MSPs are at a crossroads in today’s fast-evolving threat landscape, where more customers demand cybersecurity services. However, building an in-house Security Operations Center (SOC) is costly and time-consuming. Moreover, traditional SOC models pose various challenges for MSPs due to cost, complexity, and talent shortage concerns. The good news is that you don’t have to go it alone.

SOC as a Service (or SOCaaS)  is an increasingly popular subscription model that delivers enterprise-grade protection powered by cloud and AI technologies. It helps MSPs deliver world-class cybersecurity services, AI threat detection, security operations automation, and more to clients through a billing structure that aligns with the MSP business model.

Let’s explore what SOCaaS for MSPs entails, why it’s a game-changer, how an AI SOC platform can help future-proof your business, and how MSPs can leverage SOCaaS to drive growth.

What is SOCaaS for MSPs?

SOCaaS provides businesses with real-time cybersecurity monitoring, threat detection, incident response, and compliance support without building or maintaining a traditional SOC in-house. For MSPs, a SOCaaS solution should also address their unique requirements, such as managing multiple client environments with a multi-tenant architecture through a “single pane of glass” view and generating reports to support client communications.

SOCaaS for MSPs delivers the capabilities of a modern security operations center in a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective model. It provides access to enterprise-grade security infrastructure and professional expertise to help you deliver top-notch security services. Meanwhile, you don’t have to worry about the capital and operational burden of staffing, tooling, and managing a 24/7 security team.

SOCaaS: A game-changer in MSP security offerings

MSPs are under increasing pressure to deliver robust security services, respond to evolving threats in real time, and help clients achieve regulatory compliance. They must also navigate talent shortages, operational complexity, and shrinking margins.

Here’s how SOCaaS provides the means for MSPs to differentiate themselves without a high upfront investment:

Address the cybersecurity skill gap

The tight labor market and growing demand have made hiring and retaining skilled security analysts and maintaining consistent service quality a persistent and costly challenge. SOCaaS gives you immediate access to seasoned security professionals without the overhead of recruiting, training, or managing an internal SOC.

Shorten time-to-market

Building an in-house SOC is not only costly. Setting up the people, processes, and technology from scratch takes months, while opportunities slip through your fingers. SOCaaS enables you to launch your services in weeks with a fully operational, cloud-native AI SOC platform to respond to client needs and generate revenue.

Expand service offerings and drive revenue

SOCaaS allows you to offer high-value security services like real-time threat detection, managed incident response, compliance support, and AI-enhanced analytics. The turnkey solution helps you move up-market, expand your footprint in client accounts, and increase monthly recurring revenue (MRR) with premium offerings.

Improve client satisfaction and retention

AI SOC platforms support a proactive approach to cybersecurity. A SOCaaS solution using AI technologies can help you deliver real-time visibility, faster incident response, and transparent reporting — backed by service-level agreements (SLAs) to help you set and manage client expectations to improve trust and loyalty.

Boost ROI with sales and marketing enablement

Reputable providers of SOCaaS for MSPs understand the market and offer support to help you package and sell your security services. For example, our Certified Partner Program includes sales team support, personalized coaching, pricing and positioning guidance, and more to help you grow your pipeline and drive sales.

Beyond outsourcing: Access the power of AI in cybersecurity

SOCaaS isn’t just about outsourcing. Its true power lies in leveraging cloud-native platforms and capabilities to enable AI cybersecurity technologies and transform workflows. Traditional SOCs, even those supported by skilled analysts and strong tooling, struggle to keep up with today’s cyber threats. On the other hand, AI, machine learning (ML), and predictive analytics can process vast volumes of data in real time to inform prompt and accurate incident responses.

An AI SOC platform can sift through massive volumes of telemetry data across endpoints, networks, and cloud applications and identify threats. Unlike rule-based detection, AI and ML models continuously learn and adapt to new input to reduce false positives, accelerate threat detection, and help teams focus on high-priority tasks.

Moreover, modern SOC platforms go beyond AI threat detection to leverage predictive analytics to identify subtle patterns and anomalies, catching breaches before they cause damage. These capabilities enable MSPs to take a proactive stance by preventing incidents instead of just reacting to them.

AI SOC platforms also help reduce alert fatigue with security operations automation to support triage and incident response. For example, you may automate classification, prioritize alerts based on risk, and initiate predefined response actions to free up human analysts to focus on high-impact, strategic decisions and activities.

Additionally, a SOCaaS solution gives you access to an experienced team that can fine-tune your AI SOC platform to improve detection rules, enrich incident data with contextual insights, and refine response strategies. They can also align remediation actions with each client’s business strategy to deliver the most appropriate response.

Drive growth with SOC as a Service

A SOCaaS solution is a strategic growth lever for MSPs. By tapping into a ready-made security operations infrastructure, you can unlock new revenue streams, deliver higher-value services, and deepen client relationships.

Choose a partner that supports co-selling with a flexible white-label or co-branded model. It can help you create profitable bundles to complement your existing offerings and position them strategically to drive sales. Additionally, you may tap into opportunities to serve regulated industries, compliance-driven businesses, and clients with strict security requirements to expand into new verticals and differentiate your MSP from your competition.

Also, select a SOCaaS solution with an AI-driven open XDR platform like Stellar Cyber. It allows you to seamlessly integrate existing security tools (e.g., EDR, NDR, and SOAR) to increase agility and shorten time-to-value while enabling you to scale up and take on more clients without overhauling your tech stack.

To maximize the impact of SOCaaS for your MSP, partner with a vendor that aligns with the MSP business model, provides robust client onboarding support, and offers a comprehensive solution that addresses MSPs’ specific requirements.

Enhanced Defense has everything you need to deliver competitive, AI-driven cybersecurity services, including open XDR and SIEM, cloud security monitoring, vulnerability management, and threat reporting. Plus, our flexible implementation options meet you where you are to fill skill gaps and expand your team.

Learn more and get in touch to see how we can help you evolve your MSP.