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IBM Security QRadar vs Sophos MDR comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Binary Defense MDR
Sponsored
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
7th
Average Rating
9.2
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Security QRadar
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
204
Ranking in other categories
Log Management (6th), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (4th), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (1st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (18th), Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) (4th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (14th)
Sophos MDR
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 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 IBM Security QRadar is 0.7%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos MDR is 6.3%, up from 6.2% 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.
Muzzamil Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
Is easy to integrate and doesn't require maintenance
One major drawback we are facing is in the area of IBM Security QRadar integration with flat file databases. IBM Security QRadar does not support flat file database integration. We are currently facing an issue with respect to the database, which you normally call a NoSQL database. There is no direct integration mechanism available with IBM Security QRadar. We have to approach IBM and generate a ticket so that they can develop a custom method for the integration. In database integration, we are facing issues with IBM Security QRadar. The solution does not support the integration of flat file databases. Certain organizations have flat file databases. IBM does not support direct integration with some databases. We had to create a plug, and we requested IBM to develop a parser, but it is taking IBM a couple of months to develop it. I think a flat-file database should be supported directly instead of developing a parser plugin. There should be a more refined threat intelligence platform, and cross-integration should be possible with locally available threat intelligence platforms.
ManelAlvarez - PeerSpot reviewer
Quarantines and removes threats from the network
The most important aspect is a EC2 deployment which is a remote deployment done for new customers using Sophos. Approximately ninety-five percent of EC2 deployment is automated, requiring only a review or customization for the customer's needs. Another key feature is the centralized control of updates, allowing for scheduling any interaction with the endpoint. Additionally, the new platform and system operations, along with IOCs, are updated daily. Sophos has a very good policy at good prices. Since I have a local contact with the salespeople, they provide me discounts. It's very stable and competitive. When the customers have budget, they can opt for CrowdStrike. However, when the customers have budget constraints on daily servers, and when the customers prefer to integrate mobile platforms with different technologies, they can use this one technology. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The most valuable features are the SIEM and the ticketing function; the latter is very smooth and easy to read and understand. We don't have any issues looking at the ticketing information when we're trying to identify what's going on."
"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."
"The best part about Binary Defense MDR is that it runs on everything, and they keep an eye on things 24/7."
"The case interface is Binary Defense MDR's most valuable feature."
"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."
"The most valuable part of Binary Defense is its team of cybersecurity analysts. Their analysts filter out the noise and only forward the critical threats that require a response instead of false positives."
"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."
"One of the most valuable features is its ability to integrate with other solutions. IBM has a lot of solutions and we have managed to make it work with IBM BigFix and MaaS360, and even Microsoft."
"It integrates very easily with other solutions. The solution is flexible. We can add anything to it, as it is a good companion to other tools."
"I have found IBM QRadar to be scalable."
"The initial setup is not complex or difficult."
"I think this is a good product for enterprises because of the performance and out-of-the-box rules and use cases. If they want to reach the maturity level early, they can use these out-of-the-box rules and use cases. That will help them a lot."
"The most valuable feature is user behavior analytics (UBA)."
"The visibility it gives you into your infrastructure has been great."
"Improves visibility and has a great new dashboard."
"The product’s most valuable features are integration and endpoint protection."
"Sophos MDR has improved the threat detection process by identifying and addressing the issues before they become severe."
"The solution provides the best security features."
"The product’s most valuable feature is ease of use."
"The product gives us good visibility into what is happening inside the company."
"The initial setup is quick and simple. A couple of clicks, and you're up and running."
"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 is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."
 

Cons

"If I were shopping for an MDR solution today, I would not only look for a company that has the ability to alert, detect, and remediate, but also the ability to integrate vulnerability management. That's a big thing that they're lacking today."
"Binary Defense MDR could be even better with additional features, like automatic scans and file quarantine."
"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."
"I would like to get more reports from Binary Defense about what they're blocking."
"We should be able to isolate devices faster. They should shorten the time between clicking on a device to contain it and carrying out the action. That would be a welcome improvement."
"While my understanding is that they're working on this, I would like to see some more of the quantification or reporting."
"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."
"I would like to see more frequent check-ins with our security status."
"For future updates, I'd like to see more advanced threat intelligence features integrated with AI. This would help with analyzing traffic patterns and improving protection. QRadar currently doesn't integrate with AI for threat analysis. However, AI could enhance its capabilities by learning traffic patterns and automatically blocking or quarantining suspicious traffic. This would be especially useful when administrators are not actively monitoring. AI could help by analyzing incoming and outgoing traffic and adjusting policies accordingly."
"The playbook guide which specifies the rules for security use cases needs to be provided to support in case the organization needs help."
"There are areas in IBM Security QRadar that could benefit from improvement. Its ability to customize knowledge for specific purposes could be enhanced. Also, it lacks clarity in presenting details. It is also difficult to see the reports."
"Ideally we would like a mobile version so that any alert that comes in will notify us in a mobile app, or by using SMS integration."
"The dashboard and reports are not user-friendly or efficient so are of little help with threat hunting activity."
"Solution has too many menus that require going to two or three sub-monitors to enter the QRadar."
"The tech support is not that good."
"We would like to see better instrumentation for debugging changes in the log flow."
"Multitenancy features of Sophos Managed Threat Response should be improved. You cannot use the solution for multiple clients."
"Sophos MDR’s pricing is the biggest factor that needs improvement per customers and technical professionals."
"Sophos MDR's support and basic training of their devices could be improved."
"Endpoint protection is very slow."
"Support could provide a faster response."
"Sophos MDR lacks integration with MDM solutions."
"Sophos MDR could offer more integration packs and more vendor flexibility."
"Maybe the reporting needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has been good. We have saved money, and we have a better product."
"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 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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"After we acquired this platform, we met with a number of different vendors. Binary Defense came in with a proposal that was surprisingly affordable. In fact, we were able to recoup the cost of their services within a short period of time. This is because Binary Defense is able to provide the same level of security as a team of two or three in-house analysts but at a fraction of the cost. As a result, Binary Defense is saving us an estimated $250,000 to $300,000 per year."
"The cost of this product is expensive."
"The tool's price is high."
"There is a license required for this solution."
"QRadar UBA's price is a little more than street price and could be reduced."
"This price is a little high, so it's an expensive product."
"Pricing (based on EPS) will be more accurate."
"An X-Force feed is free with QRadar."
"The pricing is higher but cheaper than others and there are no additional costs."
"The solution has subscription-based pricing plans."
"I rate Sophos MDR’s pricing a seven or eight out of ten."
"Compared to other tools, Sophos has a pretty good price."
"Sophos MDR is less expensive than other products like Fortinet or Palo Alto."
"MDR is a complete enterprise solution, and compared to other OEMs, it is one of the cheapest."
"The product is reasonably priced considering the cybersecurity features."
"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."
"The price falls somewhere in the middle range."
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Comparison Review

VS
Jun 28, 2015
Qradar vs. ArcSight
Continuing with the SIEM posts we have done at Infosecnirvana, this post is a Head to head comparison of the two Industry leading SIEM products in the market – HP ArcSight and IBM QRadar Both the products have consistently been in the Gartner Leaders Quadrant. Both HP and IBM took over niche SIEM…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
23%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
21%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Comms Service Provider
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
The pricing is very competitive; it's on par with or below others. For those sensitive to pricing, I'd advise that th...
What needs improvement with Binary Defense MDR?
Sometimes, something may not install right; however, whenever we have challenges, they are very solution-oriented and...
What are the biggest differences between Securonix UEBA, Exabeam, and IBM QRadar?
It mostly depends on your use-cases and environment. Exabeam and Securonix have a stronger UEBA feature set, friendli...
What SOC product do you recommend?
For tools I’d recommend: -SIEM- LogRhythm -SOAR- Palo Alto XSOAR Doing commercial w/o both (or at least an XDR) is a...
What do you like most about IBM QRadar?
The event collector, flow collector, PCAP and SOAR are valuable.
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 comple...
What needs improvement with Sophos MDR?
Maybe the reporting needs improvement.
What advice do you have for others considering Sophos MDR?
I would recommend Sophas MDR to others as long as they have another software solution like a firewall to combine with...
 

Also Known As

Binary Defense Vision, Binary Defense Managed Detection and Response, Binary Defense Managed Detection & Response
IBM QRadar, QRadar SIEM, QRadar UBA, QRadar on Cloud, QRadar, IBM QRadar User Behavior Analytics, IBM QRadar Advisor with Watson
Sophos Managed Threat Response
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Securitas USA, Black Hills Energy, Lincoln Electric,The J.M. Smuckers Company, New York Community Bank, State of Connecticut, NCR
Clients across multiple industries, such as energy, financial, retail, healthcare, government, communications, and education use QRadar.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security QRadar vs. Sophos MDR and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.