GigaOm Radar for Security Policy as Codev3.0

1. Executive Summary

In the ever-evolving landscape of information technology, effectively managing and enforcing security policies has become increasingly challenging and critical. Policy-as-code solutions have emerged as a pivotal tool, transforming traditional, often overlooked security procedures into machine-readable code, seamlessly integrated into modern DevOps toolchains.

Policy-as-code empowers organizations to proactively enforce security policies throughout the entire software development lifecycle—from initial design and development through testing and deployment. This modern approach brings a multitude of benefits, including a strengthened security posture, reduced reliance on manual policy enforcement, and streamlined compliance auditing.

This technology is not just for technical experts. While CTOs, CIOs, VPs of engineering, cloud architects, and other technology executives directly benefit from the enhanced security and compliance offered by policy-as-code, its impact extends further. Data scientists and engineers can leverage policy-as-code to ensure data integrity and security, while business leaders can gain valuable insights and automation to support strategic decision-making.

Business Imperative
The business imperative for embracing policy-as-code solutions is undeniable. In today’s interconnected digital landscape, security breaches can lead to catastrophic financial losses, irreparable reputational damage, and costly regulatory fines. Policy-as-code provides a proactive defense mechanism, automatically identifying and remediating vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

Moreover, policy-as-code significantly simplifies the process of achieving and maintaining compliance with stringent industry regulations and standards, such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS. This not only mitigates legal and financial risks but also fosters trust among customers and stakeholders.

This is our third year evaluating the security policy-as-code space in the context of our Key Criteria and Radar reports. This report builds on our previous analysis and considers how the market has evolved over the last year.

This GigaOm Radar report examines 10 of the top security policy-as-code solutions and compares offerings against the capabilities (table stakes, key features, and emerging features) and nonfunctional requirements (business criteria) outlined in the companion Key Criteria report. Together, these reports provide an overview of the market, identify leading security policy-as-code offerings, and help decision-makers evaluate these solutions so they can make a more informed investment decision.