Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Zscaler Cloud Protection aren't direct alternatives, but rather complementary solutions that work together to enhance cloud security. Microsoft Defender for Cloud, is a cloud protection platform, that focuses on securing cloud applications and workloads. Zscaler Cloud Protection encompasses several Zscaler security solutions, including Zscaler Internet Access and Zscaler data protection solutions that inspects and filters all cloud traffic.
The summary above is based on 46 interviews we conducted recently with Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Zscaler Cloud Protection users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.
"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 most valuable feature is that it's intuitive. It's very intuitive."
"One important security feature is the incident alerts. Now, with all these cyberattacks, there are a lot of incident alerts that get triggered. It is very difficult to keep monitoring everything automatically, instead our organization is utilizing the automated use case that we get from Microsoft. That has helped bring down the manual work for a lot of things."
"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."
"Threat protection is comprehensive and simple."
"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."
"The security policy is the most valuable feature for us. We can go into the environment settings and attach any globally recognized framework like ISO or any benchmark."
"It's got a lot of great features."
"The agent's versatility is notable, used for digital experience monitoring to collect valuable endpoint metrics for troubleshooting."
"The product provides a seamless user experience."
"This secure connection allows users to connect to the Zscaler VPN and access the resources on the office network, making it a highly valuable component of our system."
"The most valuable feature is its seamless integration capabilities, streamlining the process by eliminating the need for extensive installations."
"The product must improve its UI."
"Sometimes, it's very difficult to determine when I need Microsoft Defender for Cloud for a special resource group or certain kinds of products. That's not an issue directly with the product, though."
"Pricing could be improved. There are limited options based on pricing for the government."
"From a compliance standpoint, they can include some more metrics and some specific compliances such as GDPR."
"The product was a bit complex to set up earlier, however, it is a bit streamlined now."
"The remediation process could be improved."
"Microsoft sources most of their threat intelligence internally, but I think they should open themselves up to bodies that provide feel intelligence to build a better engine. There may be threats out there that they don't report because their team is not doing anything on that and they don't have arrangements with another party that is involved in that research."
"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."
"Having a Zscaler-specific device could streamline this process and provide a more consistent user experience across diverse branches."
"Occasionally, there are certain delays in report generation."
"Occasionally, issues arise in the LogStack by a third party, particularly for government websites accessed by numerous users."
"The product is not reliable."
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is ranked 3rd in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) with 46 reviews while Zscaler CSPM is ranked 22nd in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) with 4 reviews. Microsoft Defender for Cloud is rated 8.0, while Zscaler CSPM is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Microsoft Defender for Cloud writes "Provides multi-cloud capability, is plug-and-play, and improves our security posture". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Zscaler CSPM writes "Secure and scalable internet access, maintaining stability, providing robust technical support and ensuring consistent policy enforcement across various user locations". 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, whereas Zscaler CSPM is most compared with Wiz, Orca Security, Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks and AWS Security Hub. See our Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Zscaler CSPM report.
See our list of best Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) vendors.
We monitor all Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) 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.