Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs Cisco Secure Email comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on May 17, 2023

We performed a comparison between Cisco Secure Email and Barracuda Email Security Gateway, based on PeerSpot users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Barracuda Email Security Gateway's initial setup can be a mixed bag, with some users finding it easy while others consider it complex and time-consuming. The solution is cloud-based and user-friendly, but deployment time can vary greatly depending on the size of the deployment and user expertise. Paying for deployment services is recommended for a smoother setup process. For Cisco Secure Email, initial setup varied among reviewers, with some finding it complex but interesting and others finding it simple and easy. Implementation was generally fast and without issues, and the solution was modular and customizable. The deployment model varied, but upgrading the system was straightforward and had no impact on production. Some reviewers suggested that the setup guide could be improved with more procedural information.
  • Features: Barracuda focuses on anti-spamming, anti-phishing, sandboxing, customizable options, and cloud-based ATP functionality with good reporting capabilities. Meanwhile, Cisco emphasizes Advanced Malware Protection, Advanced Phishing Protection, Antispam, Antivirus, and Outbreak Filters. Cisco's reputation filtering feature is particularly powerful and the solution is flexible and customizable with a clear graphical interface. The advanced phishing protection and integration with awareness tools are highly valued, as are the out-of-the-box filters for scam emails and antivirus features.

  • Pricing: Barracuda Email Security Gateway and Cisco Secure Email have different pricing strategies for setup cost. Barracuda's pricing is moderate and varies based on location and licensing, while Cisco's pricing is adaptable to the market and has a range of options. Some users find Barracuda to have the best price, while others feel the cost should be reduced. Cisco's solution is customizable to the customer environment and customers tend to invest in it even if it requires more investment. Overall, Cisco Secure Email has a medium level of pricing, while Barracuda's pricing is considered average.
  • Service and Support: Barracuda has mixed reviews, with some customers finding it lacking in solutions and consistency, while Cisco's support has generally been positive, with knowledgeable and prompt assistance. Barracuda's customer service is considered good overall, with easy access to support and the ability to escalate issues. Cisco's support can be hit-and-miss, but those who have contacted them directly rate them highly.
  • ROI: Barracuda Email Security Gateway is preferred by corporations and organizations for its cost-saving and threat prevention capabilities, resulting in a good ROI. However, it may not be the best option for service providers. Cisco Secure Email has also shown a positive ROI.

Comparison Results: Barracuda Email Security Gateway and Cisco Secure Email both have their pros and cons, but users seem to prefer Cisco Secure Email for its reputation filtering, customizable interface, and reliable customer support. Both products are effective at anti-spamming and anti-phishing, but Barracuda Email Security Gateway offers sandboxing while Cisco Secure Email has Advanced Malware Protection.

To learn more, read our detailed Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs. Cisco Secure Email Report (Updated: January 2024).
763,955 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 security protection is the best and it's GUI is user-friendly.""We find the email security to be valuable.""Barracuda Email Security Gateway is very simple to use.""This product is powerful and quite simple to use.""The spam filtering, 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.""The link protection and anti-phishing features are great.""It is very simple to whitelist addresses.""The most valuable feature is the Antispam services, which are the basic services of spam device"

More Barracuda Email Security Gateway Pros →

"Cisco Secure Email's most valuable is email certification.""It has the ability to tell us, after an email has been delivered, where else it went, once it got inside. Maybe it's something we wanted it to stop and it didn't stop it, but it notified us later that it was something that it should have stopped. It can give us a trajectory of all the other places that it went internally and it can tell us what files were transferred as well.""The filtering is definitely better at catching both spam and malicious messages, and there's a lot of extremely granular ability for setting up rules. You can do it the way you want to. The Microsoft solution tends to be pretty limited in how it allows some of that to be done.""This solution provides some benefits, like comfortable access to TAC support. You get prompt support when working directly with Cisco.""ATP has been the most valuable in improving our email security posture.""The solution works well.""There is a huge return compared to if we didn't have a gateway appliance, as far as blocking malicious emails.""Capital expenditure is a significant consideration, and the impact on major expenditures prompts a careful analysis before onboarding the new product."

More Cisco Secure Email Pros →

Cons
"The deep scanning feature needs to be improved.""Some of the phishing emails are not being blocked. Another problem is that we are not able to manage the date and time in our time zone.""The dashboard's UI could be improved to make changes to the blocklist.""Few customers require an on-premises fabric ATP box for attack detection and response.""Spam is not always detected, and it should be more automated. We have seen that some emails are allowed by these emails, which are then stopped by Microsoft.""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.""The DMARC security is somewhat weak and could be strengthened.""The spam filtering is a little too aggressive. You can not get granular enough to back off on what is considered spam and what is not."

More Barracuda Email Security Gateway Cons →

"I would like to see sandboxing for email, where suspicious emails received by the system are analyzed through online services.""We cannot manage multiple devices from a single UI.""The Forged Email Detection feature needs improvement, particularly with domain. The sensors are not that good and the rules sets are unclear.""The scalability must be improved.""They can do it better with web links, with the URLs. They have a technology called Outbreak but it doesn't work as well as we would like.""The solution needs to improve its advanced phishing filters. It is very good at filtering things which have bad reputations. However, when phishing or malicious emails are new or coming from a legitimate source, we don't feel that the solution is working.""The reporting functionality needs to be improved.""Scalability has certain shortcomings and needs to be improved because there are service providers who provide better scalability.v"

More Cisco Secure Email 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 →

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    Answers from the Community
    KamalKapur
    TundeOgunkoya - PeerSpot reviewerTundeOgunkoya
    Reseller

    Hi Kamal, 


    Firstly, you would have to recognize that there is/are no fast and hard rules to choosing a final preferred product, what works well for company A may not work extensively well for company B. Reason being that: the efficiency of the Security capabilities provided by one tool can be amplified by another tool, particularly for secure email gateway. Hence, if you have an XDR that you intend to leverage with your final product of choice, you will notice that you could experience a greater ROI than having a bare SEG tool.


    However, I will advise based on a few realities of today's market in Q3 2022.


    1. From my perspective, It will make sense if you take advantage of the built-in protection capabilities from your cloud email provider (I assume you are using O365 or Google mail) rather than investing in a secure email gateway (SEG). 


    2. Most forward-thinking organizations are shifting away from traditional SEG tools and moving towards ICES, in my opinion, you should ideally be looking for an email security solutions that use ML / AI-based anti-phishing technology for BEC protection to analyze conversation history to detect anomalies, as well as computer vision to analyze suspect links within emails.


    3. Should you still choose to pursue SEG asides from an ICES, or you choose to go for an ICES, bear in mind that nothing beats doing a POC as it clearly should consider the security apparatus/investments you have already made in times past.


    4. it will be best that you look for solutions that integrate directly into your cloud email via an API, rather than as a gateway, this will ease your evaluation and eventual deployment, besides it improving your detection accuracy, while still taking advantage of the integration of the bulk of phishing protection with the core platform


    5. Without having an insight into your current email provider (cloud/on-prem) or other tools in your organization or budget, it will be difficult to give you a bit of precise advice.


    Either way, all the best with your selection process, and wishing you a cyber-safe organization.



    SimonClark - PeerSpot reviewerSimonClark
    Real User

    Tunde is absolutely right and is what I was trying to say in my first answer, Tunde did a better job though. AI based tools without a gateway can be installed in minutes, will pick up more malicious attachments, more content related bad stuff, provide better visibility and introduce controls for you staff to further improve the effectiveness. Typically these tools learn over time and therefore get better as you use them.


    Don't forget to consider 3rd party risk by looking at DMARC, SPF & DKIM as well as domain impersonation

    Remy Ma - PeerSpot reviewerRemy Ma
    Real User

    Have you considered Proofpoint Email Protection? It’s not one of the options you listed, but I recommend Proofpoint for advanced email security to everyone.


    Proofpoint Email Protection defends organizations against advanced email-borne threats, including spear phishing and business email compromise (BEC) attacks. Proofpoint provides inbound and outbound email filtering with industry-leading accuracy to protect users from email-based malware, ransomware, and other sophisticated threats. Proofpoint also helps organizations defend against targeted attacks that use spear phishing emails to bypass traditional security defenses. Proofpoint's  Email Protection solution is powered by the Proofpoint Global Intelligence Network (GIN), which processes billions of threat indicators every day to deliver real-time protection against the latest email threats. This combination of technology and intelligence makes Proofpoint Email Protection the most effective way to defend against advanced email-borne threats.

    Remy Ma - PeerSpot reviewerRemy Ma
    Real User

    I highly recommend Proofpoint Email Security. My organization has had a great experience so far. The solution completely lives up to its price point.


    Proofpoint is an industry-leading email gateway, which can be deployed as a cloud service or on-premises. Apart from providing essential encryption and spam filtering, Proofpoint Email Security solutions also have specific controls to stop BEC attacks. That’s what impressed me because Business Email Compromise attacks have devastating consequences for businesses. Proofpoint has an in-built Advanced BEC Defense engine that’s powered by AI and machine learning. It analyzes multiple message attributes, like header data, sender’s IP address, and message body for red flags and urgency.


    We use Managed Proofpoint Security. Managed email security providers like ACE MSS provide Proofpoint Email Security solutions in an end-to-end managed service. With managed email security, you no longer have to worry about managing encryption keys or sudden email attacks. You’ll have a dedicated team of security experts monitoring and analyzing all incoming and outgoing email traffic.

    Enrique Diaz Jolly - PeerSpot reviewerEnrique Diaz Jolly
    Real User

    Between the two? I prefer Cisco over Forcepoint. If budget is not a problem a hybrid Cisco Forcepoint multilayer. Or a hybrid Cloud + on-premises. 

    Bur someone asked about three options...? Which was the third? Why was intentionally avoided Proofpoint and compared "Sharks" with "Piranhas" or Barracudas?

    Daniel Martínez - PeerSpot reviewerDaniel Martínez
    Real User

    I only can recommend Cisco because it´s the only one with which I'd worked enough. I think it is powerful enough and has a lot of possibilities. In addition, to a great support team. 

    SimonClark - PeerSpot reviewerSimonClark
    Real User

    Top brands don't mean best or most cost-effective. My advice is to look a bit further before you make a decision.


    Evidence suggests that most top brands are pretty good at detecting and blocking malicious attachments, best case letting through 1%, but can be worse than 50% when it comes to detecting malicious links in the text of the email. 


    There are numerous less well-known vendors with lower-cost AI-based solutions that have a far better success rate, also providing employees the ability to report on suspect emails which auto-removes them from other staff members' inboxes until they have been properly assessed. Some will provide a visual risk score to the recipient to give them advance warning to be more cautious.


    Combining this kind of capability with staff awareness products keeps your vendor list lower and further improves efficiency.


    For around £2 GBP per user per month (less than $3) we provide different vendors depending upon the customer's environment but provided as a managed service. This allows our customers to outsource some of the monitoring and day-to-day management, spread the cost on a monthly basis, and flex how many licences they need on a monthly basis too i.e. if you drop 20 users don't pay for them but if you increase by 20 you don't need complex co-termination and pro rata discussions.

    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 tool comes with AI features. It is good for clients who already use Cisco products due to integration.
    Top Answer:Cisco Secure Email is more expensive than other products. I rate it a five out of ten. There are no additional costs. You only need to pay the subscription amounts.
    Top Answer:Cisco Email Secure's pricing needs to be less. We have vendors who provide cheaper solutions with the same features.
    Ranking
    Views
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    Comparisons
    1,211
    Reviews
    21
    Average Words per Review
    420
    Rating
    8.0
    2nd
    out of 107 in Email Security
    Views
    9,497
    Comparisons
    6,354
    Reviews
    22
    Average Words per Review
    693
    Rating
    8.3
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Barracuda Spam and Virus Firewall, Barracuda Sentinel
    Cisco Email Security, IronPort, Cisco Email Security, ESA, Email Security Appliances
    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.”

    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
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm20%
    Manufacturing Company14%
    Comms Service Provider14%
    Construction Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization42%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Government5%
    Financial Services Firm4%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company20%
    Energy/Utilities Company10%
    Retailer10%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Educational Organization15%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    Government6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business58%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise22%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise52%
    Large Enterprise26%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business32%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise37%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business23%
    Midsize Enterprise27%
    Large Enterprise50%
    Buyer's Guide
    Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs. Cisco Secure Email
    January 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs. Cisco Secure Email and other solutions. Updated: January 2024.
    763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Barracuda Email Security Gateway is ranked 2nd in SEG (Secure Email Gateway) with 26 reviews while Cisco Secure Email is ranked 2nd in Email Security with 26 reviews. Barracuda Email Security Gateway is rated 8.0, while Cisco Secure Email is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Barracuda Email Security Gateway writes "Great features with good threat management and antivirus capabilities". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Cisco Secure Email writes "The amount of traffic that it stops is massive". Barracuda Email Security Gateway is most compared with Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Fortinet FortiMail, Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), Proofpoint Email Protection and Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade, whereas Cisco Secure Email is most compared with Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), Trellix Collaboration Security, Fortinet FortiMail and Symantec Messaging Gateway. See our Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs. Cisco Secure Email report.

    We monitor all SEG (Secure Email Gateway) 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.