It's an antivirus product, so its main use is to protect us.
Security Technical Specialist at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Very user-friendly, offering safety, security and providing a phenomenal amount of good information
Pros and Cons
- "User-friendly, offering safety and security."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
This is a really good product, it's user-friendly and offers us safety and security.
What needs improvement?
The technical support could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for three years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In terms of scalability, we went from 10 pilot machines to 35,000 devices.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support isn't too bad but their responsiveness needs to be improved. I'd say it's their biggest issue.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy, probably one of the easiest onboarding processes I've done. Implementation was done in-house and takes a few minutes per device; click it and go. I deal with anything related to antivirus patching and encryption and we have four cyber analysts that look after whatever comes out of ATP or Defender for Endpoint.
What other advice do I have?
My advice would be to plan carefully and make sure you take notice of what's coming out because it pushes out a lot of very useful information. It's a matter of having sufficient staff because the amount of information it gives you is phenomenal. If a company doesn't have sufficient resources then any other antivirus might work, but this thing produces so much useful information that if you're implementing this solution it's worthwhile having the staff to deal with it.
I rate this product 10 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Senior Manager at Ernst & Young
Reliable with good features but needs improvements on some of the technical aspects
Pros and Cons
- "The solution can scale as needed."
- "In India at least, it seems to be a bit more expensive than other options."
What is most valuable?
The stability has been good so far.
If I compare its features to the other solutions in the market, it has some good features. It's comparable to others.
The solution can scale as needed.
What needs improvement?
In India at least, it seems to be a bit more expensive than other options.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've just recently been introduced to the product. I haven't used it for very long.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability has been fine. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability has been great. If you need to expand, you can.
How are customer service and support?
I have never needed to contact technical support. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is a bit high for the Indian market.
What other advice do I have?
We are a partner and we consult clients on security solutions. It's one of the solutions we take to our clients.
For companies that are Microsoft shops, I would recommend the product. It saves a lot of integration requirements as compared to other solutions. It's a good product that does what it says it will do.
I would rate the product a seven out of ten. There are improvement opportunities in terms of the overall tech and commercial aspects of the product. It needs to be more competitive and technical.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
August 2025

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865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Assistant Chief Manager at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Advanced threat protection fulfills a large number of security strategy requirements for our organization
Pros and Cons
- "We found that because the endpoint devices are based on Microsoft Windows devices and Windows Defender is integrated with the foundation and the core layer, it makes it more integrated and more agile in terms of responding to any security threats or changes or development"
- "In terms of the architecture of the management infrastructure, we found that other technologies are more simple. Microsoft Defender could be simpler too."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint with advanced threat production. Microsoft's enterprise mobility and security suite fulfills a large number of security strategy requirements for our organization. We are going to use this solution for identity production and for endpoint security.
It's a hybrid setup. The advanced threat protection only comes from the cloud intelligence engine. That's something of a new experience for us, but the rest of the components will be on-prem. We are using Microsoft's cloud.
The whole suite of security enhancement doesn't just include Microsoft Defender. It also covers many of the features that come with the Windows Enterprise version. With this option, we are actually upgrading to the Enterprise version as well and unlocking those security features which are not available in Windows Professional. Microsoft Defender is a whole suite, which is simply not comparable with a usual anti-virus, anti-malware product.
What needs improvement?
In terms of the architecture of the management infrastructure, we found that other technologies are more simple. Microsoft Defender could be simpler too. Plus, Microsoft's philosophy is that they leverage the technology they have already built in Windows or any other services within Windows. So, it is good from that standpoint, but it also becomes a bit cumbersome when it comes to the dependency. Having dependency on many things can be a weakness sometimes because you add up more points of failure to the services. Whereas the other vendors are doing the limited thing, and that's why they're not comparable in prices, but their solutions basically aren't dependent on Microsoft's other services or anything else. They're more dependent on their agent. With Microsoft, it is not just the agent. It is the operating systems that aren't working well. The technology won't give you the desired output.
So, that's something that Microsoft may need to improve: making services more independent wherever possible. That's something of their philosophy. When they build something on their OS layer, they add on technologies, and then there's something for the ISV. That's their strategy, but we keep arguing with them that they have to compare the dependence as other vendors are doing.
From the Microsoft end, the design working depends on the health of other services and other components of the operating system. Whereas if you compare it with the Symantec technology, just the agent health has to be there. That's the case with McAfee as well. They build up their products on developed agents only.
For how long have I used the solution?
We did the POC around 18 months ago, and then we consolidated our findings. As per the organization procedure, we proposed to the committee and then got the recommendation to move on with the pilot and decide the future roadmap.
Microsoft Defender is just one part of the advanced risk protection and advanced malware protection functionality that comes with the Microsoft product. It came with a lot of security, advisories, reviews, and consultancy during the last couple of years. There was a stack of 15-20 requirements that we had to fulfill, like mobile device management and identity protection. We found that Windows Defender meets most of our requirements.
How are customer service and support?
We have had good experience with tech support so far.
We have a direct support agreement with Microsoft. One of the major reasons for moving from the current endpoint security is the support. The quality is not up to the mark. That's something incomparable with the kind of support Microsoft provides.
I would give Microsoft's support a 5 out of 5.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In terms of the technical aspect, I'm the lead of the area, which actually takes care of endpoint management, and we have been using Symantec products for that purpose. We have evaluated Microsoft Defender and Microsoft security products, and we are going to switch over to that product. We found that because the endpoint devices are based on Microsoft Windows devices and Windows Defender is integrated with the foundation and the core layer, it makes it more integrated and more agile in terms of responding to any security threats or changes or development, whereas compared to the other vendors who develop anything on top of that platform, they're always lagging behind.
Symantec support is very pathetic. They are very methodical. They're very slow. We seldom find them providing solutions to any incident or issue in a reasonable time. It can take from days to weeks. In the case of Microsoft, their resolution time is reasonably faster than Symantec. Even in the case of VMware and Redhead, Microsoft stands on top of all those vendors.
How was the initial setup?
I wouldn't say the setup is easier than other solutions but it's not bad. It's almost equivalent to what we have been using currently, but the strength comes in what it does and how it secures that part. The setup is similar to the other competitors. For Symantec, we use their endpoint manager deployment and then a deployment across the sites and branches.
What about the implementation team?
We are doing deployment with Microsoft's tech support. But for the implementations and rollout of technologies, we have seldom used Microsoft. We have our own technical team who are trained and who keep on updating on their skills, and we continue to inject new resources to the team as well. When a new technology comes in, then we do a combo, whereby the in-house team actually learns with the local authorized partner.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Microsoft Defender is not comparable to a single endpoint security product, like Trend Micro, Symantec, or McAfee. Because of that, the price is higher than others because it is doing more than what the others are doing.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution 7 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Reliable with a good online community and an easy initial setup
Pros and Cons
- "It does not make Windows slow, as compared to all of the third part antiviruses."
- "We would like more customization."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is primarily used for antivirus and malware protection.
How has it helped my organization?
It definitely improves the organization in terms of security and productivity. We integrate the Defender with the Microsoft Cloud platform as well. It provides us with sandboxing and other functionalities in real time, where we can have the protection we need.
It's integrated with advanced threat analysis so we can see how the threat is coming into our network, what it is doing, and more. We can see everything step by step if a threat comes, including how this threat impacted the organization, et cetera.
What is most valuable?
The first thing which I noticed is that it is completely compatible with Windows. It does not make Windows slow, as compared to all of the third part antiviruses.
The stability has been good.
Technical support is helpful and they have a very robust online community as well.
The product can scale very well.
What needs improvement?
We would like more customization, actually. They're not too customizable. We'd like the flexibility to be able to set some applications on a white list. We need more options.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable and responsive.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have the solution deployed to around 350 users across four different locations.
It can scale to the thousands and thousands. I have seen customers here, some have approximately 12,000 devices and they're running that one program and it's going far without any issues.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is good. They know things about the solution. The best part is that if anything happens, the Microsoft community is so big that any problem comes up, you can also just Google it and you will get the solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used McAfee and another solution as well and they both are great and amazing, however, they make PCs slow and every time something happens you have to call the vendor and they will help you support. The difference is, with Defender, it doesn't slow things done and you never have to call Microsoft.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward. IT is actually my default. We actually helped our end-users with system centers, integrated Defender updates, Defender itself, patching, and Defender configuration using the consent and configuration manager. It's simple. It's not complex to set it up or manage.
It's a bulk operation to set it up, therefore, even if you have 100 PCs, it will only take you about an hour and you will be up and running with everyone. You only need one to two percent of your staff to handle the deployment and maintenance tasks.
What about the implementation team?
We used an integrator during the initial setup. They were quite helpful. Our experience with them was good.
What was our ROI?
We have seen an ROI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is free for end-users.
What other advice do I have?
While we have the solution set up on our private cloud, you can also use a hybrid setup if that's better for your organization.
I would advise new users to connect it with an endpoint manager and connect it with the cloud and then let the real magic happen.
I'd rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Security Engineering, Team Lead at Fidelity Bank Plc
Stable solution that protects networks against viruses and malware; good for endpoint management
Pros and Cons
- "Stable endpoint manager, antivirus, and antimalware, with fast technical support and a straightforward setup."
- "More integration with different platforms is an area for improvement for this product, and should be included in its next release."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Defender for Endpoint as an antivirus and antimalware solution. We also use it for endpoint management.
What needs improvement?
What I'd like included in the next release of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is more integration with different platforms.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is stable, except for occasional internet connection issues, but it's stable.
How are customer service and support?
We contact the technical support team for this solution whenever we have an issue, and once you open a ticket, they respond as quickly as possible, though it would still depend on the severity level that you define.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint was straightforward. It wasn't complicated.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay for our Microsoft Defender for Endpoint subscription yearly.
What other advice do I have?
We've been working with various Microsoft solutions, e.g. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Azure, etc.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has been awesome, so far.
I wasn't around during the setup of the solution, so I have no idea on how long setting it up took.
We have 6,000 end users of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint within the company, and it's being used on workstations, servers, and mobile devices.
I'm rating Microsoft Defender for Endpoint nine out of ten. I found it to be a good product. It's a fine product.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Information Security Officer at Church of England
Scalable, good support, and straightforward implementation
Pros and Cons
- "The technical support from Microsoft is very good. We are part of the Microsoft Suite, and from being part of this we have consistent news regarding Microsoft Defender for Endpoint."
- "Microsoft Defender for Endpoint could improve by making the reporting better."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for network and endpoint protection.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint could improve by making the reporting better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for approximately three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is stable in my usage.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to be scalable.
We have approximately 700 people using this solution and we plan to increase usage.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support from Microsoft is very good. We are part of the Microsoft Suite, and from being part of this we have consistent news regarding Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have previously used ESET.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint was straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We have two engineers that do the implementation and maintenance of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
What other advice do I have?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has improved a lot over the years and it is a lot better now.
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Microsoft Defender for Endpoint an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Head-IT/SAP at Barista Coffee Company Ltd.
Easy to enable and activate but could be more secure
Pros and Cons
- "Defender is a part of Windows; you just need to enable it. There is no need to install anything."
- "The solution could always be more secure."
What is our primary use case?
Defender is basically a protective seal that is used to protect your Windows applications. Whenever you enable it your system is safe. You feel safe and your data and your security are verified by Defender and protected by the Defender seal.
What is most valuable?
Defender is a part of Windows; you just need to enable it. There is no need to install anything.
It's quite good for security. We are using Windows 11 and Windows 10. In Windows 11, Defender is very, very strong. They built in good features, good seals. Earlier, ransomware protection was not there. However, now, new ransomware protection is also available in Defender.
The solution is stable.
What needs improvement?
The solution could always be more secure.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is totally based on your OS operating system as it's a part of the OS. You can't define it in a different way. If your Windows platform is working fine and is of a certain size, then you can say that it's quite good and it will cover that.
We have 200 to 300 people using the solution. Some of our employees use Windows and have Defender. Others use Mac devices.
How are customer service and support?
We've used technical support in the past and don't have anything negative to say about their services.
How was the initial setup?
There isn't really an installation process. It's already a part of Windows and just needs to be activated. You can install Windows in home or business devices and have Defender at your fingertips immediately.
While you don't need a technical team to install it per se, every organization has an IT team that likely would be able to install Windows and everything else. We have a 40-plus IT team. Everybody has a defined role.
What about the implementation team?
We handled the implementation in-house using our IT team.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is included with Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions.
What other advice do I have?
New users who are leveraging Microsoft can decide if they want to use Defender. It's already there - you can either activate it or not, depending on your preference. It's nice that you have a choice. Many companies find Defender is enough for them, however, if you want more security, you may be able to add other firewalls or security features to your existing infrastructure.
I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Cyber Security Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Comes with awesome threat hunting capabilities, and is great for investigating what's happening on machines
Pros and Cons
- "It's great for investigating what's happening on a machine. They show a whole bunch of machine timeline events that are related to a security incident. They have quite good details on the things related to threat and vulnerability management, such as any weakness that has been disclosed publicly, assets that are exposed, and if there is an exploit active in the wild for that vulnerability. It can provide you with all such information, which is cool."
- "It can get a bit laggy sometimes. Other than that, we don't have any issues. They constantly tweak it and fix it up based on users' feedback. It has improved a lot over the past four years. Defender for Endpoint never really used to be a good endpoint security solution, but over the past couple of years, Microsoft has invested heavily in it. So, it has come a long way in all aspects of endpoint security. If they want to make it better, they should just continue investing in the current path of what they've been doing over the past couple of years."
What is our primary use case?
It is an Endpoint Detection and Response system (EDR), and it seems the new term is XDR. We use it for anti-malware protection. It protects from a virus, worm, ransomware, and other similar things.
How has it helped my organization?
It can automatically scan and remediate stuff without an administrator doing anything. We use it for threat and vulnerability management. There are components in there that will tell us about any vulnerable software running on endpoints. There are a whole bunch of other things too.
What is most valuable?
It's great for investigating what's happening on a machine. They show a whole bunch of machine timeline events that are related to a security incident. They have quite good details on the things related to threat and vulnerability management, such as any weakness that has been disclosed publicly, assets that are exposed, and if there is an exploit active in the wild for that vulnerability. It can provide you with all such information, which is cool.
It has got some awesome threat hunting capabilities. It can search for malicious activity that could indicate that an asset is being compromised, but it is not something to which you would have necessarily got alerted.
We're fully Microsoft, it integrates with other Microsoft security products very well. Its interface is also fine.
What needs improvement?
It can get a bit laggy sometimes. Other than that, we don't have any issues. They constantly tweak it and fix it up based on users' feedback. It has improved a lot over the past four years. Defender for Endpoint never really used to be a good endpoint security solution, but over the past couple of years, Microsoft has invested heavily in it. So, it has come a long way in all aspects of endpoint security. If they want to make it better, they should just continue investing in the current path of what they've been doing over the past couple of years.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for nearly four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It can get a little laggy sometimes, but overall, it's fine when investigating events.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is easy to scale.
How are customer service and support?
There are different levels of technical support that you can purchase from Microsoft. We don't have the top level, but we used to have the top level, and that was good. I would rate them a five out of five. They've got a dedicated team specifically looking at threats for all their customers.
How was the initial setup?
I was not involved in its setup. I am only a user of the solution, but I'm pretty sure it's pretty straightforward. It's just deployed by Intune or a partial script or something like that.
What about the implementation team?
It was implemented internally. In terms of maintenance, it generally doesn't require any maintenance. There are some policy configuration changes that we can tweak, but the signatures, behavior analysis, and all similar things in the engine are kept up to date by them. We have four people who are dealing with this product.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing models of Microsoft are renowned for being complex. We just purchased the whole E5 stack. With E5 licenses for users, we get access to a bunch of features that are not just related to security. I would rate them a three out of five in terms of pricing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
One of the things that I like to constantly do is assess other vendors in the same space. We get vendor demonstrations, and for the most of it, it seems like Defender is well truly up there with the other best players in the market. I've never done a proof of concept with any other tool, so I can't really compare it with others. Most of the time, vendor demonstrations are all about glitz and glam to sell their product and show how much better they are than competitors.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise doing your due diligence. This is more than just an endpoint security solution, and sometimes, you've got to think of your technology stacks before applying or purchasing certain security solutions and see if they're applicable to your environment.
I would rate it an eight out of 10. No endpoint solution is ever going to be able to be perfectly good at stopping all types of threats. No endpoint solution would ever get a 10 in my point of view.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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Updated: August 2025
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