WatchGuard Named a Leader in the 2025 SPARK Matrix for NDR

WatchGuard® has been named a Leader in the 2025 SPARK Matrix™: Network Detection & Response (NDR) by QKS Group, recognizing our continued focus on delivering advanced, accessible, and high-impact security for midsize enterprises and managed service providers.

The SPARK Matrix report delivers a detailed analysis of the global NDR landscape, evaluating vendors across technology excellence and customer impact. Unlike reports that rank companies by size or revenue, QKS Group assesses how effectively vendors detect threats, integrate with real-world environments, and deliver measurable security outcomes.

This recognition highlights what sets WatchGuard apart: capability-driven innovation. ThreatSync NDR empowers organizations of every size to gain the same detection power and response agility that large enterprises depend on, without hardware lock-in or long deployment cycles.

“Being named a Leader in the SPARK Matrix underscores our commitment to delivering enterprise-grade network detection and response without the complexity of traditional NDR,” said Andrew Young, chief product officer at WatchGuard Technologies. “With its cloud-native, AI-driven design, ThreatSync NDR empowers midsize and small enterprises with the visibility, speed, and protection needed to stop advanced threats like ransomware and supply chain attacks. This recognition reinforces how WatchGuard is redefining NDR for leaner security teams by delivering rapid time to value and reducing the cost and complexity of managing hardware.”

What QKS Group Says About WatchGuard

Our leadership position in the SPARK Matrix validates the strategy behind ThreatSync NDR: combining enterprise-grade protection with cloud-native efficiency and ease of use. WatchGuard’s approach centers on speed, simplicity, and scalability, redefining what effective NDR looks like for modern IT teams. According QKS Group, “The WatchGuard ThreatSync NDR solution provides continuous network monitoring that helps organizations quickly spot unusual or risky activity without needing complex setups.”

The SPARK Matrix highlighted ThreatSync NDR’s distinguishing capabilities, including: 

• Cloud-Native Design: ThreatSync NDR runs entirely in the cloud, leveraging existing network infrastructure and Firebox appliances. No new hardware. No complex deployment. Just rapid, distributed visibility across hybrid environments.
• Complete Network Visibility: ThreatSync NDR provides visibility into both north-south and east-west traffic, exposing lateral movement and stealthy insider threats that traditional perimeter tools miss.
• Optimized for MSPs and SMEs: Multi-tenant management, centralized dashboards, and automation allow service providers and mid-market organizations to deliver robust detection and response, without heavy infrastructure or large SOC teams.
• Built-In Compliance: Preconfigured frameworks such as CIS and NIST make it simple to maintain regulatory alignment without manual tuning or custom engineering.

How is ThreatSync NDR different?

• Avoids the encryption bottleneck with NDR-driven DPI, by analyzing  metadata (NetFlow/sFlow), extracting anomalies from flow behavior, device patterns, and conversation volumes.
  • Tight integration with WatchGuard Firebox means DPI is used strategically at the edge, while NDR handles encrypted traffic internally.
  • No new physical sensors required; lightweight virtual agents cover east-west traffic across data centers, branches, and cloud.
  • ThreatSync MDR Ingests existing logs with zero heavy-lift deployment, and minimal setup required. Get up in running in days not week.
  • Compliance-ready risk-scored alerts,  and audit-friendly reporting are baked into the policy engine, so you can ensure your environment adheres to relevant compliance requirements. 

Find out more in our press release.