The Advantages of a Light Touch SOC Managed Service: Your Supplier as an Extension of Your IT Security Team

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, organisations face constant threats from cybercriminals seeking to exploit vulnerabilities. To combat these risks effectively, many companies are turning to managed security services, particularly a light touch Security Operations Center (SOC) approach. This blog explores the benefits of partnering with a SOC provider who becomes an extension of your IT security team, allowing you to start small, showcase value, and progressively enhance your security posture while leveraging existing Microsoft security features including Microsoft Sentinel.

1. Flexibility and Scalability: One of the key advantages of a light touch SOC managed service is the flexibility it offers. Traditional long-term contract commitments are being replaced by a more agile approach, allowing organisations to start with a minimal scope and scale up gradually based on their specific needs. This flexibility ensures that your security solution aligns precisely with your evolving requirements, enabling seamless growth and adaptation.
2. Reduced Infrastructure Costs: By opting for a light touch SOC service, organisations can eliminate the need for upfront infrastructure investments. With the provider acting as an extension of your team, they bring their own infrastructure, tools, and expertise, saving you the expenses associated with building and maintaining an in-house SOC. This cost-effective approach allows you to allocate resources more efficiently and focus on strategic initiatives rather than infrastructure management.
3. Leveraging Microsoft Security Features: Many companies already possess a range of powerful security features as part of their Microsoft License agreement. However, fully utilising these capabilities can be challenging without the right expertise. A light touch SOC managed service provider can help maximise the value of your Microsoft security investment by leveraging tools such as Microsoft Sentinel and Defender. They possess the knowledge and experience to implement and configure these features effectively, enabling comprehensive threat detection, monitoring, and incident response.
4. Access to Expertise and Industry Best Practices: Engaging a light touch SOC managed service provider grants you access to a team of highly skilled cybersecurity professionals. These experts possess extensive knowledge of the latest threats, attack vectors, and defense strategies. They stay abreast of evolving cyber trends, ensuring that your organisation benefits from the most up-to-date protection. Leveraging their expertise and industry best practices enhances your overall security posture and strengthens your defense against sophisticated threats.
5. Proactive Threat Detection and Response: With a light touch SOC managed service, your organisation gains the advantage of proactive threat detection and response capabilities. The provider continuously monitors your systems, applications, and network traffic, identifying potential indicators of compromise in real-time. Rapid incident response protocols are in place to contain and mitigate any identified threats swiftly. By having an extension of your IT security team dedicated to monitoring and responding to threats, you can significantly reduce the time between detection and remediation, minimising potential damage and downtime.

Conclusion: In an era where cyber threats continue to evolve in sophistication, a light touch SOC managed service offers numerous advantages. By partnering with Meridian IT where we have decades of experience delivering SOC services to all sizes of organisations, our clients are taking advantage of our Micro-SOC offering where we act as an extension of your IT security team, you can start small, demonstrate value, and gradually enhance your security operations. This approach removes the burden of infrastructure costs, allows you to maximise existing Microsoft security features, and provides access to expert cybersecurity professionals. Embrace the benefits of a light touch SOC managed service to bolster your organisation’s security posture and safeguard your valuable assets against evolving threats. Contact Rick Gray for further information on Meridian IT’s Micro-SOC service.