How does Prophet Security compare to traditional MDR and MSSP services?

Prophet Security is different from traditional MDR and MSSP services in several ways. It's an Agentic AI SOC Platform that autonomously triages, investigates, and responds to security alerts using full organizational context at machine speed. Where MDR and MSSP vendors often prioritize scalable detection and may lack full organizational context or detailed investigations, Prophet Security runs deeper, evidence backed investigations for every alert and exposes its reasoning so you can audit decisions.

Can Prophet Security replace my existing MDR or MSSP provider?

Prophet Security can replace an MDR or MSSP provider for organizations that already have strong detections and want autonomous, always on investigations instead of an outsourced analyst team. Many security programs choose a phased approach, starting with Prophet Security as an AI SOC Analyst and gradually reducing reliance on MDR or MSSP services as confidence in automated investigations grows.

Can I use Prophet Security together with an MDR or MSSP service?

You can use Prophet Security together with an MDR or MSSP service to combine outsourced detection coverage with automated investigations. In this model, the MDR focuses on generating and escalating high quality alerts, while Prophet Security acts as an AI SOC platform that performs the deep investigations, correlation, and enrichment that many MDR teams struggle to deliver at scale.

What types of alerts and data sources does Prophet Security investigate compared to MDR and MSSP vendors?

Prophet Security investigates alerts across endpoint, identity, cloud, email, and software as a service applications by connecting to the tools you already run in your SOC. Traditional MDR and MSSP vendors often focus most of their effort on endpoints and a limited set of log sources, whereas Prophet Security is built to investigate every alert that arrives, including alerts from custom detections, with consistent lines of questioning.

How does Prophet Security impact investigation speed and dwell time versus MDR or MSSP models?

Prophet Security improves investigation speed and dwell time by running parallel, autonomous investigations at machine speed instead of queuing tickets for human analysts. AI SOC Analysts can begin working an alert in seconds and complete a full investigation in minutes, which reduces the time that threats remain undetected compared to human only MDR or MSSP workflows.

When is an MDR or MSSP a better fit than using Prophet Security alone?

An MDR or MSSP is a better fit than using Prophet Security alone for organizations that lack basic detections, need hands on phone coverage for incident escalation, or have compliance requirements that favor a third party provider of managed security services. In those cases, Prophet Security can still add value as an AI SOC platform that strengthens investigations while the MDR or MSSP handles contractual obligations and human response.

MDRs and MSSPs vs Prophet Security

Security leaders adopted MDR and MSSP programs to gain continuous monitoring, response coordination, and clear ownership across vendors. The model works well when most risk sits on endpoints and the toolset is limited. It also helps new programs stand up 24 by 7 coverage without hiring a full team.

Today the picture looks different. Identity has become the primary attack surface. Environments span cloud, data platforms, SaaS, and remote work. Alert signal now lands across EDR, IdP, cloud, email, and business apps. Human only models struggle to investigate medium and low severity alerts at scale, and that is often where early evidence of compromise lives. Suppression and detection tuning can remove noise but also hide weak signals. Analyst variability adds drift and makes audits harder.

Prophet Security offers an agentic AI SOC platform that investigates at machine speed, follows expert reasoning, and shows every step. It adapts to your investigative procedures and business context on day one. The goal is broader coverage, faster and more consistent determinations, and a fit that does not require ripping out your stack.

Where MDRs and MSSPs fit

The value they provide include:

Staffing coverage and true 24 by 7 monitoring
Vendor management and ticket handling
Response coordination and communications
Compliance support and routine reporting

When they are a good choice:

Greenfield programs that need monitoring now
Compliance driven operations that benefit from third party oversight
Teams that prefer to outsource daily monitoring and case routing

What we hear from teams moving away from MDR (and why)

These quotes recur in customer conversations and map to consistent pain patterns.

“I don’t see the rationale for their decisions”
Alerts are closed out without insights. How can you trust judgement calls when it's not clear why something was closed out?
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“I am not getting enough coverage.”
In many programs, identity, SaaS, and cloud signals remain under investigated, leaving you to provide the coverage yourself so early lateral movement and account takeover don't slip through.
“I am not getting enough value.”
MDRs and MSSPs may only focus on critical alerts. Your team still handles medium and low. You’re still staffing a SOC to handle the alerts that the MDR and MSSP don’t support.
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“I want my vendor to look at things I care about.”
Many services suppress customer detections that look noisy or they deem unimportant, which defeats the purpose.

“Not enough configurability.”
Investigation and response steps feel static. You need procedures that adapt and improve. Cookie-cutter services will struggle to align to each organization’s investigative procedures and context, which creates review cycles and rework.
“You are too slow.”
Forty-five minutes might meet an SLA, but breaches can escalate rapidly, reducing the containment window while an alert lingers in queue.
“You are missing activity, and that worries me.”
Customers identify missed threats such as account compromises and red team tests as a common shortcoming of MDRs and MSSPs. Filters and suppressions drop “low fidelity” alerts that sometimes carry the first breadcrumb. When early evidence is filtered, false negatives rise and confidence falls.

Cost considerations

Cost is not always the primary driver, but it matters. Some teams pay for MDR and still staff internal triage for Medium and Low alerts. That double spend invites a review when outcomes do not match expectations.

Why organizational context matters

A fundamental issue with outsourcing the SOC is the loss of context. No matter how experienced a provider is, they lack the organizational knowledge that gives security signals meaning. Without access to internal processes, change management details, or the nuances of how your systems are configured, even skilled analysts are forced to make decisions in the dark.

That missing context shows up everywhere: alerts get closed prematurely, correlations between identity and cloud activity go unnoticed, and legitimate anomalies are dismissed as noise. The provider may see the same telemetry, but not the business logic behind it.

Over time, that distance creates blind spots. New detections are held back because every additional signal risks more false positives for a team that doesn’t fully understand your environment. “Low” or “informational” alerts are ignored because the outsourced team can’t confidently interpret them without local knowledge.

Ultimately, context determines whether an alert is noise or an early warning. Outsourcing removes the people closest to that context who can connect subtle changes in behavior to actual risk.

How Prophet Security addresses those gaps

Investigate 100 percent of alerts at machine speed

Prophet AI delivers more accurate and complete investigations by autonomously correlating data across your EDR, Identity Provider (IdP), cloud, email, and SaaS environments, all while leveraging organizational context. This results in significant customer benefits: shorter dwell times, reduced exposure, faster response times, and fewer actions required.

Expert level depth and consistent outcomes

The platform asks the probing questions a senior analyst would ask, in order, without drift. It avoids data entry errors and produces consistent close reasons that stand up to audit.

Customer controlled detections and procedures

Customers shape investigations with feedback and through adding their own questions or playbooks. Prophet AI adapts to investigative procedures and business context from day zero. Feedback improves accuracy and trust over time.

Explainability and transparency

Every step is visible. Leaders can review questions asked, evidence used, and how the conclusion was reached.

Works in your stack

Integration quality matters more than quantity. Prophet AI fits into your workflows and pushes outcomes back into SIEM, case management, and collaboration tools. No rip and replace.

Request a demo of Prophet AI to see it in action.

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Ajmal Kohgadai

AUTHOR

As the Director of Product Marketing at Prophet Security, Ajmal drives marketing and growth strategies and helps security professionals see how AI is transforming security operations.