Critical Start vs DTS Solution
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. DTS Solution is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Critical Start targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; DTS Solution serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. Critical Start includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 3 for DTS Solution (Endpoint, Cloud, Network).
Buyer brief
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. DTS Solution is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Critical Start targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; DTS Solution serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. Critical Start includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 3 for DTS Solution (Endpoint, Cloud, Network).
Critical Start (Pure-play MDR) and DTS Solution (Services firm) serve different buyer profiles. Your decision depends on whether you prioritize Critical Start's technology-agnostic mdr with tbr deterministic alert auto-resolution, 100+ integrations, ot/ics s... or DTS Solution's dts hawkeye is a useful regional option for buyers that want managed csoc, xdr, threat hunting an....
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mid-market to large enterprises wanting technology-agnostic MDR that works with their existing security stack | Middle East and EMEA buyers that want a UAE-based managed CSOC and XDR provider |
| Price | Not published | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 6/6 actions · Configurable | 3/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Warranty | None listed | None listed |
- Best fit
- Mid-market to large enterprises wanting technology-agnostic MDR that works with their existing security stack
- Price
- Not published
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Middle East and EMEA buyers that want a UAE-based managed CSOC and XDR provider
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 3/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | Critical StartTECH-AGNOSTIC | DTS SolutionTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Positive | Mixed |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | SentinelOneMicrosoft DefenderPalo Alto Cortex CrowdStrike | Microsoft endpoint securityHawkEye XDR AgentCustomer endpoint security tools CrowdStrike |
| SIEM integrations | Microsoft SentinelSplunkSumo Logic | HawkEye NG-SIEMHawkEye Open XDRCustomer-owned SIEM |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks | IsolateContainCustom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | Separate |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published | Not published |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Identity | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | + Optional |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | ≤1 hour | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom enterprise pricing (annual subscription, tiered by coverage depth) | Tiered subscription packages by log-source count and EPS, with custom-tailored packages for additional log sources, EPS and retention. Public prices are not published. |
| Hidden cost warnings | No public pricing at all, requires sales call for any ballpark. OT/ICS monitoring and vulnerability management are separate purchases on top of base MDR. Full IR/DFIR requires separate CIRT engagement, not included in MDR contract. Annual contract commitment typically required with no published minimum seat count | Package limits are defined by log sources and events per second, so high-volume environments should model ingestion growth before contract.. Public pages do not publish prices, minimum terms, contractual SLAs, service credits or MTTD/MTTR metrics.. DFIR is included only in Premium Platinum in the package table; lower tiers list it as an add-on.. Managed SOAR and many adjacent managed services are add-ons rather than guaranteed base MDR scope.. The public AI SOC page says response actions are analyst-approved, so buyers should document which containment actions DTS can execute and whose approval is required. |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Lite Bronze, Baseline Silver, Advanced Gold, Premium Platinum, Custom-tailored package |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhone | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | ✓ | – |
| SOC regions | North America | MEA |
| Onboarding | 5-10 business days to first detection value (vendor-stated). 4-6 weeks for full enterprise onboarding. Vendor claims 2.66-day median TTFV for Microsoft Sentinel specifically. | HawkEye describes an onsite discovery workshop, package selection, secure onboarding, service delivery and secure offboarding. No standard calendar timeline was found. |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingTechnologyGovernmentProfessional ServicesRetailTransportation | Critical InfrastructureEnergyUtilitiesManufacturingGovernmentFinancial ServicesHealthcareRetailTechnologyTelecommunicationsSmart CitiesTransportation |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | 60 minutes or less median time to resolution for ALL alerts regardless of priority | Not published |
| Community view | Gartner Peer Insights 4.8/5 (53 reviews). PeerSpot 9.4/10, skewing large enterprise. Glassdoor 4.3/5 (140 reviews, some concerns about RIFs and turnover). IDC MarketScape Major Player (Emerging MDR, 2024). Praised for TBR noise reduction and SOC analyst accessibility. Criticized for onboarding communication gaps, missing Slack integration and opaque pricing. | HawkEye has strong vendor-controlled detail for package tiers, dashboard access, retention, CSOC/XDR capabilities and regional SOC positioning, but little independent MDR-specific review signal in public English-language communities. Buyers should validate analyst quality, response authority and pricing through references. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001 | ISO 27001ISO 9001ISO 45001SOC 2 Type IMITRE ATT&CK |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001MISA (Microsoft Intelligent Security Association)Microsoft Solutions Partner for Security | ISO 27001ISO 9001ISO 45001SOC 2 Type I logo shown on DTS siteSOC-CMM risk-driven certification logo shown on DTS siteSWIFT CSP logo shown on DTS site |
| Founded | 2012 | 2011 |
| Data retention | CORR platform provides API access and data export (CSV/XLSX). Specific retention periods not publicly documented. | HawkEye package pages publish 3 months hot storage, 6 months warm storage and 12 months cold storage across service tiers, with longer retention available through a custom-tailored package. Advanced and Premium tier pages also describe standard collected-log retention; buyers should reconcile final retention language in the contract. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Critical Start and DTS Solution?
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). DTS Solution is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: Critical Start offers ≤1 hour, DTS Solution offers Not disclosed. Critical Start covers 5 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 3 for DTS Solution.
How do Critical Start and DTS Solution differ in response capabilities?
Critical Start supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. DTS Solution supports 3 autonomous actions (custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, network containment) and approval is configurable.
How does Critical Start pricing compare to DTS Solution?
Critical Start pricing: Custom-quoted pricing. DTS Solution pricing: Not published. Watch for with Critical Start: No public pricing at all, requires sales call for any ballpark; OT/ICS monitoring and vulnerability management are separate purchases on top of base MDR. Watch for with DTS Solution: Package limits are defined by log sources and events per second, so high-volume environments should model ingestion growth before contract.; Public pages do not publish prices, minimum terms, contractual SLAs, service credits or MTTD/MTTR metrics..
Should I choose Critical Start or DTS Solution?
Choose Critical Start if: mid-market to large enterprises wanting technology-agnostic MDR that works with their existing security stack. Choose DTS Solution if: middle East and EMEA buyers that want a UAE-based managed CSOC and XDR provider. Critical Start is not ideal for sMBs or budget-conscious organizations, enterprise-focused pricing not published. DTS Solution is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing or contractual MTTD/MTTR before sales.
Daylight Security
AI-native MDR for buyers comparing active remediation across endpoint, cloud, identity, and SaaS. Daylight works with existing EDR/SIEM stacks and uses ChatOps-native collaboration, so it can be a useful third reference point in this comparison.