To SIEM or Not to SIEM?
To SIEM or not to SIEM? That question is on the minds of security teams in many organizations. Information security leaders fully understand the importance of having a security incident and event management (SIEM) solution, but teams need to overcome three main challenges before considering purchasing a SIEM solution.
The three main challenges or pain points are:
- Budgetary concerns (cost)
- Resourcing shortage (staffing)
- Knowledge and skill-set gaps (strong knowledge of technology solutions)
As many in the security field will tell you, security is often seen as a cost center and not an enabler of an organization. Security teams experience pressure when justifying the high costs of a SIEM solution and are not well equipped to optimize and demonstrate ROI (return on investment) to the business. SIEM providers rated highly by users in SoftwareReviews’ reports are helping SIEM buyers demonstrate to the business the importance of having a SIEM solution in place and how it can enable the business.
From a resourcing perspective, some organizations face challenges locating suitable candidates and are then further challenged in retraining them. If we face reality, there aren’t enough individuals out there to satisfy a high demand for above-average broad technical skills in IT, and that’s not including the skills needed for all the various security tools. Security teams need to understand the skills required to support the processes and services for current and future state environments before deciding how to acquire those skills. Define the future state, identify the skills gaps, then decide whether to build or buy the needed skills.
This leads us to the third main challenge – knowledge and skill-set gaps – and there are a few factors that have a significant impact on this challenge. Firstly, security teams need to learn all the elements of a SIEM solution and how they function and communicate with other components or technologies that are in use. Secondly, teams must research and develop SIEM content to address their organizations’ risk profile or security concerns. Lastly, security teams must know the assets that the SIEM solution will ingest so they can create relevant use case content to help enhance the organization’s overall security posture.
Once these challenges are acted upon and resolved, purchasing and implementing a SIEM solution will be an easier and more efficient journey that leads to an enhanced security posture. Use a trusted partner that can give you detailed insights into the SIEM software market, such as SoftwareReviews’ Category Reports.
Source: SoftwareReviews SIEM Emotional Footprint, April 2021