Speaking and webinars
I speak about what is actually happening to security operations as AI moves into the SOC.
That tends to be more interesting — and less tidy — than the vendor version.
Audiences get a clear position, the evidence behind it and someone willing to defend or revise the argument when challenged.
What I speak about
AI SOC tools versus AI-enabled MDR
Building a security team around AI agents
AI SOC tools versus AI-enabled MDR
When each model makes sense, how they differ and why their marketing increasingly makes them sound identical.
The decoupled SIEM
Building a security team around AI agents
AI SOC tools versus AI-enabled MDR
Why the SIEM is breaking apart into collection, transformation, storage and analytics — and what that means for security architecture.
Building a security team around AI agents
Building a security team around AI agents
The limits of autonomous security operations
How AI changes roles, workflows and organisational structure rather than simply automating individual analyst tasks.
The limits of autonomous security operations
The limits of autonomous security operations
The limits of autonomous security operations
What AI in the SOC can reliably do now, what still requires people and why adoption remains well behind the marketing.
Security telemetry economics
The limits of autonomous security operations
Foresight for security strategy
Where security data costs actually come from and which architectural decisions materially change them.
Foresight for security strategy
The limits of autonomous security operations
Foresight for security strategy
How to think about emerging technologies and build security strategies that do not depend on a single prediction of the future.
Formats
Keynotes, webinars, workshops, panels, podcasts and private executive briefings are available.
Talks are tailored to the audience and event rather than delivered from a standard conference deck.
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.
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.