Case Study: University of Derby achieves a world-class AI-driven 24/7 SOC and one-third the cost with Palo Alto Networks

Implementing a world-class SOC at the University of Derby

The University of Derby, a UK higher-education institution serving 34,000 students, faced a widening attack surface and an audit that exposed endpoint and network vulnerabilities across some 7,500 devices. With limited internal resources and high stakes for researchers and operational continuity, the university needed a cost-effective, proactive way to protect critical systems and enable secure, uninterrupted teaching and research.

In partnership with KHIPU Networks, the university deployed a Palo Alto Networks–based XMDR service (Cortex XDR, XSOAR, Cortex Data Lake and WildFire) with a 24/7/365 SOC, AI-driven behavioural analytics and 15 TB of data logging. The solution went live in four months, cut total cost of ownership to about one-third of competing proposals (equivalent to two FTEs), and delivered immediate visibility and response—resolving hundreds of incidents early on, reducing false positives, and continuously improving protections across the campus and broader education community.

University of Derby

James Eaglesfield

Head of IT Governance