Abnormal AI vs. FortiMail: Evaluating Email Security Solutions

Email security is a vital line of defense to protect your organization and its data. Here at Opkalla, we’ve worked with two different providers - Abnormal AI and FortiMail. Each service does a great job at detecting dangerous emails and preventing breaches, but the details can make a huge difference. We drew on client experiences and insights from our Technology Advisors to break down the details and give you an idea of how each solution works to protect you.

Unique Features

Fortimail, which was known as Perception Point until the end of 2024, is an integrated cloud email security platform. Using AI, it provides unified support across platforms to stop and detect threats before they reach your inbox. Some of the notable features Fortimail includes are:

• 24x7 SOC: Fortimail is always available to investigate and remediate any potential threats that end up in your inbox.

• Inbound and outbound capabilities: Fortimail can detect threatening emails from internal accounts, meaning your inbox is safe if an internal user is compromised.

• Integrated security: One common dashboard protects emails, browsers, and cloud apps.

Abnormal’s approach is a similar but slightly more advanced take on Fortimail’s. Using behavioral AI, it can detect subtle anomalies and hyper-personalized attacks that a traditional security tool might miss. Some of Abnormal’s unique features include:

• Inbound email security: Using behavioral AI, Abnormal can detect and remediate any threats inbound to your inbox.

• Email account takeover prevention: Abnormal’s AI quickly detects compromised accounts, builds a case for review, and takes steps to disarm the threat.

• Security posture management: Abnormal constantly monitors your Microsoft 365 posture, alerting you of any risks or misconfigurations.

Despite the difference in their approaches, both solutions do a great job of preventing attacks and securing your inbox.

Ease of Setting Up and Customer Support

Both platforms have a somewhat automated setup process. FortiMail provided a script for our team to run, making it relatively easy to set up. However, Abnormal has the edge here. Once you authorize Abnormal to review your emails, it’s almost entirely hands-off. The service is integrated into the back end of your inbox and analyzes everything you receive in real-time.  

On the other hand, the Opkalla team has nothing but good things to say about FortiMail’s customer support. Active engineers are always there reviewing things and can assist as needed, especially if a breach or attack were to occur. This support was instrumental in our setup of the platform, as the engineers were incredibly responsive (and even proactive) in addressing concerns.

While both solutions have great customer support backing them, their approaches are vastly different. Abnormal’s support relies much more on AI than Fortimail’s 24x7 SOC, lessening the need for human intervention.  

Ease of Use for Administrators and Users

On the user end, either solution is practically invisible, so it’s important to look at them from an administrative standpoint.

Abnormal has a simple user interface that takes most of the work out of the administrator’s hands. While FortiMail’s UI is more complex, it allows the administrator to see things in greater detail and have more control over the solution. Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference of how hands-on your administrators want to be when implementing and using an email security tool.

Pricing

Exact pricing for both platforms varies based on the number of mailboxes. From our direct experience, Opkalla has paid less for FortiMail. According to Vendr, the median contract price for Abnormal is over $37,000, a steep amount for smaller organizations with fewer employees.

Summing It Up

With either solution in place, your organization and its data are in good hands. Both solutions have high detection rates, especially when paired with other lines of defense such as Microsoft’s email protection tool. All in all, the people who make up your organization are the most important defense you can have. It’s vital to train your employees on phishing and data protection in case anything slips through the cracks of your security solution.

Each provider has its pros and cons, and there are different use cases for each. While a smaller organization prioritizing integration across platforms would likely gravitate towards FortiMail, a large company that receives complex, targeted threats may be better off using Abnormal’s behavioral AI model.

While this article may give you an idea of which provider is the best fit for you, it only scratches the surface of a complex decision. If you’re interested in buying a solution to protect your inboxes from threats, Opkalla is here to help. Fill out this form to connect with an advisor and get the conversation started today!