Research Study Participant Briefing
What to expect on your 2026 SOC Workforce Study interview
Everything you need to know before we talk. ~2 minute read.
Video: 60-second intro from Gary Burns (coming soon)
About this study
The 2026 SOC Workforce Study examines how enterprise security leaders are reshaping front-line security work — analyst roles, team capacity, retention, and the evolving role of AI in the SOC. The findings will be published in Q3 2026 as a research report. Contributors receive the report directly, before public release.
Who else is participating
CISOs, SOC Directors, Heads of SecOps, and Detection Engineering leaders at Fortune 2000 enterprises across financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, government, and energy.
About the Dropzone AI partnership
Meridian Advisory leads the research independently. Dropzone AI is the funding partner for this edition — they work specifically on autonomous Tier-1 alert triage. This is the standard model commissioned research follows (Forrester TEI, IDC InfoBriefs, S&P Pathfinder) — sponsor named upfront, editorial independence preserved.
How this works in practice
- Dropzone does not see your raw transcript
- The research questions, analysis, and published findings are Meridian's
- Attribution in the report is your choice — named or anonymous
- If something you raise on the call overlaps meaningfully with what Dropzone works on, Gary will mention them at the end and offer an optional introduction. No pressure either way.
How the call will run
~30 minutes total, split into two parts
Part 1 — Research interview (~20 min)
Five questions about how your SOC is operating right now. Topics:
- 1What analyst work actually looks like at your org today
- 2Hiring, retention, and burnout — your reality vs the industry narrative
- 3Where your team's time goes — and where you'd want capacity back
- 4How the analyst role is evolving — humans vs automation vs AI
- 5What workforce changes are actively scoped vs aspirational
Candid is more useful than polished.
Part 2 — Forward-looking content (~5–7 min, optional)
Two declarative questions about where the SOC is headed over the next 12–24 months.
We edit your answers into LinkedIn-ready clips with branded captions — yours to use however you want. Full editorial review before anything is posted publicly.
Completely optional. You'll know when we transition.
Recording, attribution, and editorial review
Recording
We record the full session for transcript accuracy and clip editing. We'll confirm consent verbally at the start of the call.
Attribution
Your choice when the report ships. Named ('Marcus Chen, CISO, Apex Financial') or anonymous ('CISO at a Fortune 500 financial services firm').
Editorial review
You see all clips before they're posted publicly. Re-edits and pulls are easy — just reply to the email.
The executive roundtable
When we wrap all interviews, contributors get invited to a closed-door virtual roundtable to compare notes on the findings. Peer-only, no vendors in the room. ~60 minutes. You're in unless you tell us otherwise — we'll send the date as we get closer.
Common questions
Need to reschedule or have a question?
Gary Burns · Founder, Meridian Advisory
© 2026 Meridian Advisory