Critical Start vs SISA ProACT
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. SISA ProACT is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Critical Start targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; SISA ProACT serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Critical Start includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 0 for SISA ProACT ().
Buyer brief
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. SISA ProACT is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Critical Start targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; SISA ProACT serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Critical Start includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 0 for SISA ProACT ().
Critical Start (Pure-play MDR) and SISA ProACT (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 SISA ProACT's sisa proact fits payment-sector buyers that want mdr tied to forensics, pci expertise and ai-assi....
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mid-market to large enterprises wanting technology-agnostic MDR that works with their existing security stack | Regulated organizations that need MDR plus PCI, payment forensics and incident-response depth from the same provider |
| Price | Not published | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 6/6 actions · Configurable | 2/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Dashboards | Reports only |
| 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
- Regulated organizations that need MDR plus PCI, payment forensics and incident-response depth from the same provider
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 2/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Reports only
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | Critical StartTECH-AGNOSTIC | SISA ProACTTECH-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 EDR |
| SIEM integrations | Microsoft SentinelSplunkSumo Logic | Customer SIEM |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: LimitedCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/IoT: Not covered |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks | Disable accountsCustom 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 | ~ Limited |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Identity | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Network | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | Not offered |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | ≤1 hour | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | Business hours |
| Pricing model | Custom enterprise pricing (annual subscription, tiered by coverage depth) | Custom quote. SISA does not publish ProACT 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.. The service is heavily payment-security oriented, so non-payment buyers should confirm whether use cases fit their environment.. ProACT lists many stack components, including SIEM, EDR, CASB, UEBA, SOAR, threat hunting and dark web monitoring, so buyers should confirm which are included in the base quote.. Response automation is a major part of the pitch, so pre-approved SOAR actions and rollback rules should be documented before go-live.. DFIR and payment forensic services are adjacent SISA services, so buyers should confirm what investigation and response work is included in MDR. |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Custom, ProACT Agentic SOC, ProACT MXDR, DFIR Retainer Services |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhone | Portal |
| Data access | Dashboards | Reports only |
| Dedicated analyst | ✓ | – |
| SOC regions | North America | |
| 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. | Not published. SISA says ProACT can use a customized and scalable stack with cloud and on-premise deployment options, but no standard onboarding duration was found. |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingTechnologyGovernmentProfessional ServicesRetailTransportation | PaymentsFintechFinancial Services |
| 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 SISA's payment-security focus, ProACT Agentic SOC, forensic intelligence, 1,000+ customer claim, 40+ country footprint and PCI forensic-investigation credentials. Buyers should validate pricing, SOC delivery model, response authority and non-payment use cases directly. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001 | PCI DSSPCI PINPCI 3DSPCI P2PEPCI S3PCI S-SLCPCI MPoCSWIFTGDPR |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001MISA (Microsoft Intelligent Security Association)Microsoft Solutions Partner for Security | PCI Global Payment Forensic InvestigatorPCI Qualified Security AssessorPCI-recognized laboratory for MPoC security evaluationsPCI GEAR committee member |
| Founded | 2012 | 2006 |
| Data retention | CORR platform provides API access and data export (CSV/XLSX). Specific retention periods not publicly documented. | SISA says ProACT supports PCI-compliant cloud deployments and on-premise options for data localization requirements, including custom Kubernetes and GCP environments. No standard public MDR retention period was found. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Critical Start and SISA ProACT?
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SISA ProACT is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: Critical Start offers ≤1 hour, SISA ProACT offers Not disclosed. Critical Start covers 5 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 0 for SISA ProACT.
How do Critical Start and SISA ProACT 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. SISA ProACT supports 2 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks) and approval is configurable.
How does Critical Start pricing compare to SISA ProACT?
Critical Start pricing: Custom-quoted pricing. SISA ProACT 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 SISA ProACT: Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.; The service is heavily payment-security oriented, so non-payment buyers should confirm whether use cases fit their environment..
Should I choose Critical Start or SISA ProACT?
Choose Critical Start if: mid-market to large enterprises wanting technology-agnostic MDR that works with their existing security stack. Choose SISA ProACT if: banks, payment processors, fintechs and payment ecosystem buyers that want MDR informed by forensic-investigation experience. Critical Start is not ideal for sMBs or budget-conscious organizations, enterprise-focused pricing not published. SISA ProACT 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.