Gartner® A Journey Guide to Building a Security Operations Center
Navigate the complexities of building and maturing a Security Operations Center (SOC) with expert insights from Gartner®. In this guide, you’ll explore a four-step journey to building a successful SOC model, including:
- Understanding SOC fundamentals and aligning them with your organization’s needs
- Building a strong value case and securing executive buy-in
- Implementing key SOC capabilities and effective staffing models
- Scaling your SOC and adapting to evolving threats
This report offers security operations leaders insights for building, developing, and maturing their SOC. It helps leaders determine which capabilities to build in-house or outsource, while providing a long-term roadmap for success.
WHY THIS REPORT AND WHY NOW?
As organizations increasingly recognize the necessity of building and optimizing a SOC for modern security resilience, understanding the strategic path forward has become crucial. Today’s interconnected business environment demands deeper situational awareness and more proactive response capabilities. Whether driven by the need for cyber-risk reduction, compliance, or sound business strategy, a well-defined approach to security operations is essential.
This Gartner report offers an iterative framework to help organizations determine when to build internal capabilities versus engage external partners. It emphasizes identifying current gaps, aligning SOC strategies with business goals, and adapting to evolving risks. By providing actionable insights, the guide empowers organizations to make informed choices about resource allocation—build, outsource, or adopt a hybrid SOC approach—to ensure an effective, scalable security operations strategy.
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Gartner, “A Journey Guide to Building a Security Operations Center,” Pete Shoard and Eric Ahlm, 13 March 2025