Spotlight

Report:

The Forrester Wave™: Managed Detection And Response Services In Europe, Q3 2025

How does Forrester define the Managed Detection And Response Services In Europe market in 2025?

European CISOs turn to MDR providers not just for faster detection, but to sustain operations in the face of regulatory, economic, and threat pressures. In a market where extended detection is table stakes, MDR has become a way to enable operational resilience when internal teams lack the 24/7 detection coverage and mature response capabilities needed to address today's threats. In a landscape of strict regulatory mandates like NIS2 and DORA, faster and more sophisticated attacks, and skill shortages in key areas like detection engineering/rule creation and ML/analytics creation, buyers need to weigh sovereignty, response maturity, and operational resilience. The evaluation identified 11 significant providers across Leaders, Strong Performers, and Contenders categories.

Key Facts for The Forrester Wave™: Managed Detection And Response Services In Europe, Q3 2025 in 2025

How did the Managed Detection And Response Services In Europe market evolve in 2025?

What product features are required to be included in this year's evaluation?

What are the common features of top products in the Managed Detection And Response Services In Europe space?

No common features specified.

Scope Exclusions

Inclusion Criteria

Vendors must, among other requirements:

Offering Strengths — Relative Weighting

Strategy Strength — Relative Weighting

FAQs

Q: What does this research cover?

A: This research evaluates 11 managed detection and response (MDR) providers operating in Europe. It assesses their current offerings, strategic vision, and customer satisfaction across critical capabilities including detection surfaces (endpoint, extended, cloud, identity), managed response (manual and automated), data sovereignty and European service delivery, threat intelligence, managed investigation, detection engineering, threat hunting, integrations, generative AI capabilities, analyst experience, dashboards and reporting, metrics, posture management, service localization, resilience, and customer retention.

Q: Who should use this research?

A: This research is designed for European CISOs, security leaders, and technology decision-makers who are evaluating MDR providers to address regulatory requirements (NIS2, DORA), skill shortages, and the need for 24/7 detection and response capabilities. Organizations should use this evaluation to understand how providers compare on sovereignty requirements, AI maturity in response automation, and integrated detection/response/forensics capabilities. Buyers with strict data sovereignty needs, those in regulated sectors (finance, healthcare, critical infrastructure), and organizations seeking to augment internal security teams will find this research particularly valuable.

Q: What are the mandatory features of vendors included in this market?

A: To be included in this evaluation, MDR providers must have: 1) Annual European MDR services revenue exceeding $10 million with full data storage and processing within Europe (EU member states, EEA, UK, and Switzerland), 2) Core service delivery capabilities including detection, investigation, response, threat hunting, and investigations as core use cases, 3) GenAI assistant functionality available to customers for case/incident summarization and querying, 4) Broad MDR coverage with less than 50% of functionality delivered via third-party licenses or integrations, and 5) Sufficient Forrester mindshare based on client inquiries, advisories, consulting engagements, and other interactions to ensure relevance and quality of references.

Q: What are some reasons for not being included in this report?

A:

  • Annual European MDR services revenue below $10 million threshold
  • Lack of full data storage and processing within Europe (EU, EEA, UK, Switzerland)
  • Missing core service delivery capabilities (detection, investigation, response, threat hunting, investigations)
  • No GenAI assistant functionality for customers
  • More than 50% of functionality delivered via third-party licenses or integrations
  • Insufficient Forrester mindshare or client engagement to ensure relevance
  • Vendor declined to participate or only partially participated in the evaluation process
  • Does not meet the geographic scope definition for European operations

Q: What should buyers consider when evaluating products in this market?

A:

  • Localized service delivery and data sovereignty - EU data residency alone is insufficient; verify in-region/in-country SOCs, local language analysts, and workflows that never move data across borders
  • Maturity of AI capabilities and how AI is used in response - look beyond alert enrichment/summarization to automated endpoint isolation, account revocation, and configuration updating
  • Integrated detection, response, and forensics - verify containment and forensic investigations can be initiated in the same environment as detection with full attack chain coverage
  • Validate provider's data flows and response action execution before committing to avoid regulatory exposure
  • Request live demos of automated response capabilities and containment from within the platform
  • Review completed incident reports that map the full attack chain, not just initial compromise
  • Confirm provider can meet containment SLAs without breaching data protection requirements

Q: How has the Managed Detection And Response Services In Europe market evolved in 2025?

A:

  • Strict regulatory mandates like NIS2 and DORA driving compliance requirements
  • Faster and more sophisticated cyber attacks requiring advanced detection
  • Skill shortages in detection engineering/rule creation and ML/analytics creation
  • Growing emphasis on data sovereignty and localized service delivery in Europe
  • Increasing importance of AI and automation in response capabilities
  • Need for integrated detection, response, and forensics workflows
  • Extended detection becoming table stakes in the market
  • Focus on operational resilience and 24/7 coverage capabilities
  • Integration of continuous threat exposure management (CTEM) with MDR
  • Emphasis on proactive threat hunting and novel threat discovery

Q: What differentiates Strength of Offering vs. Strength of Strategy?

A: Strength of Offering evaluates the current capabilities and features of the MDR service including detection surfaces (endpoint, extended, cloud, identity), response capabilities (manual and automated), data sovereignty, threat intelligence, investigation capabilities, detection engineering, threat hunting, integrations, AI capabilities, analyst experience, reporting, metrics, posture management, service localization, resilience, and customer retention. Strength of Strategy evaluates the vendor's future direction and execution including vision for MDR evolution, innovation capabilities and R&D, partner ecosystem development, pricing models and transparency, talent acquisition and retention strategies, and global/regional delivery capabilities.

Reference

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