NCC Group vs Mandiant (part of Google Cloud)
NCC Group
NCC Group was formed in 1999 when the National Computing Centre's commercial divisions were spun out and is headquartered in Manchester, listed on the London Stock Exchange. With 2,000+ staff across the UK, North America, Europe, and APAC, the group operates technical assurance, managed services, and software escrow divisions and is a founding CREST member.
Pros
- Founding CREST member with deep accreditation across CHECK, CBEST, and TIBER-EU
- Recognised research output, including former Cryptography Services and Exploit Development Group
- Broad global delivery footprint with UK government-cleared consultants
- Combines offensive testing with MDR, IR, and escrow under one umbrella
Cons
- Public company under cost-discipline pressure with periodic restructurings
- Project-based pricing per engagement, no public rate card
- Breadth of services means specialist depth varies by region and practice
Pricing: Custom (contact sales)
Mandiant (part of Google Cloud)
Founded in 2004 by Kevin Mandia, Mandiant built a global reputation responding to the world's most high-profile breaches. After acquisition by FireEye in 2013 and by Google for ~$5.4B in 2022, the firm retained its brand and now operates inside Google Cloud as a specialist consultancy for incident response, threat intelligence, and offensive security.
Pros
- Frontline visibility into nation-state and ransomware intrusions through real IR casework
- Deep threat intelligence backed by APT group tracking (APT1, APT28, APT41)
- Backed by Google Cloud scale, telemetry, and engineering resources
- Brand recognition that satisfies board and regulator expectations after a breach
Cons
- Premium enterprise pricing with bespoke engagements and no public price list
- Lead times can be long outside an active retainer relationship
- Brand and roadmap increasingly tied to Google Cloud's strategic priorities
Pricing: Custom (contact sales)