The 9^th appearance in the guide

WithSecure™ has been named a Representative Vendor in the 2026 Gartner® Market Guide for Managed Detection and Response¹. It is the 9th time we appear in the guide.

Nine editions is a long time in a market that keeps changing. What has stayed constant for us is the job: help organizations spot threats fast and stop them before they hurt the business. We believe, this year’s guide shows where MDR is heading, and it lines up closely with how we build.

How is MDR defined in 2026

Managed detection and response (MDR) is easy to describe and hard to deliver well. This makes it difficult for organizations to evaluate MDR services. Gartner puts it this way: “Gartner defines managed detection and response (MDR) services as those that provide customers with remotely delivered security operations center (SOC) functions. These functions allow organizations to perform rapid detection, analysis, investigation and response through threat disruption and containment”

In plain terms: you get a Security Operations Center (SOC) without building one. Experts watch your environment around the clock, investigate what matters and act when something is wrong. Your IT team keeps its focus on the business.

Fast, reliable XDR technology is the baseline

WithSecure delivers this baseline security technology with Elements XDR. Gartner places Extended Detection and Response (XDR) within the broader threat detection, investigation and response (TDIR) category, which also includes Security Information and Event Management (SIEM). Based on Gartner¹ this is what buyers expect: “Integrated threat detection, investigation, and response (TDIR) capabilities are a fundamental requirement for buyers of MDR services, who expect remotely delivered solutions that are implemented swiftly and reliably.”

We agree. Detection alone is not enough, and neither is a pile of alerts handed back to a small IT team. Buyers want one service that detects, investigates and responds, and that runs reliably 24/7. That is how WithSecure’s MDR services are designed: one Elements Cloud platform, one lightweight Elements Agent, one 24/7 team behind it, and straightforward onboarding and operating model supporting swift operations, with over 10 years of experience delivering the services.

Buyers want more self-service and transparency

The Gartner market guide¹ also points to a shift in what customers ask for:

As MDR customers advance their internal SOC operations and AI-driven solutions begin to actively contain or disrupt threats and exposures, the expectations for MDR solutions are changing. MDR buyers now place greater importance on trust, transparency in delivery technologies, and the ability to access self-service options.

Trust, transparency and self-service. WithSecure Elements Cloud is built to provide full transparency on the service, with access to self-service options, like Luminen AI.

AI built into Elements. Our experts stay in the loop.

AI has been built into WithSecure Elements for years. WithSecure Luminen helps you understand detections, make sense of complex events and get to next steps without digging through raw data. That is self-service in practice that puts that capability in your hands when you need it, on your terms.

The latest developments introduced by WithSecure include AI as now part of how threats get investigated and contained. In WithSecure Elements, AI-driven investigations help our analysts and your team move from alert to answer faster, with the evidence laid out so you can see what happened and why. Outcomes that used to require hours of manual investigation work are now available in minutes. Our experts stay in the loop, and you can follow the reasoning behind every action.

Gartner¹ sees where this is going:

By 2029, 90% of initial findings from MDR providers will be processed and addressed with the support of AI models without any human action, up from 30% today.

When AI handles the first pass, human expertise goes where it counts: the complex cases, the judgment calls and the conversation with you. Our experts make the call whenever needed.

From reactive to proactive cybersecurity: Exposure Management

The third shift is about timing. AI-driven attacks have created new demands for defenders to become more proactive. Waiting for an attack and responding well is no longer the whole story. Gartner¹ writes:

“Dealing with exposure to threats is seen as similarly important to, if not more important than, reactive cybersecurity by CISOs and other members of business leadership teams. This was demonstrated in the 2025 Gartner Security Operations Survey, which found that 35% of organizations are considering expanding their red team to help contribute to security operations goals. This combination of senior leadership’s desire to be more proactive toward threat exposure and recognition of offensive security roles’ importance in security operations is driving the development of exposure capability in MDR services.”

Continuous threat exposure management (CTEM) is how organizations act on that. It means continuously finding the weak spots attackers would use, ranking them by real business risk and closing them before they are exploited. Fewer open doors means fewer incidents to respond to.

This is why WithSecure Elements Infinite combines CTEM with 24/7 MDR and Incident Response in one service. Proactive and reactive protection work from the same picture, and becoming more proactive not only makes the client less likely to suffer a breach, but it will also reduce the time needed for reactive work.

The flagship MDR service: WithSecure Elements Infinite

WithSecure Elements Infinite is WithSecure’s most comprehensive managed security service combining Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM), 24/7 Managed Detection and Response (MDR), and an Incident Response Retainer into one.

A Gartner verified review on Gartner Peer Insights™ for WithSecure Elements Infinite with 5/5 Overall User Rating commented:

WithSecure Elements Infinite offers an outstanding value as it was easy to setup and WithSecure engineers provide a detailed and insightful list of observed behavior in case of incidents. WithSecure is a long term reliable partner for security solutions.

– IT Security & Risk Management Associate Banking industry based in Austria

Want to hear more from our customers? Read our earlier blog post: WithSecure recognized in the 2026 Gartner® Voice of the Customer for Managed Detection and Response with 100% Willingness to Recommend.

Time to switch to WithSecure?

Your IT team stays focused on the business. We handle the rest.

Learn more about WithSecure™ Elements Infinite

Source: Gartner, Market Guide for Managed Detection and Response. Andrew Davies, Angel Berrios, Eric Ahlm, Darren Livingstone, Craig Lawson. 9 September 2026.

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