Why Your Business
Needs a Better SOC

Having a SOC isn’t the same as having the right SOC

A SOC should do more than monitor security alerts. It should help your organisation understand what is happening across its environment, identify genuine threats and take appropriate action when something goes wrong.

However, the level of service can vary considerably between providers.

Some organisations may find that their SOC generates a high volume of alerts but provides limited context about which threats matter most. Others may have concerns about response times, escalation processes or the visibility they receive into investigations.

Common signs that your current service may not be delivering enough include:

• Too many alerts and not enough answers. Your team receives notifications but is still expected to determine which incidents are genuine threats and then what you need to do next.
• Unclear response arrangements. You know your environment is being monitored, but you’re uncertain what action your provider will take when a serious threat is identified.
• Limited visibility. Reporting tells you what happened without giving you enough detail about the investigation, response or the outcome.
• Gaps in coverage. Your provider’s monitoring may not give you a sufficiently joined-up view of activity across endpoints, identities and cloud services.
• Unnecessary complexity. Multiple security products, agents and integrations create additional overhead without a clear corresponding benefit.
• Questions about value. You’re paying for a service but cannot easily establish whether it is making effective use of your existing technology or meeting your operational requirements.

None of these issues necessarily means your provider is failing, but they are reasons to examine whether your current arrangement is delivering the outcomes your organisation is expecting from your SOC.

If that’s the case, what should you expect from a Managed SOC?

Evaluating providers should be about more than determining the benefits of switching one set of tools for another. The objective should be to improve the way your organisation identifies, investigates and responds to threats across the board.

A different approach to security operations with Xeretec

Xeretec provides access to 24/7 security operations through a managed service built around Microsoft security technologies.

Rather than assuming that stronger security requires another layer of products, the approach focuses on using supported Microsoft capabilities to monitor endpoints and identities, investigate suspicious activity and respond to potential threats.

For organisations reviewing an existing SOC arrangement, this offers an opportunity to reassess not just the provider, but how the service fits into their wider security environment.

Built around Microsoft security technology

If your organisation already uses Microsoft security products, it is worth understanding how much value your current SOC extracts from that investment.

Xeretec’s Microsoft-focused approach is designed to build on supported security capabilities already available within your environment, subject to your licensing, configuration and agreed service scope.

This can help reduce unnecessary duplication and avoid adding technology where it isn’t needed.

24/7 security operations

Continuous monitoring and investigation help ensure that potential threats can receive attention outside normal business hours.

Xeretec provides 24/7 security operations to support the monitoring of supported endpoints and identities, investigation of suspicious activity and response to potential incidents.

The precise response actions and escalation arrangements depend on the agreed service scope, so these should be established as part of the initial assessment.

Less unnecessary complexity

More security products do not automatically mean better security.

Multiple agents, platforms and integrations can increase administrative overhead and make it harder to maintain a clear view of the environment.

Xeretec’s Microsoft-focused approach is designed to reduce reliance on additional agents and third-party security tools where supported by the agreed service design.

The aim is to strengthen your security operations while avoiding unnecessary complexity, rather than adding another layer of technology for your team to manage.

Support for your existing IT team

An effective SOC should complement your internal IT function, not leave it to manage the difficult parts of an incident alone.

By taking responsibility for agreed monitoring, investigation and response activities, Xeretec helps give internal teams access to specialist security capabilities while allowing them to concentrate on wider business and technology priorities.

For organisations that already have a SOC provider, the question is whether their current service is delivering the level of support they need.

Is it time to review your SOC provider?

Changing security providers requires careful consideration. Your existing SOC may be deeply integrated into your environment, and any transition needs to account for your security requirements, operational processes and existing technology.

However, staying with a provider simply because it is already in place is not a strategy in itself.

It may be time to review your current arrangement if:

• You are dissatisfied with the quality or usefulness of security investigations.
• You want clearer incident response and escalation arrangements.
• You need greater confidence in out-of-hours monitoring.
• You want better visibility across supported endpoints and identities.
• You suspect your current service duplicates capabilities already available in your Microsoft environment.
• You want to understand whether there is a more straightforward or cost-effective way to achieve your security objectives.

A structured review of your current service can help identify where it is performing well, where improvements may be possible and whether another approach would better suit your organisation.