Microsoft Exchange vs. Proofpoint Essentials for Small Business

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Exchange
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Exchange is a secure email / messaging gateway with file archiving and encryption / data loss capability, available as a hosted service (Exchange Online) or installed (Exchange Server).N/A
Proofpoint Essentials
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
Proofpoint Essentials provides protection against spam, phishing and other email threats, as well as social media protection, user roles and restrictions, and other protections oriented around the needs of small business.N/A
Pricing
Microsoft ExchangeProofpoint Essentials for Small Business
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft ExchangeProofpoint Essentials
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft ExchangeProofpoint Essentials for Small Business
Features
Microsoft ExchangeProofpoint Essentials for Small Business
Secure Email Gateway
Comparison of Secure Email Gateway features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Exchange
7.3
84 Ratings
14% below category average
Proofpoint Essentials for Small Business
9.7
2 Ratings
15% above category average
Anti-malware6.567 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Customizability8.079 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Data Loss Protection8.368 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Threat Detection6.566 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Sandboxing7.444 Ratings10.01 Ratings
End-to-End Encryption6.767 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Management Tools8.080 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Microsoft ExchangeProofpoint Essentials for Small Business
Small Businesses
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Score 9.3 out of 10
Zoho Mail
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Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Avanan
Avanan
Score 9.8 out of 10
Avanan
Avanan
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Avanan
Avanan
Score 9.8 out of 10
Avanan
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Score 9.8 out of 10
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User Ratings
Microsoft ExchangeProofpoint Essentials for Small Business
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(102 ratings)
10.0
(3 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.9
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft ExchangeProofpoint Essentials for Small Business
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Creating and receiving emails is simple. Managing contacts is a nice feature, especially connecting to Active Directory. Calendar management is also helpful and sharing access to others' calendars for scheduling meetings is useful. And reserving resources such as rooms or equipment is also useful. Personal and shared mailboxes are good features, as well. Tasks are a little lacking, but other than that, the features are thorough.
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Proofpoint
I would definitely recommend it for fast and easy deployment with no need of constant managing solution. It is a solid solution that will do all what you need for the email security. Especially when you have a small IT team or even do not have enough experienced specialists to handle email security questions - Proofpoint is what I would recommend to use. I gave it 9 of 10 points only because of the price, you can find find more cheap solutions on the market.
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Pros
Microsoft
  • As we have a large user base of 11,000 users we use MailTips to avoid people getting confused with people with similar names in the organization.
  • The integration between Teams Meeting and Resource booking is generally very good. The Scheduling Assistance makes it easy to scan calendars and find free periods to provisionally scheduled events.
  • Marking yourself as Out of the Office and busy is easy, as is sharing your calendar within the team/organization or individuals.
  • Voicemail integration and the ability to receive missed chats in your inbox are highly used and useful.
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Proofpoint
  • For basic protection, the Solution has an Antivirus, Zero hours Filtering, and Impostor protection.
  • Targeted attacks - URL and Attachment Defense.
  • Content filtering.
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Cons
Microsoft
  • The two main factors for the better reliability & Uptime of internally hosted Exchange Server depends on Exchange Server configuration and the level of investment the organization is willing to provide for hosting the Exchange Server On-Premise Environment. As the data is stored in the organization’s hardware, any disaster may lead to the loss of email and servers.
  • Losing data might affect business continuity and rebuilding it can be costly.
  • Security remains a major concern.
  • Security of data loss is main concern. To ensure that, organization needs to configure networks, systems and Exchange platform against possible threats.
  • Hardware and license costs are high.
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Proofpoint
  • I don't have [a lot] of bad things to say about the software its all positives in my book
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
Email and calendars in a business setting are requirements. And Microsoft continues to be the standard of business applications. Microsoft 365 makes Microsoft Exchange easy to use. Everything is in the cloud. Let Microsoft take care of the hardware, the software, and the security. You just enable your business users with the functionality they need.
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Proofpoint
No answers on this topic
Usability
Microsoft
Microsoft Exchange has come a long way over the years and has nowhere near the technical overhead required for support as it did back in 2003/2007 and prior. The integrations with Teams, Defender, Sharepoint, Copilot and many other products make it a solid and well-rounded tool used for many day-to-day tasks.
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Proofpoint
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
Exchange is setup with multiple servers behind load balancers to provide high availability.
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Proofpoint
No answers on this topic
Performance
Microsoft
I would say it's the best email product I've experienced.
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Proofpoint
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Microsoft
We have a good enterprise agreement with Microsoft which affords us quick phone support. I have found the support staff knowledgeable and prompt with a solution when required. At times it may be difficult to schedule a call back, this is mainly due to our need for calls early in the morning which happens to be during a shift change at Microsoft support.
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Proofpoint
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
Implementation/conversion can be quite complex and, unless you have certified Exchange administrators in-house, you should strongly consider a 3rd party consultant for this implementation.
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Proofpoint
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Microsoft Exchange Product The best cloud-based enterprise-grade archiving platform with a host of features that enable files to be securely archived and retrieved with advanced search options. This tool is very easy to use and has a User-friendly interface. It is a highly reliable platform that allows all employees to automatically store their data without any limitations. It offers a cost-effective solution with customized policy management. We are happy that the customer support team is always fast and concerned, and the product's uninterrupted service experience. It is very good that it stores data in real-time without losing it, even in the event of a disaster. The cost-effective solution and integration with other tools are seamless.
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Proofpoint
As already wrote, Proofpoint is perfect solution to be deployed quickly without requiring any additional resources or services. Good email tracking logs, excellent reporting features. Great filtering mechanism. Cost effective pricing.
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Scalability
Microsoft
The only time Exchange has failed us is when we did something to cause the failure.
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Proofpoint
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • It has been an important factor in allowing seamless communication with clients and scheduling business meetings, which in turn works in the company's favor.
  • Haven't noticed any negative impact Exchange has had on our ROI. The support team is also responsive and helpful.
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Proofpoint
  • Proofpoint Essentials for Small Business has a simplified management.
  • It has a Basic Archive and Legal Hold & eDiscovery Management.
  • Integrated DLP that gives benefits to any organization.
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