What Is a Security Operations Centre (SOC)?
A clear, direct answer to this question — written for UK business owners and IT decision-makers.
Direct Answer
A Security Operations Centre (SOC) is a team of security analysts who monitor your IT environment 24/7, detect threats, investigate incidents, and coordinate response. A managed SOC provides this capability as a service — without the cost of building an in-house function. For a 50-user business, a managed SOC typically costs £1,500–£5,000 per month versus £300,000+ per year for an equivalent in-house team.
Key Points
What you need to know.
The Short Answer
21% of businesses that experienced a breach reported a negative outcome such as loss of money or data.
For UK Businesses
7% of businesses that experienced a breach reported temporary loss of access to files or networks — up from 4% in 2024.
Cost Considerations
The NCSC handled 429 total incidents in 2025, with 204 classified as nationally significant — the highest-ever number.
Next Steps
What you should do with this information.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Option A | Option B |
|---|
Frequently Asked Questions
The top threats are phishing (85% of breaches), ransomware (doubled year-on-year), business email compromise (increased 33% in 2025), and supply chain attacks (35.5% of all breaches now originate from third parties). AI-powered attacks are accelerating all of these threat categories.
43% of UK businesses experienced a cybersecurity breach or attack in the past 12 months, according to the DSIT Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025. For medium-sized businesses, this figure rises to 67%. Phishing remains the most common attack type, affecting 85% of businesses that reported a breach.
Ransomware is malicious software that encrypts your data and demands payment for its return. Approximately 19,000 UK businesses were hit by ransomware in 2025. The median UK ransom demand has doubled to $5.37 million, and average recovery costs reach $2.58 million excluding the ransom itself.
BEC is a type of fraud where attackers impersonate executives or suppliers to trick employees into transferring funds or sharing sensitive data. BEC attacks increased 33% in 2025. The average loss per BEC incident is $137,000. Even organisations with fewer than 1,000 employees face a 70% weekly probability of a BEC attempt.
MFA requires two or more verification methods to access an account. Microsoft reports that over 99.9% of compromised accounts did not have MFA enabled. Only 40% of UK businesses have two-factor authentication enabled (DSIT 2025). MFA can prevent more than 99.9% of account compromise attempts.
Need More Detail?
Speak to an AMVIA expert for advice tailored to your business.
Related Questions
MDR vs EDR
MDR is the endpoint-focused alternative to a full SOC — and the right starting point for most SMEs.
How Much Does Managed Cybersecurity Cost?
Per-user pricing for managed SOC and MDR services for UK businesses.
Cybersecurity Guide for UK SMEs
How a SOC fits within the broader cybersecurity programme for UK businesses.