Why Workflow Integration is a Key to Delivering Secure Software Quickly

In software development, workflow encompasses all the various steps that teams take throughout the development lifecycle—everything from planning and design to development, testing and release. From the standpoint of security teams, workflow means ensuring that security controls are built into code in order to keep the software secure.

Workflow is what enables processes to run and what makes it possible for teams to complete their tasks and deliver products. But if the workflow is not integrated with security tools, the entire process of secure software development slows down and becomes more tedious. This can have an impact on the competitiveness of an organization.

Without integrated workflow, more software vulnerabilities can slip through, and some of these might end up becoming significant security risks. Any tools teams use as part of the vulnerability management workflow need to work seamlessly with existing tools, to ensure that there aren’t disruptions in processes.

Workflow Integration Must Be a Priority in Application Development

Workflow integration must be a high priority for development and security teams, and the executives who oversee their efforts. If it’s done well, workflow integration can be a competitive advantage for organizations, because it enables them to produce secure software rapidly.

The flip side is if integration isn’t done well or not done at all, that could lead to wasted time and costs.

The workflow integration enabled by the DevSecOps model leads to a number of benefits, such as time savings. For security teams, the main benefit is that the integration of workflow with security can enhance the security of the finished product.

Security workflow integration leads to more secure products, because if teams integrate security directly into the development workflow, they’re less likely to skip or ignore steps that could lead to vulnerabilities in the software. Workflow integration makes security controls an automated function.

If a security team deploys a tool that can be integrated into the development workflow, there’s no need to move code around in order to perform security testing. This makes the overall development process much easier, reduces complexity, saves time for development teams, and allows them to move products to market more quickly.

The advantages of workflow integration aren’t limited to the companies that create software and the users of the software. Vendors of security products can also benefit, because if they’re selling solutions that get deployed without integrations, it becomes a bigger task for them to justify how customers can easily use the products.

Any vendor that understands the whole DevSecOps process and the software development lifecycle will understand the importance of workflow integration. And this integration makes the adoption of their products easier.

Rezilion has benefited from adopting an integrated workflow approach with its products, and this approach in turn has benefited its customers. For example, the Rezilion platform is integrated with Jenkins, one of the world’s leading open-source continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) tools; Amazon Web Services (AWS) Amazon Inspector security assessment service, CircleCI, a popular CI/CD tool; and other solutions.

These integrations enable Rezilion customers to deliver more efficient vulnerability management.

To learn more about why workflow integration is a key to delivering secure software quickly, read this ebook here.