Source URL: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2024/12/03/unifying-governance-and-security-with-an-application-fabric/
Source: CSA
Title: Unify Governance & Security with an Application Fabric
Feedly Summary:
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: The text discusses the challenges enterprises face in managing applications across distributed environments as they transition to cloud-based systems. It highlights the role of an application fabric in providing visibility, control, and compliance, which are essential for effective governance and security in modern IT landscapes.
Detailed Description:
The article emphasizes the difficulties enterprises encounter when overseeing a proliferation of applications in increasingly complex IT environments. As businesses adopt cloud strategies and undergo digital transformations, maintaining control and visibility over applications becomes a significant hurdle. Key points include:
– **Visibility Challenges**:
– Many organizations significantly underestimate the number of applications in use, leading to unaccounted risks.
– An example cited mentions a single company that went from 2,500 to 4,500 applications after an acquisition.
– Lack of visibility hampers risk assessment and prioritization of security efforts.
– **Role of Application Fabric**:
– An application fabric provides a governance layer to streamline visibility and control across on-premises and cloud environments.
– It aids in maintaining security, compliance, and access control without adding complexity.
– Continuous discovery of applications, including legacy and SaaS, is facilitated to identify critical applications.
– **Integration with Identity Orchestration**:
– The application fabric connects with identity management systems to enforce access policies effectively, ensuring that role-related permissions are aligned with application access.
– Centralization of identity and access policies reduces administrative overhead and enhances security.
– **Common Applications Challenges Addressed**:
– Unaccounted applications and access control gaps present significant risks.
– Siloed ownership of applications among different departments leads to governance inefficiencies.
– Teams often lack coordination, exacerbating management and security challenges.
– **Inadequacy of Current Approaches**:
– Existing tools like Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), Configuration Management Databases (CMDBs), and Cloud Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPPs) fail to fully address visibility and governance needs in modern applications.
– **Compliance Risks**:
– Regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) grows more complex in multi-cloud environments, as different applications may fall under various regulatory requirements.
– Application fabrics help maintain oversight and compliance through continuous monitoring.
– **Best Practices for Implementation**:
– Conduct a thorough inventory of the application ecosystem, including both legacy and cloud-native apps.
– Centralize access policies to improve governance and reduce silos.
– Continuously monitor for compliance and risk management across distributed environments.
– Automate monitoring changes during organizational transitions, such as mergers and acquisitions.
In summary, the article underscores the necessity of adopting an application fabric for organizations striving to reduce governance and security risks associated with increasing application complexity amid digital transformation efforts. For security professionals, this represents a key strategy for enhancing visibility, control, and compliance in a fluid IT landscape.