Gradient Cyber vs Thales (S21sec)
Gradient Cyber is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Thales (S21sec) is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Gradient Cyber targets Mid-market organizations; Thales (S21sec) serves Enterprise. Gradient Cyber includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 2 for Thales (S21sec) (Network, OT/ICS).
Buyer brief
Gradient Cyber is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Thales (S21sec) is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Gradient Cyber targets Mid-market organizations; Thales (S21sec) serves Enterprise. Gradient Cyber includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 2 for Thales (S21sec) (Network, OT/ICS).
Gradient Cyber (Pure-play MDR) and Thales (S21sec) (Services firm) serve different buyer profiles. Your decision depends on whether you prioritize Gradient Cyber's mid-market specialist that owns its platform, soc, and analyst team or Thales (S21sec)'s thales/s21sec is strongest for complex, regulated and critical-sector environments that value glo....
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Maritime and transportation organizations needing OT visibility alongside IT security | Critical infrastructure and public-sector buyers that need Thales/S21sec regional cyber detection and response |
| Price | Not published | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 5/6 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
- Maritime and transportation organizations needing OT visibility alongside IT security
- Price
- Not published
- Response authority
- 5/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Critical infrastructure and public-sector buyers that need Thales/S21sec regional cyber detection and response
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 2/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Reports only
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | Gradient CyberTECH-AGNOSTIC | Thales (S21sec)TECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market | Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Mixed |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | Microsoft Defender for EndpointSentinelOne SingularityVMware Carbon BlackCisco Secure EndpointFortinet FortiEDRSophos CentralDeep Instinct | Customer endpoint security tools |
| SIEM integrations | Quorum AI native data lake (open XDR approach, works with or without customer SIEM) | Customer SIEM platformsThales SOC tooling |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: LimitedCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Covered |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainQuarantineCustom playbooks | ContainCustom 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 | ~ Limited |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Identity | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | ✓ Included |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom pricing based on environment size and coverage areas. Positioned for mid-market budgets, but no public pricing available. | Custom quote for Thales Cyber Detection and Response, Managed Security Services, SOC and MDR. Public prices are not published. |
| Hidden cost warnings | No public pricing. You will need a custom quote and have no benchmark to negotiate against.. Network sensors may require on-premises hardware deployment. Ask about hardware costs.. Active containment (isolate, quarantine, kill) is included, but full incident response and forensics beyond containment may require a separate professional services engagement. Clarify exactly where that line is.. Monthly reviews only, not quarterly business reviews like some competitors offer. | The current S21sec domain routes to Thales-branded services, so buyers wanting legacy S21sec-specific delivery should confirm contracting entity, SOC location and delivery team.. Public pages do not publish prices, minimum terms, service credits, MTTD/MTTR or formal MDR SLAs.. Thales offers a broad cybersecurity services portfolio; buyers should separate base MDR scope from CTI, DRPS, DFIR, CERT, ICS monitoring and advisory services.. Named endpoint, identity and cloud containment actions are not public and should be confirmed tool by tool.. Data retention, raw log access, offboarding and detection-content export rights are not described publicly. |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual | Custom cyber detection and response engagement, Managed Security Services, SOC and MDR, Critical-infrastructure cybersecurity services |
| Channels | EmailPortal | EmailPhonePortal |
| Data access | Dashboards | Reports only |
| Dedicated analyst | – | – |
| SOC regions | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific | EuropeMEAAPAC |
| Onboarding | Days. Network sensors deploy quickly with minimal setup. Full deployment completed in less than a month. | Not published. Thales describes customer-centric service roadmaps and selecting/deploying detection and response technologies, but no standard MDR onboarding timeline. |
| Industry focus | HealthcareFinancial ServicesManufacturingGovernmentMaritime | Critical InfrastructureGovernmentDefenseEnergyManufacturingAviationSpaceFinancial ServicesTelecommunicationsHealthcareTransportationAutomotiveUtilitiesMaritime |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published | Not published |
| Community view | Limited public review volume. Gartner Peer Insights 4.2/5 with 13 reviews, very small market presence. Praise centers on communication quality, ease of deployment, and false positive reduction. Complaints focus on challenging ongoing management, limited customization, and gaps between sales promises and actual capabilities. No Reddit discussions found. | The current public evidence is strong for Thales-branded global SOC, MDR, CTI, DFIR and critical-infrastructure detection and response, but weak for S21sec as a standalone public MDR brand. Buyers should validate current delivery model, SOC location, response authority, pricing and whether the contract is with Thales/S21sec in the relevant country. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001GDPRHIPAAFIPS 140-2 | DORATIBER-EUPCI DSSEASA Part-ISEASAICAOUNECE |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type II (annual third-party audit, verified via GlobeNewsWire Dec 2023)ISO 27001 (vendor-claimed, not independently verified)GDPR compliant (vendor-claimed)HIPAA compliant (vendor-claimed)FIPS 140-2 (vendor-claimed, likely via AWS infrastructure) | 8 threat intelligence and AI-driven SOCs around the worldSOCs in France, Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain, and New Zealand and Australia |
| Founded | 2017 | – |
| Data retention | Longer-term storage for threat hunting, forensics, and reporting (specific retention period not published) | Not published. Public pages do not describe default log retention, raw log access, storage tiers or export terms for Thales SOC and MDR. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Gradient Cyber and Thales (S21sec)?
Gradient Cyber is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Thales (S21sec) is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Gradient Cyber covers 5 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 2 for Thales (S21sec).
How do Gradient Cyber and Thales (S21sec) differ in response capabilities?
Gradient Cyber supports 5 autonomous actions (custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Thales (S21sec) supports 2 autonomous actions (custom playbooks, network containment) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Gradient Cyber and included with Thales (S21sec).
How does Gradient Cyber pricing compare to Thales (S21sec)?
Gradient Cyber pricing: Custom-quoted pricing. Thales (S21sec) pricing: Not published. Watch for with Gradient Cyber: No public pricing. You will need a custom quote and have no benchmark to negotiate against.; Network sensors may require on-premises hardware deployment. Ask about hardware costs.. Watch for with Thales (S21sec): The current S21sec domain routes to Thales-branded services, so buyers wanting legacy S21sec-specific delivery should confirm contracting entity, SOC location and delivery team.; Public pages do not publish prices, minimum terms, service credits, MTTD/MTTR or formal MDR SLAs..
Should I choose Gradient Cyber or Thales (S21sec)?
Choose Gradient Cyber if: mid-market organizations (200-2,000 employees) with limited security staff wanting 24x7 monitoring and active endpoint response without hiring a SOC. Choose Thales (S21sec) if: critical infrastructure and public-sector buyers that need Thales/S21sec regional cyber detection and response. Gradient Cyber is not ideal for sMBs under 200 employees or large enterprises over 5,000 employees (outside mid-market focus). Thales (S21sec) is not ideal for buyers that need a standalone legacy S21sec-branded MDR package.
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.