Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs Cisco Secure Email vs Sophos Email Appliance [EOL] comparison

Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
Barracuda Networks Logo
1,693 views|1,162 comparisons
91% willing to recommend
Cisco Logo
9,348 views|6,215 comparisons
94% willing to recommend
Sophos Logo
views| comparisons
100% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Barracuda Email Security Gateway, Cisco Secure Email, and Sophos Email Appliance [EOL] based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Proofpoint, Barracuda Networks, IRONSCALES and others in Secure Email Gateway (SEG).
To learn more, read our detailed Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Report (Updated: April 2024).
768,578 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
"Before this solution, we didn't have any separate feature for protecting our emails. We used to only have a firewall but now we have email security. It has a graphical interface and we can see the log every time. We can see that the performance is fine.""The most valuable feature is the Antispam services, which are the basic services of spam device""The performance is good.""The most important features of Barracuda Email Security Gateway are the simple and quick configuration, interactive console, and easy-to-understand logs.""It is very simple to whitelist addresses.""We find the product to be scalable.""One advantage is its immediate deployment capability. So the fast speed to deploy is a big plus point.""It's easy to use. The configuration and web interface are user-friendly."

More Barracuda Email Security Gateway Pros →

"This solution provides some benefits, like comfortable access to TAC support. You get prompt support when working directly with Cisco.""Cisco Secure Email Cloud Gateway has allowed our users to be able to concentrate on the emails that they do receive. Previously, our users had to deal with nine million additional emails across the organization, which is nearly 1,000 emails per user to have to deal with a month. That's a massive amount for our staff to deal with and probably several hours of their time. We have a lot of clinical staff, being a hospital. We want to make our staff as productive as possible. By removing a lot of that spam and phishing type emails, this allows them to do their job.""Users were able to do a check by themselves on quarantined emails. They could check if a valid email had been stopped, if it matched up with the SPF certification.""It has the IMS engine, Intelligent Multi-Scan engine, and it does a good job, right out-of-the-box, of blocking the vast majority of things that should be blocked.""It integrates with Active Directory and we can limit specific users to using specific applications.""It does a great job of preventing spam, malware, and ransomware. I can only go by what people have told me and what I've seen, but I have not seen spam in a year and a half to two years in my own company mailbox. And there are not a lot of catches where it's catching something that should have gotten through, either.""The added value of it is that every migration to a new version is initiated by the Cisco version itself, so that is a bunch of work that you don't have to do on the Cisco ESA system on-premise. As it becomes a safe platform, you don't need to invest anything in your own data center or in your upgrade path.""Cisco Secure Email is part of Cisco's extensive efforts and investments in technology, especially in the realm of cyber security. The product is one among many security solutions offered by Cisco."

More Cisco Secure Email Pros →

"The ease of use and the security offered by the solution are its most valuable features. It also offers good information protection.""The filtering aspect is the solution's most valuable feature.""The solution is very easy to use, especially the cloud version which is very, very simple. There are some good templates already built-in, so we can just select the template, and you will get all the necessary functionality. The only one thing you have to do is point all your traffic in the cloud.""The most valuable feature is the URL relay protection because it protects users from phishing attacks.""Email encryption, because it fulfills our business needs.""This is a stable, scalable product that provides a reliable email protection layer.""The interface makes it really easy to administer and configure."

More Sophos Email Appliance [EOL] Pros →

Cons
"The dashboard's UI could be improved to make changes to the blocklist.""I am not aware of the licensing costs.""The solution should include an improvised anti-phishing feature, since it blocks certain genuine emails.""The solution should add automatic alerts to the mobile.""We would like to have a local support center in India so that they are operating in the same time zone and speak the same language.""Barracuda Email Security Gateway should add auto-remediation to improve the solution. Additionally, there are times when we have false positives and our general emails get locked, we have mentioned this to Barracuda.""Barracuda has shown difficulty in providing us with the solutions we sought.""My customers were sending OPT bulk emails and Barracuda Email Security Gateway was not able to handle it. We have to go with another different solution, such FortiMail for the task. We are implementing these combinations of the Barracuda and FortiGate, for email security. The FortiGate FortiMail security gateway we use to send only the bulk email, not for receiving emails."

More Barracuda Email Security Gateway Cons →

"Cisco Email Secure's pricing needs to be less. We have vendors who provide cheaper solutions with the same features.""The scalability must be improved.""The interface is dated. It has looked pretty much the same for 15 years or so. It would be helpful to be able to do everything from one spot. The centralized quarantine and reporting are completely separate from policy administration.""I would like to see sandboxing for email, where suspicious emails received by the system are analyzed through online services.""The graphical user interface is not user-friendly like other vendors. I find it very difficult at times to find some options on the UI.""The user interface could be updated.""The hardware is not up to the mark. Two to three times a year we have complete downtime.""If you are not a technical guy, it is hard to maneuver, but as soon as you work on it, it gets better and better. If there was a better way to know how to do things or how to find things, it would be good."

More Cisco Secure Email Cons →

"More things need to be integrated into this device, like DLP, so we can have a complete solution in one box.""There aren't enough advanced settings. They should offer more advanced options.""In the advanced version, you have DLP, Data Loss Prevention, but when you buy the standard version, you don't have it.""In the next release of this solution, I would like to see more user awareness, such as information about phishing email attacks that have been prevented.""There are a few issues with integration that need to be addressed; this would help make deployment easier for new users.""The reporting functionality is in major need of improvement.""Reporting could have more options for users to customize desired results."

More Sophos Email Appliance [EOL] Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "For overall value and cost, Barracuda came in as most appropriate, price as well as services provided. In terms of price, it's average . It's not the most expensive, it's not the least expensive but it works well."
  • "The price of this solution is very high, but it's working fine."
  • "Our licensing fees are approximately $4,000 per year, and this includes updates for the antivirus and spam signatures."
  • "As far as advanced email security systems, this product is mid-range on the pricing scale."
  • "The pricing for the product is fine."
  • "The licensing fees are part of a bundled support package that we pay for."
  • "We pay between $8 and $10 USD per user per month."
  • "The licensing cost is competitive, it's not too high and not too low."
  • More Barracuda Email Security Gateway Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "We do annual licensing for Cisco Secure Email Gatewayand SMA together, and possibly SmartNet support. Packaged together, the cost is just under $38,000."
  • "In addition to the standard licensing, there is a cost for SMARTnet as well."
  • "Pricing depends on your environment and which model you want to buy."
  • "Licensing costs depend on how many users there are. It could range between $5 and $7 per month, per user."
  • "The license was not per user, the license model was per feature. You could choose anti-virus, anti-spam, etc. It was feature-based and charged yearly."
  • "There were no other costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
  • "We were using Proofpoint and then we switched to Cisco... reportability was one of the main reasons we switched, but the biggest one was cost. If you can get an equivalent functionality for a better price it's wise to do so. That's what our primary decision came down to: We could get equivalent functionality at a lower price point."
  • "It is not that costly. We pay for the solution through a contractor and pay an annual fee."
  • More Cisco Secure Email Pricing and Cost Advice →

    report
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Secure Email Gateway (SEG) solutions are best for your needs.
    768,578 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Barracuda Email Security Gateway is very simple to use.
    Top Answer:Barracuda Email Security Gateway is a cost-effective solution.
    Top Answer:Barracuda Email Security Gateway should include ATP in the next release.
    Top Answer:The product's initial setup phase was easy.
    Top Answer:The product's price falls on the higher side when compared to the other products on the market. Whether the product… more »
    Top Answer:There are some concerns in the way the architecture is set up, making it an area where improvements are required. When… more »
    Ask a question

    Earn 20 points

    Ranking
    Views
    1,693
    Comparisons
    1,162
    Reviews
    21
    Average Words per Review
    420
    Rating
    8.0
    2nd
    out of 107 in Email Security
    Views
    9,348
    Comparisons
    6,215
    Reviews
    23
    Average Words per Review
    686
    Rating
    8.2
    Unranked
    In Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Barracuda Spam and Virus Firewall, Barracuda Sentinel
    Cisco Email Security, IronPort, Cisco Email Security, ESA, Email Security Appliances
    Email Appliance
    Learn More
    Overview

    Barracuda Email Security Gateway is a robust security solution that allows users to protect themselves from external threats as well as from potential data leaks. It can be managed and monitored from a centralized location. Users can efficiently and easily keep track of every aspect of their security suite all at one time. Customized protections can also be set up in a matter of minutes.

    Benefits of Barracuda Email Security Gateway

    Some of the benefits of using Barracuda Email Security Gateway include:

    • Provides users with a comprehensive and robust suite of security features. Barracuda Email Security Gateway employs a suite of security features to keep users safe. It has an email filter that scans outgoing emails to keep sensitive data from being sent to the wrong parties. Additionally, its software allows users to keep an eye on potential threats in real time. Users can stay ahead of malicious actors and preserve the integrity of their systems.
    • Designed for easy deployment. Barracuda Email Security Gateway makes it easy for users to secure themselves. The solution comes pre-configured for quick rollout and use. Users can benefit from it fully without devoting a significant level of resources to deployment.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Barracuda Email Security Gateway is an email security tool that stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are the high level of flexibility that it gives to users and the solution’s powerful filtering feature. Barracuda Email Security Gateway offers users the ability to enact customizations that enable them to align the solution with their specific needs. It is highly flexible and allows for the completion of many different tasks. Additionally, it employs a powerful spam filter feature that gives users the ability to stop a large percentage of the threats to their devices before they get anywhere near their machines.

    Mohammed N., the assistant general manager at CoLoCity Data Center, writes, “There are many customizable options:

    • Attachment filtering, where we are filtering attachments according to our requirements.
    • IT-based configurations, where we allow domains. We are blacklisting domains that we do not want to pass through.
    • Rate Control feature, where we have the user license for 10,000 incoming and outgoing emails. Therefore, 10,000 users can use this device.

    The client has the option to blacklist or whitelist any email address or domain based on the sender and recipient filters. If they want, they can restrict any IP addresses so email won't be received from those IP addresses. Another interesting feature of Barracuda Email Security is the content filtering. If there is any word or sentence that we or our customers want to block, then we can add that thing in Barracuda Email Security Gateway. The content contained in the email will not be delivered or received by the recipient. Maximum customization options are available.”

    Igor G., the information security officer and data protection officer at a manufacturing company, writes, “The spam filtering feature, in particular, is very important for us. We have a large volume of emails each month, something like 200,000, and Barracuda filters about 85 percent of the spam, malware, and phishing that comes in. It prevents our users from receiving this content on their computers.”

    Cisco Secure Email is an email security solution that provides advanced protection to safeguard inboxes. The solution includes comprehensive defense from the most damaging threats so your employees and organization can remain secure at all times. In addition, it includes advanced threat defense capabilities that detect, block, and remediate threats in incoming email faster. Simultaneously, it protects an organization’s brand, prevents data loss, and secures important information in transit with end-to-end encryption.

    Cisco Secure Email Features

    Cisco Secure Email has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Advanced threat analysis: Easily identify the malicious techniques used in attacks targeting your organization. Understand the specific business risks and categorize threats to gain insight into the parts of your organization that are most vulnerable to attack.
    • Robust, actionable threat data: The solution’s searchable threat analysis data provides critical contextual insight to the attack scope and breadth and expedites remediation.
    • Real-time URL analysis: With this feature, you can drop emails with risky links automatically or block access to newly infected sites with real-time URL analysis to protect against phishing.
    • Domain-based message authentication (DMARC): Users can prevent brand abuse from attackers using their organization’s domain to carry out phishing campaigns with automation of the domain-based message authentication (DMARC) process.
    • Data loss prevention (DLP): The solution enables users to protect sensitive content in outgoing emails.

    Cisco Secure Email Benefits

    There are many benefits to implementing Cisco Secure Email. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

    • Optimize your defenses: The solution is designed to protect your organization from threats that can come from multiple sources, including phishing, malware, and ransomware. It can defend against all of them with industry-leading threat intelligence that empowers you to act quickly.
    • More efficient processes: You can use the solution’s orchestration feature to simplify workflows, reduce the burden on your team, and focus on more strategic initiatives.
    • Easy-to-manage tools: The solution is built with tools that are user-friendly and help you spend less time managing alerts. They allow users to quickly detect emerging threats and quarantine suspected threats to prevent their spread.
    • Flexible license options: Cisco Secure Email provides three different license choices: Secure Email Essentials, Secure Email Advantage, and Secure Email Premier.
    • Increase spam catch rates: Cisco Secure Email blocks unwanted emails using a multilayered scanning architecture.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Cisco Secure Email is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it has an intuitive interface, reputation filtering, few false positives, and great protection features.

    Enrique J., Owner at Jolly Security Inc., says, "It has an intuitive, clear graphical interface where you can deploy your policies and understand the overall flow. The most valuable feature is reputation filtering.”

    The solution has a “low rate of false positives, good support, and it integrates well with other Cisco security products,” explains Mark R., IT Admin / Manager at a retailer.

    PeerSpot user Charles N., Network Security Engineer at Galaxy Backbone Ltd., mentions, “It is doing its work. It is doing what it was actually designed to do. They have a lot of features such as Advanced Malware Protection, Email Protection, Advanced Phishing Protection, Antispam, Antivirus, and Outbreak Filters.”

    Sophos' purpose-built secure email gateway is an all-in-one solution for email encryption, DLP, anti-spam and threat protection. It provides advanced protection from today’s sophisticated spear phishing attacks and gives you full control over data leaving your organization via email.

    Sample Customers
    Evolution Recruitment Solutions, Evans Delivery Company, Osoyoos Credit Union, Synovis Life Technologies, Camden County Technical Schools, DEK, Evans Delivery Company, Colgate Rochester Crozer, Hemmera, South Carolina Heart Center, Ferma Corporation, Major League Baseball (MLB), Healy Brothers Automotive Group
    SUNY Old Westbury, CoxHealth, City of Fullerton, Indra
    Investors Savings Bank
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm20%
    Manufacturing Company14%
    Comms Service Provider14%
    Construction Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization43%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Government5%
    Financial Services Firm4%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company20%
    Energy/Utilities Company10%
    Retailer10%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Educational Organization16%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    Government6%
    No Data Available
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business58%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise22%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise53%
    Large Enterprise25%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business32%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise37%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business23%
    Midsize Enterprise28%
    Large Enterprise49%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business57%
    Midsize Enterprise43%
    Buyer's Guide
    Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
    April 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Proofpoint, Barracuda Networks, IRONSCALES and others in Secure Email Gateway (SEG). Updated: April 2024.
    768,578 professionals have used our research since 2012.