What is Microsoft Defender consulting, and what do you deploy?

We deploy, integrate, tune, and manage the full Microsoft Defender security suite: Defender for Endpoint (EDR), Defender for Office 365 (email), Defender for Identity (AD), Defender for Cloud Apps (CASB), Defender for Cloud (Azure), Microsoft Sentinel (SIEM/SOAR), and Security Copilot (AI). Unified as XDR — one platform, every attack surface.

How is this different from your Endpoint Security or M365 Security pages?

Endpoint Security goes deep on Defender for Endpoint specifically. M365 Security covers the broader security posture. This page covers the full Defender family deployed as unified XDR with Sentinel and Security Copilot — the complete detection and response platform.

We already have Defender for Endpoint — do we need the rest?

Almost certainly yes. Defender for Endpoint sees endpoints but is blind to email phishing (Defender for Office 365), identity attacks (Defender for Identity), and SaaS risks (Defender for Cloud Apps). XDR correlates all of these — an endpoint alert + identity anomaly + suspicious email becomes one incident, not three separate mysteries.

Can you replace our CrowdStrike, Splunk, or other security tools?

Yes. We consolidate from multi-vendor security stacks (CrowdStrike for endpoint, Splunk/QRadar for SIEM, separate CASB) to the Microsoft Defender + Sentinel stack. This typically reduces licensing cost, simplifies management, and enables XDR correlation that multi-vendor stacks can't match.

What is Security Copilot, and is it ready to use?

Security Copilot is Microsoft's AI for security operations — it summarises incidents, investigates threats with natural language, generates KQL queries, and guides response. It's production-ready and deployed on top of Defender + Sentinel. It doesn't replace analysts; it makes them significantly faster.

How much does Defender consulting cost?

It depends on scope. An assessment and gap analysis runs $10,000–$25,000 over 1–3 weeks. A Defender XDR deployment programme runs $25,000–$70,000 over 4–10 weeks. An enterprise programme with Sentinel + Copilot + managed SOC runs $70,000–$200,000+ over 3–6 months. Many Defender features are included in M365 E5. Your consultation gives a scoped estimate.

We have M365 E5 — are we already paying for Defender?

Mostly yes. M365 E5 includes Defender for Endpoint, Office 365, Identity, and Cloud Apps. Defender for Cloud and Sentinel have usage-based pricing. Security Copilot has its own licensing. If you're on E5 and haven't deployed these features, you're paying for security you're not using.

Can you manage Defender and Sentinel as an ongoing SOC?

Yes. We provide managed SOC — ongoing alert triage, investigation, threat hunting, and incident response across the Defender + Sentinel suite. This is where the real value lives: deployment is one-time; threats are continuous.

What is Microsoft Defender XDR?

Extended Detection and Response — unified detection and investigation across endpoints, email, identity, cloud apps, and cloud workloads from one portal. It correlates signals across domains to detect full attack campaigns, not just individual alerts.

What is Microsoft Sentinel?

Microsoft's cloud-native SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response). It ingests security logs from across your environment, detects threats with analytics rules, and automates response with playbooks.

What is Security Copilot?

Microsoft's AI assistant for security operations — summarises incidents, investigates threats with natural language, generates KQL queries for threat hunting, and guides response actions. Works on top of Defender XDR and Sentinel data.

What is the difference between XDR and SIEM?

XDR (Defender) provides built-in detection and response across Microsoft security products with pre-built correlations. SIEM (Sentinel) ingests logs from any source (including non-Microsoft), enables custom analytics, and provides long-term retention and compliance. Most organisations need both — XDR for fast, correlated detection; SIEM for breadth and custom rules.

Microsoft Solutions Partner

Microsoft Defender Consulting Services

Deploy, integrate, and optimise Microsoft Defender across endpoints, email, identity, cloud apps, and workloads for unified threat protection.

Deploying and managing the Microsoft Defender security suite for over 40 organisations.

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Years

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Security Engagements

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Microsoft Specialists

Microsoft Solutions Partner for Security

Built across the major agent ecosystems

Copilot Studio

Azure AI Foundry

AWS Bedrock

Google Vertex AI

OpenAI

LangChain / LangGraph

Get More From Microsoft Defender

Defender enabled but overwhelmed by noisy, untuned alerts?

Endpoint protection works, but email, identity, or cloud threats remain uncovered?

Managing multiple Defender products across disconnected dashboards?

Security teams struggling to investigate too many alerts with limited resources?

What We Do

A Smarter Microsoft Security Stack

Integrated security architecture

We connect Defender XDR, Microsoft Sentinel, identity signals, email protection, endpoint telemetry, cloud app discovery, and workload protection into a practical security operating model — not a disconnected tool rollout.

Alert quality over alert volume

We tune detections, suppression logic, automated investigation, RBAC, and escalation paths so analysts receive fewer low-value alerts and clearer incident context.

Production-ready implementation

Every deployment includes phased rollout planning, validation testing, incident workflow testing, handoff documentation, and training so the environment is ready for real operations.

Our Services & Capabilities

Defender Assessment & Gap Analysis

We assess deployment, configuration, integration, and gaps, then create a prioritised Defender roadmap.

Defender XDR Deployment & Integration

We integrate Defender products across endpoints, email, identity, cloud apps, and workloads.

Alert Tuning & Automated Response

We tune detections, reduce false positives, and configure automated investigation and response.

Sentinel Deployment & Analytics

We deploy Sentinel with connectors, analytics rules, SOAR playbooks, workbooks, and incident management.

Security Copilot Enablement

We enable Security Copilot for incident summaries, threat investigation, KQL assistance, and guided response.

Third-Party Tool Consolidation

We help migrate from third-party security tools to the Defender and Sentinel stack.

Managed Defender / SOC

We provide ongoing Defender and Sentinel monitoring, investigation, threat hunting, and incident response.

Need endpoint security specifically? See Endpoint Security Services. Need broader M365 security?

Our Defender Delivery Approach

Your situation	What we deploy	Defender capability
“Defender turned on but not tuned”	Assessment + tuning + AIR	Configuration review + alert tuning
“Endpoint detection but email/identity blind”	Full XDR deployment	All five Defender products unified
“Alerts overwhelming, nobody investigates”	Tuning + managed SOC	Alert tuning + managed triage
“No SIEM or log correlation”	Sentinel deployment	Sentinel + analytics rules + playbooks
“Want AI-assisted security”	Security Copilot enablement	Copilot on Defender + Sentinel
“Replacing CrowdStrike / Splunk / QRadar”	Third-party consolidation	Defender + Sentinel replaces
“Paying for E5 but not using security”	E5 security feature activation	Deploy what you’re already licensed for
“Need ongoing managed security”	Managed Defender SOC	Ongoing triage, hunting, response

The XDR maturity assessment above shows your gaps; a free consultation builds the deployment plan.

The Microsoft Defender Family: What We Deploy

Defender for Endpoint (EDR)

Detects, investigates, and responds to threats on laptops, desktops, servers, and mobile devices. Behavioural EDR, attack surface reduction, vulnerability management.

Defender for Office 365 (Email & Collaboration)

Protects email, links, and attachments against phishing, malware, and business email compromise. Safe Links, Safe Attachments, anti-phishing policies.

Defender for Identity (On-Prem AD)

Monitors on-premises Active Directory for lateral movement, credential theft, reconnaissance, and compromised accounts.

Defender for Cloud Apps (CASB)

Discovers and governs SaaS application usage — shadow IT detection, session controls, and data governance across cloud apps.

Defender for Cloud (Azure Workload Protection)

Protects Azure (and multi-cloud) workloads with CSPM, CWP, and security recommendations — cloud security posture management.

Microsoft Sentinel (SIEM / SOAR)

Cloud-native SIEM for log ingestion, analytics rules, automated playbooks, incident management, and long-term retention across all sources.

Security Copilot (AI-Assisted Security)

AI that summarises incidents, investigates threats, generates KQL queries, and guides response — making every analyst significantly faster.

Our Defender Delivery Approach

Free consultation & assessment

We review deployed Defender products, tenant settings, alert quality, gaps, licensing, integrations, permissions, and operational goals. The output is a prioritised deployment and tuning plan.

Defender XDR deployment

We configure the Defender XDR portal, onboard endpoints, deploy email and collaboration policies, integrate identity and cloud app signals, and align access with least-privilege administration.

Alert tuning & automated response

We tune detections, suppress repeat false positives, configure automated investigation and response, and test incident workflows before handoff.

Sentinel deployment

We deploy Sentinel data connectors, analytics rules, automation playbooks, workbooks, incident queues, retention settings, and monitoring views for cross-source investigation.

Security Copilot enablement

We enable Security Copilot where licensing, permissions, Defender/Sentinel data quality, and SOC workflows are ready to support AI-assisted investigation.

Third-party consolidation (if applicable)

Where appropriate, we plan migration from overlapping endpoint, SIEM, or CASB tools to Defender and Sentinel, with validation before decommissioning legacy tools.

Managed SOC or handoff

We provide administration guides, alert runbooks, configuration notes, and analyst training, then either hand off to your team or operate Defender and Sentinel as a managed SOC service.

It starts with a free Defender assessment. No obligation.

Why Star Knowledge

Criteria	Star Knowledge	Multi-Vendor Security Stack	In-House Default Config
Defender breadth	All 5 products + Sentinel + Copilot	3–5 different vendors	Whatever M365 turned on
XDR integration	Correlated, cross-domain	Siloed per tool	Not integrated
Alert tuning	Tuned, actionable	Per-tool tuning	Default, noisy
SIEM / SOAR	Sentinel, fully configured	Splunk or QRadar (expensive)	No SIEM
Security Copilot	Deployed and used	Not available	Not deployed
Cost	Included in M365 E5 (mostly)	Multiple licences	Under-utilised E5
Managed SOC option	Yes	Per-vendor	No capacity
Track record	40+ security engagements	Variable	First-time

Case Studies

Full Defender XDR + Sentinel for a Financial Services Firm

Financial services firm, 500+ users.

Defender for Endpoint, Office 365, Identity, Cloud Apps + Sentinel

Defender for Endpoint was deployed but email, identity, and cloud app threats were invisible — plus no SIEM.

Deployed all Defender products as unified XDR, implemented Sentinel with analytics rules and playbooks, tuned alerts.

CrowdStrike + Splunk → Defender + Sentinel for a Technology Company

Technology company, 300+ users.

CrowdStrike → Defender for Endpoint, Splunk → Sentinel

Running CrowdStrike (endpoint) and Splunk (SIEM) alongside M365 E5 — paying for three security stacks.

Migrated endpoint to Defender, SIEM to Sentinel, deployed full XDR, and enabled Security Copilot.

E5 Security Activation for a Professional Services Firm

Professional services firm, 200+ users, M365 E5.

All Defender products activated and configured from existing E5 licence

Paying for M365 E5 for three years but only using basic Defender for Endpoint — thousands in unused security features.

Activated and configured all E5 security features — Defender for Office 365, Identity, Cloud Apps, Sentinel basics.

Industries We Serve

Financial Services

Compliant, cross-domain threat detection and SIEM

Healthcare

HIPAA-aligned security with endpoint and email protection

Technology & SaaS

Full XDR for product and corporate environments

Professional Services

Email security, identity protection, and Copilot

Manufacturing

Multi-site endpoint and identity protection

Retail

POS, email, and cloud app security

Legal

Confidential-data protection across all surfaces

Government

Compliance-mandated security monitoring and SIEM

From activating unused E5 security features to a full Defender XDR + Sentinel + Copilot deployment with managed SOC, we scale to fit.

Insights

Blog

Why Microsoft Defender is Essential for Your Enterprise Security Strategy

Blog

How Microsoft Defender XDR Uses AI to Stop Advanced Cyber Attacks

Checklist

Microsoft Defender Security Readiness Checklist

guide

Microsoft Defender XDR Implementation Guide

Security Copilot Readiness & Freshness Signal

Security Copilot can help analysts summarise incidents, investigate threats with natural-language prompts, generate KQL, and guide response actions. It is most useful when Defender XDR and Sentinel are already producing clean, well-governed security data. Readiness depends on licensing, permissions, connector coverage, alert quality, and defined SOC workflows.

Incident summarisation — understand a complex, multi-stage incident in seconds, not hours

Natural-language investigation — ask “what did this user do in the last 24 hours?” and get an answer

KQL generation — describe the query you need; Copilot writes the KQL for Sentinel

The foundation matters — Security Copilot is only as good as the Defender + Sentinel data underneath it

Do we need the full Defender suite, or just Defender for Endpoint?

Defender for Endpoint (EDR) is essential — but it only sees the endpoint. Attacks today span email (phishing), identity (credential theft), cloud apps (data exfiltration), and endpoints. Defender XDR correlates signals across all of these to detect the full attack, not just one piece. If you’re on M365 E5, most Defender products are already licensed — you’re paying for them whether you deploy them or not.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Microsoft Defender products do you support?

We support Defender across endpoints, email, identity, cloud apps, and cloud workloads.

Can you assess our existing Defender deployment?

Yes. We review deployment, configuration, integrations, gaps, alerts, and tuning opportunities.

Can you reduce Defender alert noise?

Yes. We tune detections, suppression logic, automated investigation, and escalation workflows.

Do you integrate Defender with Microsoft Sentinel?

Yes. We integrate Defender signals with Sentinel for SIEM, analytics, automation, and incident management.

Can you help implement Security Copilot?

Yes. We enable Security Copilot for investigation, incident summaries, KQL assistance, and guided response.

Can you replace third-party security tools?

We can support migrations from tools such as CrowdStrike, Splunk, QRadar, and Palo Alto.

Do you provide ongoing Defender management?

Yes. Managed services can include monitoring, alert triage, investigation, threat hunting, and incident response.

How do you approach Defender deployment?

We use phased deployment, validation testing, workflow testing, documentation, and training before operational handoff.

Book Get My Free Defender Assessment

Tell us the task you have in mind. We’ll assess whether an agent suits it, at what autonomy level, and what the first step should be.

+1 (312) 843-7397

info@star-knowledge.com

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10 — Security Copilot Readine