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Extended Detection & Response

Enterprise XDR protection. SMB pricing.

Defender XDR correlates threats across email, identity, endpoints, and cloud apps. We deploy, tune, and monitor it without an enterprise SOC team.

Cross-Surface Threat Correlation Automated Investigation Email + Identity + Endpoint No In-House SOC Required

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Platform Overview

What is Microsoft Defender XDR?

Microsoft Defender XDR (Extended Detection and Response) is a unified security platform that breaks down the silos between separate security tools. It ingests signals from email, identity, endpoints, and cloud applications and automatically correlates them into a single, complete picture of each attack. SMBs get the same cross-surface detection capability that enterprise SOC teams spend millions building, packaged into the Microsoft 365 stack they already license.

Defender for Office 365

Protects email and collaboration tools from phishing, malware, and business email compromise. Safe Links and Safe Attachments detonate suspicious content before it reaches your inbox.

Defender for Identity

Monitors Active Directory and Entra ID for lateral movement, credential theft, pass-the-hash, and domain escalation attacks. Detects identity-based attacks that endpoint tools miss entirely.

Defender for Endpoint

Enterprise EDR across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. Behavioral detection, automated investigation, attack surface reduction, and device isolation when threats are confirmed.

Defender for Cloud Apps

Visibility and control over SaaS applications including unauthorized app discovery, data exfiltration prevention, and session controls for risky users accessing cloud resources.

Comparison

XDR vs. EDR: why the difference matters

Most SMBs deploy EDR and call themselves protected. But 80% of breaches involve identity compromise, and most ransomware enters through email, not the endpoint. EDR only watches devices. XDR watches everything.

Capability EDR Only Defender XDR
Endpoint threat detection Yes Yes
Email phishing & malware detection No Yes
Identity attack detection (pass-the-hash, kerberoasting) No Yes
Cloud app visibility & control No Yes
Cross-surface attack correlation No Yes
Automated investigation & remediation Endpoint only All surfaces
Unified incident view No Yes
Coverage

What we monitor across your environment

BluetechGreen manages full XDR coverage across every attack surface in your Microsoft 365 environment, with 24/7 alert triage and monthly reporting.

Email Threats

Phishing, spear-phishing, BEC, malicious attachments, and suspicious link detonation via Defender for Office 365 Safe Links and Safe Attachments.

Identity Attacks

Credential stuffing, password spray, pass-the-hash, lateral movement, and privilege escalation attempts across Active Directory and Entra ID.

Endpoint Behavior

Malware execution, fileless attacks, process injection, suspicious PowerShell, ransomware precursors, and device compliance drift across all managed endpoints.

Cloud App Activity

Impossible travel logins, OAuth app abuse, shadow IT discovery, mass file downloads, and anomalous SharePoint or OneDrive activity.

Attack Chain Correlation

When a phishing email leads to credential theft that leads to endpoint compromise, XDR presents it as one incident, not three separate alerts, so nothing gets missed.

Compliance Reporting

Weekly security digests, monthly executive reports, and on-demand incident documentation for HIPAA, CMMC, and SOC 2 audit support.

Our Approach

How we deploy XDR for SMBs

Enterprise XDR deployments take months and require dedicated security engineers. We package the same outcome into a fixed-fee sprint designed for SMBs without in-house security teams.

Week 1: Assessment

Tenant audit, license review, current security posture gap analysis against the Microsoft Secure Score. We identify which XDR components are already active and what needs to be enabled or configured.

Weeks 2-3: Activation

Enable and configure Defender for Office 365, Defender for Identity, Defender for Endpoint, and Defender for Cloud Apps. Connect all signals into the unified XDR portal and establish alert routing.

Weeks 4-5: Tuning

Baseline normal behavior, suppress known-good alerts, calibrate detection sensitivity, and validate automated investigation and remediation workflows. Reduce noise before handing off to ongoing monitoring.

Ongoing: Managed XDR

24/7 alert triage, monthly security reviews, quarterly tuning updates, and incident response coverage. We act as your security operations function so you do not need to hire one.

Related services that pair with Defender XDR:

Defender for Endpoint SOC Monitoring Email Security
FAQ

Common questions about Defender XDR

Microsoft Defender XDR (Extended Detection and Response) is a unified security platform that correlates threat signals across email (Defender for Office 365), identity (Defender for Identity), endpoints (Defender for Endpoint), and cloud apps (Defender for Cloud Apps). Unlike standalone EDR tools, XDR provides a single correlated view of attacks that span multiple attack surfaces, enabling faster detection and more complete remediation.

EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) focuses exclusively on device-level threats. XDR extends that coverage across every attack surface in your environment: email, identity, endpoints, and cloud applications. A phishing email that leads to credential theft that leads to lateral movement to a cloud app is a single correlated incident in XDR, not three separate alerts in three separate tools. XDR gives security teams the full story, not fragments.

If your business uses Microsoft 365, you already have the components for XDR. EDR alone leaves email, identity, and cloud app threats invisible. Modern attacks almost always cross multiple surfaces: a phishing email compromises credentials, which are used to access SharePoint, which is used to deploy malware to endpoints. XDR catches these cross-surface attack chains that EDR misses entirely.

Full Defender XDR functionality is included with Microsoft 365 E5 or Microsoft 365 Business Premium (for SMBs up to 300 seats). Individual Defender components are also available as add-ons to lower-tier licenses. BluetechGreen will assess your current licensing and recommend the most cost-effective path to full XDR coverage.

Initial XDR deployment typically takes 3-5 weeks: one week for assessment and planning, one to two weeks for component activation and initial configuration, and one to two weeks for tuning, alert baseline establishment, and SOC handoff. Full threat coverage begins at activation, and tuning reduces false positives over the first 30 days.

Yes, and this is exactly what BluetechGreen is built to provide. Defender XDR's automated investigation and remediation handles the majority of alerts without human intervention. BluetechGreen handles the remaining escalations, tuning, and reporting. You get enterprise-level XDR coverage without hiring a six-person security operations team.

Ready to Deploy Defender XDR?

Get started with enterprise XDR at SMB pricing

Let us assess your current Microsoft 365 security posture and build a deployment plan that gets you to full XDR coverage.