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reviewer2595324 - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Real User
Top 20
Nov 30, 2024
Offers capabilities that other solutions don't offer
Pros and Cons
  • "The feature I find most valuable is Defender for Endpoint."
  • "The licensing process needs improvement and clarification, as it is currently difficult to understand which features are licensed to which users."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case for Microsoft Defender XDR is to serve as our email security solution, offering file protection, scanning, alerts, and incident management. It is a part of every Microsoft 365 deployment we do.

How has it helped my organization?

The integration of Microsoft products simplifies management, reporting, and investigations. It offers capabilities that other solutions don't offer.

What is most valuable?

The feature I find most valuable is Defender for Endpoint. It's because endpoint management is my primary focus, and this feature integrates well with my other skills.

What needs improvement?

The licensing process needs improvement and clarification, as it is currently difficult to understand which features are licensed to which users.

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender XDR
September 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Defender XDR. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Microsoft Defender XDR for about ten years since it was known as Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have no concerns about the stability of Microsoft Defender XDR.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We are only a small organization, and our operations don't even challenge Microsoft Defender XDR's capabilities.

How are customer service and support?

The customer service and support have been good. Whenever it is needed, they are fast to respond.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used various solutions over the years, but since then, we've been using the Defender variants.

How was the initial setup?

The initial deployment was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented Microsoft Defender XDR ourselves in-house.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There are no issues with pricing, but sometimes, the clarity in licensing is a concern. I still need to verify what's included with each license occasionally.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Microsoft Defender XDR a ten out of ten.

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 has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Security Consultant at G.Network
Consultant
Top 10
Nov 24, 2024
Effective OS threat detection with room for enhanced threat hunting capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "Vulnerability assessment and just-in-time access are some valuable features of Defender for server plans."
  • "Microsoft could improve on threat hunting and build more on threat detection and handling. The cybersecurity and cloud security posture features are a bit lesser than standard security products."

What is our primary use case?

We are yet to use Microsoft Defender XDR for ourselves as we are yet to procure the product.

What is most valuable?

Vulnerability assessment and just-in-time access are some valuable features of Defender for server plans. Additionally, the threat detection at the OS level is a very good feature of Defender.

What needs improvement?

Microsoft could improve on threat hunting and build more on threat detection and handling. The cybersecurity and cloud security posture features are a bit lesser than standard security products.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have not yet used Microsoft Defender XDR as we are yet to procure the product.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I was working with CrowdStrike before Microsoft Defender XDR. CrowdStrike has advantages in terms of threat hunting.

What was our ROI?

We are doing it for the first time, so I have nothing to compare in terms of ROI.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is a little high, however, it is on par with other competitive tools in the market.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have not evaluated other XDR solutions besides CrowdStrike.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend Microsoft Defender XDR to others as long as they are aligned with Microsoft products, cloud, or on-prem, especially if they are using Microsoft Windows architecture. I would rate Microsoft Defender XDR six out of ten overall.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender XDR
September 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Defender XDR. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer2399394 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
May 30, 2024
Enables users to access any application and system within the organization
Pros and Cons
  • "The best feature is probably the alert generation. When I do a security reset, the other session triggers instantly from the Defender console, and I can work on it. The policies are three times, but they are also ready to install it."
  • "Defender XDR could provide recommendations for threat-hunting queries. Some people do not know how to write an advanced threat query, so we need to spend time training them."

What is our primary use case?

We use Defender XDR to assign roles and monitor based on the analytics report from Microsoft. 

How has it helped my organization?

Defender XDR has improved the organization's confidentiality. If there's a DLP violation, such as someone sharing documents inappropriately, a notification will automatically trigger. Defender stops the movement of advanced attacks. We first need to set up some independent indicators of compromise. The IOCs are connected to some attack surface reduction rules.

We get alerts if someone tries installing something on the system or adding an external hard drive. We get security recommendations from Microsoft, but our security implements them on their own. We don't use the AI feature. We see significant time savings from the alerts based on the indicators of compromise. It saves us about 10 to 15 percent.

What is most valuable?

The best feature is probably the alert generation. When I do a security reset, the other session triggers instantly from the Defender console, and I can work on it. The policies are three times, but they are also ready to install it.

The identity management feature is something we need for our use case. It wraps up the access management and XDR components, so it's not just Defender. It works well with Azure AD for access management. I didn't think I needed identity and access management in the past, but it's nice to have if you're performing a significant migration on a tight schedule. 

Defender XDR's coverage extends beyond Microsoft technologies. It covers all the endpoints of users in the organization. I can manage access to any application and system within the organization. 

What needs improvement?

Defender XDR could provide recommendations for threat-hunting queries. Some people do not know how to write an advanced threat query, so we need to spend time training them. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We have used Defender XDR for about 15 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate Defender XDR 10 out of 10 for stability. It's a stable solution. We've had no outages. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability depends on the number of licenses you can purchase. If I want to add more endpoints or solutions from Microsoft XDR, I have to pay more. The scale depends on the pricing. 

How are customer service and support?

I rate Microsoft support eight out of 10. Some cases are easy fixes, so they don't take much time, whereas some of our more complex tickets take some time.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I've also worked with Trellix. Microsoft provides better recommendations for protecting our tools, devices, and files. Trellix has XDR capabilities, too, but Microsoft's recommendations are more robust. 

How was the initial setup?

Defender XDR is a SaaS solution. The deployment is ongoing because we're constantly onboarding and retiring endpoints. Microsoft handles most of the maintenance for it. It rarely requires maintenance from our end. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Defender XDR is fairly priced and cost-effective. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate Microsoft Defender XDR eight out of 10. If you want to implement this product, you should have a team who understands the product well. It's SaaS-based, so the Microsoft team is delivering everything to you. However, you still need to know the 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.
PeerSpot user
Brian Mulambuzi - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Technician Engineer at Nevasa Foundation
Real User
May 30, 2024
Helps improve our visibility, our security posture, and defends against advanced threats
Pros and Cons
  • "The ability to isolate and address viruses is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender XDR."
  • "Just like in any solution, the price can always be cheaper."

What is our primary use case?

Microsoft Defender XDR is our antivirus solution.

How has it helped my organization?

Microsoft Defender XDR provides a unified identity and access management platform.

It does a good job with identity protection.

Including identity and access management within Defender XDR is valuable because it streamlines our organization's security by consolidating multiple tools into one. This eliminates the need to manage and pay for separate solutions and licenses, simplifying our security posture.

Microsoft Defender XDR has improved our visibility, making us more efficient by providing threat details and remediation steps as well as improving our security posture.

It safeguards our organization by preventing advanced threats like ransomware and business email compromise, along with stopping lateral movement within our network that could enable attackers to spread and gain wider access.

It includes the ability to stop attacks and adapt to evolving threats. This is an important feature for us.

We have been enabled to discontinue using Microsoft Sentinel.

Microsoft Defender XDR helps save costs through the licensing for businesses which is around $20 each and helps save time for our security team.

What is most valuable?

The ability to isolate and address viruses is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender XDR.

What needs improvement?

Just like in any solution, the price can always be cheaper.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Defender XDR for three months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Defender XDR is stable. It has been running smoothly for us.

How are customer service and support?

The support has been perfect.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

To consolidate our security tools and avoid additional costs for a separate EDR solution, we leveraged our existing Microsoft Sentinel license to migrate to Microsoft Defender XDR, which already includes EDR capabilities.

How was the initial setup?

Our initial deployment of Defender XDR onto machines was simple. Onboarding a machine involves configuring settings within Intune for our tenant, allowing Defender XDR to communicate and collect data. The entire deployment process took only two hours and required just one person.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was completed in-house.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Microsoft Defender XDR ten out of ten.

No maintenance is required.

I recommend Microsoft Defender XDR for small businesses like ours.

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.
PeerSpot user
Paul Cooke - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Reseller
May 2, 2024
Provides advanced threat detection, investigation, and response capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft Defender XDR provides strong identity protection with comprehensive insights into risky user behavior and potential indicators of compromise."
  • "Improving scalability, especially for very large tenants, could be beneficial for Microsoft Defender XDR."

What is our primary use case?

Extended XDR expands threat protection across endpoints, email, identities, and cloud environments.

What is most valuable?

Microsoft Defender XDR provides strong identity protection with comprehensive insights into risky user behavior and potential indicators of compromise. It includes capabilities for monitoring Active Directory against attacks and threats, making it a broad and deep solution for identity security.

What needs improvement?

Improving scalability, especially for very large tenants, could be beneficial for Microsoft Defender XDR. Additionally, enhancing the privilege access management capability would make it a better solution overall.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Defender XDR for about a year and a half.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Defender XDR is very stable. I would rate the stability as a 10 out of 10.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability of the product as a 10 out of 10.

How are customer service and support?

Microsoft's customer support for Defender XDR is generally very good and I would rate it at around an eight out of ten. Larger customers like us, especially those partially owned by Microsoft, tend to receive excellent support. However, smaller organizations may not experience the same level of support.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

Microsoft Defender XDR is typically deployed at the organizational level across multiple locations and departments. Maintenance is required, and the number of people needed depends on the organization's size and complexity. It could range from a large team for a big organization to just a few individuals for smaller ones.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Microsoft Defender XDR is expensive, especially for the full suite functionality. However, when compared to buying multiple-point solutions separately, it may be comparable in price. Overall, it is competitive within the market, but the broad capabilities make direct cost comparisons challenging.

What other advice do I have?

Clients implement this tool to address various security issues efficiently. Microsoft Defender XDR offers a unified solution for a wide range of security needs, including extended detection and response across multiple platforms like Office, endpoints, mobile, and identity.

Microsoft Defender XDR includes some identity and access management features, especially when used alongside Azure Active Directory's privileged access management capabilities.

While primarily focused on Microsoft technologies, Microsoft Defender XDR can integrate with third-party SIEM vendors and covers multiple operating systems, including macOS, iOS, Android, and Windows, through its Defender for Endpoint and Intune capabilities.

Microsoft Defender XDR is designed as an XDR solution, utilizing the Mitre ATT&CK framework to detect and correlate events across various areas of compromise. It can identify and correlate events related to advanced attacks, such as business email compromise and ransomware, affecting security operations by providing insights into the events leading up to such attacks.

When security products like antivirus and vulnerability management software are discontinued in favor of Microsoft Defender XDR and other Microsoft 365 tools, it streamlines operations but may require less manual correlation of security events.

Some organizations might experience a 10-20% cost reduction with Microsoft Defender XDR, but for me, the main goal is to improve detection and response capabilities, not just save money. It is about adapting to the evolving threat landscape rather than focusing solely on cost savings.

Microsoft Defender XDR has saved time for our security team, making our operations more efficient.

For those evaluating Microsoft Defender XDR, my advice is to understand your requirements and map them to the appropriate licensing capabilities. It is not a one-time project but an ongoing process, so plan for continuous improvement of your security posture.

Overall, I would rate Microsoft Defender XDR as an 8 out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Dinesh Jaisankar - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Architect at Vision Bank
Real User
Top 5
Feb 27, 2024
Helps extend its protection to third-party applications, stops malware attacks, and reduces costs
Pros and Cons
  • "Scanning, vulnerability reporting, and the dashboard are the most valuable features."
  • "While the XDR platform offers valuable functionalities, it falls short of other solutions in its ability to deliver a cohesive identity experience."

What is our primary use case?

We are using Microsoft Defender XDR for our endpoint, desktop, and laptop protection.

How has it helped my organization?

Microsoft Defender can extend its protection to the third-party applications we use, which is helpful.

Microsoft Defender XDR not only helps stop malware attacks but also offers advanced attack prevention features to safeguard against sophisticated threats.

Our environment is multi-tenant, and Microsoft Defender XDR offers seamless integration. Its ability to respond to threats across the multi-tenants is good.

It helps our security team by automating tasks, providing detailed reports, safeguarding our systems, and enabling historical analysis.

It has helped to reduce some of our costs by almost $10,000 per month.

Microsoft Defender XDR is easy to manage, saving our security team time.

What is most valuable?

Scanning, vulnerability reporting, and the dashboard are the most valuable features.

What needs improvement?

While the XDR platform offers valuable functionalities, it falls short of other solutions in its ability to deliver a cohesive identity experience. To address this limitation, integrating MDR as part of the XDR experience and incorporating the latest advancements into Microsoft Defender XDR are crucial steps.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Defender XDR for over three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Defender XDR is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We can scale up with Microsoft Defender XDR with no problems.

How are customer service and support?

We have a dedicated account manager who handles our support requests. We submit our requests through a ticketing system, and they respond promptly.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use CrowdStrike. Both have advanced capabilities and are easy to manage. We have them integrated with multiple tenants but for different products. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial deployment was straightforward and took one to two days to complete.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

While Microsoft Defender XDR carries a higher cost, its ease of use compared to Defender may justify the investment.

What other advice do I have?

Although I would rate Microsoft Defender XDR eight out of ten, its visibility suffers when used with third-party applications and non-Azure cloud platforms.

While the implementation itself is straightforward, troubleshooting, log creation, and monitoring can be challenging. This solution may be suitable for Microsoft-centric environments, but its visibility suffers in scenarios with multiple third-party solutions or hybrid deployments.

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.
PeerSpot user
Pekka Kahkipuro. - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Information Officer at a university with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Jan 19, 2024
Robust security with seamless integration into the Microsoft ecosystem
Pros and Cons
  • "Its most significant advantage lies in its affordability."
  • "The management features could be improved, particularly in terms of better integration with Intune, Microsoft's cloud-based management solution."

What is our primary use case?

It is a universal security tool across our organization, catering to staff members using standard laptops and PCs. Currently, we employ an in-house solution built upon a smaller product from a Finnish company.

Although it integrates with Microsoft AD, our solution remains somewhat proprietary as we've independently implemented and tailored it to our specific needs.

We do not leverage the multi-tenant management capabilities of the solution. In our scenario, we operate as a single organization, allowing us to utilize a straightforward, single-setup approach.

How has it helped my organization?

The identity protection offered by the solution has proven highly effective for us because we developed it in-house. Crafting it ourselves has allowed us to seamlessly integrate all of our specifications with the solution within a relatively short timeframe. 

The significance of using the identity and access management integrated into Microsoft 365 Defender cannot be overstated, as it is vital for the proper functioning of the product. While it is crucial, the available functionality might not be entirely sufficient. We have opted for our in-house solution to complement and address the additional requirements.

It empowers us to phase out the use of other security products.

What is most valuable?

Its most significant advantage lies in its affordability. Being an integral part of the Microsoft Stack, it comes with a cost-effective package. Especially for higher education, there's an appealing pricing structure.

What needs improvement?

The management features could be improved, particularly in terms of better integration with Intune, Microsoft's cloud-based management solution. Enhanced integration would contribute to a smoother user experience, and ease of use is a key aspect that could benefit from such improvements.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using it for approximately four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It has demonstrated exceptional stability, with no concerns or complaints on my end.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It exhibits sufficient scalability for our specific needs.

How are customer service and support?

We utilize extended support for Microsoft's stability, and the quality is excellent.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Within our network, we incorporate Cisco products, utilizing various security features and functionalities offered by Cisco. For instance, our firewalls are implemented using Cisco technologies. This adds diversity to our security landscape, as Microsoft alone may not cover all our security needs.

What about the implementation team?

It has been implemented across various locations, spanning our three campuses and multiple departments. Maintenance is handled by a team of four people.

What was our ROI?

It didn't contribute to cost reduction. Our expenditure has maintained a consistent level, with little change over the years, aside from factors like inflation.

Using it has resulted in time savings for our security team. Currently, the team comprises approximately four individuals working with these technologies, equating to a total of four times thirty-seven hours per week.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It has consistently offered highly appealing academic pricing, with distinct rates for higher education and general educational purposes. This differential pricing is a significant factor and it influenced our choice to use Microsoft products.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

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 has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Senior SOC Developer at XVE Security
Real User
Top 5
Dec 31, 2023
Extends beyond Microsoft technologies, provides a centralized view, and reduces costs
Pros and Cons
  • "The unified view of the threat landscape on a central dashboard is the most valuable feature."
  • "The licensing is a nightmare and has room for improvement."

What is our primary use case?

We use Microsoft Defender XDR in our multi-tenant environment comprising Windows, Linux, and the Cloud.

We have Microsoft Defender deployed in a hybrid environment across AWS, Azure, and GCP.

How has it helped my organization?

Microsoft Defender XDR provides unified identity and access management. The identity protection the solution provides is good. 

If we had to use a separate solution for identity and access management I believe the performance would be clunky.

Microsoft Defender XDR extends beyond just Microsoft technologies, encompassing a wider range of platforms and services. This broad coverage is a key strength of the solution.

Since implementing Microsoft Defender XDR, the centralized view and management console have been beneficial.

Microsoft Defender XDR limits the lateral movement of advanced attacks.

It integrated seamlessly into our SIEM environment so there are no disruptions to our security operations.

The ability to adapt to evolving threats is critical as the landscape is expanding daily.

The multi-tenant management capabilities for investigating and responding to threats across tenants are good.

We are enabled us to discontinue the use of other vulnerability management tools.

The reduction in the number of vulnerability management tools we use has helped reduce manual operations.

Microsoft Defender XDR has helped reduce our costs by ten percent.

Microsoft Defender XDR has helped save our security team between five and ten percent of their time.

What is most valuable?

The unified view of the threat landscape on a central dashboard is the most valuable feature.

What needs improvement?

The naming convention keeps changing and has room for improvement.

The licensing is a nightmare and has room for improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Defender XDR for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Defender XDR is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Microsoft Defender XDR is a SaaS product so it is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is good.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used VMware Carbon Black and switched to Microsoft Defender for the multi-cloud environment support.

How was the initial setup?

The initial deployment is straightforward. We identify the critical assets and just deploy for those initially and then slowly roll out for the rest. Around five people were involved in the deployment.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was completed in-house.

What was our ROI?

We have seen a return on investment.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Microsoft Defender XDR a nine out of ten.

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.
PeerSpot user
Christopher Pelfrey - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr enterprise compute and storage engineer at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Dec 20, 2023
Offers robust security coverage for diverse use cases while demonstrating high stability and support efficiency
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable aspect is undoubtedly the exploration capability"
  • "It would be beneficial to have a more seamless experience with everything consolidated in one place, particularly when dealing with aspects related to the Exchange console."

What is our primary use case?

Our main use cases include securing critical university services and establishing a research tenant for researchers to store and manage their findings across both everyday machines and dedicated research spaces. It involves dealing with malware and managing server security through tags. Additionally, a significant portion of our work involves exploring and investigating emails using the Explorer tool. It is well-suited for addressing these scenarios and ensuring robust security measures.

How has it helped my organization?

It enables us to respond to incidents more swiftly, pinpointing root causes with greater speed. Retrieving emails is now a much smoother process compared to the previous method using Power Shell. With Explorer, it's a more straightforward and visually intuitive approach, eliminating the previous concerns associated with Query Drive and reducing any associated anxieties. It allowed us to phase out the use of other security products entirely. Initially, we managed this transition through SXM, and later migrated it to the online version of Defender. It has had a notable impact on the operations of our security team. We've had to reshape our procedures, particularly focusing on alerting. There has been a significant upskilling effort, shifting from the previous model where Cisco admins primarily dealt with alerts within SSC or through email.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable aspect is undoubtedly the exploration capability. Given that we are consistently engaged in exploration, constantly seeking reasons for message delivery issues and searching for malicious attachments, the Explorer feature stands out as the primary and most beneficial tool for our needs.

What needs improvement?

I'd like to see more integration with various components. While the ecosystem is quite impressive, there's a noticeable back-and-forth between the Defender console and the Exchange console. It would be beneficial to have a more seamless experience with everything consolidated in one place, particularly when dealing with aspects related to the Exchange console. Currently, we rely on a third-party service for the majority of our IAM needs. The data center extension of security coverage has proven to be highly significant for us. Given our extensive use of Linux and third-party applications, having the capability to monitor these aspects within the Defender console would be immensely valuable.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is quite high. Despite various outages, we've experienced consistent reliability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is indeed very impressive. We can deploy resources globally with just a few clicks, and the use of Terraform to create VMs adds a fast and efficient dimension to the process. In terms of end-users, if we focus on mail and overall usage, we currently have around 105,000 users of VMs. Specifically in Azure, we're nearing the 100,000 mark with more migrations in progress, making the average user count approximately 100,000.

How are customer service and support?

Microsoft support has been performing well, promptly addressing any conflicts that arise. Our account manager is quick to respond and provides additional resources when needed. The frequent check-ins, with calls every hour, contribute to a positive experience. I would rate it eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial deployment was quite straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

The deployment process went smoothly, with check-ins and some policies to configure. Overall, it didn't feel cumbersome.

What was our ROI?

In the long term, there is potential for significant time savings for our security team. Although currently, many of us are investing time in upskilling and adapting to the new system, overall, I believe that as we become more familiar with it, there will be noticeable efficiency gains.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There has been a noticeable reduction in costs. We've managed to navigate it effectively through our enterprise agreement, and Microsoft's academic discounts have proven to be quite generous. The overall expense is significantly lower, approximately fifty percent less than what we would incur with a traditional enterprise license.

What other advice do I have?

Especially with an enterprise license, the transition is relatively low-risk. If you're currently using the old-school Defender SCCM, moving to the new system is not a challenging shift. It's worth picking a few machines, testing them out, and seeing if it suits your preferences. Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

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.
PeerSpot user
Lukasz Rutkowski - PeerSpot reviewer
Microsoft 365 Consultant at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Nov 27, 2022
The biggest impact is that we need fewer human resources to deal with a bigger attack surface
Pros and Cons
  • "There is also one dashboard that shows us the status of many controls at once and the details I can get... It gives a great overview of many areas, such as files, emails, chats, and links. Even with the apps, it gives you a great overview. In one place you can see where you should look into things more deeply..."
  • "Instead of an hour, it takes five or 10 minutes now; it's a lifesaver for me and keeps my clients from being threatened and attacked every day."
  • "There should be better information for experts on features in the solution. What I see when reading about features in Microsoft 365 Defender is that it is always general information. If Microsoft could go deeper into details for the experts about how to use the tools, usage of it would be more familiar and it would be easier to use."

What is our primary use case?

Almost every use case is about security layers for messaging in Teams and for email. It especially used for phishing filters, spam filters, and composite authentication, as well as Zero-day advanced protection, and for protection within already received emails. Clients are also looking for link protection in Teams and in SharePoint.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution has improved the remediation steps we take for each threat. That has been the biggest impact on our organization because we need fewer human resources to deal with a bigger attack surface.

And for routine tasks and alerts on issues of high importance, the automation that the system provides has helped greatly. You can set up customized alerts and categorize trends to see a quick overview. As a result, our security officers can focus on the really important tasks, without noisy alerts. Previously, there was a procedure with a rule that was sending all emails that resulted from the SPF and DMARC controls failing to the phishing mailbox. Our security officers had to review every email and accept or decline. Now, using the automation tools within the Microsoft 365 Defender, they don't need to do that. They can check that the tool is working fine from time to time, but they don't need to do that task on a daily basis. It gives them a lot of time to do more important and creative stuff.

In addition, especially when it comes to Zero-day attacks, the solution's threat intelligence helps prepare you for potential threats before they hit. It identifies, for example, attachments containing something malicious and remediates by blocking additional delivery to other users. For example, an email may only be delivered to three users instead of 100 users. Even if somebody didn't open the email, the Zero-day attack protection has removed the email from their mailbox. This is a great remediation step for protecting that attack surface. Then I can observe how the tool is dealing with the attack instead of trying to figure out how to approach it, what to do, who I should contact, et cetera.

It also saves me time every day. It was taking me really long to review the message headers to identify what happened. It could take an hour or even more if it was a really complicated case. I needed to check the headers, the content, the links, the attachment. Using Microsoft 365 Defender, I can see in Explorer at a glance, or by clicking through one or two tabs, what is happening. It gives me a lot more time to do more interesting work and to close other cases. Instead of an hour, it takes five or 10 minutes now.

It's a lifesaver for me and keeps my clients from being threatened and attacked every day. It's not about the money, it's about the information. Attackers can use information to make money.

I can check the overviews and see trends where somebody wants to use some kind of open gate to gather my information. But the solution does the work on my behalf, so I don't need to observe the environment, traffic, and user behavior. And we don't have to invest a lot of money on repetitive training for users. Training is also good, but I don't need to invest so much money and effort in that process, and that results in savings.

What is most valuable?

For me, the email protection features are the most useful because I focus on that area.

I also really like the integration with the entire Microsoft 365 service because it's not really common to have a tool that is integrated well with Teams, SharePoint, and Exchange. 

Another feature I like is that inside Explorer I can perform an investigation to check, for example, if any accounts have been breached or accessed by a malicious actor. I can also check the source of emails from which we are receiving something that was not expected by us, such as 

  • XML attachments 
  • meeting invitations with the malicious links
  • JavaScript. 

And I really like that the tool checks attachments within the hash so that we can investigate who received the malicious file and where.

There is also one dashboard that shows us the status of many controls at once and the details I can get. Sometimes I'm on a call with somebody from the security team who is asking why we received something or how we can better protect our environment. I can even show them the analysis of a particular Excel file and a macro inside that file. That is something I really like. It gives me a lot of information and I can respond very quickly to a particular case.

It gives a great overview of many areas, such as files, emails, chats, and links. Even with the apps, it gives you a great overview. In one place you can see where you should look into things more deeply and get knowledge of the details, instead of browsing the details and looking for something that might be of interest.

And, of course, it helps prioritize threats across the enterprise. The solution identifies threats and categorizes them. I can assess which category is more important for me and react accordingly. This categorization is really important because it gives something like an SLA for each case. You always have limited resources to deal with cases. For example, in one of the companies which I support, over half of the email traffic is filtered by Microsoft 365 Defender's tools as malicious traffic, amounting to about 5,000 emails a day. I can use the tool to see an overall view of the threats, instead of just going through each one, one by one. It gives a great overview and the ability to see trends for a day or a month and I can adjust my focus according to the trends.

With Defender on end-user devices, we have the ability to monitor them without the need to have them connected to the same network. People are working from home and sometimes they are working on their own devices. We can use conditional access policies to ask them to provide the minimum security standards. That gives us a lot of peace of mind when using Microsoft Defender. We can create rules that look for users who are uploading malicious content to Teams, SharePoint, Android, et cetera.

What needs improvement?

There should be better information for experts on features in the solution. What I see when reading about features in Microsoft 365 Defender is that it is always general information.

If Microsoft could go deeper into details for the experts about how to use the tools, usage of it would be more familiar and it would be easier to use. Right now, I need to spend a lot of time using Defender to check the possibilities and how to connect them together to see things better. If I could read a more detailed article about it and see some use cases and how some threats are remediated, that would be great. Maybe I'm not looking deep enough or maybe there is some room for them to improve in this area.

And I would really like to see new features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I'm a Microsoft 365 consultant and have been using Microsoft 365 Defender for about three or four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is really stable.

Sometimes, when there is a problem with the Microsoft infrastructure, for example, in India, then it can be hard because it's not just that somebody may have a problem. It's not about only one business unit but all of Europe. But it's not that problematic for us because usually this kind of situation is very limited and the fix is delivered really quickly.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution. I haven't had any problems with the scalability of Defender.

We have the solution deployed in 38 countries. People are connected to their local networks and they use the updates from Intune and SCCM.

How are customer service and support?

I haven't had any situation in which I had to ask for support for Defender. 

But for Microsoft 365, overall, when we contact the exact, dedicated team, it's really good. But before that, when a ticket goes through the first and second lines of support, sometimes it's too repetitive. The first line asks the same things as the second line. I know that it's required because Microsoft is a huge company and it has a lot of customers, so some kind of triage is needed. But when an issue is well-known and there is already a solution or a workaround, the sharing of this knowledge should be better.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I used regular filters on the email server, running on Linux, with some type of anti-exploit solution that checked for threats inside the files. I filtered the DMARC and SPF with regular controls. That was a nightmare and I'm really happy to now use Microsoft 365 Defender.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don't deal much with the pricing aspect, but the companies I am supporting use an E5 license for Microsoft 365 because they want to include all the features and it's cheaper for them to use E5 than SE3.

Maybe the solution should be cheaper because I have heard that the licensing is pretty expensive. I can imagine why: The knowledge is expensive and the tests and infrastructure are expensive as well.

What other advice do I have?

From time to time there is maintenance in reviewing the rules so that we can focus on how to use it better. But that's not "maintenance" in the standard meaning that you need to check if the processes are working properly. For example, our security department uses phishing attack simulations to check if users are aware of how the tool behaves when we receive a phishing attack and what actions are taken to remediate that attack.

When trying to decide between a best-of-breed strategy versus a single vendor for security, it depends on the approach, resources, and of course, money. You can have a single vendor and extensively use the solution and really invest time and effort into better understanding how it works. Or you can buy a few solutions but understand each of them less, because it's not possible to have deep knowledge of how every solution works. For me, it's better to use only Microsoft 365 Defender instead of having additional security providers. I can then go deeper into the details and ask the vendor to implement a feature that is useful, and that probably will not only be useful for me. We can build it together instead of blaming each about who should do better work.

My advice is to go deeper into the details to understand how remediation is utilized inside the solution. Notice that Microsoft 365 Defender is using data collected from every tenant that is using the solution, not only mine. If a company's controls have been attacked, the tool can already protect me because I'm not on the first line of fire. It's great to understand this fact and understand the idea behind it and what the benefits are.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Defender XDR Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: September 2026
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Defender XDR Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.