Modernising SIEM Operations for a with IBM QRadar

Summary

A leading UAE-based bank needed to improve how its security team monitored alerts, onboarded log sources, and maintained visibility across a growing hybrid technology environment. Its existing SIEM setup was creating operational strain through high alert volumes, limited integration flexibility, slow log handling, and reporting that did not give the SOC team enough actionable context.

Paramount helped the bank move from its previous licensed open-source SIEM environment to IBM QRadar Security Information and Event Management. The engagement focused on improving log ingestion, event correlation, Microsoft and cloud visibility, alert prioritisation, and audit-supporting reporting.

The QRadar deployment was completed within 5 days, and 10 critical applications were integrated within 10 days. Based on client-provided estimates, the modernised SIEM environment reduced onboarding and monitoring effort by 40 – 50%, improved SOC operational efficiency by 30 – 40%, and and lowered SIEM-related cost pressure by 10 – 20%.

Icon The Challenge

The bank’s SIEM environment had become difficult to scale as its infrastructure expanded across on-premises, cloud, and Microsoft platforms.

  • High alert volumes were increasing analyst fatigue
  • False positives and unmanaged alerts were consuming SOC time.
  • New applications, web services, and log sources were difficult to onboard
  • Microsoft 365, Intune, SharePoint, compliance portal, and Event Hub, Kubernetes, container integrations were limited
  • Hybrid visibility across on-premises and cloud systems was inconsistent.
  • Log parsing and normalisation were slow across several applications
  • Reports lacked the clarity needed for SOC review, governance, and audit-readiness activities.
  • The existing SIEM model did not provide enough flexibility for future use cases and integrations

Icon The Solution

Paramount reviewed the bank’s hybrid infrastructure, existing SIEM limitations, and integration requirements before implementing IBM QRadar as the new monitoring foundation.

  • Migrated the bank from a licensed open-source SIEM platform to IBM QRadar
  • Completed the QRadar deployment within 5 days
  • Integrated 10 priority applications within 10 days
  • Improved log parsing and event normalisation using QRadar capabilities
  • Created tailored correlation rules and detection use cases
  • Tuned alerts to reduce low-value noise and improve prioritisation
  • Integrated threat intelligence to add context to security events
  • Provided a flexible licensing approach to support scale and cost control

Icon The Impact

The project gave the bank a more structured SIEM environment with better visibility, faster onboarding, and clearer investigation workflows.

  • Estimated 40–50% reduction in onboarding and monitoring effort
  • Estimated 30–40% improvement in SOC operational efficiency
  • Estimated 10–20% reduction in SIEM-related cost pressure
  • Faster integration of applications and log sources
  • Better alert prioritisation through tuning and correlation
  • Stronger audit and compliance readiness through clearer reporting and more reliable log correlation
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Overview

For banks, SIEM is central to how security teams monitor activity, investigate incidents, and support audit and governance requirements. Logs from users, applications, infrastructure, cloud services, and threat sources need to be collected, organised, and correlated in a way that enables fast decision making.

The bank’s earlier SIEM platform was no longer supporting this need effectively. Alert volumes were high, reports were unclear, and onboarding new applications or log sources required too much effort. As the bank continued to operate across hybrid infrastructure and Microsoft platforms, the limitations of the existing setup became more visible.

Paramount implemented IBM QRadar to create a more scalable SIEM foundation. The objective was to help the bank reduce alert noise, improve monitoring coverage, accelerate application onboarding, and provide clearer information for SOC, audit, and governance teams.

The Challenges

  • Alert Fatigue Across the SOC: The SOC team was dealing with a large number of alerts every day. Many alerts did not provide enough context for quick triage, which increased analyst fatigue and made it harder to separate genuine risks from routine activity.
  • Slow Onboarding of Applications and Log Sources: The existing SIEM platform made it difficult to onboard new applications, web services, and critical log sources. This slowed the expansion of monitoring coverage and created delays when new systems needed to be brought under SOC visibility.
  • Limited Microsoft and Cloud Integrations:  The bank required better monitoring across Microsoft 365, Intune, SharePoint, compliance portal, and Event Hub-based telemetry. The earlier SIEM setup had limitations in integrating these sources efficiently
  • Inconsistent Log Parsing and Normalisation: Security data was not always mapped into the right fields. This aected search, correlation, reporting, and investigation quality, making the SOC team spend more effort interpreting event data.
  • Hybrid Infrastructure Visibility Gaps: The bank needed consistent monitoring across both on-premises and cloud environments. The previous SIEM model did not offer the flexibility required to manage this hybrid setup effectively.
  • Reporting and Governance Limitations: Reports were not clear enough to support fast review, meaningful recommendations, or audit-readiness activities. This reduced the value of SIEM reporting for SOC operations and governance discussions.

The Solution

Paramount focused on building a SIEM environment that could reduce noise, improve visibility, and make security operations easier to manage.

  • Assessment and Migration Planning: Paramount assessed the bank’s existing SIEM setup, hybrid infrastructure, integration gaps, reporting expectations, and SOC operating requirements. This helped define a QRadar-led migration approach aligned to the bank’s monitoring priorities.
  • IBM QRadar Deployment: Paramount implemented IBM QRadar as the bank’s new SIEM platform, replacing the earlier licensed open-source SIEM setup. This created a stronger base for log collection, correlation, investigation, and reporting.
  • Rapid Application Integration:  The QRadar deployment was completed within 5 days. Paramount then integrated 10 critical applications within 10 days, helping the bank expand monitoring coverage across priority systems quickly.
  • Use Case and Correlation Engineering: Paramount configured custom rules, event correlation logic, and detection use cases around the bank’s operational and security monitoring needs. This helped improve the quality of alerts reaching analysts.
  • Alert Tuning and Threat Intelligence:  Alert tuning helped reduce low-value noise, while threat intelligence added context to events. Together, these capabilities helped the SOC team prioritise higher-value signals.
  • Flexible Licensing Approach: Paramount supported the engagement with a licensing model designed to improve coverage, reduce SIEM-related cost pressure, and support future scale.
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IBM QRadar Strengthened SIEM Visibility and Correlation

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Centralised Monitoring Across Hybrid Environments

IBM QRadar helped the bank bring on-premises, cloud, Microsoft, and application telemetry into a more consistent monitoring environment.

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Better Log Structure for Investigation

Improved parsing and normalisation helped make event data easier to search, correlate, report, and investigate.

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Use-Case-Led Detection

Custom correlation rules, alert tuning, and threat intelligence helped the SOC team focus on meaningful security events instead of spending time on repeated low-value alerts.

Impact of the Implementation

  • QRadar Deployed Within 5 Days

    Paramount completed the QRadar deployment within 5 days, allowing the bank to move quickly from its previous SIEM setup to a more scalable monitoring foundation.

  • 10 Critical Applications Integrated Within 10 Days

    Paramount integrated 10 priority applications within 10 days, helping close visibility gaps across important technology and business systems.

  • Estimated 40–50% Reduction in Onboarding and Monitoring Effort

    Faster application onboarding, improved parsing, and alert tuning helped reduce the effort required to manage SIEM operations and extend monitoring coverage.

  • Estimated 30–40% Improvement in SOC Operational Efficiency

    Better correlation and improved alert quality helped analysts focus on events that required attention, reducing time spent reviewing low-value alerts.

  • Estimated 10–20% Reduction in SIEM-Related Cost Pressure

    A more competitive licensing approach and better use of security resources helped reduce SIEM-related cost pressure.

  • Stronger Audit and Compliance Readiness

    Clearer reporting, more reliable log correlation, and structured monitoring improved the bank’s ability to support audit and compliance-readiness activities.
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IBM QRadar

IBM QRadar provided the foundation for threat detection, log management, event correlation, investigation, and reporting support. For the bank, QRadar helped move SIEM operations from a noisy and difficult-to-scale setup to a more structured monitoring environment. It enabled faster onboarding, better alert quality, improved log correlation, and stronger support for SOC, audit, and governance activities.

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Why Engage Paramount for SIEM Modernisation?

Paramount helps financial institutions improve security monitoring across complex and regulated environments. Its approach combines SIEM implementation, log-source integration, use-case development, alert tuning, threat-context enrichment, and operational fine-tuning.

For banking leaders, SIEM modernisation is not only about replacing a tool. It helps improve analyst productivity, accelerate investigation, support audit-readiness activities, and provide better visibility across changing technology environments

By combining IBM QRadar with Paramount’s SIEM implementation expertise, the bank gained a stronger monitoring foundation designed to reduce noise, improve visibility, and support long-term security operations maturity.

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