Magic Quadrant for Network Detection and Response

How does Gartner define the Network Detection and Response market in 2026?

Gartner defines network detection and response (NDR) as products that detect abnormal network behaviors by applying behavioral analytics to network traffic data. NDR products continuously analyze raw network packets or traffic metadata within internal networks (east-west) and between internal and external networks (north-south). They include automated responses, such as host containment or traffic blocking, implemented directly or through integration with other cybersecurity products. Vendors deliver NDR as hardware or software appliances for sensors, with some supporting IaaS environments. Management and orchestration consoles are available as software or SaaS. Organizations rely on NDR to detect and contain postbreach activities such as ransomware, insider threats and lateral movements. NDR complements other technologies that primarily trigger alerts based on rules and signatures by building heuristic models of normal network behavior and detecting anomalies. Security teams commonly use NDR as a complementary detection and response technology within a broader set of security operations center (SOC) tools.

Key Facts for Magic Quadrant for Network Detection and Response in 2026

Publication Date: 18 May 2026

Document ID: G00836320

Coverage: Global

Authors: Thomas Lintemuth, Charanpal Bhogal, Nahim Fazal

Core Purpose: Network detection and response platforms continuously monitor traffic for anomalies, suspicious patterns and threat indicators, and they complement other threat detection solutions. CIOs and CISOs must make informed decisions about NDR solutions, which are evolving to offer broader threat detection.

How did the Network Detection and Response market evolve in 2026?

NDR global market revenue grew by 17% year-over-year in 2025

NDR detects abnormal network behaviors by applying behavioral analytics to network traffic data

NDR continuously analyzes raw network packets or traffic metadata within internal networks (east-west) and between internal and external networks (north-south)

Organizations rely on NDR to detect and contain post-breach activities such as ransomware, insider threats and lateral movements

NDR complements other technologies by building heuristic models of normal network behavior and detecting anomalies

Vendors deliver NDR as hardware or software appliances for sensors, with some supporting IaaS environments

Management and orchestration consoles are available as software or SaaS

Security teams commonly use NDR as a complementary detection and response technology within broader SOC tools

NDR buyers range from small organizations with nascent security programs to very large organizations with established security programs

Vendors are expanding capabilities to capture new categories of events and analyze additional traffic patterns including third-party integrations, standard detection techniques, managed NDR services, and CPS/OT use cases

Nearly all vendors are increasing their applicability in the CPS/OT market by adding technology to support OT protocols

Vendors are incorporating AI analysis to predict incident escalation and utilizing DSLM technology for local, relevant analysis

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

Deliver physical or virtual sensors in form factors compatible with on-premises and cloud networks to analyze raw network packet traffic or traffic flows, and monitor both north-south (perimeter) and east-west (lateral) traffic.

Model normal network traffic and highlight unusual activity that falls outside established baselines.

Provide detection based on behavioral techniques (non-signature-based detection), including machine learning (ML) and advanced analytics, to detect network anomalies.

Aggregate individual alerts into structured incidents to facilitate threat investigation and enable automatic or manual response to malicious network activity.

Include traditional detection techniques, such as intrusion detection and prevention system (IDPS) signatures, rule-based heuristics, and threshold-based alerts.

Automate responses, such as host containment or traffic blocking, either directly or through integration with other cybersecurity products.

Detect threats using intelligence feeds from internal or external sources.

What are the common features of top products in the Network Detection and Response space?

Operating in-line and supporting use cases such as "virtual patching."

Monitoring and analyzing traffic in IaaS environments.

Providing SaaS API connectors to analyze events and user activities.

Offering log ingestion, investigation and response capabilities that enable SOC analysts to use the NDR console as the primary facility for operational duties and threat hunting, replacing alternative platforms such as SIEM or extended detection and response (XDR).

Enriching metadata during collection or event analysis.

Performing retroactive and forensics analysis using network packet flow data and scalable full-packet capture (PCAP) with long-term data retention.

Utilizing AI-based search assistants to accelerate threat hunting and deliver actionable insights.

Integrating natively with EDR and SIEM platforms.

Maintaining a low false-positive rate after initial tuning to provide trustworthy insights and support automated response use cases.

Scope Exclusions

Products delivered primarily via managed service providers

Products that cannot ingest data via network flows and packet capture

Products that cannot ingest data at minimum 40 Gbps for network packets

Vendors not meeting minimum scale requirements (revenue, customer count, or devices under support)

Vendors with more than 85% of revenue from a single geographic region

Products not generally available by 31 October 2025

Inclusion Criteria

Vendors must, among other requirements:

Have a network detection and response product generally available by 31 October 2025

Be primarily marketed as a vendor's product rather than delivered via a managed service provider

Have ability to ingest data via network flows and packet capture

Have ability to ingest data at a rate not less than 40 Gbps for network packets

Meet at least two of three scale criteria: $20M revenue from NDR product in 2025, 70+ enterprise customers with 5,000+ seats, or 4M+ devices under paid support

Have no more than 85% of revenue/sales from a single region

Ability to Execute — Relative Weighting

Product or Service - High

Overall Viability - High

Sales Execution/Pricing - Medium

Market Responsiveness/Record - High

Marketing Execution - Medium

Customer Experience - High

Operations - Medium

Completeness of Vision — Relative Weighting

Market Understanding - High

Marketing Strategy - Medium

Sales Strategy - Medium

Offering (Product) Strategy - High

Business Model - NotRated

Vertical/Industry Strategy - Medium

Innovation - High

FAQs

Q: What does this research cover?

A: This research covers network detection and response (NDR) products that detect abnormal network behaviors by applying behavioral analytics to network traffic data. It evaluates vendors offering NDR solutions that continuously analyze network packets or traffic metadata, provide automated responses, and support both on-premises and cloud network environments. The research includes evaluation of 13 vendors across mandatory and optional NDR features, deployment models, and integration capabilities with other security tools.

Q: Who should use this research?

A: This research should be used by CIOs, CISOs, security operations teams, and IT security professionals who are evaluating, selecting, or implementing NDR solutions. It is particularly valuable for organizations looking to: detect post-breach activities like ransomware and lateral movement; complement existing security technologies; enhance their security operations center (SOC) capabilities; monitor both on-premises and cloud environments; and understand vendor positioning, strengths, and cautions in the NDR market.

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

A: NDR products must deliver physical or virtual sensors compatible with on-premises and cloud networks to analyze network traffic (both north-south and east-west). They must model normal network traffic and detect anomalies using behavioral techniques including machine learning. Products must aggregate alerts into structured incidents, include traditional detection techniques (IDPS signatures, rule-based heuristics), automate responses either directly or through integrations, and detect threats using intelligence feeds from internal or external sources.

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

Product primarily delivered through managed service providers rather than as direct vendor product
Inability to ingest data via network flows and packet capture
Cannot support minimum 40 Gbps network packet ingestion rate
Insufficient scale - failing to meet at least two of: $20M+ NDR revenue in 2025, 70+ enterprise customers (5,000+ seats each), or 4M+ devices under paid support
Geographic concentration exceeding 85% of revenue from single region
Product not generally available by October 31, 2025

Q: What differentiates Ability to Execute vs. Completeness of Vision?

A: Ability to Execute evaluates current performance including product capabilities, financial viability, sales effectiveness, market responsiveness, marketing execution, customer support quality, and operational excellence. It focuses on what vendors are delivering today. Completeness of Vision assesses strategic direction including market understanding, marketing and sales strategies, product roadmap, business model, vertical focus, innovation plans, and geographic expansion. It focuses on where vendors are headed and their ability to anticipate and shape market needs.

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