Cultivating a resilient security posture is much like tending a garden—it requires continuous care, evolving strategies, and growing expertise. Every organization’s “garden,” or attack surface, is different. Some span multi-cloud environments and global offices; others are smaller but equally critical.

Just as gardens vary in size and complexity, so do the approaches to cybersecurity.

An in-house Security Operations Center (SOC) is like managing your own garden from the ground up. You have full control and deep alignment with your environment, which demands significant time, cost, and expertise.

SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) resembles a neighborhood gardening co-op—shared resources provide regular upkeep and monitoring without full ownership. It’s efficient and scalable, though less tailored.

Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is like hiring a specialized gardening service. Experts handle everything, from daily maintenance to pest control, using proven methods to secure your landscape. It’s fast, scalable, and hands-off.

Each model has strengths and trade-offs. Choosing the right one depends on your organization’s size, risk profile, and internal resources.

Overview: SOC, SOCaaS, and MDR

Here’s a high-level look at each approach:

What Is an In-House SOC?

An in-house SOC is a dedicated internal team and technology stack responsible for monitoring, detecting, and responding to threats. This approach gives organizations complete control over security operations (SecOps), allowing for tailored processes and deep integration with business systems. It requires significant investment in technology and talent, but offers the highest degree of customization and organizational knowledge integration.

What Is SOCaaS?

SOCaaS delivers SecOps remotely through a cloud-based subscription model, combining automated security tools with outsourced expertise. Services typically include 24/7 monitoring, alerting, and basic incident response (IR); some providers offer compliance reporting, asset monitoring, and vulnerability management. This model balances efficiency and control, offers predictable costs, and requires minimal internal staffing.

What Is MDR?

MDR is a fully managed service that combines people, process, and advanced technology to deliver continuous monitoring, threat detection, IR, forensic investigation, and proactive threat hunting, addressing immediate and evolving risks. It’s designed for organizations that need strong security outcomes without building or maintaining an internal SOC or managing day-to-day SecOps responsibilities.

Scope of Services

Each model offers a different balance of monitoring, response, customization, and scalability. Here’s how they compare:

	In-House SOC	SOCaaS	MDR
Monitoring Coverage	In-House SOC Requires internal staffing and tooling for 24/7 visibility across all systems.	SOCaaS Built-in 24/7 monitoring across cloud, on-premise assets, and endpoints.	MDR Continuous monitoring across endpoints, network, and cloud, with behavior-based and signature-based threat detection; ideal for defending exposed perimeters and edge devices.
Response Capabilities	In-House SOC Full control over response processes, including containment, remediation, and investigation.	SOCaaS Basic triage, limited analysis, and limited or no hands-on response; alerts escalated to internal teams.	MDR Full-spectrum response, including active threat hunting, containment, and forensic investigation.
Customization	In-House SOC Maximum flexibility to design and evolve processes, playbooks, and toolsets.	SOCaaS Moderate flexibility; constrained by provider platform and service model.	MDR Standardized methods; tailored tuning may be available based on the provider.
Integration Depth	In-House SOC Deep integration with IT, business processes, and organizational context.	SOCaaS API-based integration with existing systems; less granular than in-house.	MDR Integrates with key security tools and telemetry sources; may also cover non-security business systems.
Threat Intelligence	In-House SOC Primarily internally sourced or licensed feeds; risk of blind spots without external enrichment.	SOCaaS Draws from aggregated data across clients; varies by provider.	MDR Enriched with global feeds, behavioral analytics, and IOCs.
Scalability	In-House SOC Slow and costly to scale; requires ongoing investment in staff, tools, and infrastructure.	SOCaaS Easy scaling through service tier upgrades or added coverage.	MDR High scalability with rapid onboarding and service expansion.

Technology and Tools Required

In-House SOC

Organizations must purchase, deploy, and maintain a full suite of security technologies (SIEM, EDR, SOAR, threat intelligence, asset discovery, and compliance). Internal teams manage selection, tuning, updates, and team interoperability.

SOCaaS

SOCaaS provides a cloud-native, centrally managed platform with core components like SIEM, log management, and alerting dashboards. The vendor manages all infrastructure and maintenance, so organizations may have limited visibility or influence over how they are configured or prioritized.

MDR

MDR services use a pre-integrated, high-performance tech stack built for speed and precision, and often optimized for multi-cloud environments. This includes advanced detection tools, behavioral analytics, automated response, and threat intelligence. The provider fully manages all technology, whether proprietary or assembled from third-party tools.

Costs and Resource Requirements

In-House SOC

Running an in-house SOC comes with high capital and operational costs for tools, infrastructure, and skilled 24/7 staff. Ongoing expenses include licensing, maintenance, compliance readiness, and continuous threat updates.

SOCaaS

The subscription-based pricing model replaces capital expenses with predictable operational expenses. The provider manages technology and day-to-day operations, lowering the financial and administrative resource demands. Pricing varies by service tier, data volume, and asset count.

MDR

MDR uses subscription or usage-based pricing, typically based on endpoints, assets, service tiers, or incident volume. There are no infrastructure or tooling costs, and minimal staffing is required. While MDR can be more expensive than basic SOCaaS, it delivers greater value through hands-on expert-led response.

Human Expertise and Organizational Knowledge

In-House SOC

Organizations must build and maintain a multidisciplinary team of analysts, engineers, threat hunters, and incident responders. While the team will have deep organizational knowledge, staffing, training, burnout, and keeping pace with evolving threats are challenges.

SOCaaS

SOCaaS provides access to external security experts and analysts, but they may lack detailed familiarity with the internal environment. Most SOCaaS models still require some internal coordination for incident response and context-specific decisions.

MDR

MDR providers bring highly specialized teams with cross-industry experience and expertise in detection, response, threat hunting, and forensic investigation. While not embedded in the business, they respond quickly and require minimal or no involvement from internal teams.

Compliance and Regulation

In-House SOC

With total control, an internal SOC can be tailored to meet industry-specific or regional requirements. However, maintaining compliance readiness requires continuous effort and resources.

SOCaaS and MDR

Both models often include compliance-support features like reporting, log retention, and incident records. Capabilities vary, so organizations should confirm alignment with their specific regulatory and data governance requirements.

Time to Value

In-House SOC

Building an operational SOC and reaching full operational maturity can take 12 to 24 months or longer, depending on hiring, tool deployment, or process development.

SOCaaS

SOCaaS is typically operational within a few weeks; fast deployment and provider-managed infrastructure streamline the process.

MDR

MDRs are designed for fast onboarding; many providers deliver threat detection and response within days or weeks, offering near-immediate value.

A Decision Guide

Not sure which model fits best? Use this guide to match your security needs with the right approach.

Choose an In-house SOC if…

• You have strict data sovereignty or regulatory control requirements.
• Deep integration with internal systems and context is essential.
• You have the budget and staff to support a 24/7 operation.
• You require complete control over infrastructure, tooling, and reporting.

Opt for SOCaaS if…

• You want 24/7 monitoring and alerting without major capital investment.
• You seek a balance between control and outsourced efficiency.
• Automated compliance reporting and centralized visibility are priorities.
• You need scalable security coverage across hybrid environments.
• You want expert guidance while retaining ownership of response decisions and security posture.

Select MDR if…

• Rapid, expert-led detection, response, and proactive threat hunting are essential.
• You lack the internal tools or expertise for advanced threat management.
• You require predictable costs with hands-on incident response.
• You operate in a high-risk or highly targeted industry.
• You want fast time-to-value without building a team in-house.