Which Cybersecurity Solution Fits You?

Foundational baseline expected by most cyber-insurance underwriters and MSP security frameworks: MFA across all business applications, business-grade endpoint detection and response (EDR), dedicated email security beyond default provider filtering, immutable backups with tested restores, and quarterly security-awareness training with simulated phishing. Mid-market businesses with regulated data add managed detection and response (MDR) and vCISO or compliance program services.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a security platform that runs on endpoints providing behavior detection, automated response, and forensic visibility. Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is an outsourced security operations service that monitors EDR plus other security telemetry 24x7, triages alerts, and responds to incidents. EDR is the tool; MDR is the service operating the tool. Most mid-market businesses benefit from both, particularly without in-house security operations.

Microsoft and Google security research consistently report that MFA blocks the vast majority of automated credential attacks (typically cited at over 99% effectiveness against credential-stuffing and password-spray attacks). Stolen credentials are the leading entry vector for ransomware, business-email compromise, and account takeover; MFA closes that vector at low cost and is the highest-leverage single security investment for most businesses.

Industry research from Gartner and Forrester places typical IT-security spending at 8-15% of total IT budget for mid-market businesses, higher for regulated industries. Per-user costs for a baseline stack (EDR, MFA, email security, backup, training, basic MDR) commonly run $30-100 per user per month. Compliance-driven and high-risk industries add vCISO and SIEM services that raise the per-user cost materially.

The right cybersecurity solution recommender is built around generic option categories, not specific brands. The output points you toward a type of solution rather than a particular vendor, which is the part of the right cybersecurity solution decision that is genuinely portable across regions and price points. Brand and vendor research is a sensible next step after the category is settled.

Industry baseline expectations include MFA enforced across every employee and every business application, centralized patching with 7-day critical-patch SLAs, business-grade endpoint protection (EDR rather than free antivirus), quarterly security-awareness training with simulated phishing, off-site immutable backups with quarterly tested restores, dedicated email security beyond default provider filtering, and a documented incident-response plan with a named lead.

Sophos State of Ransomware research consistently identifies several factors: industry (healthcare, financial services, government, manufacturing rank higher in published targeting data), company size (above-the-radar size attracts ransomware actors), observable security gaps (no MFA, weak backups, exposed remote access), and lack of an incident-response plan.

Mid-market businesses without existing security controls typically need 6-12 months from project start to SOC 2 Type 1 readiness, and an additional 3-12 months of operational observation period for SOC 2 Type 2.

MIT Sloan and Boston Consulting Group AI research consistently identifies five readiness foundations: clean and accessible business data, one or two specific use cases tied to measurable business outcomes, AI skills internally or through a trusted partner, documented AI governance covering data privacy and acceptable use, and leadership sponsorship with defined budget.

Backup is the practice of creating copies of data; disaster recovery (DR) is the broader practice of restoring business operations after an event, including backup restoration plus infrastructure rebuild, application failover, and process resumption.