According to DevSecOps statistics, 68% of businesses said that they are implementing DevSecOps in their software development teams. In fact, 60% of rapid development teams have embedded DevSecOps practices in 2021 which more than tripled in two years from 19% in 2019.
This steep rise in adoption clearly points towards a massive increase in the popularity of DevSecOps. As the security landscape changes, it will have a direct impact on how the role of developers will evolve. As security is the mainstay of DevSecOps, it should always be on the top of the minds of developers. Developers who adapt to these changes better will be in high demand in the future.
In this article, Anti-Dos will share six ways in which DevSecOps is changing the way developers work.
6 Ways In Which DevSecOps Will Change Developer’s Role
Here are six ways in which DevSecOps will transform the developer role in the future.
1. Rise of DevSecOps Advocate
DevSecOps is not just about technology, it is a mindset. In order to implement it successfully you need to person with that mindset. Once your organization develops that mindset, now is the time to hire a DevSecOps evangelist that can drive your DevSecOps initiatives to success.
Instead of hiring an entire team from scratch, look at your existing capabilities which you can leverage in DevSecOps implementation. This will also enable you to identify the shortcomings and weaknesses as well as challenges you might encounter along the journey. Next, you need to find and improve in aspects where your developers lag behind the competition.
You need to think of developing a DevSecOps mindset as a way to lay a solid foundation. Once the foundation is laid, you can start constructing your building on top of it which is to develop a team and begin your DevSecOps journey. Yes, it could face tons of roadblocks but if you approach it with the right mindset and strategy, you are more likely to succeed. Businesses that don’t have the services of the right people with the right mindset tend to struggle when it comes to implementing DevSecOps in their organization.
2. Increased Focus on Security
Did you know that 71% of CISOs said that their stakeholders think that security can slow down the speed at which they can bring products and services to the market? Shockingly, 52% of companies have even admitted that they have sacrificed cybersecurity to bring products faster to the market. Did you know that 70% of DevSecOps initiatives will come with automated security vulnerability and configuration scanning by 2023?
What’s even more surprising is the fact that 84% of organizations think that their current security tools are not good enough to provide security across multiple cloud environments. That is why it is imperative that businesses invest in DDoS protected dedicated servers. Security is at the forefront of DevSecOps. This means that developers will have to put security over everything else. This does not mean that your software developers should become security experts but what it essentially means is that they should make their contribution towards making the product more secure.
Yes, you will have to learn fundamental security concepts, make CVE and SBOM scanning a part of their software testing routine and spend time mastering security standards such as SPDX or cyclone. Another area where developers need to pay attention is the supply chain. With the emergence of new supply chain tools and the rise in the number of supply chain attacks, developers need to follow supply chain security principles and best practices to keep everything safe.
3. Soft Skills Will Be More Important Than Hard Skills
Most developers are sound when it comes to technical skills. That is why they are part of your team in the first place. One area where most developers lag behind is in soft skills. If you want to implement DevSecOps, you will have to train your developers in DevSecOps. Focus on teaching them the fundamentals and basic principles of DevSecOps and then take it from there. What’s even more important than that is learning soft skills such as collaboration. The better your development team collaborates with security experts, the more chances you have to implement DevSecOps successfully in your organization.
4. Enterprise Perspective on DevSecOps
One of the biggest advantages of DevSecOps is that it can increase your business efficiency and productivity. This can assist you in competing against the rest of your competitors and even get ahead of them in some respects. Instead of looking at DevSecOps from a development, security or operations standpoint, you should look at it from the enterprise lens. This will not only help you look at the bigger picture but also help you deliver value to the entire organization.
Here are some of the tips you can use to succeed at DevSecOps.
• Start small but think big
• Adopt agile for code releases
• Leverage automation across your entire tool range
• Enforce security best practices and policies
• Take part in security discussions
5. Cultural Shift
Did you remember I talked about DevSecOps being a mindset at the beginning of the article? You will have to make your developers realize that they might even have to go through a cultural shift during DevSecOps implementation. What’s even more interesting is that it is not the developers only, everyone from top-level executives to folks working in the engineering department will have to go through this process.
It might not be easy but with the right training and education, you can achieve your goals. Attend workshops, meetups, seminars, and conferences that can help you make the smoother transition. You can also read best practices and guidelines from security and governing bodies to stay on the right track.
6. Developer Journey Becomes a Priority
The primary focus of DevSecOps implementation is to integrate security through the development process. What’s even more important is the flow. Implementing DevSecOps can remove roadblocks and hurdles from the path that cause delays and leads to project failure. Just make security professionals understand the security requirements of developers. This will mean that they can provide them with the right integrated development environment as well as access to security libraries that allow them to create secure code.
How would DevSecOps impact the developer’s role in the future? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
