If you’ve had significant exposure to the world of software development, you’ve no doubt come across the idea of DevOps. DevOps is the key to releasing high-quality software at a faster pace. But what if we told you that there’s something better than DevOps? 

Well, there is! And it’s called DevSecOps. Don’t be confused by the similarity. DevSecOps is pretty much DevOps with an extra touch to take your software game to the next level. Please keep reading to find out more about DevSecOps and why it is important.

What is DevSecOps?

In its simplest form, DevSecOps is DevOps with a third component. It is a combination of the words, development, security, and operations. Before we carry on, a brief overview of DevOps is in order, since it is the foundation upon which DevSecOps is built. DevOps is the philosophy of integrating development and operations by automating several aspects of the development-to-production process. 

The aim is to increase productivity and promote faster product release. Before DevOps, development, and operations teams worked independently in silos. Each team was only focused on their part of the project and would blame the other team for any errors. Apart from this, product releases were often delayed because operations would have to wait for the development team to finish their work before handing over. 

If there were any mistakes, operations would pass the work back to development for correction, after which development would hand over to operations again. We’re sure you get the picture by now. The point is, there was a lot of back and forth, which led to delayed product releases and lower productivity. With the introduction of DevOps, development, and operations, teams can now work together to produce properly integrated products. 

So, where does security fit in the DevOps picture? 

For a while, DevOps seemed to be working perfectly, until experts began to notice that something was missing. There was one major rate-limiting step that had not yet been dealt with – security. It was that realization birthed the concept of DevSecOps. DevSecOps aims to make everyone highly proficient in security so that they can implement security actions at the same scale and speed as development and operations. 

Previously, security was almost an afterthought; it was pretty much just slapped on at the end of a project.  DevSecOps solves this problem by ensuring that security is present at each stage of the software development lifecycle. This way, there is continuous integration and faster product release. 

DevSecOps is about introducing security earlier in the development process to reduce security risks and minimize the number of weak points. DevSecOps bridges the gap between security and developing teams by automating several security processes. 

Reasons why DevSecOps is important 

1. It shortens the development cycle

When product design, development, operations, and security teams are separated from each other, it takes a long time for products to be developed and released. This is because each team depends on another team to finish its work before they can begin theirs. The development team tackles their portion of the project, then hands over to operations, which in turn hands over to the security team. 

And if there are any errors, the product goes back into the cycle to start all over again. That's not the worst part. Because the different teams are siloed and do not collaborate, the end product is often poorly integrated or non-operational. This further lengthens the amount of time it takes for a product to be released.  With joint development, operations, and security efforts, the development cycle can be shortened, and products can be released on time. 

2. Faster speed of recovery 

No matter how carefully a project is planned, there are bound to be some failures. DevSecOps reduces recovery time because all three teams work together to share ideas and solve problems. Also, DevSecOps ensures that any vulnerabilities in code are identified early through frequent testing. Teams can detect security vulnerabilities during the development process instead of later on, when the product has already been released. Early identification reduces the number of implementation failures, and in cases where the losses are inevitable, they can be recovered at a faster pace. 

3. DevSecOps allows teams to be flexible and adapt to change

When security actions are embedded into the development process, rather than added as an extra layer on top, it allows teams to be more flexible in handling sudden changes. The IT and software industries are very dynamic and volatile environments. Any team that wants to remain relevant must develop the ability to adapt to changing situations, changing views, and the changing interests of clients. DevSecOps promotes such flexibility because the development process is rolled out in small chunks, with continuous testing throughout the process. This way, changes can be made without unraveling the entire project. 

4. Reduced cost 

One of the benefits of DevSecOps is that it spares the team certain costs. For starters, it reduces the cost of resolving security issues. How so? DevSecOps allows for security vulnerabilities to be detected during the development process, rather than at the end when the product is released. 

Imagine how much it would cost to rectify a security issue that has been identified at the end of the project? That’s almost the same as doing the entire project all over again. In the end, it’ll cost you double the number of resources you originally budgeted for. 

5. Team members are free to work on high-value tasks

Another way that DevSecOps benefits teams is by automating most of the security protocols. Automation means that there’s no need to get cybersecurity architects to program security decisions and actions. This way, security teams are free to handle more pressing tasks. Automation also boosts security teams' speed since they no longer have to spend precious hours doing routine tasks. 

6. DevSecOps encourages better communication and collaboration between teams

The primary purpose of DevSecOps is to bridge the gap that previously existed between development, operations, and security teams. DevSecOps ensures each team relates to the others and that they collaborate to achieve a common goal. With DevSecOps, the teams work with the same objectives in mind, and they are collectively accountable for security. 

7. DevSecOps reduces implementation failure

In DevSecOps teams, the process of software development and security implementation is automated. Because of this, the room for error is significantly reduced. Automation means fewer mistakes, both technical and administrative. 

8. Adopting DevSecOps allows teams to make better security choices

Often, software teams do not consider security till they reach the very last stages of development. Sometimes, this works out fine. But many times, including security at the last minute proves to be problematic. For instance, the team may discover that certain components they have chosen may not meet the project's security needs. 

To avoid such issues, DevSecOps encourages security teams to be part of the planning and decision-making process. This will prevent unnecessary costs and delays that arise from having to resolve security defects.

9. The concept of DevSecOps also reduces the amount of pressure on security teams

Security teams are often short-staffed, and therefore, only the most critical projects get the privilege of receiving attention from the security staff. One of the good things about DevSecOps is that each team member eventually begins to develop some proficiency in security. 

In the long run, there are more people in the team with enough knowledge and necessary skills to handle certain low-level security tasks. The result is that there’s less pressure on security staff; they are thus free to take on more complex and demanding security projects. 

10. DevSecOps reduces security risks and legal liability

It’s quite common to hear news of cybersecurity breaches. No matter how small the breach, such news could have a terrible impact on an organization’s reputation. Apart from this, cybersecurity issues may earn you lawsuits or fines from unhappy clients. 

DevSecOps helps you to avoid such unpleasant and surprises by ensuring that teams follow security practices at every stage of your software project. It’s important to take your clients’ security and privacy seriously, even when you’re dealing with something as simple as a website. This way, you can avoid unnecessary security risks and legal liability. 

Conclusion 

There’s a current global movement to combat cybercrime and punish organizations that do not protect their clients’ data. Because of this, security is becoming more and more critical to software development companies. Unfortunately, implementing security protocols is not so straightforward. On the one hand, security is such a crucial and sensitive matter that it requires a lot of attention from team members. 

On the other hand, the software industry is very dynamic; it demands fast-paced innovation from any organization that intends to be prominent within the industry. The major challenge is how to combine the need for fast-paced innovation with the need to stay secure constantly. The solution lies in adopting DevSecOps as a way of integrating development, operations, and security teams. 

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