About the SOC-as-a-Service category
What belongs in this category
The SOC-as-a-Service category covers services in which a provider runs a security operations center (SOC) for a client. Typical entries collect and keep the client's logs in a SIEM, monitor them around the clock, triage and escalate alerts, write and tune detection rules, and produce the reports auditors and regulators ask for. Many are co-managed, with the client's own team working in the same tools.
Services built mainly around detecting and stopping attacks, with the provider taking response actions, fit Managed Detection and Response (MDR), and providers offering both kinds of service may enter each one. The SIEM itself, entered by its vendor, fits Security Information and Event Management (SIEM). A SOC service can also enter Managed Security Service, and the team that runs it can be nominated in SOC Team of the Year.
Related categories to enter
Each category is judged separately, so you can enter a service in every category that matches what it delivers, with a separate nomination for each. Tailor each nomination to that category's focus. The provider behind the service can also be recognized in Cybersecurity Service Provider of the Year or Best Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP).
How entries are judged
An independent jury of security practitioners, analysts and CISOs scores each nomination on leadership, innovation and impact. Each nomination competes in its category against providers of similar size and region, so a small regional provider is not ranked against a global firm. Your entry package, any sponsorship and public votes do not affect the jury's scores.
Strong entries in this category show:
- Leadership — the operations the service runs: clients and log sources covered, data volumes, compliance needs supported, and the size and skills of the SOC team.
- Innovation — a SOC problem solved in a new way, such as co-management that clients' teams find easy, log retention at lower cost, or detection rules tuned to each client.
- Impact — results for clients: alerts triaged and escalated, time to escalate cut, audits passed with the service's reports, client retention rate. Give figures from clients, anonymized if needed.
The jury awards Gold, Silver or Bronze, or a Finalist badge, and results are published on this site and announced to the 600,000+ member Cybersecurity Insiders community. Every approved nomination also enters the separate Community Choice award, decided by public votes.
How to enter
A provider can enter its own service, and a PR agency can enter it on the provider's behalf. The nomination form has a confidential field for detail that is shared with the judges and not published, such as client names, contract figures or service levels. Deadlines, pricing and entry steps are on the How it Works page.
