Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is a fully managed cybersecurity service that continuously monitors your IT environment, including endpoints, networks, cloud applications, and user accounts, to detect and stop threats before they cause harm.

Unlike traditional tools, which only alert users to possible issues, MDR combines advanced AI-driven analytics and human expertise to investigate and respond to attacks in real time.

Cyberattacks move fast, and most organizations can’t watch their environments around the clock. In fact, most breaches happen at night or on weekends when IT teams are offline. MDR ensures someone is always watching, detecting threats, containing them within minutes, and documenting every action for compliance and insurance requirements.

For small and midsize businesses, MDR delivers enterprise-grade defense without enterprise-level staffing. For managed service providers, it transforms one-time product sales into predictable recurring revenue, giving customers confidence that their environments are protected around the clock.

MDR brings together machine speed and human threat hunting in a continuous cycle of monitoring, detection, investigation, and response.

Advanced AI analyzes telemetry from across your environment – endpoints, networks, user activity, and cloud services – to identify unusual behavior. When something looks suspicious, automation scores and prioritizes the event, then routes it to a security analyst for review. The analyst investigates, correlating data across systems to determine whether the activity represents a real threat.

If confirmed, automated response actions are triggered, isolating a device, blocking a domain, disabling a compromised account, or revoking access to protect sensitive data. Every action is documented and visible through the MDR platform, providing transparency, accountability, and proof of protection.

With MDR, you gain constant coverage, faster response, and clearer insight. Your business stays protected even when you’re offline. Instead of hundreds of noisy alerts, you receive only high-confidence notifications that matter. The WatchGuard SOC delivers fewer than one false positive per month on average, freeing your team to focus on operations rather than triage.

MDR also helps meet compliance standards and cyber insurance expectations by proving that your environment is continuously monitored and that every incident is tracked and resolved. It’s security that’s proactive, measurable, and easy to explain.

EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) protects individual devices. XDR (Extended Detection and Response) connects multiple tools to share data. MDR takes the next step,  combining technology, automation, and human expertise to actively respond on your behalf.

EDR, XDR, and MDR all use modern detection techniques, including some level of automation or analytics, but they serve different needs.

EDR protects activity on individual devices, such as laptops and servers. Many organizations start here because it’s straightforward, immediately improves endpoint protection, and can be managed by a small IT team.

XDR expands the view beyond endpoints. It connects data from multiple tools, such as network, email, and cloud so teams can see how activity relates across systems. Organizations that want broader visibility, but still prefer to investigate and respond internally, often choose XDR.

MDR takes the visibility provided by EDR or XDR and adds continuous monitoring and real response handled by a trained security team. It’s designed for organizations that don’t have people available to monitor alerts, investigate suspicious activity, or respond at any hour.

In simple terms:

• EDR is for device protection you manage yourself.
• XDR is for wider visibility, you still manage yourself.
• MDR is for organizations that want the work handled for them.

All three can use advanced analytics, but MDR is the only one that pairs those capabilities with full-time experts who investigate and act on your behalf.

The SOC is where detection turns into action. It’s a team of experts who watch over customer environments day and night, supported by automation and advanced analytics.

A SOC brings together multiple layers of monitoring, threat analysis, and response. Automated systems filter noise, highlight unusual behavior, and surface the events that matter most. From there, analysts investigate suspicious activity, verify whether it’s a real threat, and take appropriate action. Each step works together: automated triage for speed, human judgment for accuracy, and coordinated response to contain issues before they spread.

The SOC can also provide context and recommendations. Analysts document what happened, why it mattered, and how it was resolved. Technical Account Managers turn that activity into insight by explaining trends, identifying risks, and helping customers strengthen their security posture over time. Together, the SOC and TAM team ensure customers not only stay protected but also understand the value of the protection they’re receiving.

Look for proven speed and accuracy, transparent reporting, and integration across your full environment. 

WatchGuard is one of only a few MDR providers worldwide with a natively built, fully integrated stack. That deep integration enables faster detection, smarter automation, and stronger outcomes, all supported by SOC analysts and Technical Account Managers who act as an extension of your team.

With WatchGuard MDR, you’re not just buying another tool, you’re gaining a partnership that keeps your business secure, compliant, and ready for what comes next.