Northwave vs WithSecure
Northwave is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. WithSecure is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Northwave targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; WithSecure serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. Northwave includes 2 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Network), compared to 1 for WithSecure (Endpoint).
Buyer brief
Northwave is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. WithSecure is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Northwave targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; WithSecure serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. Northwave includes 2 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Network), compared to 1 for WithSecure (Endpoint).
WithSecure is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. Northwave is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC | European mid-market organizations prioritizing EU data residency, GDPR, NIS2, and DORA compliance |
| Price | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 1/6 actions · Configurable | 5/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Requires own platform |
| 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
- European mid-market organizations prioritizing EU data residency, GDPR, NIS2, and DORA compliance
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 5/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Full query access
- Warranty
- None listed
›› Detailed comparison
| FIELD | NorthwaveTECH-AGNOSTIC | WithSecurePLATFORM |
|---|---|---|
| ›› Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Positive |
| ›› Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Requires their platform |
| EDR integrations | Customer endpoint telemetry | WithSecure Elements EDR (required for MDR service) |
| SIEM integrations | Customer log sources | Microsoft Sentinel (native Azure Marketplace connector)Any SIEM via Elements Connector (Syslog forwarding) |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: Optional add-onIDIdentity: Optional add-onSaaSSaaS: Optional add-onNetNetwork: Optional add-onOTOT/IoT: Not covered |
| ›› Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | Custom playbooks | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantine |
| IR included | Separate | ✓ Included |
| ›› Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published | Not publicly disclosed. Custom quotes required. Described as 'competitively priced for mid-sized businesses.' ITPro rated pricing 5/5 stars. |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| ›› More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | Yes |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ~ Limited | + Optional |
| Identity | ~ Limited | + Optional |
| SaaS apps | Not offered | + Optional |
| Network | ✓ Included | + Optional |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | Not offered |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom quote. Northwave does not publish MDR package pricing. | Per-endpoint/per-device/per-user subscription. Monthly or annual billing options. |
| 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. | Platform lock-in: requires WithSecure Elements EDR, cannot use competing EDR. Modular pricing: full coverage across identity, cloud, SaaS, and exposure management adds cost beyond base MDR. Ownership transition: being taken private by CVC/Siilasmaa, managed services ARR declined 22% in H1 2025 |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Custom | Annual, Multi-year |
| Channels | PortalEmailPhone | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Full query access |
| 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. | Not publicly disclosed. Requires Elements EDR deployment first, then MDR subscription activated in Elements Security Center. |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingLogisticsTechnologyPublic SectorCritical Infrastructure | Financial ServicesManufacturingHealthcareGovernmentEducationTechnology |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published | Not published. Marketing states 'reaction in minutes, containment within hours.' PeerSpot reviewer reported ~4 minute average alert response (anecdotal). |
| 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. | PeerSpot 8.0/10 with 100% recommend rate and growing mindshare (0.3% to 1.0% YoY). Gartner Peer Insights 4.5/5 across 144 reviews (all products). Forrester Strong Performer in MDR Europe Q3 2025. Being taken private by CVC/Siilasmaa (delisting expected H1 2026). Consulting divested to Neqst May 2025. Managed services ARR declined 22% in H1 2025. |
| Compliance | NIS2ISO 27001GDPRTISAX | ISO 27001ISAE 3000 (SOC 2 Type 2 equivalent)GDPRNIS2DORA |
| Certifications | – | ISO 27001 (cloud-delivered products and managed security services)ISAE 3000 (assurance-based, SOC 2 Type 2 equivalent)CREST-Accredited CSIR TeamNCSC CIR Level 1 (one of only 9 IR teams globally for Category 1-3 incidents)NCSC CIR Level 2 (via CREST)BSI (German Federal Office for Information Security) Assured IR TeamForrester Strong Performer MDR Europe Q3 2025Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms 2024AV-TEST Approved Advanced EDR 2024MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations Enterprise 2024 Participant |
| Founded | 2006 | 1988 |
| Data retention | Not published as a standard MDR retention period. | 13-14 months for security events, varying by event severity. |
| API available | – | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
›› FAQ
What is the main difference between Northwave and WithSecure?
Northwave is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). WithSecure is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Northwave covers 2 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 1 for WithSecure.
How do Northwave and WithSecure differ in response capabilities?
Northwave supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. WithSecure supports 5 autonomous actions (account disable, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Northwave and included with WithSecure.
How does Northwave pricing compare to WithSecure?
Northwave pricing: Not published. WithSecure pricing: Not publicly disclosed. Custom quotes required. Described as 'competitively priced for mid-sized businesses.' ITPro rated pricing 5/5 stars.. 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 WithSecure: Platform lock-in: requires WithSecure Elements EDR, cannot use competing EDR; Modular pricing: full coverage across identity, cloud, SaaS, and exposure management adds cost beyond base MDR.
Should I choose Northwave or WithSecure?
Choose Northwave if: benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC. Choose WithSecure if: european mid-market organizations prioritizing EU data residency, GDPR, NIS2, and DORA compliance. Northwave is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing or response SLAs before engaging sales. WithSecure is not ideal for organizations committed to multi-vendor or BYO-EDR strategies (requires WithSecure agent).
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.