Forescout Platform vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud comparison

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Forescout Logo
10,924 views|6,441 comparisons
87% willing to recommend
Microsoft Logo
16,154 views|12,350 comparisons
95% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jul 7, 2023

We performed a comparison between Forescout Platform and Microsoft Defender for Cloud based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Features: Forescout Platform stands out for its agentless visibility and advanced features like device fingerprinting. Microsoft Defender for Cloud is highly regarded for its automated processes, advanced threat analysis, and extensive security measures, including protection against ransomware and access controls. Forescout users say the product could be better at resolving connectivity and license issues. Users also want more compatibility with different devices and operating systems, along with better logging and troubleshooting capabilities.  Microsoft Defender for Cloud could use enhancements in automation and ease of use.

  • Service and Support: Some users reported positive experiences with Forescout support, but others requested better responsiveness and training. Some Defender for Cloud users reported positive experiences with Microsoft, while others complained that the solution's outsourced support lacked technical knowledge.

  • Ease of Deployment: Some users found Forescout’s setup to be simple and adaptable, while others perceived it as more complex and time-intensive. The initial setup of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is described as straightforward, but the deployment time may vary depending on specific requirements.

  • Pricing: The total cost of Forescout Platform can be high depending on the level of customization and integration required. Microsoft Defender for Cloud is in the mid-to-high pricing tier. While some users find it expensive, others believe it offers good value.

  • ROI: Forescout Platform yields a solid ROI by improving network access control and overall security. Microsoft Defender for Cloud streamlines security tasks and saves users money by consolidating various solutions.

Comparison Results: Our users prefer Forescout Platform over Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Users appreciate its agentless visibility, policy flexibility, and seamless integration with multiple vendors. It also provides comprehensive device and version clarity and excellent support. Microsoft Defender for Cloud falls short in terms of visibility and flexibility compared to Forescout Platform. Forescout Platform is also considered to be more cost-effective than Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

To learn more, read our detailed Forescout Platform vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Report (Updated: September 2023).
770,292 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The visibility is the main benefit. We now know how many devices are connected, what the use for each device is and what kind of devices we have in our environment.""Forescout Platform has granular features and one of the most impressive features is the agentless feature.""Forescout has a feature that blocks the endpoint at the point of collection. It sets preconditions and will block the system if those aren't met.""The initial setup is easy, taking no more than two or three weeks.""The 802.1X compliance authentication feature of this solution is very good.""Its feature that I have found most valuable is that it is very granular. You can configure granular controls just as you want those policies to be implemented. It gives you that flexibility to go granular in how you want your controls to be implemented. That's something I like about it.""The most valuable features of the Forescout Platform are NAC for sharing, Network Access Control, and port sharing of the devices.""Forescout is easy to integrate with a lot of end systems."

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"It is very intuitive when it comes to policy administration, alerts and notifications, and ease of setting up roles at different hierarchies. It has also been good in terms of the network technology maps. It provides a good overview, but it also depends on the complexity of your network.""The product has given us more insight into potential avenues for attack paths.""Defender is user-friendly and provides decent visibility into threats.""The main feature is the security posture assessment through the security score. I find that to be very helpful because it gives us guidance on what needs to be secured and recommendations on how to secure the workloads that have been onboarded.""Microsoft Defender has a lot of features including regulatory compliance and attaching workbooks but the most valuable is the recommendations it provides for each and every resource when we open Microsoft Defender.""This is a platform as a service provided by Azure. We don't need to install or maintain Azure Security Center. It is a ready-made service available in Azure. This is one of the main things that we like. If you look at similar tools, we have to install, maintain, and update services. Whereas, Azure Security Center manages what we are using. This is a good feature that has helped us a lot.""The entire Defender Suite is tightly coupled, integrated, and collaborative.""The most valuable features of this solution are the remote workforce capabilities and the general experience of the remote workforce."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Pros →

Cons
"Forescout Platform could improve the costs of integrations.""It does not support the TACACS+ protocol.""More detailed analysis during the authentication process, especially for troubleshooting access issues. We have found that troubleshooting RADIUS controls is quite arduous, as it is today. A trace function could easily resolve this by providing a means by which access issues from a certificate to passwords or accounts could easily be identified and remediated.""Custom integrations need to be better.""Better integration with third-party vendors is needed because as it is now, the list of third-party solutions that we can integrate and automate is quite limited.""Logging would be one area for improvement. When we're troubleshooting, there are not a lot of clear things on Google that we can look up for ourselves. When we have an issue with it, we have to call the company to get the vendors involved. The logging of Forescout is horrible compared to other things that we've used.""In the next release of the solution, it could benefit from being more flexible to allow for more freedom.""Search - needs boolean functionality (or pseudo operand now working)."

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"Microsoft can improve the pricing by offering a plan that is more cost-effective for small and medium organizations.""If a customer is already using Okta as an SSO in its entire environment, they will want to continue with it. But Security Center doesn't understand that and keeps making recommendations. It would help if it let us resolve a recommendation, even if it is not implemented.""I felt that there was disconnection in terms of understanding the UI. The communication for moving from the old UI to the new UI could be improved. It was a bit awkward.""You cannot create custom use cases.""Consistency is the area where the most improvement is needed. For example, there are some areas where the UI is not uniform across the board.""There is no perfect product in the world and there are always features that can be added.""Azure Security Center takes a long time to update, compared to the on-premises version of Microsoft Defender.""The remediation process could be improved."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Devices with multiple IP's count multiple times against your license count."
  • "The fact that we were allowed to spin up as many servers as we had need of to support our geographic requirements while paying for licensing as an enterprise truly set Forescout apart from the crowd and improved the way we could design our access."
  • "We went with the virtual appliance option. The biggest cost to running these types of appliances would be to either have multiple virtual appliances at every data center or running Remote SPAN hardware to provide you the real-time network visibility."
  • "The ROI is priceless."
  • "It might not be the cheapest solution, but you get what you pay for."
  • "Time savings in finding rogue devices as well as identifying potentially unwanted devices on the network has saved the organization time and money."
  • "The setup cost, pricing, and licensing are on the high side."
  • "Forescout Platform is too expensive, so the price should be reduced."
  • More Forescout Platform Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "I'm not privy to that information, but I know it's probably close to a million dollars a year."
  • "We are using the free version of the Azure Security Center."
  • "Azure Defender is a bit pricey. The price could be lower."
  • "This is a worldwide service and depending on the country, there will be different prices."
  • "Security Center charges $15 per resource for any workload that you onboard into it. They charge per VM or per data-base server or per application. It's not like Microsoft 365 licensing, where there are levels like E3 and E5. Security Center is pretty straightforward."
  • "There is a helpful cost-reducing option that allows you to integrate production subscriptions with non-production subscriptions."
  • "Its pricing is a little bit high in terms of Azure Security Center, but the good thing is that we don't need to maintain and deploy it. So, while the pricing is high, it is native to Azure which is why we prefer using this tool."
  • "I am not involved in this area. However, I believe its price is okay because even small customers are using Azure Security Center. I don't think it is very expensive."
  • More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Forescout is a very powerful NAC product that does not rely on port level configuration. It can detect and block unauthorized devices very quickly. But it has a lot of capabilities and really would… more »
    Top Answer:I would rate the Forescout Device and Visibility Control Platform at a six out of ten.
    Top Answer:I recommend doing a compression demo. If people use it, they will buy it. So they have to see the product in place. That's the main recommendation is to do a proof of concept. If they do, they will… more »
    Top Answer:Azure Security Center is very easy to use, integrates well, and gives very good visibility on what is happening across your ecosystem. It also has great remote workforce capabilities and supports a… more »
    Top Answer:The entire Defender Suite is tightly coupled, integrated, and collaborative.
    Top Answer:Our clients complain about the cost of Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Microsoft needs to bring the cost down. What we're doing to their detriment is simply lowering the amount of log retention we're… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    10,924
    Comparisons
    6,441
    Reviews
    21
    Average Words per Review
    462
    Rating
    8.3
    Views
    16,154
    Comparisons
    12,350
    Reviews
    20
    Average Words per Review
    1,073
    Rating
    8.0
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Forescout Platform, CounterACT for Endpoint Compliance, ForeScout CounterACT
    Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender
    Learn More
    Interactive Demo
    Overview

    Forescout Platform provides today’s busy enterprise organizations with policy and protocol management, workflow coordination, streamlining, and complete device and infrastructure visibility to improve overall network security. The solution also provides concise real-time intelligence of all devices and users on the network. Policy and protocols are delineated using gathered intelligence to facilitate the appropriate levels of remediation, compliance, network access, and all service operations. Forescout Platform is very flexible, integrates well with most of today’s leading network security products, and is a very cost-effective solution.

    Forescout Platform Features

    • Real-time complete visibility: With Forescout eyeSight, each and every device is classified when any attempt to access your network has been made. This includes - but is not limited to - desktops, laptops, android devices, virtual machines, switches, VoIP phones, USB memory sticks, webcams, IoT devices, and more.

    • Policy-based and manual controls: In today’s busy robust environment, networks are continually changing; there are different types and amounts of devices connected, various software applications, network compliance requirements, and the constant potential for risk make managing an IT network a very daunting challenge. The Forescout Console is used to simplify the administration and management of important alerts, remediation, and access controls to keep the network secure.

    • Intuitive real-time dashboards: Forescout Dashboards, a component of Forescout WebClient, is a comprehensive web-based intelligence center that gives full visibility and real-time insight of the complete network using both out-of-the-box and user-created widgets. The dashboards are very intuitive and deliver robust, easy-to-understand information about device visibility, compliance, health monitoring, and more.

    • Advanced reporting capabilities: The Forescout Reports Plugin will generate numerous valuable reports indicating real-time and overall status information about endpoint compliance, device details, networks guests, protocols, and more. The reports help to ensure IT administrators, executives, security teams, and other important shareholders stay well-informed about all network activity at all times.

    • Comprehensive third-party overview: Forescout eyeExtend facilitates seamless information sharing with third-party vendors, networks, and IT management solutions supporting improved automated workflows, productivity, cost-effectiveness, and overall security.

    Real User Reviews

    An important main feature of Forescout is the visibility the solution offers.

    One reviewer who is a Consultant at a tech services company, says, "Within three or four days, you can have complete visibility of your infrastructure on the network. Compared to other solutions, the deployment of the solution is easier and we can close the project quickly."

    Users also appreciate that the user interface is clear and easy to understand.

    An Instructor at a tech services company, shares, "The most valuable feature of the Forescout Platform is the large capacity it can handle. Additionally, the interface of the platform is good."

    Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a comprehensive security solution that provides advanced threat protection for cloud workloads. It offers real-time visibility into the security posture of cloud environments, enabling organizations to quickly identify and respond to potential threats. With its advanced machine learning capabilities, Microsoft Defender for Cloud can detect and block sophisticated attacks, including zero-day exploits and fileless malware.

    The solution also provides automated remediation capabilities, allowing security teams to quickly and easily respond to security incidents. With Microsoft Defender for Cloud, organizations can ensure the security and compliance of their cloud workloads, while reducing the burden on their security teams.

    Sample Customers
    NHS Sussex, SAP, SEGA, Vistaprint, Miami Children's Hospital, Pioneer Investments, New York Law School, OmnicomGroup, Meritrust
    Microsoft Defender for Cloud is trusted by companies such as ASOS, Vatenfall, SWC Technology Partners, and more.
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm17%
    Government12%
    Manufacturing Company10%
    Computer Software Company10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization29%
    Computer Software Company11%
    Government8%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company24%
    Agriculture10%
    Recruiting/Hr Firm10%
    Consumer Goods Company10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Government7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business37%
    Midsize Enterprise12%
    Large Enterprise51%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business14%
    Midsize Enterprise36%
    Large Enterprise50%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business27%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise62%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business20%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise65%
    Buyer's Guide
    Forescout Platform vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud
    September 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Forescout Platform vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud and other solutions. Updated: September 2023.
    770,292 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Forescout Platform is ranked 3rd in Network Access Control (NAC) with 69 reviews while Microsoft Defender for Cloud is ranked 3rd in Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) with 46 reviews. Forescout Platform is rated 8.4, while Microsoft Defender for Cloud is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Forescout Platform writes "We can go granular on each endpoint, quarantine non-compliant machines, and target vulnerabilities through scripting". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Defender for Cloud writes "Provides multi-cloud capability, is plug-and-play, and improves our security posture". Forescout Platform is most compared with Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine), Aruba ClearPass, Fortinet FortiNAC, Nozomi Networks and Armis, whereas Microsoft Defender for Cloud is most compared with AWS GuardDuty, Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks, Microsoft Defender XDR, Wiz and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. See our Forescout Platform vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud report.

    We monitor all Network Access Control (NAC) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.