I recently read an article that was themed around ‘why DevOps will cease to exist soon’, and thought, “Well! Because the future of DevOps is already here.”
And it’s called DevSecOps – short for development, security, and operations.
We all know how DevOps reached prominence. The rapid growth of powerhouse sites such as Amazon, Netflix, etc., meant going from the use of one server to hundreds and then thousands. The concept allowed these companies to improve the quality of service and increase revenue but brought along major setbacks such as downtime, poor performance, and more.
Consequently, DevOps emerged as the savior, fighting the crisis, and eliminating boundaries between development and operations. But, just as every problem has a solution; in IT we say, ‘every solution brings along the next set of problems’, to ensure we are never out of work.
The Past:
The bond between development and security is contentious. That’s because security sees developers as a liability when it comes to protecting data, and for developers, security is a roadblock to innovation.
But DevOps as a solution cannot afford to overlook security or set it aside as just another problem, especially when we look at the recent past – the beginning stage of the pandemic that proved to be the testing period for businesses.
Back then every business was moving to cloud and used digital tools to do the work, and that led to growing concern about securing the data. Everybody was working remotely, which increased the chances of data breaches in the first half of 2020, and compelled organizations to look for a new resolve – DevSecOps.
The Present:
“DevSecOps should not be defined as a team consisting of development, operations, and security roles. In fact, I believe that DevSecOps is a term that describes a cross-functional DevOps team that integrates security practices within their own processes to deliver secure software and infrastructure.” – Glen Wilson, Consultant, and Author.
I think this summarizes the actual role of DevSecOps.
The pandemic has taught us why security is a grave concern. As per a 2021 IBM report, the cost of data breach had hit a record high in the 17-year history of the report. It was $4.24 million per incident on average.
In most cases, the pandemic pushed many companies to integrate new technology projects three times faster than their usual speed, without bothering to seek consultation and support from seasoned firms who are there to offer aid and enable smooth digital transformation.
As a result, these firms were left with overwhelming complexities across IT, app, and network infrastructure, unable to fathom their full IT landscape, and ignored security. Something that matters the most especially in a startup.
The Future:
If organizations are to survive in the dynamic market changes, deal with supply chain upheavals, and manage a hybrid workforce, then the only way forward is to invest time and effort in developing a robust DevSecOps program.
DevSecOps is a framework that integrates security in each stage of development, making it a natural part of the development process, thus making developers see it as a part of their job and not as a book of rules that they need to abide by.
With more than 70% of IT leaders confirming a need to accelerate initiatives to secure software development, DevSecOps will be the DNA of all digital transformations.
Here’s how?
- Harnessing Automation
For any project silos between developers, business development and testing teams become the major reason for the creation of gaps in the feedback loops leading to a slower product rollout.
DevSecOps will ensure continuous testing and deployment. It will make teams across all business units to codify their shift left practices with automation, and thus increase the frequency of communication to reduce the chances of failures.
- Smoothening CI/CD
With more robust security products to manage the tasks such as CI/CD that are inherent to cloud-native software development, a lot of time can be saved, and it will also empower teams to address issues proactively, as the feedback loop in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) would be thoroughly covered.
- Faster New App Launches
DevSecOps is the best source when it comes to engaging security in business as usual. It will allow the cybersecurity teams to be more participative in business initiatives. DevSecOps as a hybrid program will include security advisors at the planning phase itself, adding more value and less friction to software releases and developer teams.
Summarizing it:
Research suggests that enterprises are the most common targets for cyberattacks, and after reading this article you will surely understand why enterprises are the most vulnerable, especially after coping with the pandemic.
With security being the top concern for IT leads, DevSecOps is the only way to manage and secure organizational data and reduce the risks involved in collaborative citizen developments, as in this program security and compliance requirements are validated at every step of the development lifecycle.
Afterall, the ultimate objective of development platforms is to simplify the creation of codes, and DevSecOps is the best option to reach the goal of a Zero Trust security model.
