This article was originally published in BDO Spotlight - July 2025
In an increasingly digitalised business landscape, Singapore organisations face a challenging reality: cybersecurity has become a fundamental business risk requiring enterprise-wide attention. The statistics are concerning: 40% of cyber attacks in Singapore specifically target Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), with 27% experiencing incidents in the past year alone.
As reported in Singapore's business media, SMEs remain particularly vulnerable to cyber threats due to their limited cybersecurity resources and expertise. This vulnerability gap continues to be exploited by threat actors who recognise that smaller organisations often represent easier targets with valuable data assets.
This article explores how Security Operations Centres as a Service (SOCaaS) are redefining cybersecurity approaches for businesses across Singapore's diverse economic landscape.
The Evolution of Security Operations
A Security Operations Centre (SOC) combines people, processes, and technology to continuously monitor, detect, analyse, and respond to cybersecurity incidents. Historically, SOCs were the exclusive domain of large enterprises with substantial IT budgets and specialised security teams.
The traditional SOC required significant capital expenditure, specialised talent, and ongoing operational costs—placing it beyond the reach of most mid-sized organisations and SMEs. Yet paradoxically, these smaller organisations often face disproportionately severe consequences from security breaches.
This protection gap has necessitated innovation in how security operations are delivered and consumed, leading to the emergence of SOCaaS.
The SOCaaS Transformation
SOCaaS democratises access to sophisticated security capabilities previously available only to large enterprises by delivering core security functions through a service-based model:
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24/7 Security Monitoring: Continuous surveillance across networks, endpoints, cloud services, and applications
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Threat Detection and Analysis: Using advanced analytics to identify security incidents and distinguish genuine threats from false positives
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Incident Response: Coordinated actions to contain, eradicate, and recover from security incidents
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Threat Intelligence: Contextual information about emerging threats relevant to specific risk profiles
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Compliance Management: Support for meeting regulatory and industry requirements
This approach transforms security from a capital-intensive investment to an operational expense, making enterprise-grade security accessible to organisations of all sizes.
Singapore's Unique Cybersecurity Context
As a highly digitalised economy and regional business hub, Singapore experiences cyber threat activity at rates disproportionate to its geographic size. Media reports indicate that Singapore experienced over 130 ransomware cases last year alone, with a significant proportion affecting SMEs across sectors.
Singapore's regulatory environment continues to evolve, with the Cybersecurity Act amendments passed in May 2024 expanding oversight beyond Critical Information Infrastructure. These regulatory developments present particular challenges for smaller organisations lacking dedicated security teams.
According to QBE Insurance's 2025 Singapore SME survey, while cyber incidents affecting Singapore SMEs rose to 27% (from 25% the previous year), the proportion of SME executives fully aware of possible cyber risks fell significantly from 57% to 47%—indicating a concerning awareness gap despite increasing threat activity.
The Business Case for SOCaaS
At BDO Singapore, we've observed that organisations evaluating SOCaaS should consider several key advantages:
1. Economic Efficiency
Building an in-house SOC typically costs around S$1 million annually for a mid-sized organisation. SOCaaS offerings operate on subscription models that scale based on organisation size, shifting cybersecurity from a capital expense to an operational expense.
2. Expertise Access
The cybersecurity skills shortage is particularly acute in Singapore. SOCaaS providers leverage economies of scale by distributing expert resources across multiple clients, giving organisations access to specialised skills they could not hire directly.
3. Continuous Evolution
SOCaaS providers typically incorporate technology refreshes and capability enhancements into their services, ensuring protection evolves alongside emerging threats without additional capital investment.
4. Business Continuity
According to industry reports, the global average time to identify and contain data breaches spans several months. SOCaaS can dramatically reduce this timeframe through continuous monitoring and rapid response capabilities, limiting potential damage and supporting business continuity.
Beyond Technology: The Advisory Integration
The most effective security operations integrate technical monitoring with contextual business understanding. This transforms security from a technical function to a strategic business enabler.
Maximum value emerges when security operations:
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Align with specific business risks rather than generic technical metrics
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Incorporate industry-specific threat intelligence and compliance requirements
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Translate technical findings into business-relevant insights
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Support strategic decision-making around digital initiatives
This fusion of security technology with business advisory capabilities represents the next evolution in security operations delivery.
Making the SOCaaS Decision
Organisations evaluating SOCaaS options should consider:
1. Technology Approach
Some providers offer dual technology approaches—providing both premium commercial security platforms and more cost-effective open-source alternatives to match specific needs and budget constraints.
2. Industry Expertise
Security requirements vary significantly across industries. Providers with industry-specific expertise can deliver targeted protection and compliance support for sectors like financial services, healthcare, or manufacturing.
3. Local Context
Providers with local presence and understanding of Singapore's specific threat landscape and regulatory requirements typically deliver more relevant security services, particularly for navigating compliance requirements from Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Personal Data Protection Commission Singapore (PDPC), and sector-specific regulations.
4. Advisory Integration
Look for SOCaaS offerings that extend beyond technical monitoring to include business advisory capabilities that translate security findings into strategic insights and actions.
5. Partnership Approach
The quality of the working relationship becomes particularly important during security incidents when clear communication and collaborative response can significantly impact outcomes.
Security as a Strategic Enabler
The evolution of SOCaaS models has democratised access to sophisticated security capabilities for organisations of all sizes. However, the greatest value emerges when organisations view security not merely as a technical necessity but as a strategic business enabler—one that provides the confidence to pursue digital initiatives, enter new markets, and build trusted relationships.
This business-centric security philosophy forms the foundation of BDO Singapore's Strategic SOCaaS offering. By combining advanced security technologies with BDO's established advisory expertise across diverse industries, our approach delivers more than just alerts and monitoring—it provides contextual insights that directly support business decision-making. The dual technology stack options—featuring both premium CrowdStrike and cost-effective Wazuh solutions—ensure organisations can access enterprise-grade security that aligns with their specific needs and budget constraints.
The organisations that thrive in Singapore's evolving digital economy will be those that successfully integrate security operations into their business strategy. BDO's SOCaaS offering helps clients achieve this integration—protecting not just their systems and data, but enhancing their ability to innovate, comply with regulations, and build lasting trust with customers and partners in an increasingly threat-conscious marketplace.