r-tec IT Security vs Sophos
r-tec IT Security is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Sophos is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. r-tec IT Security targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Sophos serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. r-tec IT Security includes 0 attack surfaces in base pricing (), compared to 5 for Sophos (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Buyer brief
r-tec IT Security is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Sophos is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. r-tec IT Security targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Sophos serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. r-tec IT Security includes 0 attack surfaces in base pricing (), compared to 5 for Sophos (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Sophos is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. r-tec IT Security is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | German mid-market and enterprise buyers that want MDR from a services firm with incident-response depth | Existing Sophos endpoint or firewall customers adding managed services on their existing platform |
| Price | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 1/6 actions · Configurable | 6/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Requires own platform |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Warranty | None listed | $1,000,000 |
- 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
- Best fit
- Existing Sophos endpoint or firewall customers adding managed services on their existing platform
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- $1,000,000
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | r-tec IT SecurityTECH-AGNOSTIC | SophosPLATFORM |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Very Positive |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Requires their platform |
| EDR integrations | Microsoft Defender XDR CrowdStrike | Sophos EndpointMicrosoft DefenderSentinelOneCarbon Black CrowdStrike |
| SIEM integrations | ExabeamMicrosoft Sentinel | Sophos Central SIEM integration via API |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: LimitedCloudCloud: Not coveredIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Limited |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | Custom playbooks | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks |
| IR included | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published | Custom quote required. Tiered pricing bands based on organization size. Starting price not publicly disclosed. |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | $1,000,000 |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | Yes |
| Endpoints | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | Not offered | ✓ Included |
| Identity | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | Not offered | ✓ Included |
| Network | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | ~ Limited |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | ≤1 hour | ≤1 hour |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Tiered custom quote. r-tec publishes Basic and Premium MDR tiers but does not publish prices. | Per-user and per-server pricing. Two tiers: MDR Essentials (monitoring and basic response) and MDR Complete (full IR and breach warranty). |
| Hidden cost warnings | 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. | MDR Essentials does NOT include full incident response or breach warranty, requires MDR Complete upgrade. Linux server protection requires separate Sophos Workload Protection subscription. Post-Secureworks acquisition (Feb 2025): unclear if Sophos MDR and Taegis MDR will merge or remain separate products. Breach warranty limited to ONE claim total across all subscriptions, not per-incident |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Basic, Premium, Custom | Annual, Multi-year |
| Channels | EmailPhone | EmailPortalPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | ✓ |
| SOC regions | Europe | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific |
| Onboarding | r-tec says site collectors support simple and fast implementation, but no standard public onboarding duration was found. | Weeks, varies by environment size and integration scope |
| Industry focus | Critical InfrastructureEnergyManufacturingOperational TechnologyHealthcareFinancial ServicesPublic SectorLogisticsAutomotiveChemicalsPharmaceuticals | ManufacturingHealthcareFinancial ServicesRetailTechnology |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published | Sophos reports a 38-minute average case closure time. The MDR service description defines a 60-minute response-time SLA for 90% of High Severity Cases, with eligibility timing and service-credit limits. |
| Community view | 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. | G2: #1 overall MDR for 14 consecutive report cycles, 1,543 reviews, 95% satisfaction. Gartner Peer Insights: 2026 Customers' Choice for Endpoint Protection (4.9/5). MITRE ATT&CK 2025: 100% detection coverage. Praised for integration breadth and MDR Complete's all-in pricing. Recurring complaints about technical support responsiveness and endpoint agent resource usage. |
| Compliance | ISO 27001ISO 9001KRITISGDPR | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2022ISO 27017:2015ISO 27018:2019PCI DSS v4.0GDPRHIPAAHITRUST CSF |
| Certifications | ISO 27001ISO 9001BSI-certified APT Response service providerEcoVadis Bronze group certification | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2022ISO 27017:2015ISO 27018:2019PCI DSS v4.0 |
| Founded | 1996 | 1985 |
| Data retention | 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. | 90 days standard, 1-year extended available as add-on |
| API available | – | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between r-tec IT Security and Sophos?
r-tec IT Security is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Sophos is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). r-tec IT Security covers 0 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 5 for Sophos.
How do r-tec IT Security and Sophos differ in response capabilities?
r-tec IT Security supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Sophos supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable.
How does r-tec IT Security pricing compare to Sophos?
r-tec IT Security pricing: Not published. Sophos pricing: Custom quote required. Tiered pricing bands based on organization size. Starting price not publicly disclosed.. 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.. Watch for with Sophos: MDR Essentials does NOT include full incident response or breach warranty, requires MDR Complete upgrade; Linux server protection requires separate Sophos Workload Protection subscription.
Should I choose r-tec IT Security or Sophos?
Choose r-tec IT Security if: german mid-market and enterprise buyers that want MDR from a services firm with incident-response depth. Choose Sophos if: existing Sophos endpoint or firewall customers adding managed services on their existing platform. r-tec IT Security is not ideal for buyers that need public price cards or contract minimums before sales engagement. Sophos is not ideal for organizations needing raw telemetry query access (Sophos Central provides dashboards only).
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.