Microsoft Defender for Cloud Reviews

We use Microsoft Defender for Cloud primarily for security reasons, particularly focusing on cyber threats. It is utilized in the manufacturing industry.

The most valuable features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud include vulnerability management and threat intelligence. Additionally, security recommendations and attack surface reduction (ASR) rules are significant. ASR rules play a crucial role in attack surface reduction, where they ensure that asset devices are well-protected and streamlined for enhanced security.

There needs to be improvement in the security recommendations, particularly in attack path mapping. Sometimes, it misleads users about the real exposure of external-facing assets. 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.

I have been using the solution for three years.

I have not experienced any difficulties or issues with the stability of Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

I would rate the scalability of Microsoft Defender for Cloud between eight and nine out of ten for our company.

I would rate Microsoft's technical support around seven to eight out of ten. They are supportive but sometimes slow, especially regarding new feature additions and managing their backlog.

Positive

I have not evaluated other solutions in this company before using Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

The setup is generally easy, particularly for Windows native operating systems. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the setup an eight for Windows and a seven to eight for Linux devices.

Initially, the cost was reasonable, but additional services from Microsoft sometimes incur extra expenses that seem higher than expected.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is compatible with the Microsoft ecosystem and provides decent integration with third-party tools. Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten for its effectiveness and support.

Other

Our main use cases for Microsoft Defender for Cloud involve scanning PCs.

I doubt that we are using the unified AI-powered security feature offered by Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud's integrated XDR feature is not being used.

The GenAI threat protection features for Microsoft Defender for Cloud are not being utilized.

I don't appreciate Microsoft Defender for Cloud because it seems to interfere with many things. That's the problem I've been experiencing with it. Before Defender, we had McAfee, which was much better at granular exceptions and changing what it does. Microsoft Defender for Cloud doesn't have that granularity. I can't tell it to leave certain items alone while scanning others. Microsoft Defender for Cloud doesn't really provide that capability, which is a significant problem. It's been causing far more issues than McAfee did.

I think it's too new to have major concerns regarding security when deploying AI applications, at least from my perspective. Regarding scanning a PC, I'm uncertain about the concerns. The actions it takes on those scans might be part of it, but they already have defined policies. For example, if Microsoft Defender for Cloud thinks a piece of software is malicious, it deletes it. I don't believe that's necessarily the best approach. I would prefer it to quarantine the software instead. I think the option for quarantine might exist, but I'm uncertain if it could be modified for that. It probably depends on the threat level or what Microsoft Defender for Cloud perceives as a threat level.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud can be improved with more granular control. They need to examine what McAfee can do.

I think we've been using Microsoft Defender for Cloud for about four years now.

I've experienced performance issues with Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

In my opinion, Microsoft Defender for Cloud doesn't scale well with the growing needs of the organization. But again, it's just my experience.

Since I don't talk directly to Microsoft support for Defender, we just talk to our internal people who are supposedly the experts in it at the bank. I couldn't give an opinion on Microsoft's support.

I would prefer to bypass our internal people and actually go to Microsoft to get answers, but they won't allow us to do that.

Neutral

Prior to adopting Microsoft Defender for Cloud, we were using McAfee. Money is always a factor.

I didn't deploy Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

Agentless scanning for the cloud environment has not been enabled with Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

I don't know if I've seen a return on investment with Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

I have no idea about the pricing, setup cost, and licensing because I don't handle that.

I don't think anything else was considered before choosing Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

I would advise another organization that's considering Microsoft Defender for Cloud to shop around and make sure it's the best solution. This review has a rating of 5.

Information regarding the deployment model is not provided in the review.

Information regarding the cloud provider is not provided in the review.

My main use cases for Microsoft Defender for Cloud are client-end, as we are replacing our Sophos agents on our client computers with Microsoft Defender.

The feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud that I appreciate most is the ability to view logs of applications, as I find it much clearer to understand what is running.

That feature benefits my company because we are a small company. Previously, we were running a Sophos agent that ran heavily on our computers, and switching over to Defender has made it lighter for us.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud has helped me manage and secure my multi-cloud environments, as we are hybrid-joined, and the insights it has provided are significant. For instance, we were able to identify sub-hosted IPs that were not even part of our segment from another client that our managed service provider was handling.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud can be improved because many of the functions involve multiple places to accomplish the same task, which can make it convoluted. It performs the same functions, but you have to navigate to different areas for different tasks, making it confusing at times.

I have been using Microsoft Defender for Cloud for approximately one year.

As for the stability and reliability of the platform, everything has been going well. I have no complaints and would rate it about an eight.

I would rate Microsoft Defender for Cloud's scalability with the growing needs of my company as approximately an eight.

I have not had to reach out much regarding customer service and technical support, so my thoughts are limited.

Neutral

The main differences between Microsoft Defender for Cloud and the other platform I was using involve deployment. Microsoft Defender for Cloud is not on the client-end, so it is not noticeable and not as taxing on system performance.

My experience with the deployment of Microsoft Defender for Cloud has been straightforward, as it went smoothly.

The biggest return on investment for me when using Microsoft Defender for Cloud is seen with end-users, as they do not reach out to us regarding issues where the underlying cause was our Sophos agent.

Regarding the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of the platform, what we have paid for is still to be determined, as we are about to renew our licensing at the end of this year.

So far, it has been affordable. In comparison to Sophos that we were running, we have found that it will wind up being approximately the same amount of cost.

I am currently considering Windows Defender.

I am not using the unified AI-powered security feature offered by Microsoft Defender for Cloud at this time.

I am not using Microsoft Defender for Cloud's integrated XDR features at this time.

I am not utilizing the enhanced AI threat protection features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud, as there are many AI features we have not explored yet.

I have enabled agentless scanning in my cloud environment.

It has been with Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

I assess the impact on my workload protection without the need for installing agents as really good, considering that it is running smoothly on the client machines without lag or any performance impact.

My advice to other companies considering Microsoft Defender for Cloud is to be aware that there is a lot involved and a lot of what it can do, meaning that you will need to conduct a lot of research and study training material. I rate my overall experience with Microsoft Defender for Cloud an eight.

Hybrid Cloud

Other

My main use cases for Microsoft Defender for Cloud cover several Azure solutions.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is integrated with the entire Microsoft suite and does not require purchasing extra add-ons or additional applications.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud has benefited my organization by reducing the overall cost of the Azure package and providing greater peace of mind during off-hours to prevent problems.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud has helped me manage and secure my multi-cloud environment.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud has helped keep our environment secure.

Comparing Microsoft Defender for Cloud to other solutions on the market, Microsoft needs to push a little bit to improve it. It works and does what it needs to do, but other companies are offering more.

I have been using Microsoft Defender for Cloud for approximately two and a half years.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is reliable and stable.

I have not experienced any malfunctions with Microsoft Defender for Cloud. We have never had issues. At the beginning, about three years ago, there were several issues, but currently we do not have any.

Before we started using Microsoft Defender for Cloud, we had been using other applications from third-party companies.

The experience of deploying Microsoft Defender for Cloud is very easy. It is basically only a matter of enabling it and specifying where you want to apply it. There is a basic customization option on the left side for focusing on what you want.

We are not using the unified AI-powered security posture feature.

We are using the XDR, but only for a specific solution due to the cost. If it is needed, we evaluate whether the cost benefits justify enabling and using the XDR.

When we enable the feature, we enable it to perform an analysis. It can provide you with a background check.

We are concerned about the information that the application can provide when deploying AI applications. We worry about any information the solution may give that it cannot usually provide in a correct way.

I would rate this product an 8 overall.

Microsoft Azure

My current use case for Microsoft Defender for Cloud is that we use it primarily for policy. In terms of migrating to Azure, our organization hasn't migrated fully. It has increased the attack surface, so our main use for Microsoft Defender for Cloud is specifically for policy.

The feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud that I have found most valuable is the alerts, which are pretty standard for security. Microsoft Defender has this built in, so more people are coming to it. It's a very recognized brand and more people are coming through it.

We have a large number of customers in Azure, and using Defender means having less variable solutions.

It helps manage attack surface and security posture.

The UX and UI leave something to be desired. Users have more of a taste for Microsoft UI.

The value of Microsoft Defender for Cloud for our organization is notable, especially for our customers that are very security-conscious, as it's beneficial to have it there.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud's CSPM capability has helped our organization assess and manage security posture. The UX and UI is typical Microsoft, the access control takes some time getting used to, and now we just use it on those platforms.

An area where Microsoft Defender for Cloud could be improved is in getting away from having multiple menus that do the same thing, which seems imposing when looking at it. It has its upsides and downsides.

I have been using Microsoft Defender for Cloud for just over a year.

I've never directly dealt with technical support. 

Neutral

We did not use other solutions.

The setup is okay. In terms of ease, it's maybe the best out of the major three. 

I have seen a return on investment with Microsoft Defender for Cloud, as our posture is intact. While it may be somewhat confusing, it has decent feature parity among the major three providers, and businesses have been gradually discovering its potential.

The pricing is pretty standard. 

We use the stock option on a given cloud platform.

We use it just for customers on Azure. 

On a scale of one to ten, I rate Microsoft Defender for Cloud a seven.

Hybrid Cloud

We are a managed service provider. We use Microsoft Defender for Cloud to provide services to our customers.

Defender for Cloud provides a complete DevOps security package for cloud services. Defender covers a broad range of workloads. It helps us prioritize because it identifies critical alerts that we work to resolve. 

Microsoft Defender for Cloud has enhanced our security process by providing insights and critical alerts. We use it on our own managed platform. It has helped us gain some insights and realize areas for improvement. We have worked to resolve the issues highlighted by the alerts, improving our overall security posture.

While we are satisfied with Defender for Cloud's features, an AI enhancement could potentially provide better advice and adapt more effectively to our environment.

I have been using Defender for Cloud for about three or four months.

I haven't observed any outages with Microsoft Defender for Cloud. The stability is excellent.

The scalability of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is very good. I haven't experienced any issues.

I rate Microsoft support eight out of 10. Technical support is generally satisfactory, though call response times can occasionally be slow.

Positive

The initial setup was straightforward and easy.

We acted as the integrator, being a managed service provider. We haven't yet developed a strategy for implementing it in other companies.

Defender for Cloud provides an invaluable return on investment by preventing potential security breaches. The peace of mind it offers is difficult to quantify.

Pricing is a consideration, but we strive to keep costs low by enabling only necessary services.

We evaluated other products but focused on adopting a more cloud-native approach with Microsoft's platform.

I rate Microsoft Defender for Cloud nine out of 10. It's progressing well, although perfection takes time.

Public Cloud

We primarily use Defender for policies, such as compliance checks and vulnerability management. We have introduced a new system for rolling out policies across the organization, monitoring compliance closely.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud has significantly improved vulnerability management by tracking compliance, networking issues, storage accounts that shouldn't be public, etc. 

The most valuable feature is the regulatory compliance aspect, where we utilize predefined initiatives like NIST. Alert management is another useful feature. Alerts are directly integrated with our email or DevOps board for easy viewing, allowing us to identify problem areas efficiently.

Two or three months ago, they released an update that we liked. Now, you can set up control groups based on policies, giving you a clear overview of where you're lacking. Defender covers almost all our workloads. We don't use a multi-cloud environment, but it covers Azure and AWS well. 

Defender could improve how data is represented. It can be unstructured or slow to load. The recent update allowing policy grouping into control groups is beneficial, but further enhancements for speed and clarity are needed. It would be nice if Defender prioritized vulnerabilities more. It provides an overview of what needs improvement, but I don't know if it's correctly prioritized.

I have used Microsoft Defender for Cloud for about two years.

The stability could be improved, as it can be slow to load at times, but overall it provides the expected recommendations.

It is very scalable, especially in a cloud environment, allowing for extensive resource coverage for vulnerability management.

I have not used customer service for Defender for Cloud, but generally, I am satisfied with Microsoft's support. They are quick to respond and effectively resolve issues.

Positive

I rate Microsoft Defender for Cloud eight out of 10. 

Our primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Cloud is mostly security posture management.

Defender for Cloud has improved our security posture. Defender provides us with a prioritized list of security issues to remedy, which improves our security operations because we know what to tackle first.

The most valuable feature is the comprehensive overview across different workloads. It allows us to see protection not just across one workload, such as virtual machines, containers, infrastructure, or data, but across all our workloads. This overall visibility is really helpful. The recommendations and prioritizations help us understand what to address first.

I use the free CSPM functionality. I don't always use the recommendations because I'm sometimes scared to implement those immediately.

The range of workloads is broad, but we'd love to add more workloads and make it a single security solution that covers all those workloads. Covering more would allow us to see and protect more workloads from a single pane of glass. Additional features should include protection for more AI workloads as it currently focuses primarily on OpenAI.

We have been using Microsoft Defender for Cloud for two years.

The sustainability of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is quite stable, especially with the free tier we're using. It provides a lot of value for being free.

Scalability is still to be determined. We have deployed it across several workloads, but we'll need to see how it performs as we expand to more resources and workloads.

We haven't had to reach out to customer service or technical support yet. Therefore, I can't rate it at this moment.

Positive

I didn't use any different solutions previously. We opted for Microsoft Defender for Cloud due to easy integration with our other Microsoft products.

It was easy to set up as we enabled it across our workloads in Azure.

We handled the deployment ourselves without any integrator, reseller, or consultant.

Being a free tool, it provides visibility and insights into workloads that we wouldn't have had otherwise. This is definitely a good return on investment.

We only use the free tier, so we haven't faced any pricing, setup costs, or licensing challenges.

We didn't evaluate any other solutions as Microsoft Defender for Cloud integrated easily with our existing Microsoft products.

I would rate Microsoft Defender for Cloud a nine out of 10. It offers free insights and extensive visibility into workloads for a free product, which is great for us.

Public Cloud

Microsoft Azure