

In the cloud security and vulnerability assessment category, Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Tenable Nessus are prominent contestants. Tenable Nessus appears to have an advantage in environments demanding detailed vulnerability detection and reporting, while Microsoft Defender for Cloud is favored for its integration within Microsoft ecosystems and broad cloud security capabilities.
Features: Microsoft Defender for Cloud offers automated workflows, multi-cloud support, and seamless integration in Microsoft environments, catering especially to cloud security needs. Tenable Nessus excels in vulnerability assessments, providing accurate detection, comprehensive reporting, and robust integration with market tools.
Room for Improvement: Tenable Nessus could enhance reporting features and user interface, alongside better integration with cloud services to cater to large enterprise needs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud users voice a need for reducing false positives, improving UI consistency, and easing policy management for more granular control and cost-effective third-party integration.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Tenable Nessus is known for its ease of deployment in on-premises and hybrid cloud environments, though some users report challenges with system integration and technical support delays. In contrast, Microsoft Defender for Cloud offers smoother deployment in public cloud contexts, appreciated for its all-in-one management portal and supportive service, though there are concerns about pricing complexities.
Pricing and ROI: Tenable Nessus is considered affordable and valuable, providing strong ROI through detailed vulnerability detection, though pricing concerns arise in comparison to market offerings. Microsoft Defender for Cloud, while higher in cost, offers competitive features within Microsoft ecosystems. Its pricing model is complex but often justified by its comprehensive security suite, contributing positively to perceived ROI.
Defender proactively indexes and analyzes documents, identifying potential threats even when inactive, enhancing preventative security.
Identifying potential vulnerabilities has helped us avoid costly data losses.
Compared to not having Microsoft Defender for Cloud in place, we definitely saw an advantage by not having downtime due to a security threat.
Since security is critical, we prefer a quicker response time.
The support team was very responsive to queries.
They understand their product, but much like us, they struggle with the finer details, especially with new features.
We received support within one to three hours.
Whenever any issue arises, we contact the support, and they are always there for us.
The technical support is good yet could improve in terms of response time.
As we have reduced our on-premises infrastructure, it is about how we can migrate workloads to the cloud to make it easier, and then having everything fully encompassed and secured within that area makes it much easier for us to scale as needed and grow.
We are using infrastructure as a code, so we do not have any scalability issues with Microsoft Defender for Cloud implementation because our cloud automatically does it.
It has multiple licenses and features, covering infrastructures from a hundred to five hundred virtual machines, without any issues.
Whether managing 50 servers today or 500 tomorrow, performance or capacity are not hindered.
Tenable Nessus is definitely scalable, especially for license formats designed for scalability.
Defender's stability has been flawless for us.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is very stable.
Microsoft sometimes changes settings or configurations without transparency.
We have not encountered any issues with missing network items or errors in API and webhook interactions.
The stability of Tenable Nessus is extraordinary.
Microsoft, in general, could significantly improve its communication and support.
It would be beneficial to streamline recommendations to avoid unnecessary alerts and to refine the severity of alerts based on specific environments or environmental attributes.
The artificial intelligence features could be expanded to allow the system to autonomously manage security issues without needing intervention from admins.
This is Tenable's property. They want to sell Tenable Security Center, and they closed all the API capability for Tenable Nessus Professional.
The documentation is not well-organized, which can be confusing when searching for solutions or specific information related to Tenable Nessus Professional.
The product's pricing has roughly tripled within the last couple of years, making us reconsider renewing the license for the scanner.
Security has essentially no cost when compared to the cost of a breach.
Every time we consider expanding usage, we carefully evaluate the necessity due to cost concerns.
We appreciate the licensing approach based on employee count rather than a big enterprise license.
The pricing for Tenable Nessus has increased significantly, tripling over the last few years.
Tenable Nessus's pricing is adequate if it is fully utilized.
My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Tenable Nessus is that the installation is somewhat easier, but preparing the product, such as the SKU and license options, is quite tricky.
The most valuable feature for me is the variety of APIs available.
This feature significantly aids in threat detection and enhances the user experience by streamlining security management.
The most valuable feature is the recommendations provided on how to improve security.
I mostly use the configuration audit feature for the audit configuration as a scan policy, and I will use it for credential audit, which helps me scan credentials access such as local administrator or root access, performing a deeper and more accurate check of local configuration settings and file systems, making it a highly recommended feature.
The scanning and reporting features are the most valuable aspects of Tenable Nessus.
The most valuable features of Tenable Nessus include its ease of access and quick usability.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Tenable Nessus | 5.1% |
| Microsoft Defender for Cloud | 3.6% |
| Other | 91.3% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 27 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 10 |
| Large Enterprise | 49 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 39 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 19 |
| Large Enterprise | 35 |
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.
Tenable Nessus provides an efficient vulnerability management system with swift deployment and comprehensive scanning capabilities, making it an ideal choice for organizations seeking to enhance their security posture through effective threat detection and mitigation strategies.
Renowned for its top-tier vulnerability detection, Tenable Nessus offers a robust platform that integrates effortlessly across systems, enhancing threat management through automation, real-time monitoring, and customizable scanning options. Its broad asset coverage, including network devices and applications, coupled with ease of deployment, positions it as a go-to option for risk assessment and compliance. Organizations value its extensive reporting features and database, although they suggest enhancements in reporting formats and false positive detection. A more intuitive interface, improved cloud support, and competitive pricing models are sought after to cater to evolving enterprise needs.
What are the key features of Tenable Nessus?In industries such as finance, healthcare, and tech, Tenable Nessus is implemented for scanning internal and external networks, identifying risks, and ensuring data protection compliance. Organizations conduct regular scans to detect security vulnerabilities in servers and databases, leveraging its capabilities to strengthen their security frameworks while managing cloud infrastructures and enterprise networks efficiently.
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