Small Language Models Explained: What Security Teams Need to Know

Large language models can do almost anything, but for enterprise security teams, "almost anything" comes with a price tag that doesn't survive a CFO conversation. Small Language Models (SLMs) are purpose-built, deployable on local infrastructure, and cost a fraction of frontier LLMs to run at scale. For security operations, that tradeoff often isn't a compromise at all. In this video, we break down what Small Language Models actually are, why the parameter gap between SLMs and LLMs matters more than most people realize, and where SLMs outperform their larger counterparts for threat detection, log analysis, and compliance enforcement. We also cover why the SLM timeline has accelerated, and what your security org should be evaluating now. Related links: What Are SLMs? Small Language Models, Explained → https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/lea... #CybersecurityTips #SLM #LLM #TechExplained