"Should we build our own security operations center or outsource it?" is a question we get from almost every mid-sized client at some point. The honest answer usually comes down to math most teams haven't actually run.
The headcount most people forget
A 24/7 SOC needs coverage across three shifts, seven days a week. That's not one analyst — it's a minimum of four to six, once you account for leave, weekends, and rotation. Add a SIEM license, a threat intelligence feed subscription, and a senior analyst to lead the team, and the all-in cost climbs quickly past what most budgets assumed.
Tooling costs don't scale down
SIEM platforms are typically priced by data volume or endpoint count, not by team size. A five-person internal SOC pays close to the same licensing cost as a fully staffed one — the tooling bill doesn't shrink just because the team is small.
Coverage gaps are the hidden cost
Internal teams that can't justify full 24/7 staffing often end up with monitoring that's strong during business hours and thin overnight and on weekends — which is exactly when attackers prefer to move.
Where outsourcing wins — and where it doesn't
SOC as a Service makes the most sense for businesses that need continuous monitoring but don't have the transaction volume or headcount to justify a dedicated internal team. Larger enterprises with the budget for a full internal SOC and specific data residency requirements sometimes go the other way — but that's a smaller group than most people assume.
Run the real numbers before deciding either way. Our SOC as a Service team can walk you through a cost comparison specific to your environment.