CrowdStrike Falcon vs. Datto SIRIS

Anyone who is looking for a leader in endpoint protection should consider CrowdStrike Falcon for sure, regardless of specific use cases. Anybody who is operating on a very lean security team that doesn't have the capability to provide 24x7x365 coverage should absolutely consider Falcon Complete. I've worked with various MSSP's in the past, but Falcon Complete is one I would definitely not lose any sleep at night knowing we're in good hands.

Datto is a fantastic option for smaller businesses who don't have as large of a budget. It might work well for larger businesses as well, but the features are not exactly on par with more prevalent backup solutions. So, that should be kept in mind while determining a good fit for a company. But if selling a backup solution is met with push back, this can be a great option to give a good working backup solution. It offers the main features solutions should have, so it's definitely not a compromise. Just keep in mind the features it does not offer.

• Endpoint Isolation - instead of hoping an adversary was blocked in time. CrowdStrike locks down the endpoint beyond using the Windows Firewall. Allowing a whitelist of IPs brings additional management of that endpoint to another level that most other tools don't have.
• Rich Data Recording - CrowdStrike is best described as a giant tape recorder in the sky. When it lands on the box, it truly provides insight into the those that other tools could only dream of.
• Extensive APIs - CrowdStrike understands that they are not your only security vendor, so they have API usage for everything in their platform to automate and integrate to your heart's desire.
• Cloud Visibility - CrowdStrike's cloud monitoring capabilities are agnostic of cloud platform. No longer does one need to worry about putting all their eggs in one basket because the endpoint tool prefers one platform over another.

• Simple agent setup for new machines to be protected. A new machine can be setup on the server in under a minute whether it be a Linux or Windows based machine.
• Local virtualization on the Datto is quick to start up. After a physical problem with a server I had the machine locally virtualized on the Datto before users had a chance to report service issues to me.
• Nothing to do on my end to get backups shifted to offsite data center. Schedules are setup for each machine or group of machines and I sleep well knowing all our backups are safely stored offsite.

• The ability to do a system-level scan like a traditional AV is missing and isn't a feature CrowdStrike is planning on implementing. Old school IT guys are going to be curious about this.
• Host management and deletion are clunky and take 45 days for a machine to fall off your subscription license.

• Initial backup sync: The downside to the cloud backup is that, if you have a lot of data, you need an external hard drive to seed to the cloud. And you usually have to request this after you've already got everything else working.
• Unsyncing: We have pretty decent bandwidth, but with 8TB of data, we'd get syncing issues with the cloud servers every 3 months or so. The only way to address it was to request another external drive and resync it, but that also meant losing the older data.
• Availability and support: Datto only operates through MSPs and VARs, and will not help you directly without putting in a ticket with your provider. This causes delays, and extra epenses, and if you grow beyond the need for an MSP, you have to keep them around for at least that piece.

I trust the product and service and am satisfied with the direction of the company

Usability is great. The web interface is simple and easy to use. While various options are available for client backups, it is very easy to re-use settings of the existing client, so adding new clients is a very fast process. Configuration of the agent on the client-side cannot be easier as well. Datto dashboard provides an overview of the client status, and email notifications can be configured for various events.

When I receive support, it is always useful and informative. However, the support doesn't get back to me in the most timely manner. Often, by the time I hear back from support I have already resolved the issue. But for bigger issues, that need more in-depth help the support team has been incredibly valuable.

My specific example or reason for this rating goes back to a need for support after a client on this platform has a fire. In a nutshell, Datto had no idea how to BMR the image back to the server correctly, and as a result, the RAID on the server was lost, due to the Datto BDR environment not being able to see the RAID card, and the support technician knowing how to inject drivers.

Crowdstrike Falcon Endpoint protection is based on AIML enhanced technology,l. It's cloud-based so users don't need to connect to their office network to get their policy synchronization done from Server to endpoints agents. Also, the Crowdstrike Falcon agent size is small and it consumes fewer resources of the machine.

Datto seemed to be better than other vendors I trialed, and I inherited an Alto device, so it was easy to stay with them. I also assumed the backups had been working with the previous contractor, but it turns out they had been failing for months and no one knew it.

• CrowdStrike has cut our security costs.
• Has given us more insight into our end points.
• It has helped with our older PC's CPU usage.
• Cut our cost and time from managing multiple platforms down to managing one platform with better insight than what we had with multiple security platforms.

• We've saved some money by consolidating backups offsite to the one appliance and letting it store backups in one location offsite, rather than trying to maintain several different platforms or connections.
• Negatively, since the appliance doesn't expand in storage, we've got sunk costs into this unit and will have to move to something else to continue growing. I work in healthcare and we can't just purge charts and stop backing up information, I've got to expand my ability to back up that information.