Automox vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Every organization would work better with Automox on board. It not only approaches patch management as a whole, but also ensures that our third-party applications are secure against all vulnerabilities. It ensures that we keep track of all software and hardware in our OS. As a health tech company, we cannot overemphasize the need for Cybersecurity compliance.

Incentivized

Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is particularly well-suited for discovering, inventorying, and continuously monitoring the external attack surface, especially in environments with heavy Microsoft adoption. It is less suitable as a standalone solution for internal scanning, real-time attack detection, automated remediation, or advanced application testing. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management es especialmente adecuado para descubrir, inventariar y monitorear continuamente la superficie de ataque externa, sobre todo en entornos con fuerte adopción de Microsoft. Es menos adecuado como solución única para escaneo interno, detección de ataques en tiempo real, remediación automática o pruebas avanzadas de aplicaciones. Parts of this review were originally written in Spanish and have been translated into English using a third-party translation tool. While we strive for accuracy, some nuances or meanings may not be perfectly captured.

Incentivized

• Shows applications installed on a specific asset
• Able to push policies and updates remotely , creating policies is easy.
• Keep track of compliant devices and when is the last time they have connected to the servers
• All the great information provided within one single device

Incentivized

• Lack of visibility of external assets
• Reduction of the risk of external attacks
• Falta de visibilidad de activos externos
• Reducción del riesgo de ataques externos

Incentivized

• There exists an issue where you register some Amazon AMIs, which in even samples of 4 or 5, sometimes contain a duplicate identifier. Automox has provided a fix document, but it requires manual intervention and digging to discover this. I think they should identify a better way to assign UUIDs to machines, as sometimes registering too many VMs makes others "fall off"
• Allow for multiple global admins

Incentivized

• Asset Attribution and Ownership Clarity
• Risk Prioritization and Business Context
• Noise and False Positives

Incentivized

This is a software that just works. Once configured its a set and forget kind of tool that keeps things up to date and alerts me if something is wrong. I was able to work through an expansion project to deploy an additional 500 devices in almost no time and create a robust self-patching environment.

Incentivized

It's great at what it does. We're able to veiw endpoints that are online in real time, and run scans on them to ensure they're still compliant. The software itself is very easy to use and set up on end points, with the main admin portal having a clean and very easy to understand set up

Incentivized

We rate Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management’s overall usability as 10 out of 10 because it delivers a strong balance between depth of capability and ease of use, particularly within organizations already operating in the Microsoft security ecosystem.

Incentivized

I did not need to reach out to support often but when I did the answers were relatively correct and they were answered quickly. The only thing I might "ding" their support on was their lack of understanding of OS's different from Windows and especially Linux. Other than that I was satisfied

Incentivized

Implementing Automox successfully starts with a clear strategy for organizing and grouping devices based on operating systems, environments, or business criticality. This ensures that patching and configuration policies can be applied with precision. A phased rollout approach is essential—beginning with a pilot group allows teams to test patching schedules, reboot behaviors, and custom Worklets before scaling across the organization. Leveraging Worklets from the start can significantly boost automation by enforcing security baselines and performing routine system tasks. Integration with existing SOC tools, such as SIEMs, enhances visibility and response time by correlating patch compliance with threat intelligence. Additionally, aligning patching schedules with operational downtimes minimizes disruptions, and consistent monitoring and reporting helps maintain compliance and prepare for audits. Overall, Automox offers a streamlined and effective solution, but its true value is unlocked through thoughtful planning, testing, and integration with existing IT and security workflows.

Incentivized

I have used Tenable Patch Management, but the reason I did not go with it is because it uses on prem servers that we have to host instead of using Agent and cloud platform like Automox. I feel like that is dated as most solutions are now changing into the cloud solutions. Tenable system is also very hard to navigate and complex policy which makes it hard to get anything done.

Incentivized

Because Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is part of the broader Microsoft Defender family (including Defender XDR, Entra ID, Azure Security, Sentinel, etc.), it:
Shares identity, endpoint, and threat context across tools
Reduces the need for custom integrations or connectors
Works in a “single pane of glass” experience for SOC analysts
Why it matters:
Organizations already invested in Microsoft security tools gain greater contextual insight and lower operational overhead.

Incentivized

• We wanted to like the remote support software, but the experience was poor compared to a solution like BeyondTrust.
• Development and deployment of worklets is fast for experienced coders.
• Policy execution and reporting is fast and reliable.
• The new analytics dashboard excels at reporting Mean Time to Remediation for executive reporting purposes.

Incentivized

• Reduced Business Risk from Unknown External Assets
• Operational Efficiency and Cost Avoidance
• Faster Risk Identification During Change Events

Incentivized