Integrating ZTNA is Key to Accelerating DevOps Performance

The 2023 Accelerate State of DevOps Report recently released by Google Cloud’s DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) team points out that technical, process and cultural strengths lead to better DevOps performance. And there is no doubt that traditional cybersecurity measures struggle to keep up with the demands of agile development and continuous integration models. However flexible, scalable ZTNA architecture built on a software-defined perimeter can lay the secure, adaptable foundation essential for rapid software development.

ZTNA follows a "never trust, always verify" rule, allowing only verified users and devices to access applications and services. This reduces the risks associated with outdated “trust, then verify” security solutions like VPNs that cause productivity slowdowns and disrupt agile DevOps workflows. ZTNA creates a virtual barrier around resources, open only to users and services that pass strict security checks without hindering the DevOps requirement for fast, seamless secure access across hybrid cloud and container environments.

The DORA report uses metrics like deployment frequency and change lead time to measure software delivery success. ZTNA helps improve these metrics by delivering fast secure access and supports quick changes with automated security and access rules. By allowing only authorized changes, ZTNA can also lower the rate of change failures and cut down on time to fix security failures. This boosts organizational performance, with teams reporting more productivity and satisfaction when security is part of the DevOps process.

The DORA report also highlights the link between a positive culture and employee well-being. ZTNA can enhance this by removing security hurdles, allowing DevOps teams to innovate instead of dealing with complex security sign-on steps or filling out help desk trouble tickets due to connectivity issues. This improves job satisfaction and builds a security-minded culture across the organization, as opposed to shadow IT initiatives spun up in silos to avoid development slowdowns. 

In addition, a user-focused approach is a strong indicator of an organization's performance and ZTNA supports performance goals by making security measures invisible to the end user. By weaving security into the DevOps workflow, teams can concentrate on creating user-focused features without security distractions, thus advancing all technical, process and cultural aspects.

Our Internal Leap with DORA

On a personal note, as VP of Engineering leading our secure consumer access development teams, embracing the DORA framework has led to a marked acceleration in our go-to-market strategies. By adopting key DORA metrics, we've streamlined deployment processes, achieving more frequent and reliable software releases. This shift has not only reduced our change failure rates but also significantly shortened our lead times for changes, allowing us to respond to market demands with agility and precision. And the fact that we have Appgate SDP, our company’s industry-leading ZTNA solution, working for us across our DevOps practices has fortified this approach and ensures our rapid deployment schedule is secure without sacrificing speed. Moving to the DORA framework has been instrumental in our ability to innovate swiftly and deliver value to our customers ahead of the competition.

Adopting Zero Trust Network Access goes beyond security—it allows DevOps teams to work more effectively and in line with DORA principles. As organizations aim to enhance their DevOps skills, Zero Trust security models are crucial to maintain innovation without facing legacy security issues that slow them down.

Additional ZTNA for DevOps resources

Case Study: Vertex Replaces Multiple VPNs to Slash DevOps Bottlenecks
Solution Brief: Speed Up Security. Unleash DevOps.
Zero Trust Thirty podcast: Zero Trust for a Cloudy, K8s, DevOps World
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