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Microsoft Defender for Business vs. Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft Defender for Business

    Score8.8 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Defender for Business is an enterprise-grade endpoint security that is designed especially for businesses with up to 300 employees. It is used to deploy security across devices, and use automated built-in intelligence to rapidly protect, detect, and respond to threats.N/A

    Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)

    Score9.5 out of 10
    N/AForefront is Microsoft's antivirus offering.N/A
    Pricing
    Microsoft Defender for BusinessMicrosoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft Defender for BusinessMicrosoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    Microsoft Defender for BusinessMicrosoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)
    Endpoint Security
    Comparison of Endpoint Security features of Microsoft Defender for Business and Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)
    Feature
    Microsoft Defender for Business
    8.3
    4 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)
    -
    Ratings
    Anti-Exploit Technology8.83 Ratings00 Ratings
    Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)8.64 Ratings00 Ratings
    Centralized Management8.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Hybrid Deployment Support6.84 Ratings00 Ratings
    Infection Remediation8.34 Ratings00 Ratings
    Vulnerability Management8.64 Ratings00 Ratings
    Malware Detection9.14 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft Defender for BusinessMicrosoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)
    Small Businesses
    SentinelOne Singularity
    Score9 out of 10
    Norton 360
    Score7.8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    BlackBerry Protect (CylancePROTECT)
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Malwarebytes
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    ESET PROTECT
    Score8.8 out of 10
    AVG AntiVirus Business Edition
    Score8 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft Defender for BusinessMicrosoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.6
    (4 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft Defender for BusinessMicrosoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Defender for Business is well suited for small and medium businesses that are running on a smaller budget, with little to no IT department and require a quick and effective setup to manage and protect their endpoints. It can be deployed and managed very quickly, and the person doing it can have little to no experience as long as they follow directions.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    In large deployments, I have found Microsoft Forefront to be very effective at combating the majority of threats faced by our users. It provides the base platform for catching threats that would otherwise threaten our users and their data. If you have an environment that is under constant malware threat, then a secondary program may be needed as required.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Microsoft
    • Already integrated with Windows
    • Allows for folder and executable-specific exceptions when combined with Intune.
    • Incident response and analytics are fantastic.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    • SCEP is a light weight client which is minimally impactful on the user end.
    • Forefront's management console provides excellent monitoring and reporting.
    • Setup and configuration is very easy.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Microsoft
    • Confusion between the different Defender products
    • Ease of setup and configuration
    • Reporting and Alerts
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    • Malware detection is not quite 100%. We have to use a secondary program occasionally.
    • On low ram and weak CPU systems scanning can freeze the machine.
    • The same reporting tools that are on the console version, aren't on the client.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    So far we have found no alternative that would overall offer us more than we are getting from Microsoft Defender for Business!
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Defender for Business is a solid tool for smaller businesses looking to manage their endpoints and devices, while staying on budget. The setup is minimal compared to the full-blown InTune and EMS suite, and the product can be included in some Small Business SKUs that they may already have.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Defender for Business has better reporting and incident response. There is limited client rollout due to being integrated with Windows. Microsoft Defender for Business is much better at identifying asset risks and giving a broad security overview. Because we moved to Microsoft 365 to access the Office applications and Exchange online, Microsoft Defender for Business was essentially cost free to us. Where Microsoft Defender for Business falls short in comparison to Sophos is that it requires integration with Intune to enforce many of the physical controls that Sophos offers in their client.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    The biggest advantage that MSF and SCEP provide over Norton is: One: Far less client overhead required. Both Norton and McAfee are highly intensive client side when in use. Two: We've had far better luck using the Microsoft system with its detection capabilities, versus the others. Three: It is tied right into the Microsoft updating system, which provides central updating capabilities of av/mal/windows updates.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • Improved cybersecurity
    • Learning curve
    • Resource consumption
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Less turnaround on virus based issues.
    • Helps reduce malware issues over time.
    • Can breed overconfidence in the system, so people don't always try a second tool.
    Incentivized
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