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Check Point Harmony SASE vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Harmony SASE

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/ACheck Point Harmony SASE, based on Perimeter 81 which was acquired by Check Point in late 2023, is designed to simplify secure network, cloud and application access for the modern and distributed workforce.

    $10

    per month per user

    Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

    Score7.8 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Defender for Cloud Apps (formerly Microsoft Cloud App Security) is a multimode cloud access security broker.N/A
    Pricing
    Harmony SASEMicrosoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    Editions & Modules
    Essentials
    $10
    per month per user
    Premium
    $15
    per month per user
    Premium Plus
    $20
    per month per user
    Enterprise
    Custom
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Harmony SASEMicrosoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details+$50 per month per gateway. Discounts available for annual pricing.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Harmony SASEMicrosoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    Considered Both Products
    Check Point Software Technologies
    No answer on this topic
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    5 Answers
    92%
    Would buy again
    11 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    12 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    12 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    91%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    10 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    91%
    Implementation went as expected
    10 Answers
    Features
    Harmony SASEMicrosoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    Identity Management
    Comparison of Identity Management features of Check Point Harmony SASE and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    Feature
    Check Point Harmony SASE
    8.5
    3 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-Factor Authentication8.53 Ratings00 Ratings
    Threat Intelligence
    Comparison of Threat Intelligence features of Check Point Harmony SASE and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    Feature
    Check Point Harmony SASE
    6.0
    1 Ratings
    28% below category average
    Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    -
    Ratings
    Network Analytics6.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Automated Alerts and Reporting6.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Zero Trust Security
    Comparison of Zero Trust Security features of Check Point Harmony SASE and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    Feature
    Check Point Harmony SASE
    8.8
    4 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    -
    Ratings
    Continuous Verification9.53 Ratings00 Ratings
    Secure Web Gateways10.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Network Flow Control9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Network Traffic Analysis6.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Segmentation Leveraging10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Admin Access Control9.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Network Data Encryption10.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Network Topology Mapping7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Harmony SASEMicrosoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    Forescout Vistaro Platform
    Score6.6 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Harmony SASEMicrosoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.3
    (5 ratings)
    8.1
    (12 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    8.8
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Harmony SASEMicrosoft Defender for Cloud Apps
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Check Point Software Technologies
    We have found that when thoughtfully implemented, Check Point Harmony SASE can be well suited for almost any customer. Smaller customers may not need all the functions of SASE, but they all need a reliable VPN solution when traveling. The platform can be configured for individual tenants, allowing the solution to scale with the client as they grow. As the customer grows, they are already familiar with the agent, so scaling up has less user pushback.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is well suited when working with other Microsoft Applications. For example, if you are working with Microsoft Office 365 it works very well when implementing CASB features. It works when implementing monitoring or blocks on Sanctioned applications however customizing the message to users is not that great.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Check Point Software Technologies
    • Secure access.
    • Multiple Azure tenant accessibility within a single login.
    • Ease of deployment.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • The integration to Microsoft Entra ID is seamless, which allows Conditional Access to redirect the session to Microsoft Defender for Cloud App for it to take actions (Block or Monitor).
    • Tracker users' activity is very good when troubleshooting or running an investigate.
    • Detecting risky users through tight integration with Microsoft Entra ID is a very good feature.
    • Detecting mass downloads and blocking the download of files from non-manage company devices is a very good feature as well.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Check Point Software Technologies
    • Harmony SASE can use some improvement in reporting. While general reports are available in the dashboard, it lacks additional details and flexibility to capture insights on user adoption, bandwidth utilization, etc.
    • The app lacks visibility into failures, errors, and network diagnostics, which would allow IT and network professionals to conduct their own investigation and troubleshooting. While their support has a good grasp of this, having these capabilities will allow organizations to take action on their own rather than waiting for support during issues and outages.
    • Expanding the platform's global presence, like adding gateways in different countries, is not a use case for us right now. They have a presence in most geographic locations we need, but I can imagine bigger companies needing other locations.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • It takes some time to scan and apply the policies when there is some sensitive information.
    • After it applies the policies, it works, but there is a delay.
    • It doesn't provide any way to scan Microsoft Teams when an external exchange of images is happening. You can always do the filtering on the documents during the chat, but if there is an image, then some kind of OCR capability is required to detect it. At present, there is no way [Microsoft Cloud App Security] can go and detect those kinds of images and alert us
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Check Point Software Technologies
    100% chance of renewal. Is simple become part of our environment.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Check Point Software Technologies
    Overall, the product is easy to use, reliable, and can be automated to minimize user input. Occasionally, an agent update will clear the workspace and sign the user out. When this occurs, a member of our helpdesk team is needed to assist the user in signing back in. This is our biggest reason for giving it a 9 out of 10.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    The interface is pretty simple and easy to use; however, you will need to do a lot of investigative research on your own to get comfortable with it. Originally, many of the Microsoft security tools had their own seperate consoles. Overtime, they have blended into one interface which is the ideal state. In some cases it is clear Microsoft had to pick which console a certain feature or setting was going to reside in and this leads to some confusion. For example, DLP is managed through Defender for Cloud Apps but you will also need to jump into Purview. For things like reverse proxy on your M365 tenant, you will need to go into Azure and setup conditional access rules. Not a big problem and I can understand why the settings are located where they are but for someone just starting out with Defender for Cloud Apps, it will take some time to figure out.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Check Point Software Technologies
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    I have not utilized actual support but the Sales and Product teams have been super helpful in moving our implementation forward and showing us the best practices.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Check Point Software Technologies
    In the beginning, it was a bit rough getting it to work and getting any kind of quality support from customer service. But recently they really improved their service and customer service. I believe they raise 100M in new funding which provides them the resources to make a better product with better tools and a better help desk.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    More flexible and more features with easy integration with cloud services like Microsoft Azure and other cloud services. Overall both gives similar features but we prefer Microsoft cloud app security due to its high threat detection rate. mostly we have been able to stop the threat in very very less time.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Check Point Software Technologies
    • One of the biggest benefits of switching to Check Point Harmony SASE was the pricing model. Our previous VPN solution is usage-based and billed on the amount of network traffic, while Harmony SASE has a per-user license.
    • We also benefited from simplified network architecture. Check Point Harmony SASE takes care of everything; we just need to select a location. Previously, we had to design and architect our VPN infrastructure, a task that required technical expertise.
    • Our organization leverages Harmony SASE's VPN solution allows us to meet our client-specific requirements. It enables remote work and removes the requirement for a physical office.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • Cloud App Security saves us thousands of dollars finding and rectifying apps security issues
    • Identity Security Posture helps the organization identity stay in shape, saving thousands of dollars on security consultations
    • The cost of suffering a breach cannot be quantified, CAS helps minimize the chances of the attackers succeeding, with excellent historical logging for most operations
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots