NCC Group vs Sapphire
NCC Group and Sapphire are both Services firms that work with your existing tools. NCC Group targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations, while Sapphire serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise.
Buyer brief
NCC Group and Sapphire are both Services firms that work with your existing tools. NCC Group targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations, while Sapphire serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise.
Both providers target similar markets. Compare their specific response actions, communication channels, and pricing structure to find the better fit for your environment.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | European enterprise and government organizations running Microsoft Sentinel or Splunk as their SIEM | UK organisations that want MDR from a UK-owned provider with a UK-based CREST-accredited SOC |
| Price | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 5/6 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
- European enterprise and government organizations running Microsoft Sentinel or Splunk as their SIEM
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 5/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- UK organisations that want MDR from a UK-owned provider with a UK-based CREST-accredited SOC
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
›› Detailed comparison
| FIELD | NCC GroupTECH-AGNOSTIC | SapphireTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| ›› Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Mixed |
| ›› Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | Microsoft DefenderCrowdStrike | EDR toolsMicrosoft technologies |
| SIEM integrations | Microsoft SentinelSplunk | ExabeamSIEM tools |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on |
| ›› Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainQuarantineCustom playbooks | Custom playbooks |
| IR included | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| ›› Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published. Custom quotes only. | Not published |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| ›› More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Identity | ~ Limited | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | + Optional |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Not published. Custom quotes. Evidence of large-scale enterprise pricing: EUR 25M+ contract for Netherlands university consortium (23+ universities, 5-year term). | Custom quote. Sapphire does not publish MDR package pricing. |
| Hidden cost warnings | MXDR for Microsoft and MXDR for Splunk are separate offerings. Customers using both Sentinel and Splunk may face separate engagements.. Only Microsoft Defender and CrowdStrike EDR integrations are confirmed. Other EDR platforms may not be supported.. Post-breach advisory limited to 2 hours included. Full IR engagement is a separate NCC Group consulting purchase.. SIEM licensing (Microsoft Sentinel or Splunk) is the customer's cost, not included in MXDR pricing | Public pages do not publish response SLAs or exact response-authority rules.. MDR, MXDR and OT SOC scope can differ materially, so buyers should define monitored surfaces in the order form.. The page publishes vendor-reported comparative metrics without independent methodology.. IR hours are included as standard, but buyers should confirm number of hours, coverage triggers and overage rates. |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Custom |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhone | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | – |
| SOC regions | Europe | Europe |
| Onboarding | Weeks, not months (vendor claim). Uses infrastructure-as-code deployment. Exact timeline not published. | Sapphire references onboarding and implementation that can be shorter than expected, but no standard public MDR onboarding timeline was found. |
| Industry focus | GovernmentHigher EducationFinancial ServicesManufacturingEnergyTelecommunications | Public SectorDefenceFinancial ServicesProfessional ServicesIndustrialsManufacturingOperational TechnologyHealthcare |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | 25 minutes average time to close (vendor-published). 95% of threats resolved within 2 hours. | Not published |
| Community view | Strong analyst recognition: Forrester Wave MDR Europe Q3 2025 Strong Performer, IDC MarketScape European MDR 2024 Leader. Virtually no practitioner reviews on G2 (not MDR-specific), PeerSpot (0 reviews, ranked 43rd in MDR), or Reddit. Analyst praise for threat hunting and consultative approach, but buyers cannot reference peer experiences. | Sapphire has limited MDR-specific community review volume. The public buyer case is strongest for UK ownership, UK-based SOC delivery, CREST SOC accreditation and IT/OT services depth. Buyers should validate response authority, price, metrics and the exact split between MDR, MXDR, OT SOC and incident-response work. |
| Compliance | ISO 27001:2022ISO 9001:2015PCI QSAPCI ASV | ISO 27001NISTHIPAADORACyber Essentials PlusCRESTGDPRPCI DSS |
| Certifications | ISO 27001:2022ISO 9001:2015PCI Qualified Security Assessor (QSA)PCI Approved Scan Vendor (ASV)FedRAMP 3PAO (Third-Party Assessment Organization) | CREST SOCCREST Penetration TestingCyber Essentials PlusISO 27001 |
| Founded | 1999 | 1996 |
| Data retention | Not published. | Not published as a standard MDR retention period. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
›› FAQ
What is the main difference between NCC Group and Sapphire?
NCC Group is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Sapphire is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools).
How do NCC Group and Sapphire differ in response capabilities?
NCC Group supports 5 autonomous actions (custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Sapphire supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable.
How does NCC Group pricing compare to Sapphire?
NCC Group pricing: Not published. Custom quotes only.. Sapphire pricing: Not published. Watch for with NCC Group: MXDR for Microsoft and MXDR for Splunk are separate offerings. Customers using both Sentinel and Splunk may face separate engagements.; Only Microsoft Defender and CrowdStrike EDR integrations are confirmed. Other EDR platforms may not be supported.. Watch for with Sapphire: Public pages do not publish response SLAs or exact response-authority rules.; MDR, MXDR and OT SOC scope can differ materially, so buyers should define monitored surfaces in the order form..
Should I choose NCC Group or Sapphire?
Choose NCC Group if: european enterprise and government organizations running Microsoft Sentinel or Splunk as their SIEM. Choose Sapphire if: uK organisations that want MDR from a UK-owned provider with a UK-based CREST-accredited SOC. NCC Group is not ideal for organizations running a SIEM other than Microsoft Sentinel or Splunk (only two supported). Sapphire is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing or contractual response SLAs before sales engagement.
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.