Have you ever wished for a tool that could guide you, even on the foggiest days?
That was my father’s compass. He carried it not because it told him where he was, but because it reminded him where true north was.
I spent twelve years in the U.S. Navy as a cybersecurity practitioner, and that same compass has stayed with me.
And in the world of SIEM and threat detection, the Gartner Critical Capabilities for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) report feels like that compass. While it doesn’t promise clear skies, it helps you find true north by showing which technologies consistently perform when it counts.
Why this report matters
Everyone has their opinions on what cybersecurity is. Many solutions promise faster detection, enhanced AI, and more intelligent automation, but fail to deliver. For buyers, what matters is finding a solution that’s proven to do what it promises, and that process can feel like navigating through the fog.
To us, each use case Gartner evaluates — Out-of-the-Box SIEM, Customizable SIEM, and Threat Detection, Investigation & Response (TDIR) — represents a specific operational need:
- Speed to value for teams that need to quickly stand up a SIEM.
- Flexibility and depth for those who tune detections and refine rules daily.
- Integrated investigation and automation for teams running advanced SOC workflows.
When you dig into the scores, we see several patterns start to show up. Some vendors are fast but shallow. Others are powerful but complicated to use. The actual value lies in seeing how a product performs across these use cases, where Sumo Logic’s scalability, analytics, and automation intersect.
That’s what makes this report essential for educated buyers. It provides you with something few documents in this industry offer: a side-by-side, criteria-based approach to aligning your business needs with technical capabilities.
It’s not about who has the biggest name or flashiest marketing. It’s about which solution delivers when things get real. And that’s the language every practitioner understands.
What we feel this year’s report shows
In the report, the Sumo Logic Intelligent Operations Platform received scores across all evaluated use cases.
| Use case | Score out of 5 | Rank |
| Threat Detection, Investigation & Response | 3.87 | 2nd |
| Customizable SIEM | 3.89 | 3rd |
| Out-of-the-Box SIEM | 3.61 | 4th |
We believe each score reflects a different dimension of how customers experience that consistency:
- Threat Detection, Investigation & Response (3.87):
This score suggests how effectively the platform enables analysts to connect context, accelerate triage, and take decisive action. Through native AI-driven analytics, UEBA, and integrated enrichment, Sumo Logic helps teams understand why an alert matters, not just that it fired. - Customizable SIEM (3.89):
Flexibility is critical for intelligent SOCs. We see this score as a reflection of the platform’s ability to adapt to unique data pipelines, integrate with external tools, and support automation without requiring a rewrite of existing workflows. Sumo Logic’s automation service and open architecture allow teams to build their own logic rather than being forced into predefined templates. - Out-of-the-Box SIEM (3.61):
Even as one of the most customizable platforms, Sumo Logic continues to invest in fast time to value. We believe this score accurately reflects how pre-built dashboards, over 1,000 detection rules, and MITRE ATT&CK-aligned content enable customers to start detecting within hours.
We see this as validation of our belief that intelligent security operations require both immediate visibility and long-term adaptability. For security teams, that translates into fewer blind spots, faster investigations, and higher confidence when every minute counts.
The compass and the map
Suppose the Gartner Critical Capabilities for SIEM report serves as a compass, helping you navigate the market and identify where measurable strengths exist in analytics, automation, and scalability.
In that case, we think the Sumo Logic SIEM Evaluation Guide is the map, turning that independent scoring model into a practical, repeatable process you can run in your own environment to chart your own course through your data, workflows, and architecture.
The SIEM Evaluation Guide displays a complementary framework that lets teams assess those exact dimensions in their own environment:
- Data collection and normalization
- Data transformation and enrichment
- Advanced analytics and detection
- Investigation and collaboration
- Response and automation
Used together, the compass and the map help you move from direction to decision. The report gives you perspective. The guide gives you proof. That combination transforms how you buy and gives you a defensible path forward, built on both independent evidence and firsthand validation.
Finding your bearings in the AI era
The Gartner report is for security teams that value evidence over assumptions. It helps practitioners see through the fog of marketing claims and focus on the measurable capabilities that shape real outcomes.
As AI accelerates both innovation and adversarial tactics, clarity becomes mission-critical. The Sumo Logic Intelligent Operations Platform applies that same principle—delivering unified visibility, agentic AI, and automation that help teams move from reaction to readiness.
Access the 2025 Gartner Critical Capabilities for SIEM report.
Gartner, Critical Capabilities for Security Information and Event Management, By Eric Ahlm, Andrew Davies, Angel Berrios, Darren Livingstone, 13 October 2025
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
