How iluminr Compares
An honest, side-by-side look at iluminr next to the platforms resilience teams evaluate most. Pick a comparison.
iluminr and Conducttr are both crisis exercise platforms with overlapping use cases - but they take meaningfully different approaches. iluminr leads with a defined Microsimulation methodology and a unified Capability Intelligence layer for regulated industries. Conducttr leads with high-fidelity scenario realism and a flexible exercise builder favoured by defence, security, and corporate communications teams.
What Conducttr offers
A UK-headquartered crisis exercise and simulation platform (founded 2012) with roots in entertainment and storytelling. Its positioning: realism, immersion, engagement - "experience is everything."
- ●A Scenario Editor for building custom exercises, plus ready-made content
- ●A virtual desktop simulating email, chat, social, news and search channels
- ●High-fidelity information environment - impersonation, "pattern of life" sentiment, a full simulated internet
- ●"Mentor" multi-tenant libraries and LISA, an AI text-to-MEL chatbot
- ●Strong in defence & security (NATO, ARRC), humanitarian, and comms/reputational crisis
What iluminr offers
An operational resilience platform built on Microsimulations - a category Gartner named in its Hype Cycle in both 2024 and 2025. Its positioning: evidence and capability - "Regulators want evidence. Boardrooms want confidence."
- ●Three defined formats - Single-Player (3–5 min reps), Multiplayer (30–45 min drills), Expert-Led executive sims - plus longer, full-scale simulations when you need them
- ●Critical Event Management for live incident response
- ●A unified Capability Intelligence layer across practice, drills, executive sessions and live incidents
- ●A curated Microsimulation Library: operational resilience, AI, cyber, physical, third-party risk
- ●Adopted in regulated finance & insurance - Allianz, AIA, QBE, Freddie Mac, Jack Henry; aligned to DORA, CPS 230, NIST CSF, ISO 22301, FFIEC
How they compare
| Dimension | Conducttr | iluminr |
|---|---|---|
| Core methodology | Flexible exercise platform with custom scenario building | Microsimulation as a defined methodology with three time-boxed formats |
| Continuous solo practice (3–5 min reps) | Possible, but not the primary use case | Core format: Single-Player Microsimulations |
| Team exercises | Yes - a primary strength | Yes - Multiplayer Microsimulations |
| Executive / board simulations | Yes - facilitator-led | Yes - Expert-Led Simulations |
| Information-environment realism | High fidelity - simulated social, sentiment, impersonation | Realistic, but less elaborate |
| Live incident response | Not a platform focus | Critical Event Management, integrated with practice data |
| Unified intelligence across practice & live | Exercise-by-exercise reporting | Cross-format Capability Intelligence layer |
| Primary buyer | Defence, security, government, comms, humanitarian | Operational resilience, BCM, risk & compliance in regulated industries |
| Lead positioning | Realism and immersion | Regulatory evidence & Capability Intelligence |
| Notable customers | NATO, ARRC, Dentsu | Allianz, AIA, QBE, Freddie Mac, Jack Henry |
When each is the right choice
Choose Conducttr when…
- ›The exercise is information-environment heavy - disinformation, hostile narratives, hybrid threats, social-media-centric reputational crisis
- ›The buyer is in defence, security, government, or humanitarian, where domain depth and references matter
- ›You have facilitator capacity to design custom exercises and want maximum flexibility
- ›The exercise is an extended, multi-week campaign run continuously over a long period
- ›Realism and immersion are primary, with regulatory evidence a secondary need
Choose iluminr when…
- ›The buyer is in regulated financial services, insurance, or operational resilience, and regulatory guidance is the primary requirement
- ›The programme needs continuous individual practice at scale - thousands of employees, weekly or monthly reps with AI feedback
- ›Capability data must be comparable across business units, regions, and time - for board reporting and supervisory review
- ›You want a unified layer connecting practice and live response through Critical Event Management
- ›The Microsimulation / Capability Intelligence framing maps to how your CRO, BCM, and resilience teams think
Common questions
Can both platforms run cyber crisis exercises?+
Yes - both support cyber crisis scenarios. Conducttr excels at the information-environment dimension of a cyber incident (media, social, insider threat narratives). iluminr focuses on decision-making and response under pressure, with a dedicated cyber scenario library aligned to DORA and NIST CSF.
Is one cheaper than the other?+
Pricing depends heavily on organisation size, user count, and programme design. Conducttr typically prices around facilitated exercise capacity. iluminr prices around continuous practice access and capability data at scale. Speak to each vendor to compare total cost for your specific use case.
Can iluminr scenarios be customised the way Conducttr's can?+
iluminr's Microsimulations are structured around defined decision points and response patterns. Customisation happens at the scenario, sector, and role level - iluminr's team works with clients to tailor content. Conducttr offers a more open authoring environment for highly bespoke, narrative-driven exercises.
Why is the Gartner Hype Cycle relevant here?+
Gartner named Microsimulations in its Hype Cycle for Security Operations in both 2024 and 2025 - the first time a continuous, scenario-based practice format was recognised as a distinct category. iluminr is the only platform built entirely around the Microsimulation model. Conducttr predates this framing and positions primarily around bespoke simulation experience.
Last verified against publicly available Conducttr materials: April 2026.
iluminr and Fusion both serve operational resilience teams, but they sit at different layers of the stack. Fusion is the system-of-record for a resilience programme - its dependencies, plans, risks, and recovery workflows. iluminr is the practice and proof layer - running scenario-based Microsimulations that test whether the programme actually works under pressure. Many enterprise customers use both.
What Fusion offers
The Fusion Framework System, an enterprise resilience platform built on Salesforce Lightning. Recent positioning emphasises Fusion AI - converting legacy plans into structured data and modelling how disruption propagates through dependencies.
- ●Business Continuity Management - plan management, BIA, dependency mapping
- ●Crisis & Incident Management workflow and coordination
- ●IT Disaster Recovery, Third-Party Risk, and enterprise Risk Management
- ●Operational Resilience - IBS mapping, impact-tolerance, dependency analysis
- ●Dynamic "simulation" that is data-model-based - computational impact analysis
What iluminr offers
Purpose-built for the human capability layer. Where Fusion documents and models the programme, iluminr tests whether the people, teams, and executives accountable for response can actually deliver it under pressure.
- ●Three defined Microsimulation formats - single-player, multiplayer, expert-led
- ●Critical Event Management for live incidents
- ●A unified Capability Intelligence layer producing audit-ready evidence
- ●Alignment with DORA, UK Operational Resilience, APRA CPS 230, NIST CSF, ISO 22301, FFIEC
- ●Structured data on decision quality: time-to-decision, coordination and capability gaps
A note on the word "simulation"
Both platforms use the word - but they mean meaningfully different things, and buyers conflate them.
Fusion runs disruption paths through the modelled dependency graph to find breaking points in the operating model. The output is an analytical projection of impact.
iluminr puts real decisions inside an evolving scenario. The output is structured data on decision quality: time-to-decision, and coordination and capability gaps.
Both are valuable. They answer different questions.
How they compare
| Dimension | Fusion | iluminr |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | System of record for the resilience programme | Practice and proof of capability |
| What it captures | Plans, BIA, dependencies, controls, attestations, incidents | Decisions, response time, coordination patterns, capability data |
| What "simulation" means | Computational impact modelling on dependency data | Human decision exercises in realistic scenarios |
| Who uses it | BCM, risk, IT DR, TPRM, programme owners | Everyone - frontline, teams, executives, boards |
| Engagement frequency | Continuous data management; periodic plan review | Continuous practice cadence - daily to quarterly |
| Output for regulators | Documented programme structure & attestations | Documented evidence of practised response under pressure |
| Output for boards | Programme status & risk dashboards | Capability over time, by function, by scenario |
| Underlying platform | Salesforce Lightning | Purpose-built for Microsimulation delivery |
| Question it answers | "What does our resilience programme look like?" | "Can we actually respond?" |
Complementary, not competitive
The strongest operational resilience programmes use both layers. A typical integrated cycle:
Fusion identifies a critical business service, maps its dependencies, and documents the recovery plan.
iluminr builds Microsimulations around realistic disruption to that service.
Cross-functional teams run the exercises; iluminr captures decision and coordination data.
Findings - capability gaps, plan deficiencies, coordination friction - flow back to Fusion as inputs to plan updates and remediation tracking.
The next cycle of practice tests whether the changes worked.
Fusion provides the structural truth of the programme. iluminr provides the demonstrated truth of the capability. Both are increasingly required by regulators that have moved beyond paper attestation.
When you need each
Invest in Fusion when…
- ›BIA, dependency mapping, and plan management are manual or fragmented
- ›The programme isn't yet documented end-to-end in a single system
- ›Third-party risk and IT disaster recovery need to live in the same operating model
- ›Audit and attestation workflow needs centralisation
- ›Regulators are asking for visibility into programme structure
Invest in iluminr when…
- ›The programme is documented but practised capability is unproven
- ›Annual tabletops are no longer sufficient evidence for regulators or boards
- ›Practice needs to scale across many people, business units, or geographies
- ›Quantitative evidence of decision capability is required - for DORA, UK Op Res, APRA CPS 230, or board reporting
- ›Under-tested response - frontline teams, executive sims, live response - needs to live in one layer
For most regulated enterprises, the question isn't which to choose - it's how to integrate both effectively.
Common questions
Does iluminr replace Fusion?+
No. They serve fundamentally different functions. Fusion manages your programme's structure, documentation, and risk data. iluminr provides the human practice layer on top of that programme. Most enterprise customers who use iluminr alongside Fusion find they are additive - iluminr surfaces practice data that improves the quality of what lives in Fusion.
Does Fusion's scenario simulation feature do what iluminr does?+
No - Fusion's simulation is a computational modelling tool that runs dependency graphs to project impact. It answers "what breaks if this service goes down?" iluminr puts real people inside a scenario to answer "can our teams actually respond?" They are complementary, not competing.
Does iluminr integrate with Fusion?+
iluminr has an open API and integrates with enterprise resilience and GRC platforms. Integration with Fusion is available for customers who want to feed capability evidence from iluminr back into Fusion's programme data. Speak to the iluminr team to discuss your integration requirements.
Could a smaller organisation start with one or the other?+
Yes. For regulated organisations under immediate regulatory pressure on evidence of operational resilience, iluminr is often the first investment - it produces audit-ready proof of practised capability faster than building out a full programme management system. Fusion makes more sense as a first investment when programme documentation and BIA are the primary gap.
Last verified against publicly available Fusion Risk Management materials: April 2026.
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See where iluminr fits your stack
iluminr makes capability visible, repeatable, and real. Our platform connects Microsimulations and full-scale exercises into a living system of practice - giving organizations a clear view of where capability lives, where it is lacking, and where to invest next.