Understanding the Key Benefits of DevSecOps

A Quick Refresher — What is DevSecOps?

Before we explore the benefits of DevSecOps, let’s review some history. Recently, we explored the importance of security in DevOps — the integration of software development teams and practices with information technology operations teams and their respective practices. The result of this new approach to development is known as DevOps.

While the creation of DevOps as a mindset and approach helped to transform the way that organizations develop, deploy, and support their deliverables, there was a problem. DevOps found itself in a similar position with cybersecurity teams as its predecessor’s approach. Security became a bottleneck to delivery.

To solve this problem and to ensure that software was both created and launched with in-built security best practices and support, DevOps was combined with security to form a new mindset currently in use across countless organizations today: DevSecOps.

While companies often shift the abbreviations around (SecDevOps, DevOpsSec, etc.), the thinking ultimately remains the same: focus on security upfront to protect against breaches and other security problems rather than addressing problems as they occur.

The Benefits of DevSecOps

Transitioning from a development-to-security model toward a DevSecOps model is no easy feat. It requires the alignment of multiple teams and the development of processes that align communication, workloads, and thinking around the shared goal of DevSecOps. Often, organizations will lean on a third-party partner to provide leadership and guidance in this area.

Once a DevSecOps strategy has been developed and implemented however, the involved teams as well as other areas of the organization (including customers and partners) will begin to realize the benefits of DevSecOps. Let’s take a look at some now.

1. Faster Development Speed and Agility

Historically, development and IT had separate workloads, goals, and measurables. While much of that still remains separate, both teams must partner for the success of any solution being developed. Development must consider IT’s needs post-development, and IT must understand the development process so it knows how to best provide support.

The same applies to security. By involving security teams early on in the process, conducting cyclical and iterative testing, and addressing any concerns during the development process, security no longer becomes a bottleneck. Development can also proceed faster toward the finish line, as this team no longer has to backtrack to address problems that could’ve been created very early in the development process.

2. Improved Communication and Collaboration

Communication is critical between the three teams — otherwise the benefits of DevSecOps simply don’t exist. Imagine being an IT support team leader. The deployment team has rolled out a new platform for enterprise-wide vendor management. As the support tickets come in, you and your team members have no clue what is being asked of you.

Sure, you know your way around the software and can discern its development structure, but the dots aren’t connecting. And in some cases, the solution could’ve been built into the platform. But because you weren’t part of the initial discovery, planning, and development phases (or the late-stage testing), the solution doesn’t exist, and you and your team have to absorb an untenable workload.

As one of the benefits of DevSecOps, communication brings all teams to the same table throughout the process. From start to finish, each team is aware of what’s going on, what their responsibilities are, what the next steps are, and what the end goal is.

3. Automation Opportunities and Improved Quality Assurance

Next on the list of the benefits of DevOps is automation and QA. While some elements of the development process can’t be completely automated, a key aspect of it can: testing. As code is developed, it can be tested to expedite the development cycle in a number of areas. For developers, an automation architecture can be developed to validate whether the code will perform the intended function(s). For IT operations, testing can occur to understand if the functions offered by the solution will integrate, interact, and function within other systems or perform additional functions pertaining to this team accurately.

But what about security? If security is integrated into your DevOps world, a number of security tests can be automated as well. Will the solution perform well in the cloud? How will it perform across devices, on different browsers, or on different operating systems? At a higher level, how can security tests be automated so that continuous delivery and integration can occur seamlessly? A fleshed-out DevSecOps program will enable automation for all three areas. And on the QA front, automation can validate additions or updates as they’re made to naturally save time for the QA team and expedite the new features to release.

4. Identify Vulnerabilities Early On

We’ve already touched on this, but one of the benefits of DevSecOps is that vulnerabilities are revealed in the code early on. This is not and should not be a one-time thing, however. Security must be involved frequently to ensure new work, features, and so on are tested prior to the next phase of development.

Involving security early on ensures that these vulnerabilities are caught as quickly — and early — as possible, protecting your production from setbacks and ultimately ensuring smoother deployment and ongoing support.

5. Teams Freed Up to Prioritize

Last but not least, one of the business-focused benefits of DevSecOps is that it frees up time for your development, IT, and security team members to focus on other high priority tasks. If development and testing are able to move forward more efficiently, communication is occurring as seamlessly as possible across teams, automated testing and QA eliminate the need for manual tasks, and vulnerabilities are identified as early as possible, then your team can dedicate time and resources toward other work that drives the organization forward.

Let Us Build Your DevSecOps Strategy

We know you’re busy working on new solutions, managing technical support throughout your organization, and focusing on security in multiple areas. Finding time to align all three can be difficult. Inversion6 can partner with you to take this workload off your plate, and through it, eliminate even more related tasks while speeding up your development cycle and keeping it as secure as possible. Contact us to learn how we can help you achieve your goals.