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SOC Guide

When cyberthreats hit around the clock, someone has to keep eyes on the glass—holidays, 3 a.m. alerts, and all. A Security Operations Center (SOC) is that nonstop command post. Our SOC Guide explains what a modern SOC does, why “always‑on” matters, and how to decide if you should build, buy, or borrow one.


Security operations might sound like an enterprise luxury, but small and midsized organizations are just as likely to get hit hard constantly by ransomware, business email compromise, or living‑off‑the‑land attacks. 

Many organizations run with lean teams that juggle IT support, compliance, and security responsibilities all at once. This guide is built for exactly those environments—giving IT and security pros the practical blueprints they need to spin up (or outsource) 24/7 monitoring, helping business leaders translate SOC jargon into budget lines and board‑level risk metrics, and satisfying curious staff who simply want to understand what happens inside that mysterious “operations center” once an alert fires.

Here’s what you’ll get:

  • A clear view of SOC roles and responsibilities—i.e., analysts involved in security operations, threat hunting, or incident response—and how they work together.
  • Cost‑benefit comparisons between building an in‑house SOC and tapping a provider to handle it.
  • Battle‑tested selection criteria: coverage hours, response SLAs, threat‑intel depth, and reporting clarity.
  • Actionable next steps—whether you’re starting from zero or leveling up a basic monitoring stack.

Our global SOC handles thousands of alerts daily across endpoints, identities, and cloud workloads. We’ve seen the pitfalls—alert floods, half‑configured SIEMs, and “set‑and‑forget” tools that never catch a real intrusion. We distilled that frontline know‑how into this guide so you can sidestep common mistakes and accelerate to a mature security posture.


Ready to see how Huntress Managed EDR pairs with our 24/7 SOC monitoring to catch threats your antivirus misses?

Schedule a demo or start a free trial and watch real hunters turn noise into rapid response.


Additional Resources

What really goes down behind the scenes during a cyberattack? The Huntress Security Operations Center (SOC) will walk you through every heart-pounding moment of a recent major cyber incident—from the vulnerability that kicked it off, to the moment they kicked the threat actors out. They’ll also answer your questions about threat hunting, incident response, and anything else. 



Guide

The Huntress Security Operations Center (SOC) team consists of threat analysts, researchers, and technical support—and each has a vital role to play in protecting your environment.

On-Demand Webinar

Learn about our 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC), how our team operates, and the value they deliver to our partners.

What Our Customers Have to Say

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