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Oliver Rochford, cybersecurity analyst and speaker
Cybersecurity speakers: AI, security operations and markets

Speaking and webinars

Oliver Rochford speaks on AI, security operations and the changing cybersecurity market.


A former Gartner research director, he has spent more than twenty years working in cybersecurity as a practitioner, industry analyst, researcher and advisor.


Talks are based on current research and adapted to the audience rather tha

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Topics

AI in security operations

The changing security data architecture

AI SOC software or AI-enabled MDR?

 What AI can usefully do in the SOC today, where automation breaks down, and how security operating models are changing as AI takes on more investigative work.

AI SOC software or AI-enabled MDR?

The changing security data architecture

AI SOC software or AI-enabled MDR?

 How the two models differ, what each asks of the customer, and how to think about the choice between software, services and hybrid approaches.

The changing security data architecture

The changing security data architecture

The changing security data architecture

 SIEM, security data lakes, telemetry pipelines and the economics of collecting and retaining security data.

AI agents and security automation

Strategic foresight for cybersecurity

The changing security data architecture

 Which security tasks can be delegated to AI, where human authority still matters, and what happens when agents move from assisting analysts to taking action.

Cybersecurity market evolution

Strategic foresight for cybersecurity

Strategic foresight for cybersecurity

 How new technologies become categories, how markets fragment and consolidate, and how to distinguish a lasting shift from a short-lived vendor narrative.

Strategic foresight for cybersecurity

Strategic foresight for cybersecurity

Strategic foresight for cybersecurity

 Using horizon scanning, weak signals and scenario analysis to think beyond the current planning cycle.

Speaker kit

Short bio, 50 words

Oliver Rochford is a cybersecurity technologist and former Gartner research director covering SIEM, SOAR and XDR. He has held roles at Qualys, Verizon, HP, Tenable and Securonix, advises AI security operations startups, and publishes independent research on the AI-augmented SOC through Cyber Futurists.

Long bio, 120 words

Oliver Rochford is a cybersecurity technologist, researcher and former Gartner research director, where he covered security information and event management, security orchestration, and extended detection and response, and authored Magic Quadrant research. Over twenty-two years he has held roles at Qualys, Verizon, HP, Tenable and Securonix, and he advises a number of AI security operations and cybersecurity companies. He is a co-author on several editions of Hacking for Dummies and has written for SecurityWeek, CSO Online and Dark Reading. Media, academic researchers and think tanks including the OECD regularly interview and cite him. Through Cyber Futurists he publishes independent research on how artificial intelligence is reshaping the security operating model, and advises vendors on strategy, positioning and go-to-market.

Common questions

Please reach us at oliver.rochford@cyberfuturists.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.

Yes, for in-person engagements. Travel and accommodation are billed separately at cost. I am based in the UK, so European events are straightforward and anything further needs more notice.

Four weeks is comfortable for a keynote or a workshop, since both are written for the specific audience. Panels and podcasts need considerably less.

Yes, and you are welcome to distribute the recording. Tell me in advance if you intend to gate it, since that changes how I write the closing.

I will read whatever context you send and tailor the argument to your audience. I will not present your positioning as my conclusion. If the two happen to agree, that is a good sign, and if they do not, it is better to find out before the event than during it.

Occasionally, for non-profits, academic events and conferences that do not pay any speaker. Ask.

Speaker and media bio

Headshot of Oliver Rochford.

Oliver Rochford

Oliver Rochford is a cybersecurity technologist, researcher and former Gartner research director, where he covered security information and event management, security orchestration, and extended detection and response, and authored Magic Quadrant research. Over twenty-two years he has held roles at Qualys, Verizon, HP, Tenable and Securonix, and he advises a number of AI security operations and cybersecurity companies. He is a co-author on several editions of Hacking for Dummies and has written for SecurityWeek, CSO Online and Dark Reading. Media, academic researchers and think tanks including the OECD regularly interview and cite him. Through Cyber Futurists he publishes independent research on how artificial intelligence is reshaping the security operating model, and advises vendors on strategy, positioning and go-to-market.

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