How to Fix Burnout in the SOC and—and Why CISO Turnover Keeps Climbing

After nearly two decades in storage and cybersecurity, working with security vendors, I’ve had a front-row seat to how modern security teams operate. I’ve been in boardrooms shaping strategy, on factory floors bringing OT devices safely online, and in security operations centers (SOCs) and data centers across the globe. From Colombia to Columbia, I’ve read RFPs, dissected tech stacks, and listened closely to what CISOs and security leaders are up against.

Across industries — financial services, healthcare, MSSPs, small enterprises —I hear the same story from hundreds of security leaders every year: the threat plane keeps expanding, but their resources, tools, and teams can’t keep pace. Despite massive investments in solutions like sandboxing, firewalls, automation, email security, DDoS mitigation, endpoint detection and response (EDR), and extended detection and response (XDR), the burnout is real. The problem? It’s not just about the tools—it’s about how security operations are run.

SOC Burnout Is at a Breaking Point

The pressure on security leaders is unsustainable. Let’s look at the facts:

• 77% of CISOs fear a breach could cost them their careers.
• 84% of cybersecurity professionals report burnout—and over half leave because of it.
• 62% of alerts go ignored because of alert overload and noise.
• The cybersecurity skills gap now exceeds 4 million unfilled roles globally.

And beyond the numbers, I hear the same frustrations repeatedly:

• “Our security tools generate too much noise.”
• “We can’t investigate threats fast enough.”
• “We can’t find the talent to keep up.”

I’ve seen the exhaustion up close: teams drowning in alerts, analysts forced to guess their way through triage, coworkers blaming each other for exceptions or missed threats. I’ve met CISOs live in constant fear that the next incident will be the one that costs them their job. Security leaders aren’t just battling attackers; they’re fighting an operational war inside their own SOCs.

XDR: Solid Idea, Incomplete Solution

XDR was supposed to bring clarity–combining endpoint, network, and cloud data to break down silos and improve detection.

But here’s what security teams keep telling me:

• Most XDR solutions focus too heavily on endpoint data, missing threats originating elsewhere.
• They often require vendor lock-in, forcing you into a single ecosystem.
• Correlation is still limited and inconsistent, leaving teams to stitch together investigations manually.

And here’s the bottom line: Not all threats live on the endpoint. If your XDR can’t see network traffic, cloud activity, or lateral movement, it’s missing the full picture. XDR works best when it integrates cleanly with your existing architecture, delivers deep visibility across the entire environment, and enables fast, coordinated response. Without that, it’s a limited tool, not a complete solution.

SOAR: Automation Without Intelligence Falls Flat

Security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) tools aim to cut manual work. And yes, when used right, SOAR can streamline repetitive tasks.

But there’s a catch:

• SOAR demands heavy customization; you need skilled engineers to properly configure it.
• False positives get automated, too, leading to broken workflows and blocked business.
• Playbooks can’t keep up with emerging threats. They’re only as good as the rules behind them.

I’ve seen teams turn off SOAR because it created more problems than it solved. Without an intelligent layer guiding automation, SOAR becomes faster noise.

That’s why more security teams are looking for security information and event management (SIEM) solutions that build SOAR capabilities directly into the platform, with built-in logic and smarter automation.

SIEM: Still the Backbone, When Done Right

A modern SIEM, done right, is the foundation of security operations. It centralizes log collection, enables compliance, and gives you visibility across your environment. But traditional SIEMs are starting to buckle:

• Query speeds are slow. Analysts wait instead of acting.
• Storage costs are out of control.
• Rule-based detection is too rigid for advanced attacks.

Now, here’s where things get interesting.

When you layer in user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) with AI-driven investigations, everything changes:

• Behavioral analytics cut false positives by up to 60%, surfacing only real anomalies.
• AI investigations automatically build attack timelines, reducing manual effort by 30%.
• Open integrations mean no lock-in, faster log onboarding, and quicker time to value.

This kind of SIEM empowers your team instead of draining them. It’s flexible, intelligent, and built for the real world.

The Path Forward: Make the SOC Easier

The future of security operations isn’t about more stacking more tools. It’s about making the SOC work better for the people inside it.

That means:

• Smarter automation that reduces work
• Tighter integrations that remove silos
• Intuitive workflows that let analysts focus on real threats

If you’re evaluating solutions, look for a SIEM that offers:

• Built-in behavior analytics to reduce alert fatigue
• AI-driven investigations that save time and improve accuracy
• Prebuilt integrations with your existing tools
• Scalability and cost control for cloud and hybrid environments

Choosing the Right SIEM: What the Experts Recommend

Legacy security tools are struggling to keep up with burnout, alert overload, and growing complexity. It’s time to upgrade your approach.

Want to know where security operations are headed and who’s leading the charge? The 2024 Gartner^® Magic Quadrant™ for SIEM is a great place to start. It spotlights vendors delivering next-generation capabilities like behavior analytics, automation, and real-time threat detection—far beyond basic log storage. Leaders in the report are helping security teams reduce workloads, respond faster, and act with context.

The right SIEM—especially one with built-in UEBA and AI-driven investigations—can transform how your team works. Exabeam combines industry-leading analytics and automation with flexible deployment options, integrating seamlessly with your broader security ecosystem.

Want the full picture? Explore our white paper, The Cost of Compromise: Why CISOs Should Reject “Good Enough” Security.