Material Security 
vs. SEGs
Secure Email Gateways protect against malicious email during delivery using an architecture built decades ago for on-premises mail servers. Material Security is a secure email gateway alternative built for Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, connecting by API to protect email, files, and accounts in one platform rather than at a single checkpoint.
Material Security is best for cloud-first organizations that want a complete view of threats and risk across email, files, and accounts in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Material fits teams that need:
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- Protection even after messages are delivered
- Resilient account controls like MFA step-up authentication to protect email data
- One integrated console instead of managing a patchwork of point solutions
SEGs are best for organizations standardized on a gateway model that are comfortable changing MX records, tuning quarantine flows, and concentrating security effort on pre-delivery filtering. Teams may prefer a SEG approach if they have:
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- On-prem email that requires a traditional gateway
- Established email-only security teams
- Dedicated operations personnel to maintain a gateway
Differentiators Between Material Security & SEGs
Ease of Deployment
Material connects to Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 by API, and setup takes less than ten minutes to establish a secure, read-write connection to email, files, and account settings.
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A SEG requires DNS changes, mail traffic rerouting, and ongoing configuration before it inspects a single message, and that rerouting typically sits in front of native protections like Gmail's filters or Microsoft Exchange Online Protection rather than working alongside them. See this article for the architecture difference in more depth.
Less Time to Manage
Material removes the daily queue triage a gateway requires. There is no shadow mail store, no separate module for phishing protection, account risk, OAuth grant management, and incident response, and messages are not detained by default, so deliverability stays clean.
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A SEG's workflow centers on a quarantine, which means someone reviews queues, tunes policy for false positives, and handles deliverability disruptions whenever settings tighten.
Catch What a SEG Misses
A SEG gets one chance to catch a threat in transit. Material combines that inbound check with visibility across the cloud office and controls that apply after a breach, so it can block sophisticated BEC and VIP impersonation while also containing account takeover, data exposure, and insider threats a gateway never sees. See this direct comparison of the two models.
Why do security teams choose Material Security?
It’s simple: it provides protection beyond just email at a better value.
Email Security
Material runs on auto-pilot to remediate sophisticated email attacks that bypass traditional controls—without disrupting operations or wasting resources managing rulesets
Data Security
Understand where sensitive data exists, if it is exposed, and reduce the risk. Material detects sensitive content in files and automatically remediates excessive permissions and inappropriate sharing.
Identity Security
Detect account takeovers, contain their impact, automatically manage OAuth connections, and proactively harden your accounts. Material prevents attackers from establishing their presence, moving laterally, and exfiltrating sensitive data.
The most innovative organizations trust Material
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Ready to secure what your business is made of?
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