As cyberattacks grow in sophistication, the limitations of antivirus and even traditional EDR are increasingly visible. Attacks today rarely confine themselves to a single endpoint — they move laterally across email, identity, cloud applications, and network infrastructure. Understanding the difference between EDR and XDR matters when choosing a protection level.
Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)
EDR focuses on the endpoint — detecting, investigating, and responding to threats on individual devices. It provides event correlation, kill-chain visibility, and a response toolkit for endpoint-based attacks. Acronis EDR maps suspicious activity to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, enabling analysts to understand exactly how an attack progressed and respond with a single click — including recovery, not just isolation.
Extended Detection & Response (XDR)
XDR extends the detection and response surface beyond the endpoint by correlating telemetry from multiple sources: endpoints, email, identity providers (Azure AD / Entra ID), Microsoft 365 collaboration applications, and more. When an attack spans these surfaces — as most advanced threats do — XDR provides the contextual view needed for accurate analysis and swift, comprehensive remediation.
With Acronis XDR, an MSP can see that a phishing email delivered a malicious link, which was clicked on a specific endpoint, which then attempted lateral movement via an identity credential — all in a single incident view, with single-click response actions across all affected surfaces simultaneously.
What this means in practice
For most SMEs and mid-market organizations, Acronis Advanced Security + XDR provides the right balance of protection depth and operational efficiency. It achieved a perfect 6.0/6.0 score in AV-TEST evaluations and was named XDR Champion by Info-Tech Research.
InsightX deploys and manages Acronis EDR and XDR as part of our cybersecurity service. Contact us to assess which protection level is appropriate for your environment.