OpenPanel
OpenPanel ships 3.1.0 and 3.1.1 within a day of 3.0, all supporter-first builds with no notes.
Comparison · Analytics
Hex vs ManageEngine M365 Security Plus
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Hex and ManageEngine M365 Security Plus — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Hex vs ManageEngine M365 Security Plus: at a glance
| Feature | Hex | ManageEngine M365 Security Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Analytics | Analytics |
| Velocity score | 6.3 | 5.0 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 0 |
| Top themes | ai agents, generative apps, agent governance, evals | microsoft-365, security-auditing, on-premises, dependency-upgrades |
| Last editorial update | 17d ago | 2mo ago |
| Website | — | Visit → |
What is Hex?
Hex turns its agent from a query helper into a governed app builder.
Hex now ships weekly around two surfaces: the Hex Agent and Generative Apps. The agent builds projects from chat, runs under published eval suites, and works through Slack, CLI and API; Generative Apps have gained chat, scheduled exports, direct text editing and targeted chart edits. The latest release adds classifications of agent activity, giving admins a view of what the team actually asks the agent to do.
What is ManageEngine M365 Security Plus?
An on-prem M365 auditing tool whose releases are mostly dependency hygiene.
M365 Security Plus is an on-premises Java application for auditing and alerting on Microsoft 365 activity, shipped as numbered builds a few times a year. The last two builds are typical of the pattern: 4821 upgrades the bundled JRE from Java 8 to 11 and refreshes 7-Zip and Jackson libraries, while 4820 carries the only real functional work in the window — mailbox backups to local, shared, or NAS repositories, PST splitting for large exports, bulk mailbox selection from CSV, and audit logs that show object names instead of GUIDs. Security fixes appear in nearly every build.
Hex vs ManageEngine M365 Security Plus: editorial side-by-side
Hex
6.3ANALYTICS
Hex turns its agent from a query helper into a governed app builder.
◆ Current state
Hex now ships weekly around two surfaces: the Hex Agent and Generative Apps. The agent builds projects from chat, runs under published eval suites, and works through Slack, CLI and API; Generative Apps have gained chat, scheduled exports, direct text editing and targeted chart edits. The latest release adds classifications of agent activity, giving admins a view of what the team actually asks the agent to do.
◆ Where it's heading
The work has shifted from adding agent capability to making that capability manageable: evals, approval skipping, bring-your-own-provider, model visibility, and now usage classification. Generative Apps are being rounded out in parallel so that agent-built output can be edited, shared and scheduled like a regular Hex app.
◆ Prediction
Expect the activity classifications to feed further admin tooling, such as usage reporting tied to credits or evals, alongside continued weekly iteration on Generative App editing.
ManageEngine M365 Security Plus
5.0ANALYTICS
An on-prem M365 auditing tool whose releases are mostly dependency hygiene.
◆ Current state
M365 Security Plus is an on-premises Java application for auditing and alerting on Microsoft 365 activity, shipped as numbered builds a few times a year. The last two builds are typical of the pattern: 4821 upgrades the bundled JRE from Java 8 to 11 and refreshes 7-Zip and Jackson libraries, while 4820 carries the only real functional work in the window — mailbox backups to local, shared, or NAS repositories, PST splitting for large exports, bulk mailbox selection from CSV, and audit logs that show object names instead of GUIDs. Security fixes appear in nearly every build.
◆ Where it's heading
Two forces set the release agenda, and neither is a roadmap. The first is Microsoft: deprecated cmdlets forced an audit rewrite onto Get-MessageTraceV2, and a tenant configuration change broke onboarding until build 4817 patched around it. The second is the supply chain — Log4j, Tomcat, Bouncy Castle, Zulu JRE, and now the Java 8 to 11 jump, all tracked build by build because on-premises customers inherit whatever the vendor bundles. The product work that does land clusters around the Backup module, which is the one area growing rather than being maintained.
◆ Prediction
With the JRE finally past Java 8, Tomcat 9 is the next end-of-life dependency in the bundle, and the Backup module's steady additions suggest export and retention options continue there.
Alternatives to Hex and ManageEngine M365 Security Plus
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Hex or ManageEngine M365 Security Plus.
OpenHouse
OpenHouse starts simplifying replication by making its catalog, not Iceberg metadata, the source.
Basedash
Basedash adds view-only seats so whole departments can read dashboards without editing.
OpenReplay
OpenReplay adds offline license tokens so air-gapped installs can run licensed.
Tinybird
Tinybird switches off Classic for Free and Developer plans, leaving Forward as the only path.
OpenCTI
OpenCTI's weekly train now merges entities in the knowledge view and reads defanged IOCs.
See all Hex alternatives → · See all ManageEngine M365 Security Plus alternatives →
Recent activity from Hex and ManageEngine M365 Security Plus
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 18d agoHexSee how your team uses the agent
- 25d agoHexExplore and share insights from Generative Apps
- 1mo agoHexPublish eval suites, skip approvals, and build Hex projects from your chat agent ⚡
- 1mo agoHexMore control over Generative app iteration
- 1mo agoHexChart controls and easier collaboration
- 2mo agoHexStart building an app right from your conversation
- 2mo agoManageEngine M365 Security PlusBuild 4821: bundled JRE moves to Java 11
- 3mo agoManageEngine M365 Security PlusBuild 4820: NAS backup targets, PST splitting, readable audits
- 4mo agoManageEngine M365 Security PlusBuild 4817: tenant configuration unblocked
- 6mo agoManageEngine M365 Security PlusBuild 4816: Export Graph data-access fix and Log4j upgrade
- 8mo agoManageEngine M365 Security PlusBuild 4814: Duo SDK update before certificate expiry
- 9mo agoManageEngine M365 Security PlusBuild 4811: proxy, scheduler, and SSL launch fixes
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Hex and ManageEngine M365 Security Plus?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Hex is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Hex better than ManageEngine M365 Security Plus?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Hex is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Hex?
Top Hex alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Hex alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/hex for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to ManageEngine M365 Security Plus?
Top ManageEngine M365 Security Plus alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ManageEngine M365 Security Plus alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/manageengine-m365-security-plus for the full list with editorial commentary on each.