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DevOps and DevSecOps: how to speed up product releases and not forget about security

"DevSecOps is not just tools, it's a philosophy: security must be built into the DNA of your product, not tacked on at the last minute." - Gene Kim, author of "The Phoenix Project"

In recent years, DevOps has become not just a trend, but the norm for most tech companies. Continuous integration (CI), continuous delivery (CD), test automation, and deployment automation allow for faster product market launches, prompt feedback responses, and cost reduction. However, as processes accelerate, a new priority emerges for IT teams - security at every stage of development. Hence the growing interest in the DevSecOps practice.

DevOps as a standard

DevOps encompasses the entire software delivery chain - from writing code to deploying it in production. The main pillars of the DevOps approach:

CI/CD - automation of build, testing, and deployment;
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) - managing infrastructure through code rather than manually;
Containerization and orchestration - portability and scalability of applications (Docker, Kubernetes);
Monitoring and feedback - collecting metrics and logs to improve quality.

These practices help teams shorten the delivery cycle, increase release stability, and quickly implement changes. But the faster the conveyor moves, the higher the cost of an error - especially in the area of security.

DevSecOps: security from the first commit

DevOps accelerates development cycles, but without built-in security mechanisms, it can lead to vulnerabilities. DevSecOps extends DevOps by integrating secure development principles at the earliest stages. The task is not just to test the product at the final release stage, but to integrate security into every phase:

Code and dependency analysis - searching for vulnerabilities even before launch;
Secrets and environment variables - protecting tokens, keys, and configurations;
Scanning container images - infrastructure security control;
Access policies - configuring the minimum necessary permissions in CI/CD systems and clouds.

As of 2024, about 36% of companies have already implemented the DevSecOps approach, and this share is expected to grow rapidly. It is especially actively being adopted in sectors with heightened security requirements: fintech, e-commerce, healthcare, SaaS.

What is important for business

For the B2B audience, DevOps and DevSecOps are not just technical concepts, but a way to optimize business processes and reduce risks:

The speed of product market entry (time-to-market) is reduced by several times;
Teams work more cohesively due to transparency and automation;
The costs of correcting errors are reduced, as problems are identified earlier;
Compliance with regulatory requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.) becomes easier thanks to built-in audit and control mechanisms.

How to implement: a brief guide

If you are planning to transition to DevOps/DevSecOps or want to strengthen your current processes, start small:

Assess the current state: which processes are already automated, where is the "manual work";
Choose tools: Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, Terraform, Vault, SonarQube, Snyk, Trivy;
First, automate CI/CD: pipeline configuration is the foundation of DevOps;
Integrate security at the code and infrastructure level: SAST, DAST, IaC scanners;
Train the team: DevSecOps requires a culture of collaboration between developers, security professionals, and operators.

Case study: how an e-commerce company reduced risks and accelerated releases

One of the leading e-commerce platforms in Eastern Europe faced a typical problem: the high release pace (3-4 per week) began to result in vulnerabilities slipping into production.

The team implemented a DevSecOps pipeline based on GitLab CI/CD:

In each merge request, we integrated automatic SAST analysis (SonarQube + custom rules);
Added dependency scanning (Snyk) with build blocking for critical vulnerabilities;
Translated configurations and infrastructure to Terraform, with analysis of IaC files for security vulnerabilities;
Organized secret storage through HashiCorp Vault and prohibited explicit variables in the code;
Initiated scanning of Docker images in a private registry using Trivy.

Result - over 3 months, the number of vulnerabilities in production decreased by 80%, and the release cycle was reduced from 5 to 2 days due to a decrease in rollbacks and revisions at the final stages. And most importantly, the development team stopped perceiving security as a "brake" on releases.

In conclusion

DevOps helps companies be flexible and fast. DevSecOps makes them secure as well. And this is not just the addition of security tools, but a cultural shift in the approach to development. The sooner you start down this path, the easier it will be to scale and meet market demands.

Start right now

If your team is facing technical debt, uncertainty about code security, or simply wants to speed up releases, now is the perfect time to implement DevSecOps. Small steps yield results within the first few weeks: automated scanning, access control, secret protection.

Ready to discuss how to implement DevSecOps in your company? Contact us - we will help you build a resilient and secure development pipeline tailored to your goals.