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Microsoft Defender XDR Managed Service

Managed Microsoft Defender XDR across Endpoint, Office 365, Identity, and Cloud Apps. Tuning, response playbooks, licensing optimization, and Sentinel integration delivered by a Minnesota-based team.

Posture
Licensed XDR turned operational
Overview

What you get with Virteva

Contain threats faster and cut attacker dwell time from days to minutes. Virteva runs Microsoft Defender XDR as a managed detection and response service, which means response is included. When Defender flags a compromised identity or endpoint, our Minnesota-based analysts investigate and contain it, then hand you a documented incident, not a notification and a problem to solve yourself.

Defender XDR is four products under one name: Defender for Endpoint, Office 365, Identity, and Cloud Apps. Most teams buy it through E5, deploy the agents, and stall in the noisy default state. We turn it into a service: detections tuned to your environment, response playbooks mapped to Defender’s automated investigation so low-severity events resolve themselves and analysts get to what matters, licensing placed against the SKUs you actually need, and Sentinel integrated where SIEM correlation adds value. Tuning typically cuts alert volume by 60 to 70 percent while raising the signal.

Detection and response sit under one roof here, on your own Microsoft licenses, run by a US-based team you can call. There is no separate vendor to hand an incident to and no offshore queue between you and an analyst.

This is the managed Defender XDR product layer. For the full SOC operating model, the broader Defender suite, or the human-risk layer, see the related services below.

The problem we solve

IT challenges that hold growing companies back

The Challenge
  • Defender XDR ships loud. Default detection rules generate noise that buries real signal until someone tunes them.
  • E5 licensing is rarely optimized. Organizations pay for SKUs they do not use and miss SKUs they need.
  • Defender for Cloud Apps is usually the least-deployed component. SaaS sprawl visibility exists in the license but not in the operating environment.
  • Defender XDR and Sentinel duplicate effort when both are deployed without a plan. Detection overlap, alert volume, and cost climb without operational benefit.
  • Automated investigation and response is powerful but unconfigured. Auto-remediation features sit on default settings or disabled entirely.
The Virteva Approach
  • Tuned detection rules. Defender XDR detections built and reviewed against your environment, with noise reduction as a recurring workstream rather than a one-time project.
  • Defender XDR licensing optimization. E5 vs. Defender for Endpoint P2 vs. add-on SKU placement analyzed against your user, device, and identity counts. Recommendations in writing, not in a sales pitch.
  • Defender for Cloud Apps deployment. The SaaS sprawl workstream most organizations have not started, with connector deployment, policy design, and ongoing tuning.
  • Defender XDR plus Sentinel architecture. Clear delineation of which detections live where, where SIEM correlation adds value, and where it just doubles the bill.
  • Automated investigation and response configuration. AIR enabled with policies that match your risk tolerance, with manual approval gates where appropriate.
4
products under one license: Defender for Endpoint, Office 365, Identity, and Cloud Apps. We operate all four, not just the dashboard.
What's included

Everything you need to run IT right

Every engagement includes these core capabilities, configured for your environment and backed by contractual SLAs.

Defender for Endpoint management
Deployment, tuning, response, and continuous improvement on the endpoint EDR component.
Defender for Office 365
Email and collaboration threat protection tuned for the BEC and phishing patterns targeting your industry.
Defender for Identity
Identity threat detection across on-premises Active Directory and Entra signals, integrated with conditional access response.
Defender for Cloud Apps
SaaS sprawl visibility, shadow IT discovery, and policy enforcement across the cloud apps your users actually reach.
Defender XDR licensing optimization
SKU placement reviewed against your user, device, and identity counts. Documented recommendations, in writing.
Sentinel integration when applicable
SIEM correlation where it adds value, not as a reflex. We will tell you when Defender XDR alone is enough.
How it works

From first call to ongoing partnership

01
Discovery & Assessment
We audit your current Microsoft and ServiceNow environment, document every system, and identify gaps, risks, and quick wins.
02
Custom Proposal
You get a fixed-scope proposal tied to your business goals. Named SLAs by ticket priority. No surprises, no hidden costs.
03
Migration & Onboarding
Our team handles the transition with zero disruption. We migrate, configure, and validate before going live.
04
Ongoing Partnership
24/7 support, proactive monitoring, quarterly reviews, and strategic advisory. We grow with you, not just support you.
Client spotlight

See how it plays out in practice

Medical Device Manufacturing
Intricon deploys and tunes Defender across endpoint, identity, and cloud apps, lifting Microsoft Secure Score 57% to 70% in under a year
Challenge
A 24x7x365 manufacturing operation across continents with multiple MSPs, limited Defender deployment, and noise-heavy default detection rules that buried real signal. AIR was disabled, Defender for Cloud Apps was unconfigured, and licensing was not aligned to user, device, and identity counts.
Solution
Defender XDR deployment and tuning across all four workloads, with AIR configured against documented risk tolerance, Defender for Cloud Apps connectors deployed for SaaS sprawl visibility, and SKU placement realigned against actual user and device counts. Configuration evidence runs through ServiceNow change control.
Read full case study
57→70%
Microsoft Secure Score lifted on a tuned Defender XDR deployment
Defender XDR was generating more noise than signal until Virteva tuned it. Now AIR resolves the low-severity events and our analysts get to the ones that matter.
SE
Security Engineer
Regulated mid-market firm
Frequently asked

Common questions

No. The SOC is the operating model: 24/7 monitoring, analysts, response, regardless of toolset. This page is the Defender XDR product service: tuning, deployment, licensing, and operational management of the Defender XDR product line specifically. The SOC uses Defender XDR as one of its tools.

Defender for Endpoint, Defender for Office 365, Defender for Identity, and Defender for Cloud Apps. Defender for Servers and Defender for Cloud (the cloud security posture management product, not the suite) are scoped separately based on environment.

Sometimes. Defender XDR includes its own correlation across the four covered workloads. Sentinel adds value when you have non-Microsoft telemetry to ingest, regulatory requirements for SIEM, or cross-tenant correlation needs. We will tell you which side of that line you are on before you commit to a Sentinel deployment.

Yes. Most organizations are over-licensed in some areas and under-licensed in others. We review SKU placement against your actual user, device, and identity counts and provide written recommendations. License optimization usually pays for the engagement.

Yes. AIR policies tuned to your risk tolerance, with manual approval gates where automated action is not appropriate. Most environments under-use AIR; we get it to a state where it actually saves analyst hours.

Related services

Extend your IT capabilities

Schedule a Defender XDR review

We will review your Defender XDR deployment, identify the workloads you are paying for but not operating, and show you what tuned detection plus configured response looks like. The output is a written prioritized remediation list.
  • Defender XDR configuration review across all four workloads
  • E5 licensing optimization analysis with written recommendations
  • AIR policy review and tuning recommendations
  • Reference call with a current Defender XDR client on request