Fortinet FortiCASB is threat management and managing external threats. I predominantly use it...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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

Netskope vs Fortinet FortiCASB

Compared 37% of the time

FortiSASE vs Fortinet FortiCASB

Compared 17% of the time

Barracuda SecureEdge vs Fortinet FortiCASB

Compared 6% of the time

More Fortinet FortiCASB 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 Fortinet FortiCASB 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

FortiCASB

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

Fortinet FortiCASB is a cloud access security broker that enhances data protection and threat management for organizations leveraging cloud services. It offers detailed controls and comprehensive monitoring to secure sensitive data and ensure compliance.

With Fortinet FortiCASB, businesses can achieve full visibility into their cloud usage, enforce robust security policies, and continuously monitor data activity across multiple cloud environments. This tool is designed to seamlessly integrate within existing security frameworks, providing a unified approach to cloud security and compliance management. It enables organizations to identify threats in real-time, manage permissions effectively, and safeguard against unauthorized data access. Use cases span across ensuring compliance with regulations by implementing consistent security policies, tracking data flows, and leveraging comprehensive reporting features for greater insight.

What are the most notable features of Fortinet FortiCASB?

App Control: Manages and controls cloud application usage, ensuring compliance and security.
Threat Protection: Detects and responds to threats in cloud environments with advanced mechanisms.
Data Monitoring: Tracks data access and movement within cloud services for enhanced visibility.
Compliance Reporting: Provides reports to help meet regulatory requirements and audits.
Policy Management: Centralizes security policies to maintain control across all cloud applications.

What benefits and ROI can users expect from Fortinet FortiCASB?

Operational Efficiency: Streamlines security processes with automated threat detection and response.
Risk Reduction: Minimizes risk of data breaches through enhanced visibility and control.
Cost Savings: Reduces potential costs associated with data breaches and non-compliance fines.
Improved Compliance: Helps organizations meet regulatory standards efficiently through reliable reporting and policy management.
Scalability: Adapts to growing cloud environments without compromising security measures.

In industries such as healthcare and finance, Fortinet FortiCASB is implemented to protect sensitive data, comply with stringent regulations, and ensure secure cloud adoption. It provides industry-specific policy templates and supports collaboration with cloud providers to secure infrastructures against specific threats common in these sectors.

Fortinet

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.

Rollins

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

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)

October 2026

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