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Fortra's Alert Logic MDR vs Sophos MDR comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Fortra's Alert Logic MDR
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
19th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (31st), SOC as a Service (4th)
Sophos MDR
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Managed Detection and Response (MDR) category, the mindshare of Fortra's Alert Logic MDR is 1.1%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos MDR is 5.9%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1525833 - PeerSpot reviewer
Great reporting and session logic with an easy initial setup
The initial setup isn't too difficult. It's pretty straightforward. An organization shouldn't have too much trouble with the setup. The deployment is very fast. It doesn't take too much time at all. It's likely less than five minutes. Honestly, it's almost instantaneous. There is no mapping. Once you're done with the customization you can use it. It's not time-consuming. The customization part is based on whatever keywords and attributes you are adding, and that's less than a minute of time to handle. There is no time consumed. You just need to add to a filter. You don't really need to worry about having too much maintenance. It's not required really. Maybe once the log is full, you may require a maintenance checkup of six months on. We have a server team that manages that aspect.
Shaun Gordon - PeerSpot reviewer
Extensive data lake, ease of use is great and you can really get started very quickly
Sophos MDR is a service. MDR is managed detection and response. It's a managed security service. So instead of having an anti-malware, which in Sophos' case would be Intercept X, with MDR, they add human-led threat hunting. It's a managed service. So it's not a product that you sell the client per se. You're selling them a service, which is almost like an SLA, and that includes Cloud MDR. MDR is not a product. It's a service. The reality is that when it comes to the likes of SentinelOne, McAfee, CrowdStrike, ESET, and all the other players out there, they're single-product security companies. CrowdStrike is an anti-malware. That's one thing. ESET, same thing. But if you look at the other vendors, within the appliances, you're looking at Fortinet, Palo Alto, and Checkpoint. They only sell firewalls. That's all they do. When you deal with Sophos, they are the entire product suite. They sell firewalls. They sell Intercept X, which is their anti-malware, Intercept X for Server with anti-malware, email protection with ties into Office 365, and Sophos Plus encryption. All of these security products pull telemetry. So every time somebody hits a firewall, it's called, for argument's sake, that goes into their central data lake. All the firewalls around the world add that information to a data lake. Now, when you're dealing with Sophos, because of their exposure, because they've got so many different products, their data lake is a lot more extensive than competing vendors because they're not relying on one threat factor. They're not relying on one area of expertise. They're a global company. So, I can't compare their telemetry, for instance, to the likes of CrowdStrike. If CrowdStrike has probably started doing appliances, then the users will get that benefit as well. Sophos is the only vendor that does do that. It's like hiring a security team. Sophos do things differently in that they've got more telemetry and more insight into a network because they offer a variety of products. The other part about it is Sophos MDR; the service, unlike other vendors like CrowdStrike, is not limited to their products. If you are running CrowdStrike in your company, for instance, you can get their integration packs, in which case Sophos will manage your CrowdStrike system for you. Whereas with CrowdStrike, it's only CrowdStrike. You are locked into that vendor. So Sophos offers that flexibility. It's a multi-vendor service as opposed to SentinelOne or CrowdStrike, which is a single-vendor service. For instance, if I'm running Sophos, I would like to go with CrowdStrike MDR. I would have to remove my entire security investment, in this case, Sophos, and reinstall CrowdStrike in order to use their service. Sophos doesn't have that problem. If you've got CrowdStrike and you've already invested in CrowdStrike, cool. You stay on CrowdStrike. They will still manage it for you.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Notifications and the detail of notifications are most valuable. It is a user-friendly solution."
"Everything is in one dashboard; I'm notified when there's an incident and advised on what steps to take."
"The installation and configuration were slick."
"While I still have on-premises appliances, I can remotely monitor everything from the cloud, and Alert Logic's ease-of-access features have helped me streamline my workflow and reduce implementation time."
"We receive infrastructure security warnings from it. So, we know what is going on and what needs to be addressed."
"It has the ability to install agents. It is pretty straightforward. You can automate the process pretty easily."
"It is a very stable product."
"The most valuable aspect of Alert Logic is its technology platform. They have SOCs in the US and Europe, giving them global visibility of the threat landscape. They detect and respond to threats in minutes. Their biggest value is human expertise. You're being attacked by a human, and you cannot respond to it unless you have a human on the other side. They have the human and technological resources to respond."
"The product's most valuable feature is its ability to view environmental activities."
"The product’s most valuable feature is rapid response."
"The product as a whole is truly outstanding and it excels in detecting and responding to various types of cyberattacks."
"Sophos MDR has improved the threat detection process by identifying and addressing the issues before they become severe."
"The rapid response team acts quickly to relieve customers."
"The tool's ability to work with security threats is competitive. The best part is monitoring and the way we receive automated emails and updates. When an issue arises, a ticket automatically gets raised, clearly outlining the necessary actions to be taken from our end."
"It provides reliable protection and clear data on its performance metrics, enabling straightforward communication of its capabilities."
"The initial setup is quick and simple. A couple of clicks, and you're up and running."
 

Cons

"The setup process was complex."
"We'd like to have triggered alerts sent to us so we see errors quicker."
"I would like more data on the alert payload. It would be good to have the ability to customize the alert payload to add whatever data that we want on there. Right now, it is a bit limited."
"Could be more of an endpoint protector."
"The documentation, especially with the initial setup, needs improvement."
"Alert Logic needs to expand its SOCs to serve more markets, such as the Middle East and Asia. There should be infrastructure that covers more time zones. The company should also develop an EDR that is natively integrated into their solution. Currently, a client must buy another EDR solution like CrowdStrike or Sophos. I think Alert Logic is developing this. Built-in email security could also be developed and integrated."
"As a user involved with the user interface, I believe there is a need to continue improving it based on feedback from our customers."
"This product needs to mature more. While it is a good product, there are some areas where it needs work."
"Support could provide a faster response."
"It is a bit expensive. It could be cheaper. There are many competitive products in the market, like Kaspersky, McAfee Antivirus, and more."
"Endpoint protection is very slow."
"They should improve XDR and threat protection capabilities for zero-day attacks."
"Sophos MDR's support and basic training of their devices could be improved."
"Its technical support could be better."
"Sophos is not integrating the same console and umbrella with its product."
"The reports should be more comprehensive and easier to organize."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price of the solution was very reasonable considering the size of our organization at the time, and so it worked out perfectly."
"Alert Logic has better competitive pricing than some of its competitors."
"Almost any product that is on the AWS Marketplace is super easy to subscribe to."
"Our ROI would probably be zero. We don't even use it. It sits in there. We get emails and just delete them. Around the world, we don't even use it."
"Its pricing is very reasonable considering what you get for what you pay. There is quite a good value there. Its licensing is also very logical. They've got the licensing price points at a reasonable level. It is on a monthly license but a yearly contract. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing fees."
"Sophos MDR is a cheap solution."
"Compared to other tools, Sophos has a pretty good price."
"The solution has subscription-based pricing plans."
"MDR is a complete enterprise solution, and compared to other OEMs, it is one of the cheapest."
"The price falls somewhere in the middle range."
"Sophos MDR is not a cheap product. Compared with other solutions in the market, Sophos MDR is available at a good price, especially considering its performance."
"Sophos MDR is less expensive than other products like Fortinet or Palo Alto."
"I would rate the price of Sophos MDR as a nine out of ten, with ten being the most expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Computer Software Company
21%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Alert Logic?
The most valuable aspect of Alert Logic is its technology platform. They have SOCs in the US and Europe, giving them global visibility of the threat landscape. They detect and respond to threats in...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alert Logic?
Alert Logic's license is one of the most competitive. They deliver a high-quality service for a competitive price.
What needs improvement with Alert Logic?
Alert Logic should also develop an EDR that is natively integrated into their solution. Currently, a client must buy another EDR solution like SentinelOne, CrowdStrike, or Sophos. I think Alert Log...
What do you like most about Sophos MDR?
The user doesn't need a technician; it offers 24/7 support to identify and manage your infrastructure and take complete care of any technological incidents.
What needs improvement with Sophos MDR?
There could be improvement in features like more detailed reporting for the end customer. For example, reports should be in simple language that is easy to read and understand for management level ...
What advice do you have for others considering Sophos MDR?
I would absolutely recommend Sophos MDR to other organizations. It is rated ten out of ten overall, with a deduction of one point only due to the commercial cost. I'd rate the solution nine out of ...
 

Also Known As

Alert Logic MDR, Alert Logic Managed Detection and ResponseAlert Logic Threat Manager, Alert Logic Cloud Defender, Critical Watch FusionVM
Sophos Managed Threat Response
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortra's Alert Logic MDR vs. Sophos MDR and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.