Sophos Intercept X or Kaspersky Next: which EDR for an SMB

The short answer: Sophos and Kaspersky are both serious endpoint protections, and an SMB properly equipped with either is well protected, provided someone reads the alerts. A useful clarification first: Sophos Intercept X is now called Sophos Endpoint, and Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business has given way to Kaspersky Next. The choice then rests on four questions. Is your firewall a Sophos? Do you want a cloud-only console, or the option of an internal server? Do you need patch management, encryption and smartphones in the same console? Who will watch the alerts at night?

Our position, transparently: ALLSAFE SOLUTIONS is a Kaspersky Registered B2B Partner, a Fortinet integrator in Morocco and a WatchGuard partner in Morocco. We are not a Sophos partner and we do not sell Sophos. The facts quoted here come from both vendors’ official publications. If you already have Sophos and are happy with it, the right choice may simply be to stay.

Names have changed on both sides

At Sophos, the October 2025 partner announcement dropped the “Intercept X” brand. Intercept X Advanced became Sophos Endpoint, the baseline protection, and the range now comes in four levels according to Sophos’s buying page:

• Sophos Endpoint: protection for endpoints and servers, managed in the cloud;
• Sophos EDR: adds detection and response on endpoints and servers;
• Sophos XDR: extends visibility beyond endpoints by integrating information from other security tools;
• Sophos MDR: adds 24/7 monitoring by Sophos’s teams, XDR included.

Sophos also ended sales of Intercept X Essentials: last new licences on 1 November 2025, last renewals on 7 January 2026. Affected customers remain protected until expiry, then move to Sophos Endpoint. Sophos also offers Sophos Endpoint 100, reserved for organisations with up to 100 employees, and an option for Windows and Linux systems no longer supported by their vendor.

At Kaspersky, the business range is called Kaspersky Next: EDR Foundations, EDR Optimum, XDR Optimum, MXDR Optimum, then EDR Expert and XDR Expert. We detail it in Kaspersky for business: which edition to choose.

What each vendor highlights

Sophos Endpoint combines, according to Sophos, a deep learning engine that recognises malware without signatures, more than 60 anti-exploitation techniques enabled by default, CryptoGuard, which detects malicious file encryption, blocks the process and restores affected files, and adaptive attack protection, which automatically hardens an endpoint’s settings when an active attacker is detected. Some of these features are Windows-only: Sophos’s tech specs give coverage system by system.

Kaspersky Next covers, from EDR Foundations upwards, file, web and mail protection, firewall, behavioural detection with rollback, exploit prevention, application, web and device control, vulnerability assessment and root cause analysis. EDR Optimum adds essential EDR features (isolating an endpoint, searching for indicators of compromise), patch management, encryption management, adaptive anomaly control and Microsoft 365 protection.

The comparison in one table

Criterion	Sophos Endpoint (formerly Intercept X)	Kaspersky Next	Our reading
Baseline protection	Deep learning, anti-exploitation, CryptoGuard, adaptive attack protection	Multi-layered protection, behavioural detection with rollback, exploit prevention	Both are solid
Comparable entry level	Sophos Endpoint	EDR Foundations	Compare feature by feature
EDR	Sophos EDR, Sophos XDR	EDR Optimum (essential), EDR Expert and XDR (advanced)	Equivalent for an SMB
Vendor-managed monitoring	Sophos MDR, 24/7	MXDR Optimum, monitoring managed by Kaspersky	Both exist
Console	Cloud, Sophos Fusion (formerly Sophos Central)	Cloud or on-premises Kaspersky Security Center	Kaspersky, if you want to keep management in-house
Patch and encryption management	Check against the Sophos offer considered	Included in EDR Optimum	Kaspersky, in the same licence
Smartphones	Mobile management through a separate product, Sophos Mobile	Android, iOS and iPadOS in the same console	Kaspersky, for simplicity
Firewall link	Synchronized Security with Sophos Firewall: automatic isolation of a compromised endpoint	No equivalent integration with a same-brand firewall	Sophos, if the firewall is a Sophos
Support from ALLSAFE	No	Yes: licences, deployment, 24/7 monitoring	—

Sophos’s strong argument: the platform

What most distinguishes Sophos is not a detection engine, it is integration. When endpoints and firewall are both Sophos, they share their status: a compromised endpoint can be isolated from the network automatically, and Sophos MDR analysts can block a device on the firewall without creating a rule by hand. For a business already running a Sophos firewall, that is a real argument for keeping Sophos on endpoints. Replacing it with Kaspersky would lose that automatic response.

If you want to delegate monitoring entirely to the vendor, Sophos MDR is also a structured offer. Kaspersky offers the equivalent with MXDR Optimum.

Kaspersky’s strong argument: everything in one licence and one console

Kaspersky Next EDR Optimum brings together, in one licence and one console, features often bought separately: EDR, patch management, disk encryption, Microsoft 365 protection, and Android and iOS smartphone management. For an SMB short on time, that is fewer tools to track. Most intrusions we see go through software that was never updated: patch management is not a detail.

The second strength is the choice of console. Kaspersky lets you manage protection from the cloud, or from Kaspersky Security Center installed on an internal server, when a group policy or a data location requirement demands it. We cover this, along with data transfers outside Morocco, in our article on Morocco’s data protection law 09-08.

A point of caution, said honestly: some procurement policies, notably in groups linked to the United States, exclude Kaspersky. Check yours before choosing.

Endpoints, servers, systems: check actual coverage

Both vendors protect Windows, macOS and Linux, but not with the same features everywhere. At Sophos, the tech specs state which protections are available on each system: several advanced features, such as part of the anti-exploitation and adaptive attack protection, are Windows-only. At Kaspersky, the documentation also states that some features apply only to certain systems, Windows first. For an SMB, the right reflex is a real inventory: number of Windows PCs, Macs, Windows and Linux servers, smartphones, and old systems still in production. Servers have specific licences or counting at both vendors, and need specific exclusions for databases and backups. Old systems, finally, deserve particular attention: Sophos offers a dedicated option, and in any case an unpatched system remains a risk to isolate.

Licensing and renewal: what to anticipate

Both vendors work on subscription, counted per protected device. A few points to check before signing:

• the current expiry date: a migration happens at renewal, to avoid paying for two protections in parallel;
• the exact scope of the proposed edition: EDR included or not, patch management, encryption, mobiles;
• how servers and mobiles are counted, which does not always follow endpoint counting;
• legacy editions: at Sophos, Intercept X Essentials can no longer be renewed; at Kaspersky, Select and Advanced migrate to Kaspersky Next;
• monitoring: an EDR licence with nobody reading the alerts does not deliver on its promise.

We do not publish prices: they depend on the number of devices, the term and the edition. We quote on your actual inventory.

Which EDR for which situation

Your situation	Our recommendation
Sophos endpoints and firewall, satisfied	Stay with Sophos, with a Sophos partner
You want a vendor-run MDR with response on the Sophos firewall	Sophos MDR
FortiGate or WatchGuard firewall, SMB without a security team	Kaspersky Next EDR Optimum, monitored 24/7
Need for patch, encryption and smartphone management in one console	Kaspersky Next EDR Optimum
Management must stay on an internal server	Kaspersky Next with Kaspersky Security Center
Intercept X Essentials licence reaching expiry	Compare Sophos Endpoint and Kaspersky Next like for like
Group policy excluding Kaspersky	Stay on Sophos or consider Microsoft Defender, see business antivirus in Morocco

Mistakes we fix

1. Comparing brand names instead of features: “Intercept X” against “Kaspersky” means nothing until the editions are specified.
2. Changing vendor without looking at the firewall, and losing automatic endpoint isolation.
3. Leaving two protections installed on the same endpoints during transition, causing slowdowns and conflicts.
4. Buying an EDR with nobody to read the alerts, as explained in managed EDR and 24/7 monitoring.
5. Forgetting servers and smartphones in the licence inventory.

Changing vendor without a gap in protection

If you decide to move from Sophos to Kaspersky, the transition needs preparing: full inventory of the estate, server and business application exclusions carried over, Kaspersky deployed by groups of endpoints, the Sophos agent cleanly uninstalled as you go, and a check in the console that every device reports in. The right moment is the expiry of the current licence, so you neither pay twice nor leave an endpoint unprotected. For the underlying difference between classic protection and EDR, read EDR vs antivirus.

How we work

We start with a free initial audit: inventory of endpoints, servers and smartphones, protection in place, firewall, and who reads alerts today. If Sophos suits you and your firewall is also a Sophos, we will advise you to stay and point you to a Sophos partner. If Kaspersky Next better meets your needs, we supply the licences, with or without installation, plan the transition without a gap in protection, adapt the policies and connect alerts to our 24/7 monitoring, with critical incidents handled in under 15 minutes. This work is part of our cybersecurity in Morocco offering.

Torn between Sophos and Kaspersky? Request your free initial audit: we reply within 24 business hours.