Is It Time to Merge IT, SOC, and NOC Under One Roof?

In the traditional enterprise structure, Information Technology (IT), the Security Operations Center (SOC), and the Network Operations Center (NOC) have each operated in their own distinct silos. The responsibilities have been clearly divided:

• IT handles infrastructure, patching, user onboarding, and core system maintenance.

• NOC monitors network uptime, performance, and system availability.

• SOC watches for threats, investigates incidents, ensures compliance, and drives incident response.

While each of these functions is vital, the boundaries between them have become more of a liability than an asset.

As someone who has overseen all aspects of IT operations, I see this fragmentation frequently.... and I believe it's time we reconsider the lines we’ve drawn.

The Problem With Silos

We often assume these departments are interdependent, but in practice, they frequently operate on different tools, respond to separate alert systems, and report through distinct chains of command. This creates confusion, duplication, and in some cases, dangerous gaps in coverage.

Here are a few real-world examples:

• A failed patch from IT triggers an outage, the NOC sees the performance issue, but no one correlates it to the patch.

• A security alert is flagged by the SOC, but the root cause lies in a misconfigured server provisioned by IT, and the delay in ownership extends response time.

• A vulnerability remains open because the SOC identifies it, but IT assumes someone else is managing the patch cycle.

We’ve all been there: “Is this a NOC issue or a SOC problem?” “Shouldn’t IT own that system?” “Who’s responsible for remediating this?”

The result is often reactive firefighting instead of proactive resolution.

Why Now? The Case for Unified Operations

The argument for unifying IT, SOC, and NOC into a single operational model isn’t about eliminating specialization, it’s about alignment.

Operationally:

• Shared observability platforms like Grafana, Prometheus, or SolarWinds are already ingesting data from all three silos.

• Incident response is faster when playbooks are cross-functional and teams speak a common language.

Strategically:

• A single operational command center can make smarter decisions in real time.

• Redundant platforms, staffing, and workflows can be consolidated.... saving money without sacrificing performance.

Financially:

• With rising software costs and tighter budgets, rationalizing overlapping tooling between teams makes business sense.

Enter AI... The Catalyst for Convergence

AI is already reshaping how we manage infrastructure and respond to threats. In fact, it’s the great unifier of operational domains:

• SOAR and AIOps tools are now routing, enriching, and escalating alerts based on type and context, not on who owns the asset.

• LLMs (Large Language Models) can now summarize logs, correlate events across systems, and provide Tier 1 analysis across IT, NOC, and SOC datasets.

• Unified observability stacks are leveraging machine learning to detect anomalies whether they stem from a failing hard drive, a misbehaving app, or an active breach.

This technology doesn’t care which team owns the problem. It just identifies it... and expects us to act as one.

Counterpoints and Caution

To be clear, full consolidation isn’t without risk:

• Merging too quickly can introduce confusion around roles, access controls, and accountability.

• Deep expertise is still required in each domain, a generalist can’t replace a skilled threat analyst or a senior network engineer.

• Governance must be tightly defined to avoid new blind spots.

So the goal isn’t to “flatten” the organization, it’s to align the mission.

Whether or not you formally merge IT, SOC, and NOC under one roof, the reality is this:

Threats, outages, and vulnerabilities don’t care about org charts.

We’re entering a new operational era... one where AI and automation are pushing us toward a unified digital command center. The sooner we adapt our workflows, our culture, and our leadership mindset to reflect that, the more resilient our operations will become.

If you’re still debating whether the SOC should own EDR and the NOC should own alerting, you may already be behind.

Unifying operations doesn’t mean removing the necessary separation of duties required by compliance or risk frameworks. Instead, it means breaking down communication and tooling silos, and aligning around shared visibility and response, while still preserving appropriate oversight and role separation.

Some industries, particularly in finance, healthcare, and government, require the SOC and IT to remain separate for compliance reasons. And that’s absolutely true. Frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, and NIST 800-53 emphasize the importance of separation of duties, ensuring that those who monitor systems (SOC) are not the same as those who manage them (IT).

That said, separation of duties does not have to mean operational isolation. My argument isn’t about collapsing teams into one undifferentiated group, but about aligning their tools, workflows, and response capabilities, creating a unified operational command center while preserving the checks and balances required for accountability. Cross-functional visibility and shared situational awareness are not only possible within these frameworks, they're essential to rapid, effective response in modern threat landscapes.

The key is structured collaboration without sacrificing oversight, and ensuring governance keeps pace with convergence.