SOC vs SOCaaS: How traditional SOCs differ from SOCaaS

Whether you’re running a single café or managing IT for a global enterprise, the question of how best to protect your business from cyber threats is more pressing than ever. In this blog, I explore the differences between building your own Security Operations Centre (SOC) and subscribing to SOC as a Service (SOCaaS), so you can make an informed, strategic choice for your organisation that balances cost, control, and cybersecurity capability. SOC vs SOCaaS; Let’s dive in. 

Introduction:

Picture this: you’re the IT manager at a rapidly expanding coffee shop chain that has its eyes set on national domination after incredible regional success. You’re understaffed and spend your days keeping on top of the army of cappuccino-juggling baristas serving gallons of black gold, all supported by an array of ageing tablets and laptops that barely stay connected to Wi-Fi.  

One Sunday evening, just as your working day is ending, you receive multiple email notifications to your inbox repeatedly stating that connectivity to your point-of-sale (PoS) system has been lost. You suspect a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, something you’ve been praying wouldn’t happen until you finally had the budget to migrate to the cloud.  

Initial panic is replaced by a familiar sense of foreboding as you race through the playbook looking for answers. Who’s around at this time on a Sunday to help you deal with this? How can you put things in place to make sure that it doesn’t happen again? The first hour is critical. 

You reminisce about your last position, where you were a part of a fully-fledged team of people who would handle these incidents in their stride. You briefly consider revising the budget request that you’ve been working on as you start to methodically log into the various firewalls that protect your PoS system and start to identify and block the malicious traffic.  

The thought of setting up your own Security Operations Centre (SOC) seems daunting, yet indispensable. 

Before we dive into this article, you might find it helpful to view our cybersecurity glossary of terms that we IT professionals love to serve up our articles with. 

What is a SOC? 

A SOC is essentially the heart of an organisation’s cybersecurity infrastructure; a dedicated hub where analysts monitor, detect, and respond to threats.  

When you think of traditional SOCs, you probably picture a room that looks something like NASA’s Mission Control Centre. A space with wall-mounted monitors displaying log data from security information event management (SIEM) systems, teams of analysts pouring over dashboards in search of suspicious and nefarious activity, and incident responders frantically triaging each alarm. You’d be right to think of it in these terms, although modern SOCs can also be distributed in their nature.  

Now imagine if all of this were available to rent, you’d have SOC as a Service (SOCaaS). If you would like further information, you will find our comprehensive guide “SOC as a Service: Explained” particularly helpful. 

The difference between SOC and SOCaaS

In contrast, SOCaaS operates similarly but virtually, outsourced to the cloud with virtual, often distributed teams such as managed service providers (MSPs) doing most of the heavy lifting. 

The distinction isn’t just about where the analysts sit or how the alerts are sent; traditional SOCs and SOCaaS vary significantly in terms of structure, costs, expertise, scalability, and control.  

In this article, we’ll explore these differences to help you choose the option that best suits your organisation’s needs and ambitions.  

By understanding their unique benefits and drawbacks, you’ll be better prepared to make empowered decisions and pick your way through the seemingly endless complexities of modern cybersecurity. 

Traditional Security Operations Centres: A deep dive 

Let’s gear up and delve into what makes traditional SOCs tick. 

Structure & Setup 

Imagine a dedicated room lined with monitors, where walls bristle with cables carrying data from your network. The physical setup of an in-house SOC requires a space that is well-connected to the core networks, infrastructure, and systems it oversees.  

A SOC is only truly effective if it has visibility over its entire domain, so it’s not just about the visible hardware, the laptops, servers, tablets, and mobile phones that are reporting into the SOC. Think firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), endpoint detection and response software (EDR).  

They all need to speak the same language or at least be translated into something that the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system can turn into meaningful content.  

The SOC is where log aggregation and incident correlation happen in real time, giving your team a consistent view of potential threats. 

The team structure often begins with a tiered hierarchy of analysts: junior analysts who are often fresh out of university, or people new to the industry who are ready to be trained and seasoned by senior, battle-hardened, hands-on experts.  

Beyond these layers lie threat hunters, highly specialised individuals dedicated to finding those nifty new threats that might be lurking in the shadows. Incident responders round off this triumvirate, poised to contain breaches when the alarms sound. 

At the heart of this setup sits the SIEM dashboard, which might be shown on a large screen where analysts get live data for suspicious events, the number, nature, and origin of them. 

Each analyst has their own set of dashboards and is responsible for a specific role within the hierarchy: junior analysts monitor logs and raise alerts based on predefined rules, senior analysts review these alerts and determine their significance, while threat hunters dive deeper into patterns that might indicate more complex attacks.  

Incident responders are the ones who take it to the next level, investigating flagged incidents and taking action. 

Human Resources 

While it sounds appealing to have a dedicated bunch of cybersecurity heroes working with your company’s data day and night, these teams aren’t cheap.  

The salary of an analyst can vary, but can often hover around the £40,000 mark per year for juniors, going up to over £70,000 for senior analysts, depending on their experience. Add benefits, training costs, and a smattering of tech upgrades, and you are looking at a substantial investment.  

Oh, and remember that you’ll be wanting to cover your security incidents 24/7 because cybercriminals rarely sleep. 

The cost doesn’t stop with salaries; there’s the ongoing expense of software licences, hardware replacements, and professional development courses.  

Training your team in specific tools can take months before they reach peak performance. For example, an in-house junior analyst might require six to nine months of onboarding before achieving proficiency, and any other advanced training can extend this period. 

Technology stack 

There’s a smorgasbord of software tools that make up the backbone of this traditional SOC model. It is also where we find most of the three-and-four letter acronyms, so you’ve been warned.  

Firstly, SIEM platforms like Microsoft Sentinel, LogRhythm, or Splunk aggregate data from endpoints, networks, firewalls, access controls, and more to build a comprehensive map of your digital domain.  

As mentioned earlier, the SIEM is the beating heart of the SOC, and the SOC needs visibility over everything in an organisation, so all data must lead to the SIEM.  

Meanwhile, EDR software like Carbon Black Endpoint secures end-user devices against malware exploits. It’s like antivirus, if antivirus went to the gym four times a week and never skipped leg day.  

Then we have Intrusion Detection and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS) to complement this with real-time identification and prevention of intrusion attempts.  

Lastly, we have Security Orchestration and Automated Response (SOAR) solutions, which manage the workflow, automating repetitive tasks such as ticketing and email notifications. If the SIEM is the backbone, SOAR is the nervous system. 

Serious levels of integration among these tools create something that is not far short of a miracle: a seamless flow of information from various parts of your network into the SIEM dashboard. So, an EDR tool might detect a suspicious login attempt on an endpoint like a Single Sign On (SSO) portal.  

This data is then sent to the SIEM platform, which correlates it with whatever the firewall or access control lists say. Once patterns emerge (e.g., multiple users accessing sensitive databases simultaneously), analysts can classify this as an actual security incident and flag it for further investigation.

Read our handy guide on the differences between MDR, SIEM, SOC and XDR. 

Advantages of traditional SOCs 

Let’s start with a big win: customisation. The beauty of traditional SOCs is that they can be moulded around your business needs, policies, and regulatory requirements.  

You are tailoring these tools and processes to fit the unique characteristics of your environment, tailor-made for a tailor shop. For instance, an online retailer could configure its SIEM engine to focus on unusual spikes in cardholder data movements during heavy sales periods like Christmas or Valentine’s Day. 

Direct control is another gem in this model’s crown. Think about it: you and your team own every layer from hardware, software, to personnel. You decide who gets trained and how often; the data travels through your actual network, reducing any dependency on external links, even if you’re cloud-based. This sovereignty can offer peace of mind for businesses where regulatory compliance is paramount. 

Given time and repetition, a traditional SOC will be building its expertise. Analysts will become attuned to their environment, recognising patterns that are unique to your business, and all of this becomes quite literally embedded in people’s minds and actions. It becomes intuition, and this intuition allows them to make quick judgments far better than any outsider. 

Disadvantages of traditional SOCs 

But all this control and customisation come at a price, literally and figuratively. You’ll start with a significant initial investment: hardware, software licences, recruitment, and training. Each analyst costs tens of thousands of pounds annually after benefits are considered.  

Then there’s the maintenance required to keep networks and infrastructure humming; not to mention, new analysts will need time to mature into their roles. 

Ongoing operational costs can also be a drag. Annual salary hikes, regular software upgrades, and continuous training mean that the true cost of ownership doesn’t stop at the initial setup. It’s like any other preventative measure that you put in place; you’re trusting that the cost of maintaining it is less than the potential impact that not having it would be. 

Filling these analysts’ coffers can prove challenging. With global competition for cybersecurity talent at an all-time high, securing top-tier professionals might require bidding higher than your budget allows, or you’re faced with training them from scratch. This all gets compounded by the demand for specific skills relevant to your industry. Imagine trying to find a barista who enjoys building single-page web applications in their free time. I might have hired a developer based on these criteria many years ago, but I digress… 

Scalability can be another stumbling block. Scaling an in-house SOC up requires hiring and equipping new analysts, while scaling down means firing people you just hired, a delicate balancing act between too many hands-on deck and not enough pairs of eyes scanning the screens and triaging alerts.  

Even with additional capacity, it can take months or years for a traditional SOC to fully mature and deliver maximum value. 

You can find a more Comprehensive guide to in-house SOC costs vs outsourced SOC here.

SOCaaS: The modern approach to security operations 

What exactly is SOCaaS? Take your SOC and outsource the entire thing to an MSP that manages your security infrastructure from their own high-tech fortress. Your coffee shop’s point-of-sale system, for instance, could be guarded with minimal fuss simply by subscribing to a service rather than buying SIEM software upfront. 

View Evalian’s managed SOC services

How SOCaaS is made and delivered 

At its core, SOCaaS is a cloud-based infrastructure where the provider hosts your monitored environments. They equip you with pre-built tools and processes that are industry standard, no fiddling over custom configurations for days on end. Their experts, much like seasoned baristas, know exactly which buttons to press and when. As well as the difference between a flat white and a latte. 

One of the best things about the SOCaaS model is its flexibility. While it’s not entirely bespoke like a private SOC might be, there are enough options to personalise your experience–from reporting frequencies and dashboards to additional layers such as integration with your pre-existing tools–making you feel closer to home. 

The model also boasts reporting and analytics for regular updates about security posture; say hello to insights like log aggregation, incident patterns, and more through custom dashboards provided by your service partner.  

You’ll get your favourite coffee served in the morning without needing to brew it yourself. It might not be exactly how you’d do it at the start, but it will get better with time. 

Advantages of SOCaaS 

Let’s double down on the coffee shop analogies. 

Cost

Cost savings are the biggest feature. When you outsource security operations, you avoid not only buying SIEM hardware but also maintaining a full-time team. Instead, you pay per month for service; scaling up or down is as simple as saying ‘Hey, can you make that a large?’ It feels like having a local barista always on call–whenever you want it, without owning and maintaining the espresso machine. 

Get instant results using our SOC cost calculator.

SOC Cost Calculator

Faster deployment

A traditional SOC will take months, possibly years, to set up after ordering and installing hardware, training teams, and finalising configurations.  

With SOCaaS, you’re brewing your first cup of cyber protection in a matter of weeks after the initial scoping and sign-off. We’ve got a blog on SOCaaS: Explained, which details how long it takes to deploy. You skip the setup hassle and start monitoring with ease, kind of like adding an app on your phone. 

Access to external expertise

The providers are likely to have seriously diverse experience across different industries, meaning they’ve seen various types of threats and can apply what they learn broadly. This translates to fresh sets of eyes scrutinising your security data. 

Scalability and flexibility

When business requirements change–such as new locations or increased sales–you can adjust the service volume without juggling physical resources like servers or desks. In our coffee analogy, imagine ordering extra milk for that latte on days customers are ravenous. 

24/7 monitoring

Ensures your organisation is always covered and never vulnerable, even during off-hours. That’s the night-shift security guard who’s keeping an eye on things when the shop is closed. 

Potential drawbacks of SOCaaS 

Yet, there are trade-offs in customisation. While vendors strive for tailored solutions, they are inherently generalised. You may find yourself choosing from existing dashboards rather than designing exactly what you want to see, which can feel more lunchtime menu than a la carte. Our coffee shop is also a restaurant now, apparently… 

Data security and compliance concerns loom quite large, too. Even if the provider is trusted, sensitive customer data will often need to be accessible to that provider, and may possibly be directly referenced in ways that reside in their cloud environment. You need to negotiate terms that satisfy data sovereignty and compliance nuances of countries where your business operates.  

This is where you’ll need to know the ins and outs of compliance frameworks and legislation like GDPR and PCI-DSS. Or whether those beans really are Fairtrade. 

Dependency on the vendor means choosing the right SOCaaS partner is critical. Should they go bust or their services fail for whatever reason, you’ll need to find another and potentially incur new setup costs. Imagine swapping out your till systems and changing suppliers. 

Leveraging third-party expertise comes at a potential cost. The provider’s deep understanding of your specific business context might pale in comparison to an in-house team that has seen every cuppa made and every bean brewed by tradition. It would be like choosing someone who hasn’t been a barista for years to pour your morning cappuccino. 

Comparing SOC models – a handy chart 

Which model is right for you? 

Choosing between SOCaaS and traditional SOCs isn’t a one-size-fits-all decision. Here’s how different types of businesses might lean one way or the other. 

Scenario-based recommendations 

Small businesses (50-250 people) 

You’re likely to benefit most from SOCaaS. With fewer resources on hand, in every conceivable meaning of the phrase, this SOCaaS is the most cost-effective way you can get enterprise-grade security along with access to experienced professionals.  

It’s like getting access to the head barista of the most revered craft coffee company in the land, knowing they are there to make sure every cup is a world of caffeinated joy for your customers.  

For small businesses, the primary advantage of SOCaaS is the ability to gain enterprise-level protection at a fraction of the usual expense.  

You can expect your service provider to handle most of the operational overheads, such as alerting about software updates, hiring skilled analysts, and performing regular security audits. These aspects are critical but often daunting for smaller organisations without dedicated IT teams.  

By subscribing to SOCaaS, you reduce the time spent on setting up systems and training staff, freeing your business to focus on core (coffee-related) operations. 

Additionally, your small business benefits from the flexibility offered by SOCaaS. As you grow, scaling your security operations becomes easier with minimal disruption.  

The seamless integration of new tools into existing infrastructure saves both time and money, making it more efficient for your small businesses to adapt to changing business needs. 

Medium-sized businesses (250-1000 people)

For those who require more specific control over their operations whilst also needing quick turnarounds and manageable costs, a hybrid approach might fit best.  

At this size, you probably have your own SOC, so you could leverage SOCaaS for general monitoring and alerting, whilst maintaining an in-house team for critical functions like incident response.  

You’ll often find organisations using this hybrid approach to cover times of the day which are better spent sleeping. Like opting for café coffee with your own personal touch, simple yet delightful. 

Medium-sized businesses have the resources to invest in some foundational elements of their own SOC but may still benefit from outsourced services.  

For example, your mid-sized business could create a small analytics and monitoring group within its current IT department, while outsourcing more advanced threat hunting or specific incident response activities through SOCaaS.  

This hybrid model combines the flexibility of SOCaaS with tailored insights provided by an in-house team. 

As a second bite of the cherry, there is also the ability for your midsized business to capitalise on its increased headcount to build expertise closer to home without needing extensive time for training and development.  

You can also call on more specialised third-party services when needed, giving a more balanced and nuanced approach that keeps control over critical operations while gaining the benefits of scalable, external support. 

Large enterprises

As organisations scale, they’ll naturally start maintaining larger SOCs across headquarters or strategically selected hubs while still relying on local SOCaaS teams for regional coverage.  

As we said earlier, a hybrid model helps to give you the balance, control, and agility more naturally, like having a larger, sit-down-and-chill experience but offering micro-branches and concession stores where it makes sense. 

For large enterprises with multiple offices and more diverse operations, combining both models offers the best of both worlds.  

You can maintain centralised SOCs at corporate headquarters, which oversee enterprise-wide policies and manage all the complex integrations between different security tools.  

Meanwhile, regionally focussed SOCaaS teams can provide localised insights and use their ability to customise monitoring to the specific operational needs of those offices.  

This way, your large organisation can have rock solid, centrally managed security operations and still benefit from more tailored analysis closer to where data is generated. 

Questions to ask about SOC vs SOCaaS

Before making a decision, ask yourself these questions: 

– Are the financial resources available to cover both initial setup and ongoing costs? 

– What are the regulatory requirements for your data? Do they mean keeping everything locally or do you have flexibility? 

– How important is direct control over analytics, reporting, and decision-making in security operations? 

Let’s expand on these points: 

On the financial side, start by estimating the initial cost of setting up a traditional SOC versus subscribing to a SOCaaS provider.  

Factor in not just the hardware and software expenses but also staffing costs, including salaries and benefits for three to five years. Add to this any additional monthly or yearly subscription charges from Cloud Service Providers (CSP). 

For the regulatory requirements, investigate whether your region has specific data sovereignty laws that mandate local storage of sensitive customer information. Determine if these regulations necessitate a traditional SOC setup or allow cloud-based alternatives through reliable partners who comply with international standards such as ISO 27001 certification. 

Lastly, when you look at the amount of control you need over operations, assess how much control you need over key areas like incident response, custom analysis, and decision-making in day-to-day operations.  

Traditional SOCs offer flexibility to add specialised roles within your team based on business needs; SOCaaS suppliers also provide various levels of control through advanced dashboards. 

Conclusion: SOCaaS and SOC are a powerful combination 

To recap, both traditional SOCs and SOCaaS bring lots of different and complementary strengths to the table. Traditional SOCs offer customisation and deep business insight but come with higher costs and need more time to mature.  

SOCaaS, on the other hand, shines for its lower start-up and ongoing costs, easier scalability, and immediate access to vendor expertise at your fingertips.

But the threat landscape is evolving, and so are organisations’ responses to the SOC vs. SOCaaS debate: hybrid models are increasingly becoming the norm, where smaller SOCs benefit from external support while large enterprises fine-tune their distributed architectures. 

In short, there’s no need to rely solely on one or the other. Pick your poison (or coffee blend) according to business needs and risk appetite. Selecting the right model depends on how you prefer to run the show. Whether it’s through crafting your cuppas by hand or enjoying a rich variety provided by third parties, rest assured in knowing that both ways keep those digital doors keep your espresso’s flowing and keep the bad guys from showing. 

Essential Guide to choosing a SOC provider: Free Checklist

Many SOC providers look like they offer the same services on the surface. But won’t tell you if they can’t isolate a compromised laptop straight away, or if their escalation process is unclear.

Our SOC team have made an essential SOC Provider Checklist to help you ask the right questions when deciding on what SOC provider to go with. It includes things like:

• Whether they provide full 24/7 coverage across your systems.
• If detections are mapped to MITRE ATT&CK so you can see what’s covered.
• How often do they tune the system to your environment?
• Whether they actively hunt for threats or just wait for alerts.

It’s the same set of checks we use ourselves.

Download your free copy of the SOC Provider Checklist.

 Find out how SOCaaS can support your organisation’s security posture

If you’d like to understand how our CREST Accredited SOC as a Service can help you strengthen your organisation’s security framework, get in touch with our friendly team.

Cybersecurity glossary