

Qualys VMDR and Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management compete in the robust field of vulnerability management. Qualys VMDR seems to have the upper hand with its extensive scanning capabilities and continuous monitoring that appeal to organizations needing comprehensive solutions.
Features: Qualys VMDR offers comprehensive scanning capabilities, continuous monitoring, and flexible cloud integration, which make it a popular choice for organizations needing robust vulnerability and compliance solutions. Microsoft Defender is known for its integration with Microsoft platforms, automation features, and seamless synchronization of threat intelligence, simplifying security management for organizations within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Room for Improvement: Qualys VMDR users seek better reporting, faster scan times, and more intuitive dashboards. There's also feedback about improving integration with third-party tools and enhancing user support. Microsoft Defender users have expressed concerns about its complex licensing structure and have identified a need for improved documentation, faster refresh rates, and industry-specific risk scoring enhancements.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Qualys VMDR supports deployments across public, private, and hybrid clouds as well as on-premises setups, appealing to complex environments, though customer service experiences vary. Microsoft Defender is typically deployed in public and hybrid cloud environments and benefits from seamless integration with other Microsoft tools. Its customer service is generally well-received, offering tailored support within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Pricing and ROI: Qualys VMDR has a varied pricing model that can be expensive for smaller companies, though larger volumes or enterprise agreements might offer discounts. It delivers good ROI by enhancing security despite its comprehensive feature set costing more. Microsoft Defender offers cost-effectiveness, especially for those in the Microsoft ecosystem, with its competitive pricing and licensing model enhancing overall value and providing compelling ROI when bundled with other Microsoft services.
Organizations typically do not rely solely on Microsoft products to avoid putting all eggs in one basket, which presents a challenge for maximizing ROI.
As a Microsoft partner, we receive significant discounts, making the solution affordable for us.
We saw a return on investment through significant savings in time, money, and resources.
They are sometimes responsive, however, often issues cannot be reproduced on their end, making it challenging.
The support we receive from Microsoft is declining, and for example, after taking advanced support, we have not received satisfactory answers.
They are familiar with Microsoft products but are not direct Microsoft staff, which is an area needing improvement.
We usually get on calls with tech support, and they are very helpful.
The response time takes a while.
The technical support provided by Qualys is pretty good.
The integration is straightforward for those who understand it, though documentation needs improvement.
It is scalable; I evaluated the product and decided to use Defender on over 700 of our company servers.
Scalability depends on the license and the number of assets being monitored.
Qualys VMDR can handle scalability, although increasing the inventory can raise the licensing costs.
Qualys VMDR's scalability is good, and the customer support is good.
There are compatibility issues occasionally arising with false positives when other security tools are not whitelisted in Microsoft Defender.
It is very resource-intensive, consuming a lot of memory and CPU.
If Microsoft experiences downtime, this solution goes down as it is a SaaS-based solution where we have no control.
Qualys VMDR is stable.
This scoring should be for specific industries as well. If I belong to the healthcare industry using Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, it should provide me with a risk score and show how I fare against the risk score of my industry.
A vulnerability I patch within 15 minutes takes 24 additional hours for an update.
The product is not stable; it often uses excessive memory and CPU, which makes it slow.
It does not automate patching unless the patch management module is purchased separately.
If AI features were integrated, it could enhance the capabilities significantly.
One area where Qualys VMDR can be improved is the missing feature for deploying agents for over 1,000 assets, as we need to do it manually.
Overall, every organization wishes for cheaper options, but we look at the security side as well, so we are good for now.
For non-partners, however, the cost could be seen as higher, between seven to ten.
The pricing is reasonable, and it's included in the whole Microsoft E5 bundle, so it's all-inclusive.
I would rate the pricing between seven to eight out of ten.
I have a notion that Qualys might be more expensive than Rapid7.
Qualys offers better pricing and is feature-packed compared to other tools.
The main advantage of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is that it can locate and prevent most threats even when the endpoints are not connected to the corporate network, as long as the internet is available.
The feature for customizing to region-specific and domain-specific requirements in healthcare is particularly beneficial.
The most valuable aspect is the kind of assessment results I get, and the recommendations provided in Microsoft products really help in taking care of the resources.
The prioritization of vulnerabilities has improved our remediation efforts by around thirty to thirty-five percent.
It impacts my workflow overall, with the patch management features as it has the missing patches listed in detail, making it easier to get a comprehensive report and providing some dashboards that offer visual representation.
Qualys VMDR's continuous monitoring capabilities help us respond to emergent threats by enabling my team to reach out to the security engineers whenever there is any detection of a vulnerability, informing them about it, and creating an incident.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Qualys VMDR | 5.0% |
| Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management | 2.3% |
| Other | 92.7% |

| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 9 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 2 |
| Large Enterprise | 6 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 20 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 12 |
| Large Enterprise | 70 |
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management enables organizations to identify vulnerabilities, manage patches, and fortify threat detection. It offers endpoint assessments, cloud incident management, and dynamic security through Microsoft's Security Scorecard integration.
Organizations leverage Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management for advanced threat detection and response. It provides robust tools for vulnerability assessment and cloud incident management, integrated with Microsoft's Security Scorecard to enhance dynamic security profiling. Key features include automatic patch deployment, security configuration management, and seamless integration with Microsoft platforms, benefiting both on-prem and cloud environments. Organizations can track vulnerabilities with severity-based reports, helping manage outdated software and minimizing threat exposure.
What are the key features of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management?In healthcare, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management helps manage compliance with health regulations, while in finance, it aids in securing sensitive data from cyber threats. Manufacturing sectors benefit from its patch management, keeping operational technology systems less vulnerable to disruptions.
Vulnerability Management, Detection, and Response (VMDR) is a cornerstone product of the Qualys TruRisk Platform and a global leader in the enterprise-grade vulnerability management (VM) vendor space. With VMDR, enterprises are empowered with visibility and insight into cyber risk exposure - making it easy to prioritize vulnerabilities, assets, or groups of assets based on business risk. Security teams can take action to mitigate risk, helping the business measure their actual risk exposure over time.
Qualys VMDR offers an all-inclusive risk-based vulnerability management solution to prioritize vulnerabilities and assets based on risk and business criticality. VMDR seamlessly integrates with configuration management databases (CMDB), Qualys Patch Management, Custom Assessment and Remediation (CAR), Qualys TotalCloud and other Qualys and non-Qualys solutions to facilitate vulnerability detection and remediation across the entire enterprise.
With VMDR, users are empowered with actionable risk insights that translate vulnerabilities and exploits into optimized remediation actions based on business impact. Qualys customers can now aggregate and orchestrate data from the Qualys Threat Library, 25+ threat intelligence feeds, and third-party security and IT solutions, empowering organizations to measure, communicate, and eliminate risk across on-premises, hybrid, and cloud environments.
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