Building a Security Operations Center for the Cloud: Key Considerations for People, Processes, and Technology

This article outlines why traditional SOC models struggle in cloud and hybrid environments and promotes a Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) operating model that leverages cloud-native telemetry, behavioral analytics, and contextual enrichment across identity, data, network, compute, SaaS, and PaaS. It emphasizes closing the cloud skills gap, realigning people and processes, prioritizing cloud-specific risks (like IAM abuse and data exposure), and adopting unified platforms for visibility and response. Practical guidance includes building a cloud-focused detection engineering function, upskilling analysts, using automated cloud-native playbooks, and measuring success via MTTD/MTTR reductions, with a call to transform the SOC to meet cloud-era demands.