Outsourcing security issues: Managing outsourced software development

Outsourcing is crucial part of modern day business. Every industry tries to cut the expense ratio for profitability and sustainability. Outsourcing software engineering services is most common. The latest figures on outsourcing has upward trend, globally the Business Process Outsourcing market is likely to reach around $220 billion by year 2020. Future strongly indicates 2 million jobs being created jobs for software developers.

Selecting Companies for Outsourcing and work allocation is not simple as considered by few people. Some of them firmly believe that the once outsourced managing the project is not our headache. Satisfaction levels vary on the expectations and requirement quotient.

Managing the outsourced will have limitations, as the development team is not managed by the company assigning the projects. The advantages of managing the outsourced software development are extensive compared to its limitations.

Managing outsourced software development:

• Prepare, share, and discuss the requirements.
• Check resources working on the project.
• Need to match vendor’s skills against your requirements.
• Get information on team’s strengths and weakness.
• List of documents shared by your office.
• List of documents required from the vendor
• Schedule of Updates
• Define communication and reporting structure.
• Share your representatives who will be the Authority and Quality Acceptance Officers.
• Costs and milestones as part of development and release plan.
• Add the clause of delay in project delivery.
• Actions on quality issues and its rectification in stipulated time.
• Coding quality and reusability for the organization and no other hidden purpose should be there.
• Penalty to the vendor if they are unable to complete the project as needed.
• Work Order and Contract to be issued. Include confidentiality, payment, patent, warranties, intellectual property, and other important clauses in legal language.
• Cloud storage needed for all the project data and documentation.

Hiring technology expert for your project gives you reliance on their knowledge and skills.

 Cloud Computing and Cloud Security:

Cloud Computing is preferred due to its data storage capacity, no server costs, and maintenance. Digitalization and the transformation these businesses are witnessing currently certainly create demand for cloud storage. Companies are willing to spend on services than assets mainly due to the fast changing technology and need to adapt it.

Maintenance and manageability that cloud brings in, irrespective of the size of organization and the number of software, its backups has ample of benefits.

Lower infrastructure costs are the highlight of cloud storage but concerns of security should not be neglected. Centralization of infrastructure for varied locations actually lowers the costs of electricity, premises, and other fixed costs but the data access points are increasing. The access via internet, Wi-Fi introduces new threats to the security breach.

Cloud Security an imperative part of cloud computing is purposed to keep the data and the systems safe. Advancements in technology enable the entrepreneurs and IT experts both to keep track of abnormalities.

Cloud Security gives view of current state of security, adds to the ability of responding to unexpected events that earlier would have gone unnoticed.

Outsourcing software development is preferred by the managers who are ideally stuck balancing the budget and the development strength.

Outsourcing security issues:

• Threat of losing user information and project information
• Fear of hacking passwords, payments, credit cards, bank accounts and other sensitive data.
• Cyber attack, virus attack adds to the issues that are known.
• Unable to suspect these attacks is restricted ability.
• Data leakage and weaker safety measures raise concerns.
• Data control, whether secured access as security check is added for all users.
• Company policies for data access and query log.

 Cloud Security and its repercussions:

Cloud Security is becoming mandatory if you are in business. The values and ethics of business are well-known but unfortunately not everybody’s priority. Any data loops available for free may not be the focus of the competition but the competitor will certainly go through it, if not misuse the information. Free access points are the hacker’s entry points; unknowingly you are making faults for your count.

• Multiple Users: Multi-location access to the data is the feature of cloud computing and our focal point of cloud security too. Behaviour of your software in peak times if observed can provide inputs for data leakages if any.
• Security Log: However, security is complex in nature when the data is spread over a wide area through huge number of devices. The security logs cannot be easily audited making audit a difficult job.
• Project Scalability: Current and future of project may grow and the number of users may increase. Our data security level should be built to match the challenges. The cloud security can be improved and increased for scalability of projects.
• Check Point: Access using desktops, laptops, mobiles, and tablets, logins that switch off the trigger is probably the loose control and opportunity to check on cloud security. Don’t let the coding errors break the protocol of data security. Programming and release in live environment and on real-time data speeds up the process. Let each release pass the test phase of security whether the internal or outsource team is developing the software.
• Data Encryption: The information on cloud can be shared with third party. The cloud security encourages users to encrypt the data that is processed or stored, and this will prevent the unauthorised access and maintain cloud security.
• Identity Management: Cloud Security can be enhanced using the identity management systems that store and verify the user identity. These systems use eye scan, facial recognition and other such features. The access by these identities, redundant identities, suddenly active identities, and record of their activities gives enterprises protection from data tampering.
• Legal Implication: The laws of your country and the service provider’s country that abide you for the cloud computing service should be thoroughly checked. See them under the regulations shared in the agreement.
• Instances: Cloud security is predominantly for the latest instances we create but the old instances when not removed remain on cloud. This old instances can be easily targeted for the illegal data pulling.
• Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of activities is suggested if you don’t like unpleasant surprises. You can select cloud management platforms to source the cloud security.
• Precautions: Cloud security can be obtained if we practise the precautionary measures initially. Not all the software’s we use are tailor made for the organization so use software’s from the trusted sources. Even the codes downloaded from external sources should be reliable if you are to combine it for software development.
• Preference: More than public cloud the private cloud are preferred for higher control and secure highly confidential information. Users have to buy and manage private cloud making it bit unpopular for those who want the service rather than appointing IT experts.

Password is primary level authentication and is easy to hack for the information that is lying in public cloud. Data of thousands of companies is stored on public cloud and hyperjacking where the hackers take control of data of multiple users in a single attack is a huge threat. Cloud computing is developing and the threats we face and foresee will eliminate in future.

External storage on cloud is safer than the conventionally stored data. Cloud security is a key to securing data on public cloud with the service level agreements. SLA’s should cover for data protection, encryption, proper recovery plan in case of adversity, and how does the service provider delete the data on account closure.

Cloud computing and cloud security gives you business continuity you continue building better solutions.

Ways to protect your business and intellectual property. Here are some of them:

• Being GDPR ready
• Having an Elaborate Contract in place
• Making sure the contract and the clauses are under correct NDA and making sure it Safeguards the Intellectual Property Rights

Delegating authority and control over present and future of your business is a demanding task but with due attention to the factors mentioned above, security problems of outsourcing will seem a foreign country and establishing strong relations, transparency with a reliable partner is of the utmost need.
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