What is a Security Operations Center (SOC)

Find out how security operations centers work and why many organizations rely on SOCs as a valuable resource for detecting security incidents.

DEFINITION OF THE CENTER FOR SAFETY OPERATIONS

A security operations center (SOC) is a facility that houses an information security team responsible for the ongoing monitoring and analysis of an organization's security posture. The objective of the SOC team is to detect, analyze and respond to cyber security incidents through a combination of technological solutions and a robust set of processes. Security operations centers often have security analysts and engineers, as well as managers who oversee security operations. The SOC team works closely with the organisation's incident response teams to ensure that security concerns are resolved quickly upon discovery.

Security operations centers monitor and analyze activity on networks, servers, terminals, databases, applications, websites and other systems, looking for abnormal activity that may indicate a security incident. security or compromise. The SOC is responsible for ensuring that any security incidents are correctly identified, analyzed, defended, investigated and reported.

Security Operations Center (SOC)

A Security Operations Center (SOC) is responsible for monitoring, analyzing and protecting the organization from cyber attacks. At SOC level, Internet traffic, corporate networks (CAN), desktops, servers, terminals, databases, applications and other systems are constantly monitored for signs of a security incident. SOC staff may work with other teams or departments, but generally have high level skills in information technology and cybersecurity. In addition, most SOCs operate 24 hours a day, while employees work shifts to achieve consistent recording activities and mitigate threats.

Before establishing a SOC, an organization must define its cybersecurity strategy that aligns with current business objectives and issues. Department leaders will refer to a risk assessment that will focus on what will be needed to uphold the company's mission and then provide information on the goals to be achieved, the infrastructure and tools necessary to achieve those goals as well. like the kinds of skills needed for staff.

SOC creation has become more important to large organizations as security breaches increase and the cost associated with data loss is often high. An effective SOC not only minimizes the cost of a data breach by quickly responding to intrusions, but also by constantly improving detection and prevention practices.

SOCs are most commonly found in the health, education, finance, electronic commerce, government, military operations and advanced technology sectors. Companies that rely on large amounts of highly sensitive data and have many financial resources should consider developing a SOC.

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Prospects for Network Infrastructure Engineers

Job opportunities for network administrators are expected to increase by 6% over the 2016-2026 period, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. United States The government agency added that the demand for IT professionals is high and will remain as businesses invest in emerging technologies and mobile networks.

As the number of computers, laptops, and mobile devices the workforce uses in organizations is increasing exponentially, software-defined wide area networks (SD-WAN) are becoming the new flavor of the network. . Besides being dynamic and manageable, it is also cost effective and manages high bandwidth applications, allowing administrators to easily manage network automation and control.

With SD-WAN, a network administrator can take advantage of a set of software tools to dynamically control, configure, modify and monitor network behavior. An SD-WAN application allows network administrators to improve and adjust the methods by which network devices, such as routers, switches, and other network components, use data packets. It also allows complete management of network policies and procedures with a control panel.

In addition, its various analytical features allow the system to allow administrators to easily recognize network errors. SD-WAN also allows administrators to quickly manage, securely configure and optimize network resources.

Other benefits of SD-WAN include improved security, agility, cost efficiency, open network foundation and centralized management.

Since most companies are transitioning to cloud computing to manage their servers, networks, software, analytics, business intelligence and databases, among others, network engineers are also needed. Applicants who wish to work with the technology of the future can opt for a course at CCNA Cloud, MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure or VCP7 - Cloud Management and Automation (VCP7-CMA) to work as cloud network engineers.

Qualifications and requirements of network infrastructure engineers.

When hiring a network infrastructure engineer, employers look for a candidate with a degree in computer science, engineering, or a related discipline. Additionally, they must have experience in network design and deployment and must have worked with optical technologies and routing protocols.

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Why You Should Consider IT Help Desk Outsourcing

Technical support outsourcing has become more popular. Why should you outsource your support center? While support services are essential for businesses of all sizes, managing them internally is essentially a nonessential function of your organization. In other words

If your employees are too busy solving technical and customer-related problems, they won't be able to work on more strategic and innovative projects to develop their business.

Additionally, many new and advanced technologies are emerging every day to enable companies to innovate faster in a hyper-competitive world, but companies often have limited IT resources to keep up with the best and the latest. When your IT staff constantly strives to keep up with trivial customer service issues, other talents and values ​​they can bring to your organization are left behind. For this reason, companies should consider outsourcing nonessential functions, such as technical support for external helpdesk providers.

In general, many companies do not have the maturity of the processes, tools, resources and knowledge to effectively manage internal technical support. For example, they need real-time or online chat functionality, which customers are expecting more and more today. We have found that most internal technical support teams do not have access to a knowledge base that contains valuable information about past interactions, providing employees with the information they need to quickly resolve issues or provide support. 

customer self-service. Internal technical support platforms also lack resources for workflow automation, service catalogs, asset management databases and configurations, support for remote access, predictive resources to forecast demand and integration with other processes. Computer reviews. Without these core resources, service levels are often mismanaged and there is no way to track and measure the responsibility and costs of providing services within the organization. Quality service outsourcing companies can provide all of this for a fraction of the cost.

Get IT support and services for your business

Our IT technical support services are made up of certified US IT professionals. USA USA We provide high-quality commercial IT support and remote network monitoring services 24 hours a day. Much more than a traditional support center, Dataprise call center services provide our customers with immediate and professional assistance, without the need for expensive listening services. Our IT support services are available 24/7, 365 days a year, by phone, email, web chat, or through our secure portal.

The potential benefits of external technical support are obvious, however, companies must ensure that they are using a trusted supplier that truly serves as an extension of their current role, rather than offering a fundamental change that can affect quality or customer experience. . customer. There are many other non-technical factors to consider, such as culture, mentioned in this Forbes article.

It should also be clear from the start of your expectations; Will IT support calls answer? First line? Second line? Supplier and customer calls? Call volumes? How do you identify the caller?

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What is an IT service desk

IT Service Desk was designed to become the main point of interaction between users and the IT organization. According to ITIL, a support service is a single point of contact (SPOC) between a service provider (IT) and users for daily activities. A typical help desk handles incidents (service interruptions) and service requests (common maintenance tasks) and also processes user interactions for things like failures and planned changes to services.

A call center is typically large in size and designed to provide the user with a single location for all of their IT needs. As a result, the service center plays an essential role in facilitating the integration of business processes with the technological ecosystem and the broader service management infrastructure.

Where do IT services come from?

The IT support function was born in the late 1980s as a support resource for solving IT problems. It was a highly technical function focused on technology and not on end users. Early IT support services did not have the concept of SLAs or time targets to resolve problems. It was not until ITIL entered the scene in the 1990s, capturing IT service management best practices, that the concept of a user-centric IT service center began to emerge. The service center was seen as an essential part of "IT management as a service"

In the mid-1990s, research by Iain Middleton of Robert Gordon University revealed that the value came not only from a responsive response to user problems, but also from technical support's unique position to communicate on a daily basis. with many customers or employees The information obtained on technical issues, user preferences and what satisfies users can be invaluable in planning and developing IT services.

With the launch of ITIL v2 in 2001, the Service Desk role and its role in incident and request management became a major component of IT service operations in many organizations. Over the decade, globalization, coupled with growing pressure to reduce IT operating costs, has led many organizations to centralize the functions of the IT service center with many third-party support partners to hire them. The outsourcing of computer call center functions has led to greater standardization of processes and the growth of the software market known as technical support.

Modern technological trends, including cloud services, widespread use of third-party components in the IT ecosystem, and advances in discovery and monitoring capabilities have led to the integration of stand-alone help desk ticketing systems into platforms. shapes. More complete ITSMs that serve as an operations center, not only for the IT helpdesk, but for the entire IT function. As businesses seek to modernize and move forward with digital transformation initiatives, the IT service center is evolving again to focus more on business, with better knowledge of data and business processes. enterprise, becoming in many cases an integral part of business operations of enterprises.

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Difference Between Service Desk Vs. Help Desk

 

What is the Service Desk?

The ITIL definition of a service center is as follows: "The single point of contact between the service provider and the users. A typical service center handles incidents and service requests and also manages communication with users. "

This definition may seem a little formal and vague, so here is a more natural way to express it: a service center is a communication center where customers (for example, employees or other interested parties) can find help. Help with their customers. IT service providers. As the definition of the ITIL service center indicates, this assistance can take the form of incident resolution or processing of service requests. Still, whatever type of support is provided, the objective of services is to provide high-quality service to customers promptly.

The service tables also include various ITSM activities. For example, a service center typically encompasses ITSM activities, which include service request management, incident management, knowledge management, self-service, and reporting. In general, there are also strong links to the problem and change management processes.

An IT call center helps customers resolve incidents or manage service requests, creates and manages service knowledge, provides self-service to customers who want to resolve conflicts quickly and independently, and provides personnel measures and the effectiveness of the tool. Service desks can include more or less than that, but the point is that they are a robust, service-oriented, customer-centric way of providing IT assistance to customers.

What is the help desk?

As defined by Merriam-Webster, a helpdesk is "a group of people who provide general help and information for electronic or computer problems." Given that definition, it may seem at first glance that there is little difference between technical support services and services. Still, the missing keyword here is "customer." While the primary objective of technical support is simply to troubleshoot, the primary goal of technical support is to provide services to your customers or users. Particular emphasis is placed on service delivery and customer orientation on missing services in support services.

And while technical support services are often limited to a single ITSM activity (in particular, incident management or problem-solving process), professional support services cover the broader range of activities mentioned above. In a sense, support services are, therefore, a subset of services.

If you are still confused about the differences between technical support and technical support, don't worry. The distinction may indeed seem a bit difficult, so we try to clarify it by analyzing all the differences between them below.

The service center was an evolution of technical support, born out of the ITSM ITIL best practice framework (formerly known as an IT infrastructure library) and based on the underlying concept of "managing IT as a service "

A help desk was born from centralized IT (mainframe), while a service desk was born from IT centered on service (the approach proposed by ITIL mentioned previously to provide IT as a service).

This may seem insignificant, but many would say that a call center provides help. In contrast, a service center provides services, i.e., a service center focuses on assisting end-users with a special appearance of customer service.

Technical support is seen as focused on repairing breakdowns (what ITIL calls incident management), while technical support is there to help not only repair malfunctions but also service requests (requests for new services )) and requests for information (such as "How to do X?"). However, there is no reason why technical support cannot offer these additional features (in addition to trends in computer terminology).

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Benefits of Outsourcing Help Desk/Service Desk

A large business may have multiple support services to meet various needs. Besides, although most companies have an internal helpdesk, the external outsourced helpdesk also offers several advantages:

1. Cost savings: offering scalability and knowledge, an experienced outsourcing company that provides technical support can provide more profitability than an internal configuration.

2. Quality: the outsourcing of technical assistance to specialists results in an improvement in the quality of service, accompanied by a reduction in response time and the resolution of complaints.

3. Optimization of resources: the outsourcing of technical support allows the internal allocation of labor and other resources to the critical skills of the company. This facilitates increased productivity and focuses on mission-critical activities.

4. Scalability: As businesses grow day by day, technical support also requires constant updating. An internal helpdesk can consume investment, time, and resources when the demand for that service increases. The problem is significantly reduced when the work is outsourced since, in this case, only the types and parameters of the service need to be updated.

5. Disaster recovery: Outsourcing is an appropriate strategy for planning business continuity since the delivery and availability of the business to its users are not affected by risks and unforeseen events.

By enabling the company's IT users to work more efficiently, technical support has become an essential service for technical assistance in many leading companies. If internal productivity is compromised by installing technical support with existing resources, outsourcing to a professional support services company is a viable solution for long-term benefits.

At Coursera, we understand how essential it is to use your IT systems for your daily operations efficiently. We are proud to offer customers the best IT support services available. Our continuous service ensures that your critical IT systems and applications are always up and running and that all problems are resolved quickly and accurately by competent and helpful technicians. Coursera uses the best industry practices based on ITIL to allow its users to work efficiently.

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Tech Certification That Pay The Highest And Still Growing In Value

There are several ways to obtain one of the many network certifications available. There are not only software certifications, such as those offered by Oracle, Java, Microsoft, etc., but also direct network hardware certifications from reliable companies like Cisco; There are also server administration, hardware repair, security, and various subcategory type certifications. They are all available, but the question is whether they have real market value.

Unfortunately, the answer is not simple. Although many companies require some certification, they also ignore the requirement and allow you to become certified once you have the job. There are also people on the market who are strong advocates of certification or whatever. The reason is usually that they have this certification, and, by demanding it, they somehow believe it validates their decision to receive training and take the tests.

The reality is that, like a good study plan and an excellent academic background, certifications help you enter. Think about it for a moment. If you were recruiting a network administrator, you would probably apply for the general primary education and experience and some form of network certification. If the 100 people claiming the same levels of skills and expertise use, and they all have at least the only required accreditation. In contrast, ten have not only the network certificate but also possibly the several Member States and a security certificate; then, the candidates would probably request interviews? Okay! These are the people who have the best grades on paper.

Therefore, the value of certification can be measured by its recognition as necessary by employers and the relative importance they place on such training.

If you join chain stores that value certifications, they will naturally appreciate the fact that you have this training and will likely reflect this in a higher income range.

However, the real key is to recognize that employers do NOT employ you because you are certified. Must have the skills necessary to do the job and meet the requirements of the position. No number of certifications can compensate for a solid work ethic and robust experience. With today's study materials, almost anyone can learn enough to pass the required tests and become certified. However, that does not make anyone competent to network, just like entering a garage becomes a mechanic. It is the skills, talent, and knowledge that are really in demand.

Microsoft certifications are one of the most sought-after and acclaimed professional certifications in the IT industry. However, preparing for the MS certification tests is an important task, whether you've just finished college or have been in the IT field for years. IT professionals are continually invited to acquire new knowledge to perform well in their work, as new technologies in the IT industry are emerging at a pace never seen before. Whatever certification (Microsoft Certified Professional or MCP, Microsoft Certified System Administrator or MCSA, Microsoft Certified System Engineer or MCSE) you are looking for, careful planning will increase your chances of success.

The importance of practical experience, whether it's your small network at home or work, the experience is essential! Being able to apply the knowledge acquired with the study necessary to obtain your certification is as important as the exam itself.

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