Top 40 Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Security Companies List
The line between MDR (managed detection and response) and traditional MSSPs has greatly blurred — and in some cases it has disappeared. Hundreds of MSSPs now offer MDR services — but Gartner says customers should be careful about pretenders in the market that have incomplete offerings.
To help clarify the situation, Gartner’s 2021 Market Guide for Managed Detection and Response Services points to 40 companies that offer credible MDR capabilities — up from about 20 companies in 2018.
Notes:
- Gartner concedes, “This is not intended to be a list of all the providers in the MDR services market. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a competitive analysis of the providers.”
- What About SMB?: Gartner tends to focus on midmarket and enterprise MDR companies, MSSP Alert believes, and overlooks fast-growing, MSP-friendly MDR providers such as Blackpoint Cyber, Huntress, Netsurion and Stellar Cyber. All four of those MDR providers have gained critical mass with MSSPs and MSPs.
- Related – Top 250 MSSPs & Top 25 SOCaaS Companies: Many of the MDR companies listed below also appeared on our Top 250 MSSP 2021 Company List and Research, and some of the MDR service providers also position as SOCaaS providers.
- Whom did we miss? Email MDR market thoughts and leads to Editorial Director Joe Panettieri ([email protected]).
Now, here’s the Gartner MDR list (sorted alphabetically) along with MSSP Alert’s background on each company.
Top 40 MDR (Managed Detection and Response) Security Companies to Know
1. Ackcent (Barcelona, Spain): As of mid-2020, AttackIQ and Ackcent were partnering to provide breach and attack simulation (BAS) and continuous security validation (CSV) to joint customers across Europe. Ranked 108 in our Top 250 MSSP list for 2021.
2. ActZero (Toronto, Canada): As of mid-2021, ActZero announced the Summit partner program for MSPs, MSSPs and VARs. Summit enables ActZero partners to deliver MDR as a white-labeled service, the company said. Also, the company ActZero acquired Intelligo Networks, a top MDR provider, in 2020 and also raised a $40 million seed round led by Point72 Hyperscale in 2021.
3. Aiuken Cybersecurity (Madrid, Spain)
The company develops SOC Multi-Cloud and partners mainly with technology vendors. Other than seeing Aiuken on the Gartner MDR list, the company has not been on MSSP Alert’s radar.
4. Alert Logic (Houston, Texas, U.S.)
In a surprise move, Alert Logic in January 2021 promoted CFO John Post to CEO, and hired multiple executives who previously held key roles at Carbonite and Webroot. The executive changes and updates came as Alert Logic strives to position itself as the top provider of SaaS-based MDR and SOAR (security orchestration and response) services. Private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe has owned Alert Logic since August 2013. New Alert Logic partner incentives arrived in September 2021.
5. Arctic Wolf (Eden Prairie, Minnesota, U.S.)
Arctic Wolf could launch an IPO in 2022. In preparation for that move, the company promoted President and Chief Revenue Officer Nick Schneider to CEO in August 2021. Arctic Wolf raised $150 million in Series F financing and achieved a $4.3 billion valuation in July 2021. Key investors include Viking Global Investors, Owl Rock, a division of Blue Owl Capital, and other existing investors, the technology company said at the time. Also, Arctic Wolf in June 2021 expanded its channel-focused security services and operations to EMEA and incorporated Authorized and Wolf Pack tiers into its channel partner program. Arctic Wolf also launched its Managed Security Awareness training solution in May 2021.
6. Atos (Paris, France): Atos acquired MDR service provider Paladion in early 2020. Paladion, founded in 2000 had more than 800 employees and services roughly 400 customers in 12 countries at the time of the deal. Also, Paladion generated about $29 million in revenue in 2019. Atos, meanwhile, has been struggling to drive growth in the company’s overall IT consulting business.
7. Binary Defense (Stow, Ohio, U.S.)
The MSSP and MDR provider also surfaced on the Forrester Wave list of MDR leaders. The company’s offerings include SOC-as-a-Service, Managed Detection & Response, Security Information & Event Management, Threat Hunting and Counterintelligence.
8. Bitdefender (Bucharest, Romania): Here’s an example of a security software company competing in the MDR market while supporting MSP partners. As of September 2021, Bitdefender offered three MDR packages — including Bitdefender MDR Core, Bitdefender MDR Advanced and Bitdefender MDR Enterprise.
9. BlueVoyant (New York, New York, U.S.): BlueVoyant, formerly named BlueteamGlobal, launched in 2017. As of November 2021, BlueVoyant apparently was seeking to raise $150 million, and the funding round could value the next-generation MSSP at $1.4 billion — though terms are not finalized. See this story for complete BlueVoyant business history and strategy updates, as of November 2021.
10. Booz Allen Hamilton (McLean, Virginia, U.S.)
Booz Allen Hamilton, which operates a Top 250 MSSP business unit, is seeking to make more tuck-in acquisitions in such areas as cybersecurity services and healthcare technology as of October 2021. Booz Allen expressed similar M&A views in January 2021. The company since that time has acquired Liberty IT Solutions for healthcare IT consulting, and cybersecurity services provider Tracepoint. On the flip side, Booz Allen spun out the SnapAttack threat hunting & detection company in November 2021.
Continue to page two for MDR security companies 11-20
Hi David: You can email news info to me here: [email protected].
Best,
-jp
Joe Panettieri
Content Czar, MSSP Alert
EVP, After Nines Inc.
Managed Detection and Response services are must needed for all the enterprises and organizations to protect their data on the internet. By using the best cyber security services, the information on the network will be protected.
Comodo Cybersecurity would like to keep in touch with you about cybersecurity issues, as well as products and services available. Website: https://mdr.comodo.com/
Janssleen:
Thanks for the note. Comodo can reach me directly with news updates, feedback, etc., via email:
[email protected]
Thanks so much.
-jp
Joe Panettieri
Content Czar, MSSP Alert
EVP, After Nines Inc.
Hi Joe,
Appreciate the list.
Feliciano Rivera
Bitdefender License and Technology Group
Hi Feliciano: Thanks for your note and readership. A few folks have asked if/when we plan to update the list. Stay tuned for a 2020 update.
Best,
-jp
We are currently using Sentinel One for our EDR. Can this be added to the list for review? We have seen this on the Gardner Magic Quadrant and was a major player.
Nice list 🙂 Could you please correct the list of european MDR providers – the name is CSIS and not CICS? Thank you 🙂
Hi Jack: Thanks for the note. SentinelOne is more of a software provider, though we certainly respect the company and know they have momentum with MSSPs, and OEM deals with the likes of SolarWinds MSP. Still, we’ll be sure to watch for Gartner updates as we prepare to potentially revise this list in 2020.
-jp
Christian: Sorry about my error. I’ve made the correction. Thanks for the note.
-jp
Love the lists and the work you do. Just sent you an email.
-Jake
Jake: Thanks for your readership and that email. I appreciate the update on CI Security. Please keep the updates coming.
-jp
Many of my clients use Critical Start as the MDR, and they allow customers to use a variety of EDR solutions including MDATP
Critical Start as the MDR
Can you add Countercept MDR from F-Secure to your list for review?
Hi David: We’ll keep Countercept MDR in mind as we continue to cover the market.
-jp
Joe, great list. There have been a few up and coming players, such as LogicHub, missing in this list. Would be great to include them in the next assessment to compare with others.
Joe, an excellent list of MDR service providers!
Like any outsourced service, managed detection and response service providers allow you to gain a team of experts at a price you can afford. For companies who don’t have the time or resources, this is especially useful. Data and privacy regulations should be respected. Be sure that you choose a provider that is able to meet the compliance requirements you need to observe.
Hi Joe,
Did the November 2020 update get completed? I’m curious for your thoughts on Blackpoint Security?
Thanks!
Sheila
Hey Folks,
The blog above was originally published in November 2019 with a look at 20 MDR companies that Gartner was tracking. We updated the list in February 2021, based on Gartner’s 2020 MDR market guide plus our market coverage. At that point, the list grew to 40 companies.
-jp
Hi Sheila: Thanks for your note and readership. All of MSSP Alert’s coverage of Blackpoint Cyber is here.
Best,
-jp
Hi Joe,
Is there any possibility to include “Sattrix Information Security” company name in your list of Feb 2021? As we recently applied on Gartner Insights.
Hi Janki: Thanks for your question. We have no near-term plans to make additions to the February 2021 list published above. But we do cover MDR news, research and trends on a nearly daily basis. Please be sure to send us Sattrix business updates & news announcements.
Separately, we will likely publish a new or revised list after the Gartner 2021 MDR market guide surfaces, though we’ll need some time to compare the report findings to our own editorial coverage.
Best,
-jp
Hey Joe,
Hope you are keeping well.
Have you looked up Talion – British MSSP which was the CyberSecurity Division within BAE ( third largest defence company in the world).
Hi Sunil,
Thanks for your note and readership. I haven’t heard much out of Talion but I look forward to updates. You and the company can email me news, business developments, etc., here: [email protected].
Best,
-jp
Joe,
You mention that Blackpoint Cyber, Huntress, Netsurion and Stellar Cyber as MSP friendly MDR suppliers. Would you also RocketCyber as an MDR?
You recapitulated the Gartner list in this article. Are you going to create your own MDR list for MSPs focused on SMBs?
Very truly yours,
Jonathan Handler MS MBA
Hi Jonathan: Thanks for your note. Two quick replies to your inquiries.
1. I’m familiar with RocketCyber and its focus on MSPs. But I have not heard whether Rocket Cyber has gained “critical mass” with MSPs and MSSPs. The other companies I mention in the article above (Blackpoint Cyber, Huntress, Netsurion and Stellar Cyber) are each supporting hundreds of MSSPs/MSPs. Last I heard, Rocket Cyber was more of a startup that Kaseya had acquired. We look forward to ongoing updates from the company.
2. Our own MDR list: See our larger Top 250 MSSPs list, which is an annual readership survey. Dozens of MDR companies are included in that list. We generally view MDR as a subset — one piece — of a larger MSSP service catalog.
Best,
-jp
Hi Joe,
Thank you for your article. A noob here!
I noted that there is a conflation in the terms used by different service providers. Would it be correct to say that MDR service providers are essentially providing traditional SOC services plus additional services such as threat hunting?
Why not Check Point Security?
Hi Jim: Thanks for your note. See the second paragraph and the notes directly underneath that paragraph.
Best,
-jp