ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity, has been recognized as a Market Leader in the KuppingerCole Analysts’ 2025 Leadership Compass for Managed Detection & Response (MDR).
The report evaluates leading vendors delivering advanced threat detection, investigation, and response services for organizations of varying size and complexity.
The recognition arrives as security teams continue to weigh how to extend around-the-clock coverage without adding headcount, and as buyers increasingly treat outside detection and response support as a core part of their operational strategy rather than an optional add-on.
Persistent skills shortages, an expanding attack surface, and the growing use of AI by adversaries have combined to push managed services from a niche option toward a mainstream requirement for many teams.
For organizations that cannot staff a 24/7 security operations center on their own, MDR offers a practical route to enterprise-grade monitoring and response.
That shift in buyer expectations is part of the backdrop to independent evaluations like the KuppingerCole Leadership Compass, which give security leaders a structured way to compare providers rather than relying on vendor claims alone.
What the Report Highlighted
The report highlights ESET’s solid global coverage and growing MDR footprint. KuppingerCole Analysts point to strengths including fast automated response and containment, mature threat intelligence and research capability, and multilingual support across many regions.
The analysts also note that ESET concentrates innovation in ESET PROTECT MDR on usability and automation.
Those themes matter to buyers for practical reasons. Fast automated response and containment can shorten the window in which an attacker operates, while mature threat intelligence helps analysts separate genuine incidents from noise.
Multilingual support, meanwhile, reflects the reality that many organizations run operations across several regions and need consistent coverage rather than a single-language service.
KuppingerCole further observes that the inclusion of ESET’s AI Advisor by default in MDR Ultimate lowers the skills barrier for smaller organizations, helping teams that may not have deep in-house security expertise act on alerts more confidently.
That focus on usability is significant in a market where the shortage of experienced security staff is one of the main reasons organizations turn to managed services in the first place.
ESET offering, ESET PROTECT MDR, combines 24/7 monitoring, threat hunting, rapid response, and advanced analytics within a unified platform.
The service is designed to help organizations of all sizes strengthen resilience against evolving cyber threats while simplifying security operations,so internal teams can focus on their core work rather than watching dashboards around the clock.
Executive Perspective
“Organizations today require continuous monitoring and rapid, accurate response to evolving threats. We are proud to be recognized by KuppingerCole as a Market Leader in MDR.
This acknowledgment reinforces our commitment to delivering affordable, high-quality MDR services that combine cutting-edge technology with human expertise, helping organizations stay resilient and detect and respond to cyber threats quickly and effectively,” said Michal Jankech, Vice President, Enterprise & SMB/MSP at ESET.
The emphasis on pairing technology with human expertise reflects a wider industry view that automation alone is not enough.
Tooling can surface and contain many threats at machine speed, but experienced analysts remain essential for investigating ambiguous activity, making judgment calls during live incidents, and communicating clearly with the customer about what happened and why.
About the Evaluation
The KuppingerCole Leadership Compass provides an overview of a defined IT market segment and identifies the leading vendors within it.
Ratings are based on KuppingerCole’s industry experience, customer feedback, product documentation, and targeted surveys, which together aim to give a rounded picture rather than a single data point.
The 2025 MDR Leadership Compass evaluates vendors across multiple dimensions, including product capabilities, innovation, and market presence. It emphasizes the importance of delivering measurable security outcomes, such as reduced mean time to detect and respond, while supporting customers with managed or co-managed security operations models.
For buyers, that measurable-outcome framing is a useful reminder to look past feature lists and ask how a service performs against the metrics that matter during a real incident.
For broader context on the threats driving MDR adoption, security teams can follow ongoing cybersecurity threat coverage across the industry.
About ESET PROTECT MDR
ESET PROTECT MDR delivers detection and response through a unified, cloud-native platform. It pairs continuous monitoring and threat hunting with human-led analysis, and is built to help organizations across the spectrum, from smaller businesses to large enterprises, outsource or co-manage their security operations and focus on their core work.
Because it is delivered through a single platform, teams can work from a consolidated view of detection and response rather than switching between disconnected tools.
The co-managed option also lets organizations that already have some internal security capability keep a hand on the wheel, dividing responsibilities with the MDR team in a way that suits their maturity and risk profile.
About ESET
For 35+ years, ESET has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services for businesses and consumers worldwide.
By combining the power of AI and human expertise, ESET stays ahead of known and emerging cyberthreats, securing businesses, critical infrastructure, and individuals. Whether it is endpoint, cloud, or mobile protection, ESET’s AI-native, cloud-first solutions and services remain highly effective and easy to use.
ESET protects and monitors 24/7, updating defenses in real time to keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. Backed by R&D centers worldwide, ESET is committed to world-class research and powerful threat intelligence. For more information, visit www.eset.com or follow ESET on its social media, podcasts, and blogs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What recognition did ESET receive?
ESET was named a Market Leader in the KuppingerCole Analysts’ 2025 Leadership Compass for Managed Detection & Response (MDR), which evaluates vendors delivering advanced threat detection, investigation, and response services.
Which ESET solution was evaluated?
The recognition applies to ESET PROTECT MDR, which combines 24/7 monitoring, threat hunting, rapid response, and advanced analytics within a unified, cloud-native platform.
What strengths did KuppingerCole highlight?
KuppingerCole pointed to ESET’s solid global coverage and growing MDR footprint, along with fast automated response and containment, mature threat intelligence and research capability, and multilingual support across many regions. It also noted ESET’s focus on usability and automation.
How does ESET PROTECT MDR support smaller organizations?
KuppingerCole noted that the inclusion of ESET’s AI Advisor by default in MDR Ultimate lowers the skills barrier for smaller organizations, helping teams without deep in-house expertise respond to threats.
What is the difference between managed and co-managed MDR?
With a fully managed model, the provider handles monitoring, investigation, and response on the customer’s behalf. In a co-managed model, the organization’s own security team shares those responsibilities with the provider, which suits teams that already have some in-house capability.
What is the KuppingerCole Leadership Compass?
It is a research format that reviews vendors in a defined market segment and identifies the leaders within it. Ratings draw on KuppingerCole’s industry experience, customer feedback, product documentation, and targeted surveys.
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