Splunk to Microsoft Sentinel Migration Center¶

The definitive resource for migrating from Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud to Microsoft Sentinel, with CSA-in-a-Box as the security analytics and governance landing zone.

Who this is for¶

This migration center serves SOC analysts, security engineers, security architects, CISOs, and federal security teams who are evaluating or executing a migration from Splunk to Microsoft Sentinel. Whether you are responding to Cisco acquisition uncertainty, Splunk license cost pressure, a cloud-native SIEM mandate, or a strategic consolidation around the Microsoft security stack, these resources provide the evidence, patterns, and step-by-step guidance to execute confidently.

Quick-start decision matrix¶

How CSA-in-a-Box fits¶

CSA-in-a-Box is not a SIEM. Microsoft Sentinel is the SIEM. CSA-in-a-Box is the analytics and governance landing zone that extends what you can do with security data after it lands in Sentinel and Log Analytics.

flowchart TD
    subgraph Sources["Security Data Sources"]
        FW[Firewalls & IDS/IPS]
        EP[Endpoints]
        ID[Identity - Entra ID]
        CLD[Cloud Platforms]
        APP[Applications]
        NET[Network Devices]
    end

    subgraph Sentinel["Microsoft Sentinel"]
        LA[Log Analytics Workspace]
        AR[Analytics Rules]
        INC[Incidents]
        PB[Playbooks]
        TH[Threat Hunting]
    end

    subgraph CSA["CSA-in-a-Box"]
        subgraph Analytics["Security Analytics"]
            FAB[Fabric Lakehouse - cross-domain correlation]
            ADX[Azure Data Explorer - long-term hunts]
            PBI[Power BI - executive dashboards]
        end
        subgraph Governance["Compliance Governance"]
            PUR[Purview - data classification]
            COMP[Compliance matrices - FedRAMP CMMC HIPAA]
            AUD[Audit logging - tamper-evident]
        end
        subgraph Products["Security Data Products"]
            TI[Threat intelligence enrichment tables]
            CM[Compliance audit datasets]
            IM[Incident metrics data products]
        end
    end

    Sources --> Sentinel
    LA --> FAB
    LA --> ADX
    INC --> PBI
    FAB --> PUR
    FAB --> Products
    ADX --> TH

What CSA-in-a-Box provides for security teams:

Strategic resources¶

These documents provide the business case, cost analysis, and strategic framing for decision-makers.

Technical references¶

Migration guides¶

Domain-specific deep dives covering every aspect of a Splunk-to-Sentinel migration.

Tutorials¶

Hands-on, step-by-step walkthroughs for common migration scenarios.

Federal and government¶

Best practices¶

Migration timeline¶

A realistic migration for a mid-to-large SOC runs 28-32 weeks:

gantt
    title Splunk to Sentinel Migration Timeline
    dateFormat YYYY-MM-DD
    axisFormat %b %d

    section Phase 0
    Discovery & Assessment        :p0, 2026-01-05, 2w

    section Phase 1
    Sentinel Deploy & Connectors  :p1, after p0, 4w

    section Phase 2
    Detection Rule Migration      :p2, after p1, 6w

    section Phase 3
    SOAR & Automation Migration   :p3, after p2, 4w

    section Phase 4
    Dashboard & Reporting         :p4, after p3, 4w

    section Phase 5
    Historical Data & Parallel Run:p5, after p4, 8w

    section Phase 6
    Cutover & Decommission        :p6, after p5, 4w

Cisco acquisition context¶

Cisco completed its $28 billion acquisition of Splunk in March 2024. This is the largest acquisition in Cisco's history and fundamentally changes the SIEM competitive landscape. Key implications:

• Product roadmap uncertainty -- Splunk's R&D priorities now compete with Cisco's broader security portfolio (Cisco XDR, SecureX, Talos)
• Pricing trajectory -- Cisco has a documented history of post-acquisition price increases across acquired products (Duo, Meraki, AppDynamics)
• Federal account disruption -- Organizational integration creates account management transitions during a period when continuity matters most
• Cloud strategy shifts -- Cisco may deprioritize Splunk Cloud in favor of Cisco-branded cloud offerings
• Integration direction -- The open Splunk ecosystem may tighten around Cisco-native security products

For federal agencies with Splunk contracts approaching renewal, this migration center provides the evidence and execution guidance to evaluate Microsoft Sentinel as the strategic alternative.

Migration success metrics¶

Track these metrics throughout your migration to measure success:

Key Microsoft Learn references¶

• Microsoft Sentinel documentation
• SIEM Migration Experience
• Migrate to Microsoft Sentinel from Splunk
• KQL quick reference
• Splunk to KQL mapping
• Microsoft Sentinel Content Hub
• Azure Monitor Agent overview
• Security Copilot in Sentinel

Maintainers: csa-inabox core team Last updated: 2026-04-30