The managed services space has never been more competitive – or more complex. As threats grow in volume and sophistication, Managed Service Providers must deliver comprehensive cybersecurity without overwhelming their operations or blowing the budget.
May 18, 2025
TL;DR
Open XDR enables MSPs to aggregate telemetry from diverse security tools-endpoints, networks, cloud, email, etc.-into a unified detection and response platform. This improves visibility and accelerates threat mitigation.
It avoids vendor lock-in, letting MSPs retain best-of-breed tools and smoothly integrate new ones as needs evolve.
Open XDR streamlines operations-reducing alert noise, speeding time-to-detect and time-to-remediate and improving SOC efficiency.
MSPs benefit by delivering more agile, scalable and competitive services, improving ROI on their clients’ existing security investments.
The managed services space has never been more competitive – or more complex. As threats grow in volume and sophistication, Managed Service Providers must deliver comprehensive cybersecurity without overwhelming their operations or blowing the budget. Extended Detection and Response (XDR) has emerged as a powerful answer – but not all XDR platforms are created equal.
One of the most important differentiators? Open integration.
For MSPs juggling a mix of client environments, vendor relationships and legacy investments, open integration isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s the key to operational efficiency, cost control and long-term success.
What is XDR and why does it matter for MSPs?
XDR (Extended Detection and Response) unifies data from multiple security layers – endpoint, network, identity, cloud and more – into a single detection and response workflow. The result: faster threat detection, streamlined investigations and more efficient remediation.
For MSPs, XDR promises to reduce alert fatigue, close visibility gaps and improve SOC effectiveness without requiring a patchwork of siloed tools. But there’s a catch.
Many legacy and next-gen XDR platforms come with vendor lock-in, forcing MSPs to abandon their existing tools or operate within closed ecosystems that don’t play well with others. That’s a non-starter in the real world of MSP operations.
Tool sprawl is the MSP reality
Today’s MSPs support an ever-expanding landscape of client tools and platforms: Palo Alto firewalls in one environment, Fortinet in another. CrowdStrike EDR in one client’s stack, SentinelOne in the next. M365 across the board, with a growing footprint of AWS and Azure workloads. It’s not uncommon for an MSP to support dozens of tools across their portfolio.
This tool diversity brings challenges:
Siloed data: Security insights are fragmented across platforms.
Operational drag: Analysts must pivot between dashboards and log sources.
Missed threats: Lack of correlation across tools creates blind spots.
Higher costs: Licensing multiple point solutions and duplicating workflows eats into margins.
Trying to shoehorn all this into a closed XDR model that only works with select vendors is a recipe for frustration—and inefficiency.
The case for open integration
Open integration is the antidote to tool sprawl. An open XDR platform connects with your existing ecosystem—firewalls, EDR, M365, AWS, SIEMs, ticketing systems and more. It ingests, normalizes and correlates data across disparate sources, turning fragmented insights into actionable intelligence.
The operational benefits of Open XDR for MSPs
Faster detection and response
Open integration means pulling telemetry from all corners of the client environment. That leads to earlier detection of lateral movement, suspicious behavior, or data exfiltration—regardless of where the threat originates. With unified visibility, analysts can triage and respond faster, reducing dwell time and improving SLAs.Centralized workflows
Instead of bouncing between vendor consoles, analysts work from a single interface. Alerts, investigations and playbooks are centralized, improving SOC productivity and reducing human error.Automation at scale
Open XDR enables automated correlation, enrichment and response across your entire stack. For example, a malicious login to M365 can trigger automated quarantine on an endpoint, a firewall block and a ticket in your PSA—all without manual intervention.Tool consolidation without compromise
Open platforms let you retain your best-in-class tools where they make sense, while retiring redundant or underperforming ones. You control the stack. The XDR platform adapts to you, not the other way around.
The financial upside of openness
From a cost perspective, open integration delivers multiple advantages:
Preserve existing investments: MSPs don’t need to rip and replace firewalls, EDRs, or cloud tools.
Avoid double spend: By integrating tools you already own, you avoid buying duplicative capabilities.
Optimize licensing: Consolidated visibility helps identify unused or underutilized licenses.
Control vendor creep: With fewer one-off solutions, MSPs gain better pricing power and vendor leverage.
In short, open XDR supports better margins—a non-negotiable in today’s cost-conscious MSP environment.
A solution that’s built for open integration
At enhanced.io, we believe your XDR platform should empower—not limit—your MSP. That’s why we designed our platform with open integration at its core.
We don’t believe in vendor lock-in. We believe in playing well with others.
Whether your clients use Microsoft Defender or SentinelOne, Fortinet or SonicWall, AWS or Azure, enhanced.io brings it all together into one unified view—with deep integrations across:
Firewalls (Fortinet, Palo Alto, SonicWall, etc.)
EDR/XDR (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Microsoft Defender, etc.)
Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
Microsoft 365 (Email, Identity, Endpoint)
SIEMs & logging tools (Splunk, LogRhythm, etc.)
ITSM & PSA tools (ConnectWise, Autotask, ServiceNow)
With enhanced.io, you’re not boxed into a single ecosystem. You bring your stack; we bring the correlation, automation and response. It’s that simple.
Real results, not restrictions
MSPs choose enhanced.io because we deliver:
Faster onboarding: Use your existing tools—no need for disruptive rip-and-replace projects.
Deeper visibility: Pull in data from across client environments and correlate it in real time.
Smarter response: Automate containment, ticketing and client notifications with precision.
Better economics: Leverage your existing stack to deliver XDR outcomes at a fraction of the cost.
We’re not here to sell you a bundle. We’re here to make your existing stack smarter, faster and more efficient.
Open integration isn’t optional – it’s essential
In today’s MSP world, agility and efficiency are everything. You can’t afford to waste time or budget on platforms that demand uniformity. Your clients don’t all look the same—your cybersecurity solution shouldn’t either.
Open integration gives MSPs the power to do more with less. More visibility. More automation. More value. Less overhead. Less complexity. Less vendor friction.
With enhanced.io, you get XDR that adapts to your business – not the other way around. No lock-in. Just results.
Ready to unify your stack and streamline your SOC? Let’s talk.
