Acronis EDR vs. Managed MDR — and what NIS2 & DORA mean for small companies
Last updated: 3 November 2026
EDR (endpoint detection and response) is software that detects and records suspicious activity on laptops, workstations and servers. MDR (managed detection and response) adds a 24/7 human team that monitors those detections, investigates them and responds. For a company of around 50 people, the deciding question is whether someone can act on alerts around the clock.
What is the difference between EDR and MDR?
An EDR tool collects endpoint telemetry, flags behaviour that looks malicious and can apply automated actions such as isolating a device. It does not decide on its own whether an alert is a real incident, and it does not run the investigation. MDR is a service: people watch the alerts, investigate them and take or coordinate response actions. For a deeper comparison, see EDR vs MDR vs XDR: What Your SMB Actually Needs.
Acronis EDR vs a fully managed MDR service for a 50-person company
Acronis EDR is an endpoint detection and response product. Like any EDR, it detects and records suspicious activity on your devices and raises alerts. Those alerts still need someone to review them, decide what is real and act — at night and at weekends as well as during office hours.
A fully managed MDR service takes over that work. At CyberOM, monitoring and response are run by the group's central SOC & MDR hub (Tier-3), DIAMATIX, and CyberOM handles onboarding, tuning and reporting.
Self-managed EDR tool vs fully managed MDR
| Question | Self-managed EDR tool | Fully managed MDR |
|---|---|---|
| Who watches alerts 24/7? | Your own staff, if anyone is available | The provider's SOC team |
| Who investigates an alert? | Your own staff | The provider's analysts |
| Who acts on a detection? | Your staff, using the tool's actions | The provider, within the agreed response scope |
| Internal skills needed | Security analysis and incident handling | A contact who can approve actions and changes |
| What you can show an auditor | Tool logs and alert history | Monitoring records and documented incident reports |
NIS2 compliance managed security service for small companies in the EU
General information, not legal advice.
The NIS2 Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2555) generally applies to medium-sized and large entities in the sectors it lists. Small and micro enterprises are mostly outside its direct scope, except in specific cases set out in Article 2 — for example certain sectors, an entity that is the sole provider of a service in a Member State, or designation by a Member State.
Even outside its scope, a small company can be affected: in-scope customers must address supply-chain security (Article 21(2)(d)) and may ask their suppliers for security measures.
Where a company is in scope, Article 21 lists cybersecurity risk-management measures, including incident handling, and Article 23 sets incident-reporting obligations. A managed SOC supports monitoring and incident handling, but it does not by itself make a company compliant. More detail: NIS2 Compliance guide and NIS2 for SMBs: A Technical Requirements Checklist.
DORA ICT risk: managed SOC for small financial firms in the EU
General information, not legal advice.
The Digital Operational Resilience Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2554) applies to EU financial entities from 17 January 2025. Article 16 sets a simplified ICT risk-management framework for certain smaller entities. DORA also sets obligations for managing, classifying and reporting ICT-related incidents.
A managed SOC provides monitoring and documented incident records that support these obligations. The SOC provider also becomes an ICT third-party service provider, so the contract with it must meet the requirements of DORA Article 30. See also DORA Compliance for Financial Services.
How do CyberOM packages cover this?
CyberOM publishes three packages on the Packages page: SOC & Response $9.20, SOC & Extended Response $15.00 and Full Cyber Stack $35.00 per endpoint per month (USD, billed monthly on a 12-month commitment). The 24/7 SOC in every package is the group's central SOC & MDR hub (Tier-3), DIAMATIX.
- SOC & Response — Managed Detection & Response: 24/7 managed SOC & MDR.
- vCISO — Virtual CISO: security leadership for policies and risk management.
- Compliance: how CyberOM's services support technical controls for NIS2 and DORA.
- Package advisor and Get started.
FAQ
- Is Acronis EDR the same as an MDR service?
- No. Acronis EDR is an endpoint detection and response product: software that detects and records suspicious activity on devices. An MDR service adds a 24/7 team that monitors those detections, investigates them and responds.
- Does a 50-person company need EDR, MDR, or both?
- MDR services work on top of EDR telemetry, so in practice you need an EDR tool either way. The deciding question is whether someone in your company can watch and act on alerts around the clock; if not, a managed MDR service covers that gap.
- Does NIS2 apply to my small company with fewer than 50 employees?
- Generally not directly. NIS2 mainly applies to medium and large entities in the sectors it lists; small and micro enterprises are mostly outside its direct scope except in specific cases set out in Article 2. In-scope customers may still ask you, as a supplier, for security measures. General information, not legal advice.
- What does DORA require from a small financial firm regarding ICT monitoring?
- DORA, applicable from 17 January 2025, requires EU financial entities to manage ICT risk and to detect, manage, classify and report ICT-related incidents. Article 16 sets a simplified ICT risk-management framework for certain smaller entities. General information, not legal advice.
- Can a managed SOC service serve as evidence of DORA or NIS2 compliance?
- It supports the evidence — for example monitoring records and documented incident reports — but compliance depends on your whole risk-management programme, not on one service.
- What is the difference between a SOC and an MDR service?
- A SOC (security operations centre) is the team and process that monitors security events. MDR (managed detection and response) is a service that uses such a team to detect threats and actively contain and remediate them. Small-business services often combine both.
- Does CyberOM use Acronis technology in its managed service?
- Acronis is one of CyberOM's technology partners, used for Microsoft 365 security and backup.
- How do I know which CyberOM package covers NIS2 or DORA needs?
- Use the package advisor at /package-advisor or contact office@cyberncs.com. The /compliance page explains how CyberOM's services support technical controls; they do not replace legal advice.
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