Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 — the hierarchy every SOC grew up with. But as AI takes over triage and investigation, does that model still make sense?
In this episode, Ahmed Achchak (CEO and co-founder of Qevlar AI) talks with Rob van Os, Strategic SOC Advisor and creator of the SOC-CMM framework — one of the most widely adopted models for assessing and improving SOC maturity worldwide.
Together, they unpack whether modern AI-driven operations make the tiered model obsolete, how skills-based SOCs are emerging, and what this shift means for talent, economics, and trust in AI-assisted decisions.
You’ll discover:
→ Why AI automation challenges the core logic behind tiered SOCs.
→ How the SOC-CMM framework helps leaders benchmark and evolve toward post-tier models.
→ The real blocker to full autonomy: missing infrastructure and business context.
→ How to grow and mentor analysts when “entry-level” alerts no longer exist.
→ How to prevent “shadow tiering” from silently reappearing in AI-augmented SOCs.
Rob also shares his prediction on when large enterprises will finally abandon tier and the new engineering and AI skills every modern analyst will need to thrive.
Agenda
00:00 – Introduction: What happens to the tiered SOC when AI takes over L1 and L2?
01:11 – New roles emerging: AI orchestrators and complex-case specialists
03:03 – Trust in AI and why automation still hits the “context” wall
04:54 – Developing junior talent in a post-tier world
06:46 – From tiers to skills: the rise of the skills-based SOC
07:11 – Does AI break the business logic of tiering?
09:19 – Engineering skills every modern analyst will need
10:15 – Why a fully autonomous SOC remains out of reach
13:21 – MSSPs vs in-house SOCs: different economics, same lessons
15:07 – Avoiding “shadow tiering” with proper knowledge management
17:27 – Rob’s prediction: Will enterprises abandon tiers in 3–5 years?
18:19 – Fire Round
Learn more about Qevlar for your SOC: https://www.qevlar.com/
Follow Ahmed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmed-achchak-872554109/
Follow Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/socadvisor/