Speaking with CRN for an upcoming episode of the Security or Else! podcast, Cyderes CEO Chris Schueler said that ‘if you’re a SOC analyst today, there is no better place to be.’
Security operations is poised to see an “absolute renaissance” over the next two years, with AI and agentic capabilities eliminating much of the repetitive work facing security analysts—while also potentially leading to a surge in threat actor activity that must be protected against, according to Cyderes CEO Chris Schueler.
Speaking with CRN, Schueler said that Kansas City, Mo.-based Cyderes, a major MSSP and No. 124 on CRN’s Solution Provider 500 for 2026, is heavily leveraging AI for its Security Operations Center (SOC) teams.
Schueler brings a deep history in security operations to the issue, having built the first SOC for the U.S. Army during his military service.
AI and agentic capabilities are being used by Cyderes to accelerate collection of evidence, correlate security telemetry and handle other repetitive SOC work—even as the MSSP continues to rely on human analysts for higher-level decisions, he said.
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The notion that “AI can replace the SOC” is nothing more than “ridiculous marketing jargon,” Schueler said during an interview with CRN for an upcoming episode of the Security or Else! podcast.
However, there’s no question that AI “will change the work and remove significant manual efforts,” he said. “That is 100 percent true. We use it. I’m a huge fan of it. But security still requires people who understand intent, the business trade-offs and exceptions.”
Thus, the transition to AI-powered security operations, now underway, should only create greater opportunities for SOC analysts going forward, Schueler said.
“I tell my own team this—[that] if you’re a SOC analyst today, there is no better place to be. None,” he said.
When it comes to “all of the things that we’ve always wanted to do” in the SOC, “we now can start doing with the right context, the right telemetry, all gathered for us, that we don’t have to go do [manually],” Schueler said. “I can get to the right verdict quicker.”
Ultimately, “there’s going to be a renaissance [in] security operations over the next 24 months—an absolute renaissance,” he said.
Tune in Wednesday, Sept. 9, for CRN’s next episode of the Security or Else! podcast, featuring Schueler’s insights on AI security and the future of the SOC. Available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple, Security or Else! features conversations with security experts and top executives about what’s hype and what’s real—and what channel partners truly need to focus on next in security and AI.
