Organisations nowadays have realised the importance of deploying a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution. It is crucial to choose the deployment strategy before assessing your options because there are indeed many SIEM vendors in the market. Instead of asking yourself the question “Does my organisation need a SIEM?”, you should be asking, “Which SIEM solution best fits my organisation?”
A managed SIEM has many advantages when compared to an off-the-shelf product or building your own solution in-house. Whilst an off-the-shelf product is often the cheapest, it lacks the flexibility and power of a managed solution
Building your own solution might seem like a no-brainer, but this process is expensive, requiring many cyber security experts who have experience building systems like this. It also requires you to invest heavily in technology, software, hardware, physical space, and personnel
A managed SIEM approach takes all the stress out of it. Wizard Cyber provides all the technology, human expertise, and 24x7x365 monitoring, at a fraction of the price of doing it yourself. You won’t have to manage any complicated technology contracts, updates, leasing, or employee management. Instead, you get access to an industry leading managed SIEM service at an affordable price. Now let’s talk about each of these SIEM solutions
What is Cloud-Based SIEM?
A cloud-based SIEM is usually easier to implement and less expensive than an on-prem SIEM. The cost of implementing new infrastructure to host your SIEM is eliminated when using a cloud-based SIEM because the vendor already owns the servers and storage and continuously maintains them. Additionally, because the upgrades, support, and maintenance are all included in the service, a cloud-based SIEM can be more economical than an on-prem SIEM. Not only can this provide you with huge savings, but since you normally pay a fixed-month fee, it also makes managing your SIEM spending simpler. A Cloud SIEM is usually charged on a monthly subscription with flexible contract options
An important benefit of a cloud-based, or managed SIEM, is that it eliminates the need for employee training on how to get the most out of the chosen SIEM platform and gives your organisation access to professional expertise. You receive a SIEM system that has already been configured and is managed by a group of experts. Since there is no internal team that needs to be trained to manage the platform, deployment time is shortened
One more benefit of using a Cloud-based SIEM or SAAS is that it is automatically updated by the vendor – (I.e., Microsoft), whereas an on-premises SIEM will only be updated whenever the IT team decides to update the software, so at times it could be out of date / behind the current release very quickly
What is On-Premises SIEM?
An on-premises SIEM is used when your organisation stores sensitive data locally or on-site. It can be because of a lot of factors, like legal requirements, or that your firm does not wish to provide ticket information to a cloud-based SIEM. Many security teams are enticed to use an on-prem SIEM, because of the total control it gives them over their platforms. An on-premises SIEM is that your platform remains entirely under the authority of your company. To fully utilize the advantages of this choice, it is imperative to have thorough knowledge of both the company and the system
Advantages of a Cloud-based SIEM vs an On-Premises SIEM
A cloud-based SIEM can help organisations by consolidating event data from various on-premises and cloud-based assets. This is especially useful for hybrid deployments, which needs to combine together information on activities and events occurring in multiple data centers
Here are some points we can consider when deciding which SIEM solution is best for your organisation:
1. Functionality of Deployment
- Getting your SIEM up and running can be quite challenging given that SIEM solutions are complex. This holds true for on-premises deployments of SIEM. The complicated business system of your organisation must be completely connected with your SIEM solution, which calls for a qualified team. It might take some time, even with a skilled team of experts, to fully experience the advantages of the SIEM solution. This is necessary so that your organisation is prepared to defend itself against cyber security risks and potential assaults. The team requires time to get familiar with the new tool and set it up efficiently
- A cloud-based SIEM or SaaS, on the other hand, can easily be set up without the requirement for shipping, receiving, installing, and configuring hardware. With the log data, you can see the benefits right away. The speed of deployment by a managed service is normally quicker as they are experts that deal with this all the time, and a managed SOC/SIEM are accountable as per contract and SLAs
2. Cost and Savings
- The overall cost of sustaining an on-premises solution might be significantly greater due to variables like the need to purchase and maintain significant quantities of physical resources, such as servers, databases, and other equipment, as compared to a cloud-based SIEM. Your cybersecurity budget will also be affected by the cost of hiring a highly qualified specialist and keeping a team to implement and maintain the on-premises solution. On-premises SIEM has capital costs and is normally purchased on a 1-year or 3-year deal. A 3-year deal is commonly the cost of 2 years to tie people in
- In a cloud-based solution, the MSSP implementing the system provides the expertise, while the vendor provides the platform. We at Wizard Cyber provide the SIEM, but an internal SOC or MSSP would be responsible for installing, configuring and monitoring the SIEM and service. A Cloud SIEM, on the other hand, is usually charged on a monthly subscription with no long-term contract. It is also quicker to deploy with no capital outlay. Cloud SIEMs like Microsoft Sentinel publish their prices online so it’s easy for an organisation to work out their budget
3. Scalability
- Scalability is a key distinction between on-premises and cloud-based SIEM solution implementations. On-premises SIEM solutions are less expensive, but if your needs change, it becomes quite challenging to upgrade. You need to buy a SIEM large enough to cope with the needs of your business throughout the contract length of face possible large upgrade costs
- This kind of flexibility is provided by cloud solution’s pay-per-usage models, which let you only pay for the services you really utilize. Additionally, you may quickly add or remove services and upgrade to other plans in accordance with the demands your organisation may have at a given time. You can also start using extra services after the plan changes take effect. Cloud based SIEM are usually flexible based on ingestion and storage so as you require more resource its automatics, and running costs can become lower per ticket / ingestion due to volumes
4. Ease of Access
- The SIEM solution’s accessibility is one of the most important elements to take into account, especially considering the recent epidemic. Cloud SIEM solutions have a compelling case for themselves with many organisations opting for either full-time or indefinite work-from-home policies. An employee can easily access the services they require while working from anywhere if they remain within the security perimeter of the cloud-based SIEM solution
5. Updates
- SIEM solutions must be updated frequently to keep all of their security systems current. Due to the lengthy nature of these upgrades and fixes, log collecting has been discontinued. Since the upgrades are handled by the cloud vendor, such downtimes are not an issue for cloud SIEMS
- Cloud SIEM solutions provide an advantage over on-premises SIEMs for enterprises not constrained by security and privacy constraints, and this advantage will likely continue to grow in the future. Your best choice is to invest in a cloud SIEM solution that best meets your organisation’s goals because more technologies are migrating to the cloud and cloud adoption is trending upward with the onset of the remote work
Conclusion
It can be said that every SIEM adoption should also consider an organisation’s unique context, so the ultimate decision on whether the on-premises or cloud-based model is more advantageous for your organisation does not depend on a single factor, such as implementation or maintenance and maintenance costs
The advantages and benefits of a managed or cloud-based SIEM solutions are well-known to Wizard Cyber. We assist organisations in implementing and upgrading their cyber security. Get in touch with us now to determine how we can help you improve your cyber security or if you want to adopt a managed SIEM for your organisation.
