Northwave vs r-tec IT Security
Northwave and r-tec IT Security are both Services firms that work with your existing tools. Northwave targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations, while r-tec IT Security serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Northwave includes 2 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Network), compared to 0 for r-tec IT Security ().
Buyer brief
Northwave and r-tec IT Security are both Services firms that work with your existing tools. Northwave targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations, while r-tec IT Security serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Northwave includes 2 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Network), compared to 0 for r-tec IT Security ().
Northwave offers broader coverage (2 surfaces vs. 0). r-tec IT Security 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 | German mid-market and enterprise buyers that want MDR from a services firm with incident-response depth |
| Price | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 1/6 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
- 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
- German mid-market and enterprise buyers that want MDR from a services firm with incident-response depth
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | NorthwaveTECH-AGNOSTIC | r-tec IT SecurityTECH-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 | CrowdStrikeMicrosoft Defender XDR |
| SIEM integrations | Customer log sources | ExabeamMicrosoft Sentinel |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: LimitedCloudCloud: Not coveredIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | Custom 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 | ~ Limited |
| Cloud workloads | ~ Limited | Not offered |
| Identity | ~ Limited | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | Not offered | Not offered |
| Network | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | + Optional |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | ≤1 hour |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom quote. Northwave does not publish MDR package pricing. | Tiered custom quote. r-tec publishes Basic and Premium MDR tiers but does not publish prices. |
| 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. | Premium is required for 24x7 service times and the 1-hour qualification and First Response target.. Basic still has 24x7 automated detection and alerting, but human service hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00-18:00.. Public pages do not publish prices or contract minimums.. Optional direct response should be converted into a written pre-approval matrix.. Endpoint telemetry may depend on contracted CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender XDR or Managed EDR scope.. OT MDR and Managed EDR are separate named services, so buyers should confirm whether they are included or quoted separately. |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Custom | Basic, Premium, Custom |
| Channels | PortalEmailPhone | EmailPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | – |
| SOC regions | Europe | Europe |
| 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. | r-tec says site collectors support simple and fast implementation, but no standard public onboarding duration was found. |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingLogisticsTechnologyPublic SectorCritical Infrastructure | Critical InfrastructureEnergyManufacturingOperational TechnologyHealthcareFinancial ServicesPublic SectorLogisticsAutomotiveChemicalsPharmaceuticals |
| 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. | r-tec has limited MDR-specific public review volume. The public buyer case rests on German delivery, a published IT MDR service, a separate OT MDR service, BSI APT-response status and clear Basic versus Premium service-level targets. Buyers should validate exact response authority, pricing, OT scope and the operating model behind Premium 24x7 service. |
| Compliance | NIS2ISO 27001GDPRTISAX | ISO 27001ISO 9001KRITISGDPR |
| Certifications | – | ISO 27001ISO 9001BSI-certified APT Response service providerEcoVadis Bronze group certification |
| Founded | 2006 | 1996 |
| Data retention | Not published as a standard MDR retention period. | Not published as a standard MDR retention period. r-tec says Exabeam is operated as a cloud service from a German GDPR-compliant data center. |
| API available | – | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Northwave and r-tec IT Security?
Northwave is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). r-tec IT Security is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: Northwave offers Not disclosed, r-tec IT Security offers ≤1 hour. Northwave covers 2 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 0 for r-tec IT Security.
How do Northwave and r-tec IT Security differ in response capabilities?
Northwave supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. r-tec IT Security supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Northwave and included with r-tec IT Security.
How does Northwave pricing compare to r-tec IT Security?
Northwave pricing: Not published. r-tec IT Security 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 r-tec IT Security: Premium is required for 24x7 service times and the 1-hour qualification and First Response target.; Basic still has 24x7 automated detection and alerting, but human service hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00-18:00..
Should I choose Northwave or r-tec IT Security?
Choose Northwave if: benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC. Choose r-tec IT Security if: german mid-market and enterprise buyers that want MDR from a services firm with incident-response depth. Northwave is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing or response SLAs before engaging sales. r-tec IT Security is not ideal for buyers that need public price cards or contract minimums 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.