Technology solutions and managed services provider TekStream and the Louisiana State University (LSU) have expanded their public-private partnership to bring student-run SOC services to more clients in the US.
Channel Insider spoke with executives from both organizations to learn more about the unique program that has brought two SOCs to Louisiana and created a tech talent pipeline for students.
Student-operated SOC delivers US-based MDR for TekStream customers
TekStream provides 24/7 MDR services to clients throughout the United States, many of whom seek a way to maintain US-based security while also reducing costs. LSU and other public universities in the state education system were also trying to keep their operations secure with limited budgets.
So, LSU CIO Craig Woolley and TekStream CEO Rob Jansen collaborated to forge an alliance that addressed all of those demands.
“Colleges and universities were, and still are, being inundated with cybersecurity threats, but the cost of utilizing, say, Splunk and fully outsourcing your security posture was just too high,” said Jansen. “Craig was kind of the brain behind all of this. He engaged with us because he wanted a partner who could bring him technology and managed services, and from there we started thinking through cost-effective ways to do that.”
The first SOC program was launched in 2023 and is leveraged by TekStream to provide MDR services to over 30 schools in Louisiana. The program is funded through support from the state government and employs an average of 20 students a year. TekStream’s team of experts teaches students in the SOC, and the TekStream team takes over the SOC on nights, weekends, and semester breaks, allowing students to participate in other college commitments while the services remain running.
Splunk and AWS are technology partners in the program and form the backbone of TekStream’s offerings.
“Our focus when we started the first SOC was to give our students real-world experience in a way that wasn’t the traditional models of them working in a vacuum or a testing environment,” said Woolley. “We’ve seen these students grow, not just in their technical knowledge, but as humans. They collaborate with TekStream professionals and with each other, and they have grown as people as a result.”
“I would say a lot of the schools in the program would never have been able to access services and technology like this on their own,” Woolley continued.
With the success of that venture increasingly apparent, the two organizations pursued an expansion to support TekStream’s other clients. Those efforts came to fruition this year with the opening of TigerSOC, the second operation that will employ LSU students and train them on various security center tasks. TigerSOC is also staffed by TekStream professionals and will provide US-based 24/7 support for TekStream’s public and private sector clients throughout the country.
“This model was working so well with how we supported the network of colleges, we wanted to be able to leverage it for our other clients,” Jansen said. “There’s huge value to our clients in providing them US-based services with this model. At the same time, LSU wanted to expand the opportunity to more students and show its commitment to becoming a leader in its security education, so this is a win-win for everyone involved.”
According to Woolley, the TigerSOC is housed within a new facility on LSU’s main campus, purpose-made to support a larger operation. He estimates that once the program is fully resourced, it will be able to employ up to 200 students annually.
Building the next generation of tech talent
For Jansen, the two operations have been a technical success, but also so much more. At a time when tech talent remains scarce in the US compared to demand for it, he sees the program as a bridge to the next generation of talent.
“We want to take smart talent, regardless of who they are, and give them the real-world experience through a structured training program,” said Jansen. “As they matriculate and learn, they can level up to increasingly more complex tasks within the SOC. By the time they finish, they can show the same experience as an entry-level security analyst before they even graduate.”
“Hopefully, this is adding more people to the job market who weren’t previously planning to be there,” Woolley said. “Beyond that, a background in security work can be hugely beneficial to a number of industries and roles, so we’re preparing students to succeed in whatever they pursue.”
Students must pass a critical thinking test, developed by TekStream, to be considered eligible for employment in the program. From there, TekStream professionals onsite provide the necessary education and training while an LSU employee oversees the students. This model enables students to address real-world risks and threats under the guidance of full-time professionals in a blended work environment that serves clients around the clock.
Because of this blend of critical thinking and on-the-job training, students of all majors are welcome to apply. This has opened the cybersecurity and broader IT career field to students who had not previously considered jobs in tech, as well as to those with a science or liberal arts major who want to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary for a technology-driven business landscape.
Students working in both SOCs are also LSU employees and are paid for their time. Upon completing the program, they have a resume of hands-on work that demonstrates their knowledge. To date, TekStream has already hired several graduates and placed many others with clients or other businesses looking for talent.
“Students working in either SOC are also graduating with experience directly in clients’ environments, which provides a huge opportunity for private and public sector organizations to access talent that is already familiar with their unique needs,” Woolley said. “This has allowed students of all backgrounds to be exposed to this work.”
How LSU and TekStream forged a partnership for the future
Woolley and Jansen both celebrate the amount of success their partnership has seen, but neither seems interested in slowing down. Instead, the two are actively working with other organizations nationwide to bring the partnership model to other universities and more students. Already, the New Jersey Institute of Technology has begun to develop its own SOC services, and both leaders say they built the model to be replicated by as many others as possible.
“We built this model to be repeatable, not just with other schools but also in programs working to help others, including veterans coming home and IT workers who need to upskill to remain competitive in the current labor market,” Jansen said. “We’re helping to solve a massive industry problem in the lack of US tech talent available to meet the demand for that talent.”
For Woolley, the model’s success demonstrates the promise of LSU for students seeking experience in tech while attending school.
“I would love to see LSU become one of the largest creators of Splunk experts in higher education,” Woolley said. “But I also want to see other schools join us and bring this model around the country.”
Attracting talent to tech careers is one goal; retaining talent, especially women, is another priority for advocates working to build talent pipelines. Learn more about how BouncePoint is working to retain tech talent in a conversation with Katie Bavoso.