It’s a fact: traditional security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) tools struggle to keep pace with accelerating cybersecurity threats.
As just a sampling of the threats facing businesses today, nearly a third (32%) of all data breaches result from ransomware, according to Verizon. The global average data breach costs organizations $4.88 million, according to IBM. And breaches involving compromised credentials take an average of 292 days to discover and mitigate.
With attackers becoming ever more sophisticated, managed security service providers (MSSPs) like Xantrion are rising to the challenge. Hyperautomation combined with human expertise helps them address SOAR’s limitations and better protect the organizations they serve.
The Shift from Legacy SOAR to Hyperautomation
Combining advanced technologies featuring hyperautomation with human expertise helps MSSPs deliver more comprehensive and responsive security. At Xantrion, this approach lets us process high volumes of security events while maintaining the contextual understanding needed for effective threat response.
Limitations of Legacy SOAR
Traditional SOAR platforms face several critical challenges that impact their ability to protect modern businesses.
- Scalability issues have become a major concern, as these systems often struggle with high volumes of security events. When flooded with alerts, legacy systems can cause significant delays in response times.
- Multitenancy challenges create inefficiencies in managing different client environments, leading to performance degradations that can cascade across customers and impact overall service quality.
- Integration difficulties result in high maintenance costs due to required custom development work, often necessitating significant ongoing investment in development resources and professional services.
Advanced hyperautomation solutions address these critical limitations through sophisticated capabilities that enhance both automated processing and human decision-making.
- New security tools efficiently process high event volumes without performance degradation, ensuring consistent response times even during periods of intense activity. That means faster threat detection and response for businesses, regardless of alert volume.
- Superior isolation and management capabilities for diverse client environments prevent issues from cascading across systems, ensuring reliable service delivery and consistent performance for every business served.
- Integration flexibility with user-friendly tools significantly reduces development and maintenance costs, enabling MSSPs and their clients to adapt to new threats and security requirements rapidly.
The Role of Automation in MSSPs Today
A recent survey from D3 Security provides insights into how leading MSSPs leverage automation to enhance their services. At Xantrion, we combine these technological advances with human expertise to deliver comprehensive protection that addresses both routine threats and complex security challenges.
Adoption Rates and Tools
The survey shows how critical automation technologies have become across the security industry for effective protection.
- 82% of security providers report medium-to-high automation usage, underlining the critical role played by automated capabilities in effective security operations.
- Primary tools include:
- SOAR platforms (33%), providing orchestrated response capabilities
- IT service management systems (29%), enabling streamlined operational processes
- Extended detection and response solutions (20%), offering comprehensive threat detection
Key Services Supported by Automation
Modern automation enhances the delivery of critical security services while maintaining the crucial human element in complex decision-making.
- 24/7 event monitoring (73% of providers responding to the D3 survey) provides continuous protection against threats.
- Vulnerability assessment and management (53%) enables proactive security measures.
- Penetration testing (49%) identifies potential weaknesses before bad actors can exploit them.
Business Benefits of Hyperautomation
When working with a provider that leverages hyperautomation and human expertise, businesses gain significant advantages in both protection and operational efficiency.
Improved Business Metrics
D3’s research reveals clear benefits that translate directly to better protection and value for clients.
- 67% of providers report revenue growth through automation, fostering further investment in enhanced security capabilities.
- 64% cite improved profit margins, allowing for more cost-effective service delivery.
- 64% achieve better competitive differentiation through superior service capabilities and response times.
Enhanced Employee Experience
The human impact of automation extends beyond efficiency metrics to enable providers to maintain more effective security operations.
- 87% of survey respondents report increased job satisfaction, providing a solid foundation for better service delivery and client support.
- 67% maintained staffing levels while increasing productivity, an indicator of consistent service quality with improved efficiency.
- Reducing manual tasks frees security professionals to focus on more interesting analytical work and strategic client support.
Overcoming Barriers to Hyperautomation Adoption
Moving to more advanced security solutions requires a careful consideration of both financial and practical implementation factors.
Financial Considerations
Legacy tools do represent a significant investment in sunk costs, leading to an understandable hesitation in adopting new systems. Even so, the transition to hyperautomation delivers substantial long-term benefits, including:
- Cutting costs over time with optimized workflows and fewer manual interventions
- Enhanced scalability for growing businesses, reducing the need for frequent system upgrades
- Better resource utilization through the automated handling of routine tasks
Implementation Challenges
To ensure smooth adoption and maximum benefit from hyperautomation, providers must invest in several key areas:
- Training and education aimed at giving teams the support they need to manage new capabilities effectively
- Setup and maintenance processes that minimize disruption to existing operations
- High-impact, low-complexity initial implementations that can deliver immediate value while building toward more sophisticated capabilities
Preparing for the Future of MSSP Automation
As Xantrion CTO Christian Kelly explains, modern security operations combine AI and automation with human expertise to deliver the most effective protection. This balanced approach helps providers take advantage of the speed and efficiency of automated systems and the crucial human judgment needed for complex decisions.
The Role of AI and Machine Learning
Leading MSSPs leverage AI and machine learning for:
- Predictive analytics to anticipate threats
- Real-time adjustments to security responses
- Human decision-making support via pattern recognition
- Continuous monitoring and improvement of security processes
Staying Competitive
Working with MSSPs that embrace hyperautomation helps businesses can:
- Respond faster to emerging threats through automated detection and response
- Maintain stronger security postures with continuous monitoring
- Defend themselves against sophisticated attacks through the best of artificial and human intelligence
Embracing the Future of Security
Hyperautomation represents a transformative shift in how businesses approach cybersecurity, offering scalability, efficiency, and continuous innovation.
When working with an MSSP like Xantrion that leverages hyperautomation while maintaining that all-important human expertise, your organization can access economies of scale and enterprise-grade security capabilities—without maintaining complex systems in-house. And that can make all the difference in securing your competitive advantage.
