Sapphire vs VikingCloud
Sapphire is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. VikingCloud is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Sapphire targets SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise organizations; VikingCloud serves SMB and Mid-market. Sapphire includes 4 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Network), compared to 2 for VikingCloud (Endpoint, Network).
Buyer brief
Sapphire is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. VikingCloud is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Sapphire targets SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise organizations; VikingCloud serves SMB and Mid-market. Sapphire includes 4 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Network), compared to 2 for VikingCloud (Endpoint, Network).
VikingCloud is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. Sapphire is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | UK organisations that want MDR from a UK-owned provider with a UK-based CREST-accredited SOC | Retail, hospitality, and financial services organizations where PCI DSS compliance is the primary driver for buying MDR |
| Price | Custom quote | Not published |
| Response authority | 1/6 actions · Configurable | 1/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Requires own platform |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Warranty | None listed | None listed |
- Best fit
- UK organisations that want MDR from a UK-owned provider with a UK-based CREST-accredited SOC
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Retail, hospitality, and financial services organizations where PCI DSS compliance is the primary driver for buying MDR
- Price
- Not published
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
›› Detailed comparison
| FIELD | SapphireTECH-AGNOSTIC | VikingCloudPLATFORM |
|---|---|---|
| ›› Fit | ||
| Target size | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise | SMB, Mid-market |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Mixed |
| ›› Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Requires their platform |
| EDR integrations | EDR toolsMicrosoft technologies | VikingCloud Endpoint Security |
| SIEM integrations | ExabeamSIEM tools | VikingCloud Managed SIEM |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: Not coveredIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered |
| ›› Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Guided Response |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | Custom playbooks | Quarantine |
| IR included | ✓ Included | Separate |
| ›› Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published | Not published |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| ›› More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | Yes |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | Not offered |
| Identity | ~ Limited | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | Not offered |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | Not offered |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom quote. Sapphire does not publish MDR package pricing. | Custom pricing, not publicly disclosed. VikingCloud uses quote-based pricing requiring direct sales consultation. |
| Hidden cost warnings | Public pages do not publish response SLAs or exact response-authority rules.. MDR, MXDR and OT SOC scope can differ materially, so buyers should define monitored surfaces in the order form.. The page publishes vendor-reported comparative metrics without independent methodology.. IR hours are included as standard, but buyers should confirm number of hours, coverage triggers and overage rates. | Pricing is completely opaque: no public ranges, no published minimums, quote-only. Requires VikingCloud's proprietary endpoint agent (Bitdefender-based), replacing your existing EDR. DFIR incident response is a separate retainer, not included in base MDR. The 4M customer base is mostly compliance clients. Ask how many are active MDR customers to gauge service maturity. |
| Data portability | Partial | Limited |
| Contract terms | Custom | Annual |
| Channels | PortalEmailPhone | EmailPhonePortal |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | – |
| SOC regions | Europe | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific |
| Onboarding | Sapphire references onboarding and implementation that can be shorter than expected, but no standard public MDR onboarding timeline was found. | Not published. Agent installation is described as one-click download. |
| Industry focus | Public SectorDefenceFinancial ServicesProfessional ServicesIndustrialsManufacturingOperational TechnologyHealthcare | RetailQuick Service RestaurantsFinancial ServicesHospitalityHealthcareTravel and Tourism |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published | Less than 30 minutes (vendor blog claim, not independently validated) |
| Community view | Sapphire has limited MDR-specific community review volume. The public buyer case is strongest for UK ownership, UK-based SOC delivery, CREST SOC accreditation and IT/OT services depth. Buyers should validate response authority, price, metrics and the exact split between MDR, MXDR, OT SOC and incident-response work. | Very limited public reviews for VikingCloud's MDR service specifically. The company is established in PCI compliance consulting (100+ QSAs, 35-year heritage) but has near-zero visibility in practitioner communities discussing MDR. No Reddit discussions found. Four customer testimonials on Featured Customers are positive but compliance-focused, not about detection and response quality. |
| Compliance | ISO 27001NISTHIPAADORACyber Essentials PlusCRESTGDPRPCI DSS | PCI DSSISO 27001SOC 2 |
| Certifications | CREST SOCCREST Penetration TestingCyber Essentials PlusISO 27001 | PCI QSA (Qualified Security Assessor Company)PCI ASV (Approved Scanning Vendor)PCI PFI (Payment Card Industry Forensic Investigator) |
| Founded | 1996 | 1989 |
| Data retention | Not published as a standard MDR retention period. | Not published |
| API available | – | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
›› FAQ
What is the main difference between Sapphire and VikingCloud?
Sapphire is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). VikingCloud is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Sapphire covers 4 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 2 for VikingCloud.
How do Sapphire and VikingCloud differ in response capabilities?
Sapphire supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. VikingCloud supports 1 autonomous actions (file quarantine) and approval is configurable. Incident response is included with Sapphire and not included with VikingCloud.
How does Sapphire pricing compare to VikingCloud?
Sapphire pricing: Not published. VikingCloud pricing: Custom-quoted pricing. Watch for with Sapphire: Public pages do not publish response SLAs or exact response-authority rules.; MDR, MXDR and OT SOC scope can differ materially, so buyers should define monitored surfaces in the order form.. Watch for with VikingCloud: Pricing is completely opaque: no public ranges, no published minimums, quote-only; Requires VikingCloud's proprietary endpoint agent (Bitdefender-based), replacing your existing EDR.
Should I choose Sapphire or VikingCloud?
Choose Sapphire if: uK organisations that want MDR from a UK-owned provider with a UK-based CREST-accredited SOC. Choose VikingCloud if: retail, hospitality, and financial services organizations where PCI DSS compliance is the primary driver for buying MDR. Sapphire is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing or contractual response SLAs before sales engagement. VikingCloud is not ideal for organizations with existing EDR investments wanting vendor-agnostic MDR (VikingCloud requires their own endpoint 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.