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What Are the First Steps to Instituting DevSecOps for Salesforce?

Josh Rank
April 13, 2022

Every dev team is going to have a unique approach to their projects. And this is good! The specific tools, needs, and expectations will introduce differences to each approach when comparing across various organizations. However, even with these variations, there will be similarities shared between the most successful dev teams.

DevSecOps is the next iteration of DevOps, with an increased focus on data security.

We probably don’t need to tell you, but data security is more of a necessity now than ever before. The threats to your Salesforce environment are constantly evolving and becoming more refined. This could come in the form of a malicious cybercriminal actively working to infiltrate your system, but it could also be something as innocuous as an accidental deletion by a team member.

But no matter the cause of a data loss event, the result can be extremely costly. And if personally identifiable information is exposed, it can be damaging for your customers, clients, or team members.

So how does a dev team transition to a DevSecOps approach to Salesforce development?

Here are the first 7 steps you should take to implement a Salesforce DevSecOps strategy:

Analyze Your Current Procedures
Identify Goals
Research Automated Tools
Build Out Organizational Structure
Implement Data Governance Strategies
Ensure Data Security is Continually Considered
Always Prepare for Disaster

1. Analyze Your Current Procedures

It’s impossible to know where you’re going if you don’t understand where you currently are. Analyzing your current Salesforce dev pipeline will show you which areas are in need of improvement and provide the best clues as to where to start.

Interview team members and look at any available reporting to find aspects of your development processes that can be streamlined.

This includes figuring out where automation can be introduced into your current procedures. Automated tools are a large aspect of a fully optimized Salesforce DevSecOps pipeline. And once you have a current snapshot of your efforts, you can move into figuring out what you’d like to accomplish.

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2. Identify Goals

There are a few overarching goals that are going to be true for every Salesforce DevSecOps pipeline such as stronger releases, higher release velocity, and increased data security. These benefits will be seen to varying degrees depending on the choices you make for tooling as well as approach. But there are other, more specialized goals that can be highlighted for your specific needs.

Create a list of goals, starting with the most important, that you would like to accomplish after implementing your DevSecOps strategy.

This list can later be used to assess the success of your DevSecOps efforts and potentially suggest improvements moving forward.

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3. Research Automated Tools

As we mentioned above, automation is a massive aspect of a DevSecOps pipeline. This is because automated tools can be used to supplement the work of your team members and enable them to produce even stronger updates and applications.

Find a resource for DevSecOps tools that best fit your identified goals such as static code analysis, policy scanners, CI/CD, data backup & recovery, and more.

Take your analysis of current procedures and find areas that experience highly repetitive, monotonous tasks. These are prime targets for automation. Taking these tasks off the hands of your team members will free them up to focus on more pressing matters while simultaneously reducing errors.

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4. Build Out a DevSecOps Organizational Structure

Salesforce DevSecOps requires a series of teams working together in harmony. Clear expectations and open lines of communication are essential to creating an atmosphere that facilitates collaboration. And sometimes, restructuring needs to take place in order to accomplish this.

Assign team members to various aspects of the DevSecOps pipeline and ensure these roles fully understand their expectations.

It is also helpful if team members understand the roles of those around them, too. This will reduce time spent looking for answers when information is needed to move a project forward.

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5. Implement Data Governance Strategies

A quality pool of data will help with accurate reporting and lead to better informed decisions. Proper handling of data leads to stronger processes and a more secure system—which should always be a goal of DevSecOps.

Data governance is a strategy that makes use of processes and team members to maintain a quality pool of data.

And while this might not directly relate to your Salesforce DevSecOps pipeline, it is an essential aspect of pursuing proper practices. Visit here to learn more about getting started with a data governance team.

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6. Ensure Data Security is Continually Considered

We mentioned it above but it’s worth repeating: data security is more important than ever and it needs to be a main consideration throughout your development pipeline. Cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated every day. Even a simple accidental deletion can lead to a data loss event and set a company back if they aren’t properly prepared.

Institution data security considerations throughout the development pipeline improves your chances of avoiding a data loss event.

Tools like static code analysis heighten data quality and reduce vulnerabilities. There are numerous potential entry points for bad actors. This is why it’s essential to keep data security in mind at all times.

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7. Always Prepare for Disaster

Even organizations that take every possible precaution when it comes to data security still experience issues. Companies stand to lose massive amounts of money from a data loss event.

A recent data backup and the ability to quickly restore data is an essential aspect of properly protecting your Salesforce environment.

Aligning all of these essential considerations will combine to put you in the best possible spot to optimize and streamline your Salesforce development pipeline. DevSecOps, however, is not a single implementation. You must continually analyze your successes and opportunities for improvement to ensure you are seeing the most from your development and data security efforts.

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FAQs

What is the difference between Salesforce DevOps and Salesforce DevSecOps?

DevOps is the combination of development and operations considerations throughout the dev pipeline. DevSecOps adds data security considerations throughout the pipeline instead of just at the end.

Who can utilize Salesforce DevSecOps?

Everyone! DevSecOps is an approach that can be incorporated in stages if you don’t have the bandwidth for a major overhaul.

How does Salesforce DevSecOps impact production time?

Teams that address all considerations of a DevSecOps project simultaneously while utilizing automation are able to increase release velocity.

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Tags: salesforce CI/CD, salesforce DevOps, salesforce DevSecOps, salesforce static code analysis tool

What Are the First Steps to Instituting DevSecOps for Salesforce?

1. Analyze Your Current Procedures

2. Identify Goals

3. Research Automated Tools

4. Build Out a DevSecOps Organizational Structure

5. Implement Data Governance Strategies

6. Ensure Data Security is Continually Considered

7. Always Prepare for Disaster

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