Every partner has heard it. “We already have Microsoft security. We’re covered.”
This is not an unreasonable position. Microsoft has invested heavily in its security ecosystem. Many clients assume that paying for Microsoft 365 means email risk is handled. However, there is an important distinction between baseline protection and specialist detection.
Default Does Not Mean Complete
Native security controls are often deployed with default configurations. In many environments, advanced policies are not tuned, legacy authentication is still enabled, and monitoring is reactive rather than proactive.
In addition, large platform vendors must balance protection with usability across a broad customer base. That creates inherent trade-offs. Email remains the most common entry point for credential theft, business email compromise, and ransomware staging. When threats are highly targeted or rapidly evolving, detection speed becomes critical. MailGuard operates on unique and proprietary AI-powered detection engines, developed and fine-tuned across more than two decades to stop real-world threats and keep client inboxes safe. These engines enhance the native security in Microsoft 365.
Partners are uniquely positioned to explain the difference between:
- Platform level protection
- Specialised threat intelligence focused solely on email
- Real-time behavioural and fingerprint-based detection, and
- Layered defence that reduces exposure before user interaction.
Reframing the Conversation
This is not about replacing Microsoft. It's about amplifying it. The most effective partner conversations avoid vendor comparisons and instead focus on risk outcomes:
- How many high-risk emails are still reaching users?
- How quickly are zero-day campaigns being identified?
- What evidence can we show the board that exposure is declining?
When positioned as risk reduction rather than duplication, third-party email protection like MailGuard becomes a governance discussion.
Handling the Objection Strategically
A simple framework partners can use:
- Confirm what Microsoft licensing tier is deployed.
- Assess configuration maturity.
- Review recent phishing attempts that bypassed native controls.
- Demonstrate how specialist email protection like MailGuard reduces residual risk.
This approach respects the client’s existing investment while highlighting measurable gaps, most importantly in speed to detect and blocking advanced zero-day threats, with MailGuard consistently identifying threats hours and sometimes months ahead of Microsoft and other vendors.
Why This Matters to Partners
The “we already have Defender” objection is not technical. It's psychological. Clients want reassurance. Partners must provide clarity. Reducing the client's stack may decrease their overall cost, but that means less ARPU for the partner, and a higher cost to serve plus the risk of attrition if threats reach end users. By positioning MailGuard as a specialist AI-powered email threat detection layer, built to detect and stop advanced zero-day email threats in real time, partners move the conversation from product comparison to strategic protection and posture enhancement.
Keeping Businesses Safe and Secure
Prevention is always better than a cure, and one of the best defences is to encourage businesses to proactively boost their company’s cyber resilience levels to avoid threats landing in inboxes in the first place. The fact that a staggering 94% of malware attacks are delivered by email, makes email an extremely important vector for businesses to fortify.
No one vendor can stop all email threats, so it’s crucial to remind customers that if they are using Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, they should also have a third-party email security specialist in place to mitigate their risk. For example, using a specialist AI-powered email threat detection solution like MailGuard.
For a few dollars per staff member per month, businesses are protected by MailGuard's specialist, AI-powered zero-day email security. Special Ops for when speed matters! Our real-time zero-day, email threat detection amplifies your client’s intelligence, knowledge, security and defence.
MailGuard provides a range of solutions to keep businesses safe, from email filtering to email continuity and archiving solutions. Speak to your clients today to ensure they’re prepared and get in touch with our team to discuss fortifying your client’s cyber resilience.
Talk to us
MailGuard's partner blog is a forum to share information; we want it to be a dialogue. Reach out to us and tell us what your customers need so we can serve you better. You can connect with us on social media or call us and speak to one of our consultants.
Australian partners, please call us on 1300 30 65 10
US partners call 1888 848 2822
UK partners call 0 800 404 8993
