What a NOC does
A Network Operations Centre is responsible for maintaining the health and stability of an organisation's network and related infrastructure. This includes monitoring devices, applications, and services to proactively identify and resolve issues before they impact users. NOC teams focus on ensuring uptime, performance, and adherence to service level agreements. They typically work with data from network management systems and telemetry platforms to visualise network status and rapidly respond to alerts. A NOC’s scope is broader than just security; it encompasses all aspects of network operations.
NOC and SOC convergence in Australian tenants today
In the AU mid-market, particularly those adopting cloud-first strategies, we're seeing increased convergence between NOC and SOC functions. Azure Monitor provides a foundation for both, offering unified observability. Microsoft Defender for Cloud serves as a key tool, providing both security posture management and threat detection capabilities, blurring the lines between traditional NOC and SOC responsibilities. This aligns with the increasing emphasis on integrated risk management, reflecting principles from APRA CPS 234 and the need for holistic IT resilience.