The Evolution from Legacy SIEM to Modern SOC Platforms: Why Now Is the Time to Upgrade

This post is somehow expected, you would say! It’s true so I will be trying my best to bring my points to be the most useful and nominative, in order to support the decision making of what is indeed a critical capability and regulatory requirement of cyber defense architecture in 2024 and onward. In today’s cybersecurity landscape, upgrading from legacy SIEM solutions to modern SOC platforms is no longer a question of if, but when. As we enter 2024, security teams must adapt to the increasingly complex threats they face, and relying on outdated technology can put organizations at risk. However, replacing a legacy SIEM isn’t just about making a technology swap—it’s about enhancing the core capabilities that are essential for modern cybersecurity operations and regulatory compliance.

Security information and event management (SIEM) products have been around for years, and despite claims that they were on the decline, they remain a cornerstone of many Security Operations Centers (SOC). The reason is simple: SIEM solutions, with their focus on log and event management, have proven valuable for detecting specific security situations, such as multiple failed logins and fulfilling regulatory requirements. These use cases are not going anywhere; log management will continue to be a key component of security operations, no matter how much the technology behind it evolves.

What’s Changed: The Data Explosion and the Rise of SaaS

The real change since SIEM became mainstream is the explosion in data volume and the number of data sources. Security teams are no longer just dealing with system logs—they’re managing an influx of data from applications, cloud environments, and a wide range of security tools. This overwhelming volume of data has created a demand for scalable solutions, leading many to look toward SaaS-based SOC platforms. Traditional on-premise SIEMs simply cannot keep up with the need for scalable, cost-effective data processing capabilities, making SaaS the clear choice for organizations that need to scale without overburdening their infrastructure.

With this rise in data sources, another pressing need has emerged: cross-source detection. This has driven the evolution of solutions like XDR (Extended Detection and Response), which enables the analysis of multiple data streams to detect threats across different environments. While some vendors position XDR as an evolution of EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response), it’s important to note that true XDR goes beyond endpoints to cover cloud environments, operational technology (OT), and more. XDR offers the extended detection capabilities that SOC teams need, but it doesn’t replace the need for SIEM’s core log and event management functions.

XDR and SIEM: Complementary, Not Competing

There’s a common question in the security community: “Should we leapfrog SIEM and go directly to XDR?” While it’s tempting to see XDR as the future, the truth is that XDR builds on the foundation laid by SIEM. Cross-source detection still requires the collection, normalization, and analysis of logs and events—a core SIEM function. Threat intelligence, which helps correlate this data with known attack patterns, is critical for detecting sophisticated threats. While some call this NG-SIEM (Next-Generation SIEM), it’s essentially an evolved interpretation of the same core use case: detecting and responding to threats using the widest possible range of data sources.

Modern SOC Platforms: More Than Just Detection

Where legacy SIEM systems fall short is in their limited ability to respond to threats. Today’s security operations require both detection and response capabilities, which has led to the rise of SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response). Modern SOC platforms integrate SOAR functionality to not only detect threats but also automate responses. This reduces the time it takes to mitigate an attack and lightens the workload for SOC teams.

Another critical addition is Threat Intelligence. Modern platforms now integrate curated, real-time threat data, which allows for more precise detection and faster incident response. By enriching alerts with information on known adversaries as well as detecting them with tactics-techniques-procedures centric detection rules, SOC teams can focus their efforts on the most pressing issues and conduct investigations more efficiently.

Asset Intelligence, including asset discovery and vulnerability management, has also become a vital part of modern SOC platforms. This ensures that teams have complete visibility into their IT environment and can make informed decisions about where to focus their efforts. In short, today’s SOC platforms provide comprehensive visibility into the security landscape, from individual SOC operators up to the SecOps managers and ultimately to the CISO, ensuring that the right decisions can be made at every level.

All these capabilities can now be found reinterpreted within the SOC platforms such as the one Sekoia.io is offering today as a SaaS. This goes well beyond an assembly of capabilities but a fully integrated redesign to improve efficience of both technical and human workflow. It is the substrate upon which we enable customers and partners to work together, what I have been describing as length recently within my posts about the developing SSDP trend (https://blog.sekoia.io/enabling-new-service-models-with-ssdp/).

Why Now Is the Time to Replace Legacy SIEM

This is actually the best time to consider replacing a legacy SIEM, often slow, hard to use and impossible to extend. This undoubtedly has something to do with the tectonic shifts we have observed in the market and described already.

However, replacing a legacy SIEM is not just about making a like-for-like migration. The goal should be to replace outdated capabilities with a modern interpretation of what security teams need to perform their mission. This means that not every data source, rule, or use case from the old system should be carried over. Instead, it’s essential to carefully document the target model, timeline, and strategy for migration to ensure that the transition causes minimal disruption.

When transitioning from a legacy SIEM to a modern SOC platform, one of the most critical aspects of the migration process is determining which data sources to prioritize and integrate into the new system. Given the explosion in the volume and diversity of data sources—ranging from system events, cloud environments, endpoint devices, OT systems, and third-party security tools—the challenge of deciding what to migrate can be overwhelming. This is where the expertise of a deployment partner becomes invaluable.

Why You Need a Deployment Partner?

A deployment partner plays a crucial role in guiding security teams through the complexities of this transition. They bring an objective, external perspective and deep experience from working with a variety of environments, helping to ensure that your organization focuses on the right data sources and processes from the start. Their expertise helps avoid common pitfalls that can derail a migration, such as overwhelming the new SOC platform with unnecessary or irrelevant data, or missing critical sources that impact security operations.

Here are several key reasons why a deployment partner is necessary:

1. Assessing and Prioritizing Critical Data Sources

Not all data sources are created equal, and during the migration, it’s essential to prioritize those that are most critical to your security operations. A deployment partner helps by identifying and assessing the value of each data source based on your organization’s specific threat landscape, regulatory requirements, and business needs.

For example, they can assist in evaluating whether the data from specific logs or applications is necessary to meet compliance requirements or if it supports high-priority use cases. By distinguishing the “must-have” data sources from the “nice-to-haves,” they enable your SOC team to focus resources on the most impactful areas.

2. Mapping Data Sources to Use Cases

One of the deployment partner’s key roles is aligning the data sources with your critical security use cases. This involves mapping your organization’s specific security goals—such as threat detection, incident response, and compliance monitoring—against the available data streams.

They will work with you to determine which data sources are essential to cover high-value use cases, such as monitoring critical infrastructure, detecting lateral movement, or flagging suspicious activities across cloud services. Moreover, they help identify any gaps in coverage and recommend additional sources or methods of integration to ensure a comprehensive view of your security environment.

For instance, in a highly regulated industry, compliance-driven use cases may take precedence, requiring specific logs from applications or endpoints. In contrast, organizations facing sophisticated cyber threats may prioritize cross-source detection capabilities to identify anomalies across their infrastructure.

3. Optimizing Data Normalization and Enrichment

Once the relevant data sources have been identified, the next challenge is data normalization and enrichment. Modern SOC platforms rely on consistent, high-quality data to power detection and response workflows. Data from disparate sources must be normalized into a unified format and enriched with threat intelligence, asset information, and contextual insights to make it actionable.

A deployment partner ensures that data feeds are optimized for your SOC platform, helping to reduce noise and false positives. They bring in best practices for data parsing, categorization, and enrichment, allowing the SOC to effectively correlate and analyze events across multiple sources. This, in turn, enhances the platform’s ability to detect sophisticated threats and ensures that SOC analysts aren’t bogged down by irrelevant or low-value alerts.

4. Tailoring the SOC Platform to Your Internal Processes

Migrating to a new SOC platform involves more than just technical integration—it requires aligning the platform with your existing security operations and internal workflows. A deployment partner assists by helping to redesign and optimize internal processes around the capabilities of the new platform.

This may involve streamlining alert triaging workflows, automating incident response through SOAR capabilities, and aligning the platform’s reporting and dashboarding features with the needs of various stakeholders, from SecOps teams to CISOs.

For example, many organizations operate under manual, siloed processes when it comes to threat investigation and response. A deployment partner can help prioritize these processes during the migration, offering a step-by-step guide to automate or augment workflows where it makes the most sense. This ensures a smooth transition and maximizes the platform’s value without disrupting ongoing security operations.

5. Phased Migration and Minimizing Disruption

One of the biggest concerns when migrating from a legacy SIEM to a modern SOC platform is minimizing disruption to security operations. A deployment partner provides a roadmap for phased migration, helping to ensure that critical capabilities remain intact throughout the transition.

This approach typically begins with the integration of essential data sources and foundational use cases, followed by the gradual onboarding of less critical data and advanced functionalities. By prioritizing key processes and data sources early on, a deployment partner can help your team build confidence in the new platform while avoiding the risk of data overload.

Furthermore, they assist in training your SOC team to adapt to the new workflows, ensuring that analysts and engineers are well-prepared to leverage the full power of the modern SOC platform as new features and capabilities are rolled out.

6. Documenting the Target Model

The shift from a legacy SIEM to a modern SOC platform requires a clear vision of the target model you want to achieve. This model outlines what the security team’s architecture, processes, and day-to-day operations will look like post-migration. A deployment partner helps document this vision, ensuring that all relevant stakeholders have a common understanding of the target state, and that the platform’s features are aligned with your strategic goals.

The partner works with you to establish a comprehensive migration plan that accounts for timelines, key milestones, and success metrics. This strategic approach enables you to focus on achieving specific outcomes, such as reduced mean time to detect (MTTD), improved incident response times, or better regulatory compliance.

A Modular and Extensible Future

The SOC platforms available today are not just replacements for legacy SIEM—they represent a modular, extensible approach to security that can adapt to the evolving landscape. For many teams, the decision to upgrade has already been made; it’s no longer a matter of if, but when to make the move. With the capabilities offered by modern SOC platforms, now is the perfect time to embrace this transformation.

Legacy SIEM solutions are no longer sufficient to meet the demands of modern security operations. Today’s SOC platforms offer a seamless integration of detection, response, threat intelligence, and asset management, enabling security teams to stay ahead of emerging threats. The time to replace legacy SIEM with a modern, scalable, and adaptable SOC platform is now—and with the right approach, this transformation can provide a significant boost to your security posture.

Migrating from a legacy SIEM to a modern SOC platform is not a simple lift-and-shift process—it requires careful planning, strategic alignment, and a deep understanding of both your data and your security needs. The right deployment partner can help you distinguish between critical and non-critical data sources, streamline internal processes, and prioritize migration in a way that minimizes disruption and maximizes the benefits of the new platform.

A well-executed migration, with the right partner by your side, ensures that you’re not just adopting a new technology but transforming your entire approach to security operations. This transformation sets your organization up to face today’s complex cyber threat landscape with a platform that is adaptable, scalable, and future-ready. The time to engage with a trusted deployment partner and start this critical transition is now.

Thank you for reading this blogpost.

Share this post: