Endpoint Protection Cloud

Good day Everyone

I have been doing a lot of searching online and have not yet been able to decern what the major differences are between:

• Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud (hereafter referred to as SEP Cloud)
• Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition cloud-managed (hereafter referred to as SEP SBE)

I do know that SEP Cloud is newer (and can optionally include Encryption) when compared SEP SBE, however there appears to be a significant overlap with regards to their features and funtionality. What are the key differences? Will the one product/service eventually replace the other?

If I can recall correctly, there is a limit with regards to the total number of endpoints SEP SBE can manage. I suspect this relates to how small (and possibly medium) businesses are clasified from Symantec's perspective. Is there such a limit in SEP Cloud as well?

Many thanks.

Differences between the Small Business(Cloud and on-premise) and Enterprise editions: refer below link-

https://support.symantec.com/en_US/article.INFO3162.html

• Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud ( Referred to as SEP Cloud):-

Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud, a new solution for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) to protect them from targeted attacks and ransomware, giving SMB owners enterprise-grade protection in a solution that can be set up in less than five minutes and operated by someone with general IT knowledge.

Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud is for organisations with fewer than 1 000 employees that are looking for an effective way to protect corporate and personal devices on the corporate network.

Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud offers:

- Layered detection controls to protect endpoints from threats that are powered by advanced machine learning techniques and Symantec’s Global Intelligence Network

- Easy set up and deployment in under five minutes

- One place to manage all devices, including: PCs, laptops, mobile phones, tablets and servers across Windows, Mac, iOS and Android

- A reduction in IT administrative support with a self-service portal that allows employees to add new devices for protection

- Real-time updates on threat activity and compliance with a simple and easy to read dashboard

- Protection for up to five devices per employee under a single license fee.

Thank you for your reply. It does however not make any mention of the could-managed Symantec Endpoint Security Small Business Edition (SBE) and how it compares to Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud and if it will eventually replace it.

I don't know you'll get an answer on if it will replace it, probably not on this forum anyway. You may need to discuss with sales rep.

SBE is intended for 250 or less clients. It lacks a few features that the SEP cloud version has. A cleaner comparison is here:

https://www.symantec.com/connect/articles/feature-comparison-between-sep-121-sbe-sepcloud-and-ee

Brian, unfortunately that post is old, and so does not accurately reflect the "new" SEP Cloud product.  It is actually referring to the distinction between the then available SBE (server/desktop) vs SEP.cloud (web-based) products.

As I have said in the past, Symantec has an absolutely horrible practice when it comes to naming their products.  They have an equally hard time defining the differences between and among their product offerings.

By introducing a "new" SEP Cloud product without clear identifying marks, they've simply muddied the endpoint waters.  And keep in mind that this is still a "first generation" product.  Waiting a year or two for it to flesh out will probably be a good thing for most practitioners - who should purchase licenses with that thought in mind.

Kahml, thank you, I came to this post because I am considering recommending a move off of SEP for one of my larger customers. The ambiguity that Symantec  displays in their support was a primary factor however their efficiency prompted me to at least look at other Symantec options so I wanted to at least review what Symantec had to offer. It appears that Symantec is really not concerned with the retention of enterprise customers, that or I am asking/searching the wrong questions which takes us back to that ambiguity statement.

Back to the original question.  Here is some recent information I received from series of emails from a Product Marketing Associate at one of the major distributors while discussing the changes to Symantec's ExSP program.  The contents have been edited for some clarity:

SEPC (Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud) is the latest cloud option.  Symantec wants to convert everyone over to this product, and soon [a number of years], EOL the SBE 2013 product.

SEPC is a superior product, but the management console is not up to par with the SBE 2013’s console yet.  This is Symantec’s #1 priority right now, to fix this and make it more like SBE 2013’s. But, currently, it is not there.

The datasheet for the new product can be found here: https://www.symantec.com/content/dam/symantec/docs/data-sheets/endpoint-protection-cloud-en.pdf

This product is licensed per User up to 5 devices, including mobile devices.  There is also a Small Business version, which is licensed per User 1 device, and only for laptop/desktops.  [Another case of Symantec messing up a name...]

Currently Symantec is working on a Migration Tool from SBE 2013 cloud to SEPC.  This tool is not completed yet, but this will allow the transition from SBE 2013 to SEPC to be a smooth one.

There is talk that the ETA for the new PMC for SEPC is to be released in the next month or so.  That means MSPs will be able to utilize SEPC in a much more interactive way moving forward.

SEPC isn’t quoted or ordered like any other Symantec product. If you’re familiar with Office 365 and the way it’s licensed, SEPC is the same type of way.

 

There you have it.

The bottom line is that SEPC is a generation one product that is undergoing change.  I would expect that in another year or two, it will be a workable solution for a good number of existing SBE users/clients.  Because Symantec will stubbornly continue to try to slap a pretty enterprise-like UI on top of the consumer-grade Norton software.  However, by that time, most of the other major (and newer) security vendors will have completely revamped the way cloud/desktop security management via web-based portal is supposed to operate.

For more information about the supported features and latest updates, you can refer to Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud (SEP Cloud) help portal -

https://help.symantec.com/cs/SEPC/SEPC/v117870534_v101064224/Release-notes/?locale=EN_US

Thanks,

Ankit