Here’s the truth nobody tells you about SOAR: It’s not magic but it can save your security team hundreds of hours.
If you’ve been in cybersecurity for even five minutes, you’ve heard the term “SOAR” thrown around. Vendors hype it. Analysts write reports about it. But what does it actually mean and do you really need it?
The short version: security teams today are drowning in alerts, burning out, and struggling to respond fast enough. SOAR exists to fix exactly that.
In this guide, we’ll keep it plain and practical. You’ll learn:
- What SOAR actually is (no jargon, I promise)
- How it works behind the scenes
- Where it saves you the most time and headaches
- And how to tell if it’s worth the effort for your team
Let’s dive in and see whether SOAR might be the tool that helps you finally breathe a little easier.
What Does SOAR Stand For?
Let’s start simple: SOAR stands for Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response.
But what does that actually mean in real life? Here’s the quick rundown:
- Orchestration → Makes all your security tools talk to each other so they work as one team.
- Automation → Handles the repetitive, boring tasks you’d rather not do yourself.
- Response → Helps your team react fast and consistently when something suspicious pops up.
Think of SOAR like a super-reliable assistant. It follows instructions perfectly, never gets tired, and doesn’t need coffee breaks.
Why Do Security Teams Care About SOAR?
Let’s be real: most security teams today are swamped.
You’re juggling:
- Thousands of alerts pouring in every day
- Not enough people to investigate them all
- Investigations that drag on forever
- Team members feeling burned out and overwhelmed
SOAR exists to fix exactly these problems.
Instead of manually:
- Looking up threat intel
- Pulling logs from different systems
- Writing endless incident reports
SOAR can take care of those steps for you automatically.
That means:
- Faster response times
- Fewer manual tasks eating up your day
- More consistency in how incidents get handled
- Less stress for everyone on your team
For some teams, SOAR has turned response times from hours into minutes. That’s not hype that’s just what good automation can do.
How Does SOAR Actually Work?
1. Orchestration
Most of your security tools like your SIEM, firewalls, EDR, or ticketing systems don’t naturally talk to each other. They’re like coworkers who sit in the same office but never say a word.
SOAR acts like the translator between them.
For example:
“When my SIEM flags suspicious activity, tell my EDR to isolate that machine, and automatically open a ticket in ServiceNow.”
Instead of you bouncing between screens and triggering all those steps by hand, SOAR connects everything and handles it behind the scenes.
The result? Fewer manual clicks, faster responses, and way less room for human error.
2. Automation
This is where the real magic happens.
SOAR lets you build playbooks basically step-by-step workflows for handling common incidents. Once you’ve built a playbook, it can run on autopilot.
For example, let’s say a phishing email lands in someone’s inbox. A SOAR playbook could automatically:
- Grab the email details
- Check known threat intel feeds
- Quarantine the email if it’s malicious
- Notify the user
- Create a case for an analyst to review
All those steps might take a human an hour or more. With SOAR, it can happen in seconds.
3. Response
SOAR doesn’t just trigger actions it also keeps you organized. It can:
- Document every step taken during an incident
- Collect evidence for future investigations
- Help analysts collaborate on tough cases
- Track metrics like how long it takes to resolve incidents
This makes reports, audits, and compliance checks way less of a headache.
SOAR vs SIEM What’s the Difference?
This question comes up a lot.
Here’s the simplest way to think about it:
- SIEM is your brain. It collects logs, analyzes them, and spots suspicious patterns.
- SOAR is your hands. It takes action when something happens.
Many security teams use both. The SIEM finds the problem and SOAR helps fix it.
Key Features to Look for in a SOAR Platform
Here’s the deal: not every SOAR tool is built the same way.
Some are super user-friendly and integrate smoothly with your stack. Others feel like you need a Ph.D. to run them.
If you’re evaluating SOAR solutions, here’s what’s worth putting on your checklist and why it matters.
Easy Integrations with Your Existing Tools
Your SOAR platform needs to “talk” to the tools you already rely on:
- SIEM (e.g. Splunk, QRadar, Elastic)
- Firewalls
- EDR/XDR solutions
- Ticketing systems (e.g. ServiceNow, Jira)
- Threat intelligence feeds
If integrations are clunky or limited, you’ll spend more time trying to make things work than actually automating anything.
Flexible Playbooks (Drag-and-Drop or Low-Code)
Playbooks are the heart of SOAR. They define what actions happen, and in what order.
- Drag-and-drop interfaces make it easy for non-developers to build workflows.
- Low-code options let technical users create custom logic where needed.
If a platform is too rigid or requires advanced coding for every change it’s going to slow you down.
Simple Dashboards and Reporting
SOAR tools generate a ton of data. You want dashboards that help you quickly answer questions like:
- How many incidents did we handle this week?
- What types of threats are most common?
- How fast are we responding?
- Are there bottlenecks in our processes?
Good reporting helps you prove ROI, identify gaps, and keep leadership informed without needing to export everything to spreadsheets.
Scalability for Larger Environments
You might start with just a few playbooks but as your security program matures, your SOAR needs can grow quickly.
A solid SOAR platform should handle:
- Large volumes of alerts
- High numbers of simultaneous playbook executions
- Complex environments with multiple regions or business units
If a tool can’t scale, it’ll bottleneck your response as your team grows.
Support for Compliance Needs
Many industries have strict rules around:
- Data privacy (e.g. GDPR, CCPA)
- Audit trails for incident handling (e.g. SOC 2, HIPAA)
- Retention and reporting requirements
Your SOAR platform should make it easy to:
- Log every action automatically
- Generate reports for audits
- Handle data privacy requirements (e.g. redacting personal info)
This isn’t just nice-to-have it can be critical for passing audits and avoiding fines.
Multi-Tenancy for MSSPs
If you’re a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP), multi-tenancy is huge.
- Keep client data fully separated
- Manage multiple environments under one roof
- Reuse playbooks across tenants while keeping custom logic where needed
Even if you’re not an MSSP today, multi-tenancy can be helpful if you manage security for different business units, regions, or subsidiaries.
Challenges You Should Know About
It’s easy to get excited about SOAR and for good reason. It really can save time, reduce burnout, and improve security outcomes.
But let’s be honest: it’s not magic. It comes with real-world challenges you should be ready for.
Integration Takes Time
SOAR relies on connecting your various tools SIEM, EDR, ticketing systems, firewalls, and more.
If your environment includes older systems or custom-built tools, integration can become time-consuming or even require custom development.
- Older tools might not have modern APIs.
- Some vendors charge extra for integrations.
- Testing and troubleshooting integrations can take weeks.
It’s worth asking vendors upfront how much effort integrations will take and whether they’ve worked with your specific tech stack before.
Playbooks Don’t Write Themselves
SOAR platforms can automate a lot but they need to know exactly what to do.
Someone on your team has to:
- Map out each incident response step.
- Decide which tasks should be automated vs. manual.
- Build and test the workflows.
This work can be time-consuming upfront. But once your playbooks are built, you’ll save countless hours in the long run.
Change Management and Team Buy-In
People are naturally cautious about automation especially in cybersecurity, where jobs involve a lot of judgment and investigation.
Some common concerns:
- “Will automation replace my job?”
- “Can we really trust a tool to make decisions?”
- “What if the automation makes a mistake?”
Good communication is critical. Reassure your team that SOAR is there to handle repetitive work not eliminate human expertise.
The goal is to free analysts to focus on higher-level investigations, not replace them.
Data Privacy and Security Concerns
SOAR can pull data from multiple systems and move it between tools automatically.
That’s powerful but it also creates potential risks:
- Sensitive data might be exposed across systems.
- Privacy regulations like GDPR or HIPAA could be violated if automations share personal data improperly.
- Audit logs must be maintained to prove compliance.
You’ll need strong governance, clear policies, and sometimes legal review to ensure your SOAR workflows don’t cross any regulatory lines.
Start Small and Expand
If there’s one piece of advice seasoned security teams repeat, it’s this:
Start small.
Pick one or two high-value use cases like phishing or malware containment and build playbooks for those first.
- Test thoroughly.
- Refine your workflows.
- Show quick wins to leadership.
Once your team builds confidence, you can gradually expand SOAR into more areas of your operations.
SOAR can be transformative but only if implemented thoughtfully.
Know the challenges ahead of time, plan carefully, and you’ll be well-positioned to reap the benefits without getting derailed by unexpected roadblocks.
The Future of SOAR
SOAR has already come a long way but the next few years could completely reshape how security teams work.
Here’s what’s on the horizon, and why it matters.
Smarter Automation with AI and Machine Learning
Right now, many SOAR playbooks are pretty if-this-then-that in nature. They follow fixed rules:
“If the SIEM sees this alert, run these steps.”
But threats are getting more sophisticated. Simple rules can’t always keep up.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are starting to change that.
- AI can analyze past incidents and help decide the best next steps for new alerts.
- ML models can help detect anomalies or suspicious patterns that rigid rules might miss.
- Over time, systems can “learn” what works and continuously refine response actions.
Instead of only following pre-written playbooks, future SOAR tools could adapt in real time based on context.
Example: Instead of quarantining a machine every time it sees a suspicious file, AI might check the file’s behavior, the user’s history, and business context to decide whether it’s a real threat.
This could save security teams from overreacting to false positives or missing subtle attacks.
Generative AI Helping Analysts
Generative AI, like models similar to GPT, is making waves in cybersecurity.
How does it fit into SOAR?
- Drafting incident reports. Instead of writing every report from scratch, generative AI can summarize incident details into clear, professional language.
- Suggesting response steps. It can help analysts brainstorm what to do next in unusual incidents.
- Creating documentation. Playbooks, reports, or knowledge base articles could be generated faster.
That means less time writing and more time focusing on actual security work.
Imagine finishing an incident, clicking a button, and getting a first draft of the report ready to edit. That’s the direction things are headed.
SOAR Merging into XDR Platforms
You might’ve heard the term XDR Extended Detection and Response.
Vendors are increasingly blending:
- SIEM (log collection and analytics)
- SOAR (automation and orchestration)
- Endpoint security (EDR/XDR tools)
- Cloud security
Instead of buying separate tools and trying to integrate them, security teams will see unified platforms where:
- Detection and response happen seamlessly.
- Data moves between tools automatically.
- Analysts work from a single console.
This shift could make SOAR easier to deploy and manage, especially for smaller teams who can’t afford to maintain complex integrations.
Why This Matters
Threats are getting faster and smarter. Security teams are still understaffed and overworked.
The future of SOAR is about:
- Reducing manual work even further
- Making response smarter and more context-aware
- Bringing tools together under one roof
- Helping smaller teams achieve enterprise-level defense
SOAR isn’t going away it’s becoming more essential than ever.
SOAR isn’t just another cybersecurity buzzword. It’s a practical, real-world tool that helps busy security teams work smarter, cut down on manual tasks, and respond faster when threats appear.
If your team feels buried under alerts or stretched too thin, it might be time to look into SOAR. Start small. Pick one use case like phishing response and see how much time and stress you can save.
At CyberQuell, we’re passionate about helping teams navigate the modern security landscape without the overwhelm. Whether you’re exploring SOAR for the first time or looking to optimize your existing workflows, we’re here to help.
Ready to take the next step? Get in touch with CyberQuell and see how we can help your team work smarter, not harder.
FAQs About SOAR
What does SOAR stand for in cybersecurity?
SOAR means Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response. In simple terms, it’s about connecting your tools, automating repetitive work, and helping you respond to threats faster.
Does SOAR replace a SIEM?
Nope. A SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) platform is like your security brain collecting logs, spotting patterns, and raising alerts.
SOAR is like your hands it takes action on those alerts. They often work side by side:
- SIEM: “Hey, something suspicious is happening.”
- SOAR: “Cool. I’ll quarantine the device, notify the team, and open a ticket.”
Is SOAR only for big companies?
Definitely not.
While large enterprises often deploy SOAR at scale, smaller security teams can still get huge value from automating:
- Phishing response
- Basic incident documentation
- Threat intelligence lookups
Even modest automation can save hours each week and reduce burnout.
How much does SOAR cost?
It varies a lot.
- Enterprise-level platforms can cost six figures annually, depending on the environment’s size and complexity.
- Some newer, cloud-based solutions are far more affordable and aimed at smaller teams.
Costs typically depend on:
- How many integrations you need
- How many users are on the platform
- Whether you’re self-hosting or using SaaS
It’s smart to start with a few high-value use cases so you can prove ROI before expanding further.
What’s an example of a SOAR playbook?
Imagine someone reports a suspicious email. A typical SOAR playbook might automatically:
- Grab the email details
- Check links and attachments against threat intel feeds
- Quarantine the email if it’s malicious
- Notify the user not to click
- Open a case in your ticketing system
Instead of hours of manual work, this could take seconds.
Is SOAR complicated to set up?
It can be especially at the start.
- Integrations take planning and testing.
- Playbooks require thoughtful design.
- Teams need training to trust and use the system.
But if you start small (e.g., automate phishing response first), the learning curve is manageable and the time savings add up quickly.
