Northwave vs Optiv
Northwave and Optiv are both Services firms that work with your existing tools. Northwave targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations, while Optiv serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Northwave includes 2 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Network), compared to 5 for Optiv (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Buyer brief
Northwave and Optiv are both Services firms that work with your existing tools. Northwave targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations, while Optiv serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Northwave includes 2 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Network), compared to 5 for Optiv (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Optiv offers broader coverage (5 surfaces vs. 2). Northwave may suit teams that need depth over breadth.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC | Enterprises with a multi-vendor security stack that want a managed layer without replacing core tools |
| Price | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 1/6 actions · Configurable | 4/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Dashboards | Full query access |
| Warranty | None listed | None listed |
- Best fit
- Benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Enterprises with a multi-vendor security stack that want a managed layer without replacing core tools
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 4/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Full query access
- Warranty
- None listed
›› Detailed comparison
| FIELD | NorthwaveTECH-AGNOSTIC | OptivTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| ›› Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Mixed |
| ›› Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | Customer endpoint telemetry | Multi-vendor EDRMicrosoft DefenderCrowdStrikeSentinelOne |
| SIEM integrations | Customer log sources | Google Security Operations |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on |
| ›› Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | Custom playbooks | IsolateContainDisable 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 | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| Identity | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | Not offered | ✓ Included |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | + Optional |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom quote. Northwave does not publish MDR package pricing. | Custom enterprise pricing, with analyst coverage, Google Security Operations data processing, log management, data retention, active-defense hours and optional TAM/manual hunting scoped by environment. Optiv/KuppingerCole materials describe a data-processed pricing model. |
| Hidden cost warnings | Public pages do not publish response SLAs or named default response actions.. Rapid Response is a separate related service, so buyers should confirm what incident-response support is included in base MDR.. Cloud, SaaS and identity coverage are not named as clearly as endpoint, log and network telemetry.. Detection tuning depends on onboarding log sources and threat-based use cases, which may affect deployment effort. | Optiv MDR is built for complex environments; buyers should model Google Security Operations ingestion and retention volume before comparing it with per-endpoint MDR quotes.. The service can manage many existing tools, but those EDR, identity, cloud and network tools remain separate licensing costs.. Active defense is described as 40 hours per year. Clarify the hourly rate and escalation path once that allocation is consumed.. TAM and custom manual threat hunting are optional components, not baseline inclusions.. No public price floor, public SLA or breach warranty was found. |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Custom | Annual, Multi-year, Custom |
| Channels | PortalEmailPhone | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Full query access |
| Dedicated analyst | – | ✓ |
| SOC regions | Europe | North America |
| Onboarding | Northwave says implementation starts with a plan covering service elements, phases, planning and threat-based use cases, then onboarding log sources and processes. No standard public onboarding duration was found. | Not published. Scope depends on data sources, Google Security Operations setup, detection content and SOAR playbook integration. |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingLogisticsTechnologyPublic SectorCritical Infrastructure | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingRetailTechnologyPublic Sector |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published | Not published |
| Community view | Northwave has limited MDR-specific public review volume. The public buyer case rests on European delivery, Utrecht SOC operations and the connection between MDR, CERT, red team and threat research. Buyers should validate response authority, cloud and identity coverage, pricing and escalation rules before signing. | Optiv has strong brand recognition as a large cyber advisory and technology-services firm, but MDR-specific peer review volume is thinner than for MDR-first vendors. Gartner Peer Insights lists Optiv reviews in managed security services rather than a separate high-volume MDR product page. Reddit discussion is mostly about Optiv as a reseller and services firm, not day-to-day MDR operations. |
| Compliance | NIS2ISO 27001GDPRTISAX | SOC 2ISO 27001PCI DSSHIPAAHITRUSTNIST CSFCMMC |
| Certifications | – | Optiv publishes support for compliance programs including SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA, HITRUST, NIST CSF and CMMC. Specific MDR service audit-scope documents require buyer validation. |
| Founded | 2006 | 2015 |
| Data retention | Not published as a standard MDR retention period. | Optiv states 12 months of hot storage is available for on-demand access. Longer retention terms are not publicly described. |
| API available | – | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
›› FAQ
What is the main difference between Northwave and Optiv?
Northwave is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Optiv is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Northwave covers 2 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 5 for Optiv.
How do Northwave and Optiv differ in response capabilities?
Northwave supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Optiv supports 4 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, network containment) and approval is configurable.
How does Northwave pricing compare to Optiv?
Northwave pricing: Not published. Optiv pricing: Not published. Watch for with Northwave: Public pages do not publish response SLAs or named default response actions.; Rapid Response is a separate related service, so buyers should confirm what incident-response support is included in base MDR.. Watch for with Optiv: Optiv MDR is built for complex environments; buyers should model Google Security Operations ingestion and retention volume before comparing it with per-endpoint MDR quotes.; The service can manage many existing tools, but those EDR, identity, cloud and network tools remain separate licensing costs..
Should I choose Northwave or Optiv?
Choose Northwave if: benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC. Choose Optiv if: enterprises with a multi-vendor security stack that want a managed layer without replacing core tools. Northwave is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing or response SLAs before engaging sales. Optiv is not ideal for sMBs wanting simple per-endpoint MDR pricing.
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.