TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Microsoft Defender for Business

Score8.6 out of 10

26 Reviews and Ratings

Get a Demo

What is Microsoft Defender for Business?

Microsoft Defender for Business is an enterprise-grade endpoint security that is designed especially for businesses with up to 300 employees. It is used to deploy security across devices, and use automated built-in intelligence to rapidly protect, detect, and respond to threats.

Categories & Use Cases

Key Features

Learn about the best (and worst!) features Microsoft Defender for Business has to offer, as determined by TrustRadius' reviewers.
Based on 26 ratings of Microsoft Defender for Business's features
View all features

Top Performing Features

  • Anti-Exploit Technology

    In-memory and application layer attack blocking (e.g. ransomeware)

    Category average: 8.6

  • Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

    Continuous monitoring and response to advanced internet threats by endpoint agents.

    Category average: 9.1

  • Centralized Management

    Centralized management supporting multi-factor authentication, customized views, and role-based access control.

    Category average: 8.5

Areas for Improvement

  • Vulnerability Management

    Vulnerability prioritization for fixes.

    Category average: 8.3

  • Malware Detection

    Detection and blocking of zero-day file and fileless malware.

    Category average: 9

  • Hybrid Deployment Support

    Administrators should be able to choose endpoint security on-premise, cloud, or hybrid.

    Category average: 8.3

Most Frequent Users

Top 3 industries using Microsoft Defender for Business
Based on HG Insights installation data
View all Reviews
#1 most frequent

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

30.6%

15 installations of 49

#2 most frequent

Manufacturing

14.3%

7 installations of 49

#3 most frequent

Finance and Insurance

10.2%

5 installations of 49

Reviews

What users are saying about Microsoft Defender for Business.
View all reviews

Review of MS Defender

Incentivized
Michael Miller
IT Engineer in Information Technology at Carolina West Wireless (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Microsoft Defender for Business as an across-the-board antivirus agent for our servers and PCs. The software replaced a Sophos install that was not meeting our business needs. Microsoft Defender for Business was a less expensive option and provided more in-depth analysis of devices and threats, and protection for our organization. We also utilize it for information security and compliance.

Pros

  • Already integrated with Windows
  • Allows for folder and executable-specific exceptions when combined with Intune.
  • Incident response and analytics are fantastic.

Cons

  • Finding blocked programs in the UI is not intuitive if the alert message is dismissed.
  • The admin portal changes often with features coming and going.
  • Admin portal interface is cluttered and sometimes not intuitive.

Return on Investment

  • Because of its integration into Microsoft 365, we were able to completely remove the paid antivirus software renewal, saving several thousand dollars a year.
  • Malware infections have plummeted from 30-40 to less than 5 a year.
  • The automated incident response system can analyze, respond, and report incidents as soon as they are detected; allowing security and IT staff to be notified and respond to threats 24/7.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Sophos Central Device Encryption and Sophos Managed Detection and Response

Other Software Used

Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Exchange Online Archiving, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft Power Automate

Microsoft Defender for Business review from Drew

Incentivized
Verified User
Board Member in Information Technology (11-50 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are a managed service provider for other small and medium business, some of which have Small Business M365 licenses that include Microsoft Defender for Business. We deploy it in their environment to manage their endpoints, make sure they are fully secure and protected, and be able to track alerts and attacks in real time.

Pros

  • Monitors the health of endpoints
  • Protects endpoints with antivirus
  • Allows for policy configurations that can be deployed to endpoints

Cons

  • The Microsoft Defender for Business setup can be confusing
  • The portal doesn't allow for certain configurations, which need to be done from the InTune Admin Center
  • Feature set is far less than the InTune Admin Center

Return on Investment

  • Many of our clients are small businesses, so it gives them a cheaper way to manage their devices
  • Allows us to resell the licenses at a better price point and keep labor costs down
  • Increased our client base with new customers looking to deploy Microsoft Defender for Business

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Other Software Used

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, CYRISMA, ScreenConnect

Microsoft Defender for Business for the WIN

Incentivized
Verified User
Manager in Information Technology (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Microsoft Defender for Business as an added layer of endpoint protection on certain devices. It integrates with our Office 365 to help protect against phishing and better secure our Microsoft apps. Defender for Business helps address problems related to Cybersecurity related to malware, ransomware, phishing, etc. Having installed on laptops, it secures endpoints in and out of the office regardless of the employee's location. We are a small/medium entity between 100 - 200 employees with a mix of on-prem and cloud security needs. We are satisfied users and recommend Microsoft Defender for Business.

Pros

  • Advanced Threat protection
  • Integration with Microsoft 365
  • Endpoint Protection

Cons

  • Confusion between the different Defender products
  • Ease of setup and configuration
  • Reporting and Alerts

Return on Investment

  • Improved cybersecurity
  • Learning curve
  • Resource consumption

Usability

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365, Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365, Goverlan Reach, from EasyVista

Would you settle for less than the best? If not, Defender for Business is the way to go!

Incentivized
Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology (201-500 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Microsoft Defender for Business is our main protection and vulnerability management for our corporate Windows systems since over 1,5 years by now. Apart from the obvious protection part that it covers it also offers us console where we can see all the potential vulnerabilities and thus helps us remediate them and as a result reduce our attack surface.

Pros

  • Very efficient in detecting all kinds of threats
  • Very helpful in identifying all existing vulnerabilities
  • Great in reducing the attack surface

Cons

  • Microsoft Defender for Business is not that effective when it is not connected to the internet. It relies to much on the internet connectivity.
  • The user interface is limited, thus giving the false impression that there is not much done by Defender!
  • Would be better to have Defender show in the running apps in the taskbar corner.

Return on Investment

  • Microsoft Defender for Business has cut our costs compared to our previous solution.
  • Microsoft Defender for Business has really helped us reduce our attack surface, thus preventing possible future problems / incidents.
  • Since we have switched over to Microsoft Defender for Business, we have reduced the time needed to monitor our protection solution.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Trend Micro Worry-Free Services Suite and PandaSuite

Other Software Used

Watchguard Endpoint Security, SAP S/4HANA Cloud