Proofpoint vs Cisco Secure Email -- Email Security Compared
Cisco Secure Email is a mature enterprise email gateway backed by Cisco Talos threat intelligence, one of the largest commercial threat research teams in the world. It integrates tightly with Cisco's security ecosystem for cross-domain visibility. However, Proofpoint leads in overall email threat detection — particularly for BEC and social engineering — and offers a more modern, comprehensive platform with superior archiving and compliance capabilities. Cisco Secure Email is most compelling for organizations already invested in the Cisco security stack.
Choose Cisco Secure Email if you are invested in the Cisco security ecosystem and want tight integration with SecureX and Talos intelligence. Choose Proofpoint if you need superior detection of BEC and social engineering attacks, a more comprehensive email security platform, and enterprise archiving capabilities.
| Feature | Cisco Secure Email | Proofpoint |
|---|---|---|
| Threat Detection | Strong malware detection via Talos | Industry-leading across all threat types |
| BEC Detection | Basic forged email detection | Advanced behavioral analysis and NLP |
| Ecosystem Integration | Deep Cisco SecureX integration | Broad third-party API integrations |
| Threat Intelligence | Cisco Talos (one of the largest) | Proofpoint Nexus threat intel |
| Deployment Flexibility | Cloud, hybrid, on-premises | Cloud-hosted gateway |
| Email Archiving | Not included — separate product | Enterprise archiving built-in |
| Admin Interface | Dated but functional | Modern but complex console |
| Graymail Handling | Built-in graymail management | Standard bulk mail filtering |
Common questions about choosing between Proofpoint and Cisco Secure Email.
Cisco Secure Email is a mature enterprise email gateway backed by Cisco Talos threat intelligence, one of the largest commercial threat research teams in the world. It integrates tightly with Cisco's security ecosystem for cross-domain visibility. However, Proofpoint leads in overall email threat detection — particularly for BEC and social engineering — and offers a more modern, comprehensive platform with superior archiving and compliance capabilities. Cisco Secure Email is most compelling for organizations already invested in the Cisco security stack.
Choose Cisco Secure Email if you are invested in the Cisco security ecosystem and want tight integration with SecureX and Talos intelligence. Choose Proofpoint if you need superior detection of BEC and social engineering attacks, a more comprehensive email security platform, and enterprise archiving capabilities.
Cisco Secure Email pricing: Custom enterprise pricing / per-user licensing. Proofpoint pricing: Custom enterprise pricing / per-user licensing. Cisco Secure Email's pricing model is per-user subscription or appliance license, while Proofpoint uses per-user subscription pricing.
Yes, you can migrate from Proofpoint to Cisco Secure Email. The migration process depends on your specific setup and the features you use. Both platforms offer APIs that can facilitate automated migration. Consider running both tools in parallel during the transition to ensure zero downtime.
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