Keynotes, webinars and briefings
Speaking and webinars
I speak about what is actually happening to security operations as AI moves into the SOC, which is usually more interesting and less tidy than the vendor version. Audiences get a position, the evidence behind it, and someone willing to disagree with them.
What I speak about
AI SOC tools versus AI-enabled MDR
AI SOC tools versus AI-enabled MDR
AI SOC tools versus AI-enabled MDR
When each of them makes sense, and how to tell the two apart when the marketing describes them identically.
The decoupled SIEM
AI SOC tools versus AI-enabled MDR
AI SOC tools versus AI-enabled MDR
Why SIEM is breaking up into pipelines, and what that does to detection engineering.
Building a team around AI agents
AI SOC tools versus AI-enabled MDR
The limits of autonomous security operations
How to structure a security organisation around agents instead of bolting them onto the org chart you already have.
The limits of autonomous security operations
The limits of autonomous security operations
The limits of autonomous security operations
What AI in the SOC can and cannot do yet, and why take-up stays far below what the marketing implies.
Security telemetry economics
The limits of autonomous security operations
Foresight for security strategy
Where the costs actually come from, and which architectural choices change them.
Foresight for security strategy
The limits of autonomous security operations
Foresight for security strategy
Applying future studies methods to security planning, so a roadmap survives contact with the next three years.
Formats and fees
Presenting
Sessions written for your audience.
Sponsored or co-branded webinar
Forty-five to sixty minutes. A joint presentation with you or a partner, with shared promotion.
Workshop or masterclass
Half day or full day. An interactive small-group session on strategy or foresight, with materials and exercises.
Keynote or solo webinar
Thirty to sixty minutes. A data-driven presentation tailored to your audience, with a custom talk, slide deck and Q&A.
Private executive briefing
Sixty to ninety minutes. A closed session for leadership, investors or policymakers, with a custom deck and live Q&A.
Appearing
Joining a session someone else is running.
Panel appearance or guest speaker
Forty-five to sixty minutes. Participation as an expert panellist in a vendor or media webinar.
Podcast interview
Thirty to forty-five minutes. A recorded interview or roundtable on cybersecurity, AI or security operations.
Something else
Tell me the format you have in mind. If it is close to one of the above, I will quote against that.
Fees are in US dollars and exclude travel and accommodation for in-person engagements.
Recent work
Hype Check: The State of AI in the SOC
Webinar with Augusto Barros for Prophet Security, cutting through the hype around AI in security operations.
Security Operations at the Nexus of AI
Whitepaper with Daylight Security on when to use AI SOC tooling, an AI-enabled MDR, or both.
The 2025 SOCless Operating Model Report
Research with Dropzone AI on how AI analysts make SOCless operations workable for real enterprises.
Security Telemetry Pipelines
Market report with Auguria on where security telemetry costs actually come from.
CTEM in Europe
Research on continuous threat exposure management and how European organisations are adopting it.
AI SOC Marketing Failure
Research on the gap between what AI SOC vendors promise and what practitioners actually report.
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.
Name, title and photo
Credit me as Oliver Rochford, Founder and Lead Analyst, Cyber Futurists. The headshot on this page is the approved one. Ask if you need it at print resolution or need a different crop.
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.
Next step
Check availability
Tell me the date, the audience and the format, and I will tell you within a day whether it works. If you are still shaping the agenda, a short call is easier than email.