Cybersecurity ROI is notoriously difficult to define, but not impossible.
In this Experts on Experts: Commanding Perspectives episode, Craig Adams chats with Steve Edwards, Director of Threat Intelligence & Detection Engineering, about what customers really get from Rapid7 MDR and how to think more clearly about value.
They cut through buzzwords and talk real-world outcomes: visibility, consolidation, faster response, and trust.
What ROI really looks like
As Steve explains, the ROI conversation starts with confidence. Once customers know they can trust the MDR team to cut through noise and take action, the benefits snowball from reduced false positives, to better visibility and smarter spend.
The IDC study highlighted a 422% ROI over three years. But the real signal is what teams can do with the time and clarity they gain.
To bring these numbers into your own context, you can use the Rapid7 MDR ROI Calculator - simply plug in your own parameters and apply IDC’s methodology to estimate your unique return. Try the ROI Calculator!
Telemetry without tradeoffs
Craig and Steve also dig into one of the biggest detection challenges today: partial visibility. Many orgs still pay by the log, creating disincentives for full data ingestion. MDR’s all-in access model helps customers detect threats earlier and act faster, without needing to triage upstream data decisions.
MITRE mapping makes it click
One of the most actionable insights? MITRE mapping. Steve talks about how customers are using visual coverage data to pinpoint gaps and prioritize onboarding new tech, or building compensating controls.
No-cap incident response
They also walk through what happens during the first 24 - 48 hours of an incident, and why having no cap on IR hours means Rapid7 can stay involved from containment to eradication.
Ready to dive in?
Watch the full episode here
Explore Rapid7's full ROI analysis
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Missed our earlier episodes?
Catch up on Episode 1 with Laura Ellis on agentic AI and system governance [here], Episode 2 with Jon Hencinski on MDR strategy and SOC readiness [here] and Episode 3 with Raj Samani on cybercrime-as-a-service [here]
- Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
- MITRE ATT&CK