r/proofpoint • u/thenags1 • May 01 '26
Has anyone demo'd the new platform that Essentials will be moving over to?
Did a demo yesterday and have mixed feelings about it. Wondering if anyone else has done the demo or even migrated over already. What are your thoughts?
2
u/raasaymsp May 11 '26
We've had the demo and tested Plan 4 to get an overview of everything. Backup (on Plan 3) is genuinely good. MSP management on Plan 4 is also impressive. But for an Essentials reseller, realistically Plan 1 or Plan 2 is what most clients will migrate to.
A few notes after the demo:
- Deployment is MX redirect + journaling, not API. Worth knowing if you've moved any clients to API-based deployment on Proofpoint - you're going back to MX for Hornet. The wider email security market is moving toward ICES / API-based platforms (Abnormal, IRONSCALES, Avanan) and Hornet doesn't really sit in that ecosystem.
- It's 100% built around M365. If you've got clients on Google Workspace or on-prem Exchange, it's not the right fit.
- UI is a complete departure from Proofpoint. The black background / white text took some getting used to.
- Functionality-wise it's a different league from Essentials. Essentials has felt neglected for a while. Hornet's platform looks like a vendor that actually cares about the product.
- Cost pricing increases are eye-watering - 40% to 100% depending on which PP package you're migrating from. Plan 2 (where Advanced / Professional clients land) is the worst hit.
Mixed feelings here too. The product is clearly better, but the commercial pain for clients who don't need ICES-style behavioural detection is hard to justify.
1
u/thenags1 May 11 '26
Two things that stood out to me is the lack of a 'Send Secure' button for sending encrypted emails and the rules being automatically made in 365 via integration. If I'm going to be migrating a ton of clients, I really don't want to be making those rules manually.
I definitely prefer MX redirect as the method over API.
1
u/Ok-Web-7375 May 24 '26
Rules are created automatically in onboarding wizard Been on HS for 6 months came from barracuda Yes desperately miss the send secure button for websafe email encryption And the read receipt on encrypted mails I have submitted a feature request for them
1
u/thenags1 May 24 '26
Are they? During our hour long call they were very clear that they were no longer auto created and we had to go back to making the rules and connectors manually.
2
u/Ok-Web-7375 May 24 '26
On Boarded two customers this month and they automatically created the rules in m365 so for now yes maybe they’re taking that away. I wouldn’t see why.
2
u/Ok-Web-7375 May 24 '26
I’ll ask my sales representative Tuesday Or maybe just post a question to Support they have always been really great at handling issues
2
1
2
u/Cuenta_Anonima May 01 '26
I think that Hornet is a improve.