The cybersecurity industry is at an inflection point. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools, once the beating heart of the Security Operations Center (SOC), are no longer what they used to be. Born in 2005 as the central hub for log aggregation and compliance reporting, SIEM has since grown into a multibillion-dollar market. But today, its very existence as a standalone product category is under challenge.
Consolidation, cloud disruption, and artificial intelligence are redefining the SOC. IBM’s divestiture of its QRadar SIEM platform to Palo Alto Networks, Cisco’s $28 billion acquisition of Splunk, and the merger of LogRhythm and Exabeam are not isolated deals — they are signals that the era of “classic” SIEM is ending.
At LAMAH Intelligent Solutions, we believe the critical question is no longer “Which SIEM should I buy?” but rather “What should the SOC of the future look like — and how do we get there?”
Why Traditional SIEM is Under Pressure
For nearly two decades, SIEM was indispensable. It collected logs, applied correlation rules, and generated alerts for analysts to investigate. But the limitations are now undeniable:
- Scale: SIEMs weren’t built for today’s petabyte-scale cloud environments. Data volumes have grown exponentially, but legacy ingestion models haven’t kept up.
- Cost: Traditional SIEM licensing (per-GB log ingestion) makes scaling prohibitively expensive. Splunk customers, for example, often cite cost as their biggest challenge.
- Complexity: Analysts spend countless hours tuning rules, chasing false positives, and manually connecting the dots. The model is manpower-heavy at a time when skilled analysts are scarce.
As Anton Chuvakin (one of the original Gartner analysts who defined SIEM) recently put it: “SIEM as a standalone product is effectively dead.”
Consolidation: The Market Speaks
2024–2025 has seen unprecedented consolidation:
- Cisco acquired Splunk for $28 billion to integrate security analytics with its networking and observability empire.
- LogRhythm and Exabeam merged, seeking scale to compete with hyperscalers.
- IBM sold QRadar’s SaaS assets to Palo Alto, choosing to focus on AI, hybrid cloud, and managed services instead of fighting the SIEM wars.
Google’s Anton Chuvakin captured the sentiment when he quipped: “Today is the day three SIEMs died.”
These moves underscore a reality: SIEM is no longer seen as a growth market in its traditional form. The value is shifting toward platforms that integrate SIEM-like analytics into broader ecosystems of XDR (Extended Detection and Response), SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response), and AI-driven automation.
The Strategic Pivot: From SIEM to Security Platforms
Consider Palo Alto Networks’ approach. CEO Nikesh Arora was candid about the QRadar acquisition: it wasn’t about inheriting IBM’s technology — it was about migrating QRadar customers onto Cortex XSIAM, Palo Alto’s own next-generation SOC platform.
This distinction is critical. The value now lies in customer relationships and installed bases, not in the SIEM code itself. The “prize” is the migration path to platforms that promise:
- Out-of-the-box detections.
- Automated correlation.
- Integrated endpoint, network, and cloud telemetry.
- AI-driven analytics that reduce analyst workload.
This is not SIEM modernization. This is SIEM absorption.
The AI Inflection
If there’s one force reshaping SOCs globally, it’s artificial intelligence.
- Gartner projects that by 2025, 80% of SOCs will use AI-driven tools for enhanced detection and response.
- Microsoft has launched Security Copilot (GPT-4 powered), an AI assistant embedded in Sentinel and Defender to help analysts hunt, investigate, and remediate.
- CrowdStrike unveiled Charlotte AI, allowing analysts to query their environment in natural language.
- Palo Alto’s XSIAM embeds Precision AI, using machine learning to normalize alerts, reduce noise, and automate grouping.
AI is no longer a “feature.” It is becoming the engine of the SOC. It takes over tier-1 analysis, automates correlation, and frees humans for higher-value investigation.
Two Competing Models of the Future
The industry is converging on a new paradigm — but there are two distinct philosophies competing:
- Open, Data-Centric SIEM 2.0
- Champions: Splunk (Cisco), Microsoft Sentinel.
- Strengths: Unmatched flexibility, ability to ingest any log, strong compliance reporting.
- Weaknesses: High costs and complexity without sufficient automation.
- Strategy: Reinvent SIEM as a cloud-native analytics hub infused with AI and bundled with XDR.
- Closed, Automation-Centric SOC Platforms
- Champions: Palo Alto Cortex XSIAM, CrowdStrike Falcon.
- Strengths: AI-driven automation, fast time-to-value, reduced analyst workload.
- Weaknesses: Less open, may limit flexibility for custom use cases.
- Strategy: Replace SIEM with an integrated SOC platform that “just works.”
Forrester now calls this space “Security Analytics Platforms,” recognizing that the market is less about SIEM vs. XDR and more about who can deliver the best outcomes — faster detection, fewer false positives, and lower cost.
The Economics Driving Change
Technology is only half the story. Economics are the other driver:
- Microsoft claims Sentinel migrations can cut costs by 44% compared to legacy SIEMs.
- CrowdStrike markets its Falcon Next-Gen SIEM as delivering up to 80% savings by eliminating the need for separate log management infrastructure.
- Customers are increasingly unwilling to pay escalating ingestion costs for tools that require armies of analysts to manage.
The shift is inevitable: organizations will follow the economics, especially as CFOs and boards scrutinize cybersecurity ROI.
Beyond Tools: The Rise of Managed Security
The SOC of the future will not be just about platforms. It will be about who operates them.
- IBM pivoted toward services, training over 1,000 consultants to deliver Palo Alto’s platforms as an MSSP.
- Even Microsoft and Google have launched managed detection and response services layered on top of their platforms.
- With the cybersecurity talent shortage worsening, many enterprises will adopt co-managed or fully managed SOC models.
This reinforces a larger point: the future of SIEM is as much service-driven as it is technology-driven.
Implications for Security Leaders
For CISOs and security leaders, the transformation of SIEM is not an abstract market debate. It has direct operational consequences:
- Strategic Choice: Do you modernize your current SIEM, migrate to a cloud-native alternative, or adopt a platformized SOC (XSIAM, Falcon, Sentinel)?
- AI Readiness: How will you integrate AI into your SOC workflows — not just for detection, but for investigation and response?
- Cost Model: Is your current SIEM financially sustainable in the face of growing data volumes?
- Operating Model: Will you build, co-source, or outsource your SOC in the next 2–3 years?
These are board-level discussions, not just technical ones.
Looking Ahead: The SOC of the Future
The emerging blueprint is becoming clear:
- Cloud-first deployments: Elastic scalability replaces hardware-bound ingestion.
- AI-driven automation: Tier-1 tasks disappear, analysts focus on judgment and strategy.
- Platform consolidation: Prevention, detection, response, and compliance reporting converge into unified platforms.
- Flexibility preserved: Vendors that abandoned log-search flexibility (early XDR tools) are reintroducing it, because compliance and threat hunting demand it.
- Managed services expansion: SOCs increasingly delivered as MDR/MSSP, blending tech with expertise.
In this future, SIEM will survive not as a standalone product, but as a feature within a larger, intelligent security platform.
Conclusion
The divestitures, acquisitions, and mergers we’ve seen in the past 18 months are not random. They are the death throes of legacy SIEM and the birth pangs of a new era: AI-driven, cloud-native, platformized security operations.
IBM’s QRadar sale, Cisco’s Splunk bet, Palo Alto’s XSIAM push, and CrowdStrike’s rapid growth all underscore one truth: the SOC of the future will be faster, smarter, and more automated — because it has to be.
At LAMAH, we believe that for enterprises, the challenge is no longer whether to adopt this shift, but how fast. Those who modernize their SOCs now — embracing AI, cloud-native platforms, and service augmentation — will be best positioned to defend against the threats of tomorrow. Those who cling to legacy SIEM models risk being left behind, both technologically and economically.
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Disclaimer:
The views and information expressed in this article are provided for general informational and educational purposes only and do not constitute professional, legal, financial, or investment advice. LAMAH Intelligent Solutions and the author(s) make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of the information contained herein and accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from reliance on it. Readers are advised to seek independent professional advice before making any decisions based on this content.
