Independent market and product strategy for AI and cybersecurity
Expert judgement for security vendors and investors making product, positioning and investment decisions.
FEATURED RESEARCH
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AI SOC vendors promise autonomous investigations and fewer analysts. Practitioners report shallow pilots and little use of AI for critical decisions.
This paper, written with Anton Chuvakin, examines why that gap exists and how vendors reframe it. It gives buyers nine questions for testing AI SOC claims against operational reality.
AI in the SOC: market news and analysis
A free market monitor covering nearly 100 AI SOC vendors: funding, acquisitions, product launches, hiring and analyst coverage, with our own analysis. You can also query the data from your own AI tools or book an analyst call.
Who we work with
Our clients
Cybersecurity vendors
Enterprise security leaders
Cybersecurity vendors
Research, market analysis and advisory work for vendors that need to understand where their market is going, sharpen their positioning or make a case that stands up to scrutiny..
Investors
Enterprise security leaders
Cybersecurity vendors
Independent analysis of cybersecurity markets, technologies and vendors for venture capital, private equity and other investors conducting market or commercial due diligence.
Enterprise security leaders
Enterprise security leaders
Enterprise security leaders
Independent research and advice for security leaders evaluating new technologies, operating models and the impact of AI on security operations.
Recent research
Is Forensic-grade Investigation Becoming The New Killer Service Deliverable
Why MDR and incident response providers are converging on the same service: continuous investigation built on evidence from the affected systems.
Guest article for Binalyze.
The Decoupled SIEM
How a decoupled SIEM gives AI agents governed access to security data and tools across existing environments, without a rip-and-replace project.
Sponsored by Anvilogic.
Security Operations at the Nexus of AI
How AI changes the choice between running security operations internally, using an AI-enabled MDR, or combining the two.
Sponsored by Daylight Security.
Security Telemetry Pipelines
Research into the changing security data architecture, and the role of telemetry pipelines alongside SIEM, XDR and security data lakes.
Sponsored by Auguria.
The 2025 SOCless Operating Model Report
Research with Dropzone AI on what happens to the SOC operating model when AI and automation take on a growing share of triage and investigation.
Sponsored by Dropzone AI.
Hype Check: The State of AI in the SOC
A discussion with Augusto Barros on where AI is actually working in security operations, how to evaluate it, and where the claims still run ahead of reality.
Hosted by Prophet Security
Independent research for emerging cybersecurity markets
Cybersecurity markets move quickly, but evidence is often thin and vendor claims converge remarkably
We research emerging technologies, markets and operating models for vendors, investors and enterprise buyers who need a clearer view of what is changing, what matters and what the evidence supports.
Our work ranges from market and technology research to commissioned studies, buyer research and analysis of new cybersecurity categories.
Sponsored research
Independent research for cybersecurity vendors that need to make a stronger market case.
Commission research to define an emerging category, test a market assumption, understand how buyers think, or give customers something more credible than another vendor white paper.
Advisory
Independent advice for vendors and investors facing a specific market or product decision.
I offer three engagements: a Market Reality Check, a Product and Positioning Review, and Market Due Diligence. Each one starts from a question your leadership team needs answered, such as whether your AI security product is differentiated or which part of the SIEM budget is open to competition.
Speaking
Keynotes, webinars and executive briefings
Talks on AI, security operations and the changing cybersecurity market.
We speak to security and technology audiences about what is changing, what the evidence supports, and where the industry consensus is likely to be wrong.
Curious AI newsletter
About Cyber Futurists
Cyber Futurists specialises in cybersecurity research and advisory. Oliver Rochford is a former Gartner Research Director with more than twenty years of industry experience.
Contact
Contact us about commissioning research, advisory work or a speaking engagement.
The Cyber Futurists
62 Victoria street, Glossop, SK13 8HY
Oliver Rochford Ltd. Company number: 14480528