Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] comparison

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL]

July 2025

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Helped 866,088 peers since 2012

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

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Vulnerability Management (7th), Container Management (8th), Container Security (7th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (1st), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (4th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (4th), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (5th), Microsoft Security Suite (7th), Compliance Management (5th)

Microsoft Entra Permissions...

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) (7th)

Featured Reviews

Vibhor Goel

Senior Cloud Platform Engineer at Deutsche Börse

A single tool for complete visibility and addressing security gaps

Currently, issues are structured in Microsoft Defender for Cloud at severity levels of high, critical, or warning, but these severity levels are not always right. For example, Microsoft might consider a port being open as critical, but that might not be the case for our company. Similarly, it might suggest closing some management ports, but you might need them to be able to log in, so the severity levels for certain things can be improved. Even though Microsoft Defender for Cloud provides a way to temporarily disable certain alerts or notifications without affecting our security score, it would be better to have more granularized control over these recommendations. Currently, we cannot even disable certain alerts or notifications. There should be an automated mechanism to design Azure policies based on the recommendations, possibly with AI integration. Instead of an engineer having to write a policy to fix security gaps, which is very time-consuming, there should be an inbuilt capability to auto-remediate everything and have proper control in place. Additionally, enabling Defender for Cloud at the resource group level, rather than only at the subscription level, would be beneficial.

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Sameer Bhat

Vice President at Goldman Sachs

Provides resource-based access and security, but time-bound access can be a problem

Entra ID is the core of the identity management that we have. This is the key product that we are using. I am currently also looking into Entra Private Access because we are planning to deploy about 50,000 desktops into Azure and use Azure Virtual Desktop. We would like to give access to the users from the desktop to on-premises applications. I learned that Entra Private Access is a good solution. That is not yet GA, but that is what we are looking for. Entra provides a single pane of glass for managing user access, but because our company also integrates with Nebula API, only administrators use Entra's pane. A normal person who wants to get onboarded can do self-service using Nebula. The features for whitelisting and other things are definitely there. That is what we use specifically. Application IDs, enterprise applications, and all those things are already there, so we have more efficiency. There is also security because we usually do not allow user identities to get direct access to Azure resources. Usually, we use the service principles from Entra ID, so this way, it increases security. Entra has helped to save time for our IT administrators. We tend to automate a lot of things. We can do automation using Graph APIs and save time. It is hard to quantify the time savings, but there has been a medium amount of time savings. Entra has helped to save our organization money. We care about security and risk more than money, but it also saves money. We are premium customers, and because we have a commit-to-consume contract with Microsoft of multi-million dollars, the money does not come into it because we have to consume those resources.

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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

"It isn't a highly complex solution. It's something that a lot of analysts can use. Defender gives you a broad overview of what's happening in your environment, and it's a great solution if you're a Microsoft shop."

"The solution is used for risks, vulnerabilities, and compliance."

"It's got a lot of great features."

"Defender for Cloud is a plug-and-play solution that provides continuous posture management once enabled."

"Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a valuable tool that integrates seamlessly with Azure Policy and our Security SIEM, simplifying implementation and enhancing security posture."

"The most valuable feature is the recommendations provided on how to improve security."

"Everything is built into Azure, and if we go for cross-cloud development with Azure Arc, we can use most of the features. While it's possible to deploy and convert third-party applications, it is difficult to maintain, whereas Azure deployments to the cloud are always easier. Also, Microsoft is a big company, so they always provide enough support, and we trust the Microsoft brand."

"The UX and UI are very good. Users have more of a taste for Microsoft UI."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud pros

"The solution integrates well with our infrastructure and other systems without any issues."

"Multifactor authentication is valuable."

Cons

"Sometimes, it's very difficult to determine when I need Microsoft Defender for Cloud for a special resource group or certain kinds of products. That's not an issue directly with the product, though."

"The pricing could be improved, as it is somewhat high for smaller companies."

"Most of the time, when we log into the support, we don't get a chance to interact with Microsoft employees directly, except having it go to outsource employees of Microsoft. The initial interaction has not been that great because outsourced companies cannot provide the kind of quality or technical expertise that we look for. We have a technical manager from Microsoft, but they are kind of average unless we make noise and ask them to escalate. We then can get the right people and the right solution, but it definitely takes time."

"We haven't experienced issues with Microsoft Defender for Cloud for our company size of about five hundred people. However, I've heard there might be issues with scalability for larger enterprises."

"Azure Security Center takes a long time to update, compared to the on-premises version of Microsoft Defender."

"The solution's portal is very easy to use, but there's one key component that is missing when it comes to managing policies. For example, if I've onboarded my server and I need to specify antivirus policies, there's no option to do that on the portal. I will have to go to Intune to deploy them. That is one main aspect that is missing and it's worrisome."

"I would like to see better automation when it comes to pushing out security features to the recommendations, and better documentation on the step-by-step procedures for enabling certain features."

"They could always work to make the pricing a bit lower."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud cons

"We use a third-party API called Nebula API to integrate the account for authorization. The time-bound access area in Entra can be a problem. It can be improved in terms of the granularity of the permissions."

"The solution's pricing and support services need improvement."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft's licensing and pricing are sometimes complicated. If someone is new to Microsoft's licensing, they might have difficulty with it."

"Although I am outside of the discussion on budget and costing, I can say that the importance of security provided by this solution is of such importance that whatever the cost is, it is not a factor."

"There are two different plans. We're using the secure basic plan, but we have used the end security plan as well. There are additional costs, but it gives us more functionalities compared to the basic plan."

"I am not involved much with the pricing but the bundle offering is good."

"I rate Microsoft Defender a three out of ten for affordability. The price could be a little lower."

"We are using the free version of the Azure Security Center."

"The pricing is very difficult because every type of Defender for Cloud has its own metrics and pricing. If you have Cloud for Key Vault, the pricing is different than it is for storage. Every type has its own pricing list and rules."

"It has global licensing. It comes with multiple licenses since there are around 50,000 people (in our organization) who look at it."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud pricing and cost advice

"The product cost is in the mid to high range."

"We are a Fortune 500 company, so we always negotiate with Microsoft."

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866,088 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

19%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	25
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	44

No data available

Questions from the Community

How is Prisma Cloud vs Azure Security Center for security?

Azure Security Center is very easy to use, integrates well, and gives very good visibility on what is happening across your ecosystem. It also has great remote workforce capabilities and supports a...

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

The entire Defender Suite is tightly coupled, integrated, and collaborative.

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

The pricing is pretty standard.

What do you like most about Microsoft Entra Permissions Management?

Multifactor authentication is valuable.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Entra Permissions Management?

The product cost is in the mid to high range. You need to have a good budget to implement it, so it is considered fairly expensive for our market. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten.

What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra Permissions Management?

The solution's pricing and support services need improvement.

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Product Reports

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

August 2025

Download Microsoft Defender for Cloud product report

Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM)

August 2025

Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] report

Download Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] product report

Also Known As

Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender

CloudKnox Permissions Management

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Overview

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a comprehensive security solution that provides advanced threat protection for cloud workloads. It offers real-time visibility into the security posture of cloud environments, enabling organizations to quickly identify and respond to potential threats. With its advanced machine learning capabilities, Microsoft Defender for Cloud can detect and block sophisticated attacks, including zero-day exploits and fileless malware.

The solution also provides automated remediation capabilities, allowing security teams to quickly and easily respond to security incidents. With Microsoft Defender for Cloud, organizations can ensure the security and compliance of their cloud workloads, while reducing the burden on their security teams.

Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] provides robust access control and identity management, enhancing security by optimizing permissions and reducing risk.

This advanced platform offers comprehensive capabilities designed to streamline identity management. It empowers organizations to manage permissions efficiently, enhancing security frameworks while addressing compliance needs. By focusing on visibility and control, it optimizes access to ensure the right resources are available to the right users, reducing excessive permission grants and potential security vulnerabilities.

What are the main features of Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL]?

Advanced Visibility: Gain insights into permissions to identify and address security risks.
Access Optimization: Align permissions with actual usage to prevent over-privileged access.
Compliance Integration: Streamline compliance processes with built-in reporting tools.

What benefits should you consider when evaluating Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL]?

Improved Security Posture: Reduces risk by eliminating excessive permissions.
Enhanced Compliance: Eases regulatory compliance with robust auditing features.
Operational Efficiency: Saves time and resources by automating permission management.

In specific industries like finance and healthcare, Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] plays a crucial role in maintaining data integrity and regulatory compliance. Its implementation allows organizations to seamlessly integrate permission management into existing security infrastructures, providing tailored solutions that address sector-specific requirements and challenges.

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is trusted by companies such as ASOS, Vatenfall, SWC Technology Partners, and more.

Information Not Available