Critical Start vs InfoGuard
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. InfoGuard is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Critical Start targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; InfoGuard serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Critical Start includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 4 for InfoGuard (Endpoint, Cloud, Identity, Network).
Buyer brief
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. InfoGuard is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Critical Start targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; InfoGuard serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Critical Start includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 4 for InfoGuard (Endpoint, Cloud, Identity, Network).
Critical Start (Pure-play MDR) and InfoGuard (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 InfoGuard's infoguard fits dach buyers that want a swiss services firm to run mdr, co-managed soc and csirt-b....
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mid-market to large enterprises wanting technology-agnostic MDR that works with their existing security stack | Swiss, German and Austrian buyers that want MDR from DACH-based SOCs |
| Price | Not published | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 6/6 actions · Configurable | 1/6 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
- Swiss, German and Austrian buyers that want MDR from DACH-based SOCs
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | Critical StartTECH-AGNOSTIC | InfoGuardTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Positive | Mixed |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | CrowdStrikeSentinelOneMicrosoft DefenderPalo Alto Cortex | Customer endpoint telemetry |
| SIEM integrations | Microsoft SentinelSplunkSumo Logic | Customer log sources |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Limited |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks | Custom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | ✓ Included |
| 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 | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | ~ Limited |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | ≤1 hour | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom enterprise pricing (annual subscription, tiered by coverage depth) | Custom quote. InfoGuard does not publish MDR package pricing. |
| 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 | Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.. Named autonomous response actions are not published, so response authority should be written into the contract.. InfoGuard offers both Managed SOC and Co-Managed SOC, so buyer-side staffing and responsibility can vary by model.. Data can stay at the customer premises or in Swiss data centres, which may change architecture and retention cost.. Incident Response Retainer exists as a separate offer, so buyers should confirm exactly what incident-response work is included in MDR. |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Custom, Managed SOC, Co-Managed SOC, Incident Response Retainer |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhone | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | ✓ | – |
| SOC regions | North America | Europe |
| 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. | InfoGuard's Cyber Defence brochure states 4 weeks for structured SOC onboarding. Buyers should confirm which log sources, sensors and response playbooks are included in that onboarding scope. |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingTechnologyGovernmentProfessional ServicesRetailTransportation | Financial ServicesInsuranceManufacturingEnergyHealthcareRetailService ProvidersPublic Sector |
| 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. | No meaningful MDR-specific buyer-review signal was found in major English-language review communities during this pass. The public buyer case rests on InfoGuard's Swiss and German SOC delivery, 90+ SOC and CSIRT experts, open XDR platform, data-residency options and incident-response credentials. Buyers should validate pricing, response authority, named integrations and exact co-managed responsibilities directly. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001 | ISO 27001ISAE 3000 Type 2GDPRSwiss DSG |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001MISA (Microsoft Intelligent Security Association)Microsoft Solutions Partner for Security | ISO/IEC 27001:2022ISO 14001ISAE 3000 Type 2-audited Cyber Defence CenterBSI-qualified APT Response service providerFIRST member |
| Founded | 2012 | 2001 |
| Data retention | CORR platform provides API access and data export (CSV/XLSX). Specific retention periods not publicly documented. | InfoGuard says data is stored exclusively at the customer's premises or in its redundant data centres in Switzerland. No standard public MDR retention period was found. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Critical Start and InfoGuard?
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). InfoGuard is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: Critical Start offers ≤1 hour, InfoGuard offers Not disclosed. Critical Start covers 5 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 4 for InfoGuard.
How do Critical Start and InfoGuard 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. InfoGuard supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Critical Start and included with InfoGuard.
How does Critical Start pricing compare to InfoGuard?
Critical Start pricing: Custom-quoted pricing. InfoGuard 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 InfoGuard: Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.; Named autonomous response actions are not published, so response authority should be written into the contract..
Should I choose Critical Start or InfoGuard?
Choose Critical Start if: mid-market to large enterprises wanting technology-agnostic MDR that works with their existing security stack. Choose InfoGuard if: swiss, German and Austrian buyers that want MDR from DACH-based SOCs. Critical Start is not ideal for sMBs or budget-conscious organizations, enterprise-focused pricing not published. InfoGuard is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing 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.