OpenText vs Thales (S21sec)
OpenText is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Thales (S21sec) is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. OpenText targets SMB and Mid-market organizations; Thales (S21sec) serves Enterprise. OpenText includes 4 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Network), compared to 2 for Thales (S21sec) (Network, OT/ICS).
Buyer brief
OpenText is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Thales (S21sec) is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. OpenText targets SMB and Mid-market organizations; Thales (S21sec) serves Enterprise. OpenText includes 4 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Network), compared to 2 for Thales (S21sec) (Network, OT/ICS).
OpenText (Pure-play MDR) and Thales (S21sec) (Services firm) serve different buyer profiles. Your decision depends on whether you prioritize OpenText's sensible fit for smaller it teams that want opentext's threat intelligence and a 24/7 soc layered... or Thales (S21sec)'s thales/s21sec is strongest for complex, regulated and critical-sector environments that value glo....
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | SMB and lower mid-market organizations that want a SOC layer over their existing endpoint stack | Critical infrastructure and public-sector buyers that need Thales/S21sec regional cyber detection and response |
| Price | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 1/6 actions · Approval required | 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
- SMB and lower mid-market organizations that want a SOC layer over their existing endpoint stack
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Approval required
- 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 | OpenTextTECH-AGNOSTIC | Thales (S21sec)TECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | SMB, Mid-market | Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Mixed |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | CrowdStrikeMicrosoft DefenderSentinelOneSophosCarbon BlackBitdefender | Customer endpoint security tools |
| SIEM integrations | Microsoft SentinelSplunk | Customer SIEM platformsThales SOC tooling |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: LimitedCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Covered |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Guided Response | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Approval Required | Configurable |
| Response actions | Custom 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 | ~ Limited | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | ✓ Included |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom quote, not published. Sold direct and through OpenText partner channel. | Custom quote for Thales Cyber Detection and Response, Managed Security Services, SOC and MDR. Public prices are not published. |
| Hidden cost warnings | Co-managed model means the customer's team still does the actual containment work. No published SLA, contractual response commitments must be negotiated. Headline detection metrics come from a 2021 launch announcement and have not been independently verified | 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 | EmailPortalPhone | EmailPhonePortal |
| Data access | Dashboards | Reports only |
| Dedicated analyst | – | – |
| SOC regions | North America | EuropeMEAAPAC |
| Onboarding | Not published | Not published. Thales describes customer-centric service roadmaps and selecting/deploying detection and response technologies, but no standard MDR onboarding timeline. |
| Industry focus | SMBHealthcareFinancial ServicesPublic Sector | Critical InfrastructureGovernmentDefenseEnergyManufacturingAviationSpaceFinancial ServicesTelecommunicationsHealthcareTransportationAutomotiveUtilitiesMaritime |
| MTTD | Less than 30 minutes (vendor-published, 2021 launch claim) | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published | Not published |
| Community view | Public review coverage of OpenText Core MDR is thin. Capterra lists the product with zero reviews, and there is no Gartner Peer Insights MDR profile or G2 page with a meaningful review base. Practitioner discussion mostly references the broader OpenText Cybersecurity portfolio and the Webroot heritage rather than the MDR service itself. | 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 | Not published | DORATIBER-EUPCI DSSEASA Part-ISEASAICAOUNECE |
| Certifications | Not published | 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 | 1991 | – |
| Data retention | 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 OpenText and Thales (S21sec)?
OpenText 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). OpenText covers 4 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 2 for Thales (S21sec).
How do OpenText and Thales (S21sec) differ in response capabilities?
OpenText supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and requires approval before acting. Thales (S21sec) supports 2 autonomous actions (custom playbooks, network containment) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with OpenText and included with Thales (S21sec).
How does OpenText pricing compare to Thales (S21sec)?
OpenText pricing: Not published. Thales (S21sec) pricing: Not published. Watch for with OpenText: Co-managed model means the customer's team still does the actual containment work; No published SLA, contractual response commitments must be negotiated. 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 OpenText or Thales (S21sec)?
Choose OpenText if: sMB and lower mid-market organizations that want a SOC layer over their existing endpoint stack. Choose Thales (S21sec) if: critical infrastructure and public-sector buyers that need Thales/S21sec regional cyber detection and response. OpenText is not ideal for buyers who need analysts to isolate endpoints or kill processes without customer approval. 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.