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Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response vs Expel comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Binary Defense MDR
Sponsored
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
7th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Arctic Wolf Managed Detecti...
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
2nd
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
SOC as a Service (1st)
Expel
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
18th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
SOC as a Service (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Managed Detection and Response (MDR) category, the mindshare of Binary Defense MDR is 0.6%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response is 9.9%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Expel is 1.9%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
 

Featured Reviews

Rich Ullom - PeerSpot reviewer
Worth the money, fantastic communication, and fast service with an average response time of about four minutes on an alert
This is my third SOC. I have never had anybody react as well. So, it's hard for me to provide something that they could do better because I'm really happy with them. I just signed another three-year contract with them. I don't find any downside to them, but if I have to put one, it would be consistent manpower or staffing. The only area where the solution can be improved is going to be with people. As they grow, they are struggling with the same thing that every other company is, which is getting talent and getting that talent to stay, but they've just revised their tiering system to go from a flat analyst and manager to a three-tier solution where it goes through two or three before it gets elevated. That seems to have worked out well, so if one level misses it, the next one picks it up, and it works out fine. Consistent staffing is the only challenge they have because when you're hiring level-one analysts, you go through them pretty quickly. You'll probably hire them at 50K or 55K, and after they do it for a year, they find out they can make 85K somewhere else, and they bounce. So, their turnover is a little high, but that's it.
Daniele  Brommer - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers AI features that help improve detection and response capabilities
Speaking about the product's integration capabilities, I feel that I am probably not experienced enough to talk about it. Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response is still quite immature compared to other providers in the market. The tool sort of integrates with a few products, but it doesn't integrate with everything. The AI-driven tool helps improve detection and response capabilities, but human beings also manage it. You need the best of both worlds because AI can't do everything. One can still get false positives with the tool, so you need a human being. You also need AI to protect yourself against attacks. I probably haven't had enough experience to give a proper opinion, but with my experience this year, I think it is pretty good for its current market. It plays in both corporate and medium-sized companies and corporate-level businesses. The tool is not meant for an enterprise-sized business since there are other tools like CrowdStrike and Splunk, along with more mature solutions. I rate the tool an eight out of ten.
reviewer2578461 - PeerSpot reviewer
Rapid threat management and diverse technology integration for effective monitoring
Expel has made it easier for companies to monitor and manage various log sources. With its vast integration portfolio, customers can efficiently monitor diverse environments. Time to value is quick, as Expel can turn their service up very rapidly. They have both automated active responses and human processes that quicken threat resolution.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The case interface is Binary Defense MDR's most valuable feature."
"One of the main benefits of Binary Defense MDR is the ability to easily meet with their support team to discuss any issues we encounter."
"Among the valuable features are the agent, continuous reporting, and dashboard. It has all the features we need and we haven't had to customize it, other than turning on certain features that we wanted."
"In the six months we have been with Binary Defense on this, they run with the ball. They take care of our problems. When we get a ticket, they do not just give us a report."
"The biggest aspect for us is that they are able to conform to our environment and utilize our tools. That way, we still maintain ownership of all the data and access to the applications, and we never lose control of the ability to run the solution ourselves if we need to."
"The customization has been the most valuable aspect and was really the reason we ended up selecting Binary Defense. They worked with us to provide exactly the level of support, features, response, and collaboration we needed."
"Our mean time to response has gone down. We're much faster with direct response and have more investigative capabilities than we did before."
"The speed at which their services are reactive is valuable. Nowadays, when a threat hits an endpoint, you've got minutes, not hours or days. Their average response time is about four minutes on an alert. For anything that needs to be sent to us, it's about fourteen minutes, which is pretty good. They're the third SOC that I've used in fifteen years. By far, they are the quickest ones to act. When you're looking at prevention, that's a key factor."
"Having quarterly meetings with the team to review the last 90 days and determine what if any changes need to be made."
"After an easy onboarding, the monitoring started immediately."
"The visibility into our endpoints is huge."
"Security protection is the best feature of this product."
"They provide useful quarterly updates."
"They have a portal where you can evaluate and mitigate any vulnerabilities that you and your network might have."
"What's valuable about Arctic Wolf AWN CyberSOC is the cost savings it provides for companies that no longer have to hire a bunch of security people and pay for a SIM."
"The integration between Cisco AMPs and the Windows servers is most valuable. So, they can also sandbox machines on which they see something suspicious."
"Their threat hunting protocol and process with AI and machine learning are strong, allowing for active and rapid responses."
 

Cons

"We found that an earlier version of the agent had high memory usage and that was a bit concerning, but we raised the concern with their support team and they immediately replied that they had noticed the same thing and had a candidate fix already available... it totally fixed the issue."
"The only area I see for improvement with Binary Defense is their service portal. It could benefit from some enhancements."
"The only area for improvement that I can think of relates to statistical analysis for SLAs. They are in the middle of moving to a new product called D3 which is going to do some backend work for them. I know they are working to improve some of the help desk statistics, such as the time the tickets open and the time they are closed."
"The most significant area for improvement is in support for non-English speakers; we're a global organization, so many of our users are not English speakers, which can make interacting with them a challenge. There's no Chinese language support, so we must rely on what we can do with the internet. We don't expect Binary Defense to build a language staff, but details can get lost in translation when we assume the whole world speaks English."
"We found a couple of bugs in the user interface."
"I don't find any downside to them, but if I have to put one, it would be consistent manpower or staffing. The only area where the solution can be improved is going to be with people. As they grow, they are struggling with the same thing that every other company is, which is getting talent and getting that talent to stay, but they've just revised their tiering system to go from a flat analyst and manager to a three-tier solution where it goes through two or three before it gets elevated. That seems to have worked out well, so if one level misses it, the next one picks it up, and it works out fine."
"It's sometimes difficult to know when to engage Binary Defense or TrustedSec, their sister company. TrustedSec is more focused on offensive security, as opposed to the defensive security that the MDR solution provides. It would be awesome if there were a better bridge between that relationship for when we need to get more proactive services or when we need to do a penetration test."
"Binary Defense MDR could be even better with additional features, like automatic scans and file quarantine."
"I have heard that the tool doesn't go right to the endpoints."
"Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response's analysis and remediation parts could be improved. It's not bad, but it needs improvement."
"It can sometimes take up to an hour to get notification of a problem and that's a long time."
"I would actually be interested in having fewer features at a lower price."
"It would be great if the whole process of determining vendor risk could be simplified by Arctic Wolf."
"If you are not in the security field, this can be difficult to figure out from time to time."
"While it isn't a regular occurrence, there have been some gaps in response to some support questions. Questions get answered, yet there are times it takes longer than I'm comfortable with."
"More integrations with various security tools to improve data ingestion would be beneficial."
"The one area where Expel may not measure up is if a customer requires a managed SIEM as part of their overall solution. There's a gap there, and solutions might require third-party assistance for management."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's valued at the right price. Even with the number of endpoints we have, we don't feel that it's a lot more than any competitor. In fact, it might be less expensive when you look at the fact that you're getting a full flex SOC out of it along with the tools."
"The pricing is very good. They are definitely competitive and they were lower at the time that we went with them."
"Binary Defense MDR is priced competitively and may be slightly lower than CrowdStrike."
"The solution's price is spot on; if anything, it's slightly below the norm for most services. Compared to building the same team internally, it would cost more to create the same amount of capability than what we get from an external team. Price-wise, Binary Defense is in a great spot."
"The pricing is on target. Working with their sales team on pricing negotiations was a pleasant process. They were very respectful of the constraints we had and I feel that we're paying a fair price."
"The pricing isn't that bad, it's very competitive. I don't feel that it's over-priced and I don't feel that it's under-priced."
"From the initial cost that Binary Defense came in with, we pared it down quite a bit over the course of 30 or 60 days. My leadership would say that their cost was high, but realistically, they were in line with the market."
"It has been good. We have saved money, and we have a better product."
"It is more expensive than CrowdStrike, but it also has more features. I don't remember the amount, but I do remember that it was on the higher side. I believe we have five sensors, and the sensors have a yearly cost. We don't have any additional costs, but I know that if we have more features, they will add to the cost."
"I find their pricing to be reasonable and competitive."
"I rate the tool's pricing a nine out of ten."
"The pricing is pretty competitive."
"The pricing is fair."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Binary Defense MDR?
The most valuable feature is reviewing tickets and the notes added by technicians.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Binary Defense MDR?
It has been good. We have saved money, and we have a better product. We are a company that has become an enterprise f...
What needs improvement with Binary Defense MDR?
We are going to have a meeting with them the following Monday. It will be our first quarterly business review. Half o...
What do you like most about Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response?
The agents give pretty good visibility into what is happening at the endpoint.
What needs improvement with Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response?
I have heard that the tool doesn't go right to the endpoints. With CrowdStrike, I don't think that it is a bad thing ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Expel?
Expel's pricing has adapted as the market evolved and has become competitive over the past twelve months.
What needs improvement with Expel?
The one area where Expel may not measure up is if a customer requires a managed SIEM as part of their overall solutio...
What is your primary use case for Expel?
I have experience reselling Expel. Customers often come to me wanting to evaluate multiple providers to make a choice...
 

Also Known As

Binary Defense Vision, Binary Defense Managed Detection and Response, Binary Defense Managed Detection & Response
Arctic Wolf AWN CyberSOC
Workbench, Expel SOC-as-a-Service
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Securitas USA, Black Hills Energy, Lincoln Electric,The J.M. Smuckers Company, New York Community Bank, State of Connecticut, NCR
Agero, Madison Memorial Hospital, DLZ, Howard LLP, City of Sparks
Amanda Fennell CSO
Find out what your peers are saying about CrowdStrike, Arctic Wolf Networks, Huntress and others in Managed Detection and Response (MDR). Updated: December 2024.
824,019 professionals have used our research since 2012.