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	<title>Security Infrastructure &#8211; Best DevOps</title>
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	<description>Lets Learn, Do it &#38; Share! Thats a Best DevOps!!!</description>
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		<title>How can we become a Splunk Phantom Certified Admin?</title>
		<link>https://www.bestdevops.com/how-can-we-become-a-splunk-phantom-certified-admin/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[rahulkr]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Aug 2021 16:27:55 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Application Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Splunk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Certification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Courses]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IT infrastructure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IT software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security Infrastructure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SOAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Splunkcertified]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Splunkphantom]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.bestdevops.com/?p=20182</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[What is Splunk Phantom Admin? If you work on a security team, you probably deal with complex security infrastructure and [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://www.bestdevops.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/maxresdefault-3-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-20203" width="811" height="455" srcset="https://www.bestdevops.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/maxresdefault-3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.bestdevops.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/maxresdefault-3-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.bestdevops.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/maxresdefault-3-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.bestdevops.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/maxresdefault-3-375x210.jpg 375w, https://www.bestdevops.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/maxresdefault-3.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 811px) 100vw, 811px" /></figure></div>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What is Splunk Phantom Admin?</strong></h1>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If you work on a security team, you probably deal with complex security infrastructure and a range of technologies from multiple vendors. You’re likely exposed to unquantified risk stemming from a constantly expanding attack surface and escalating volumes of threats. And like everyone else, you have limited <a href="https://www.devopsschool.com/">resources</a> to defend your entities. There’s is never enough budget or people. Fortunately, there is a better way. Force multiply your efforts with a Splunk phantom security orchestration, automation, and response platform.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Phantom integrates your team, processes, and tools together so you can bring your best defense forward. It allows you to automate repetitive tasks. So, you can focus on other mission-critical issues. It helps you up-level how you manage events and cases and improve collaboration and training across the team. Phantom allows you to triage every by executing routine workflows in seconds or minutes instead of hours or more if done manually. It helps you make your SOC operations repeatable and auditable. Teams are able to manage events and cases the same way, every time, regardless of the person working on them. You’re able to accurately measure and reduce risk. And finally, you can demonstrate measurable impacts on your key performance metrics like MTTR. See what phantom can do for you. Get started now with the phantom community edition. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What are the benefits of Splunk Phantom Admin?</strong></h1>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">From the beginning, we have learned many sorts of Splunk platforms series like Splunk core developer, enterprise security, cloud admin, and IT service intelligence. This time we are meeting with Splunk phantom. Every software has its own performance, duties, and responsibilities with great impact then query raises that what about the software defensive security and how the software maintains their accuracy with higher scalability. With this overview, there are certain benefits related to Splunk phantom certified admin such as:&nbsp;</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.bestdevops.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/750px-Splunk_Phantom_Overview_v10.png" alt="" class="wp-image-20204" width="618" height="409" srcset="https://www.bestdevops.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/750px-Splunk_Phantom_Overview_v10.png 750w, https://www.bestdevops.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/750px-Splunk_Phantom_Overview_v10-300x198.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 618px) 100vw, 618px" /></figure></div>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li><strong>Create security for the management system</strong></li><li><strong>Highly integration process</strong></li><li><strong>Security work flowing system</strong></li><li><strong>Automation security system</strong></li><li><strong>Advanced threat catching actions</strong></li></ul>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Why we should learn Splunk Phantom Admin?</strong></h1>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nowadays, this trending IT organization with the higher escalating tools. We are working with different technologies at a scale of interactions. If we are using the software too much then we need threat detection analysts and security system services. Then, a query comes as that why we should learn Splunk phantom and become certified. The most reason is that to automate and accelerate the process like shortage of IT security professionals, a large number of security point solutions, challenges of unstructured data, the investigative approach, people &amp; processes, and workflow of threat mitigation timeline. And the admin facing common security operations challenges such as resources, products, alerts, static, speed, and costs. So, if you move along with Splunk phantom then you can evaluate delivering quality intelligence, improving the efficiency and efficacy of operations, enhancing incident response, and improves reporting and knowledge capture. As a Splunk phantom certified admin, you can make your software more planning, designing, creating, and debugging playbooks for phantom.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.bestdevops.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/splunk-phantom-announcement-blog.png" alt="" class="wp-image-20205" width="805" height="451" srcset="https://www.bestdevops.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/splunk-phantom-announcement-blog.png 714w, https://www.bestdevops.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/splunk-phantom-announcement-blog-300x168.png 300w, https://www.bestdevops.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/splunk-phantom-announcement-blog-375x210.png 375w" sizes="(max-width: 805px) 100vw, 805px" /></figure></div>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>How our Splunk Phantom Admin course/training would help?</strong></h1>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">These tutorial courses will help you with the learning process of Splunk phantom admin with the SOAR platform (security orchestration, automation &amp; response). This will make you more configure about the software system security. It solves security operations problems. Suppose, your software have limited resources, too many alerts, too many siloed products, lack of process, speed, &amp; cost then it remediates with force multiply your team, clear 80% of alerts with no human interaction, unlock value from previous investments, establish SOPs (standard operating procedures) to be more effective, from 30 minutes to 40 seconds, &amp; definitive ROI and hard cost savings. And it will give you work flowing ideology on security data, playbooks, actions, apps, assets, and owners. </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">After, getting the processed values then comes to the certification. If you get certified with the completion of training then it gives you competitive strength in automation and orchestration first, community focus, and enterprise architecture. This will make you more efficient in IT software infrastructure for ideal job opportunities with an expected high-paid salary. I wish that these statistics will give you more understanding of futuristic points of view.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Related video:</strong></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
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			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Azure Serverless Functionality: A Practical Guide to Azure Functions, Logic Apps, and API Management</title>
		<link>https://www.bestdevops.com/get-up-to-speed-on-azures-serverless-functionality/</link>
					<comments>https://www.bestdevops.com/get-up-to-speed-on-azures-serverless-functionality/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[anil]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Oct 2019 05:38:20 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Azure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[APP Service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AWS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Microsoft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security Infrastructure]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bestdevops.com/?p=8921</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Explore Azure's core serverless tools — Azure Functions, Logic Apps, Event Grid, and the API Management consumption tier — and learn how to choose the right one for your workload.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Serverless computing removes the burden of infrastructure management while offering on-demand scalability and consumption-based pricing. Microsoft Azure entered the serverless market after AWS but quickly built a strong position, partly through its large existing customer base and its investments in developer tooling and integrations.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This article covers Azure&#8217;s primary serverless services — Azure Functions, Logic Apps, Event Grid, and the API Management consumption tier — and offers guidance on when to use each one.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Azure Functions: The Core Serverless Compute Service</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Azure Functions is Microsoft&#8217;s primary serverless compute offering, positioned as a direct competitor to AWS Lambda. It is designed to handle event-driven workloads including data processing, microservices, API backends, system integration, and IoT pipelines.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Supported Languages and Developer Appeal</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">One of Azure Functions&#8217; frequently cited strengths is its broad language support. Supported runtimes include C#, JavaScript, Python, Java, PowerShell, and TypeScript, among others. This breadth makes it accessible to teams with diverse technology stacks and gives developers more flexibility than some competing platforms.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Key Platform Features</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Pay-per-use pricing:</strong> You are billed only for execution time and resource consumption, not for idle capacity.</li>
<li><strong>Custom dependencies:</strong> Functions support custom libraries and packages, giving teams control over their dependency chain.</li>
<li><strong>Integrated security:</strong> Built-in support for OAuth providers and Azure Active Directory simplifies authentication.</li>
<li><strong>Simplified integration:</strong> Trigger and binding abstractions reduce boilerplate when connecting to Azure Storage, Service Bus, Cosmos DB, and other services.</li>
<li><strong>Flexible development:</strong> Functions can be developed locally, in the Azure portal, or through CI/CD pipelines.</li>
<li><strong>Open source runtime:</strong> The Azure Functions host is open source, enabling community contributions and local debugging.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Best Practices for Azure Functions</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">To get the most out of Azure Functions, follow these design principles:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Keep functions stateless:</strong> Functions should not rely on in-memory state between invocations. Use external storage (Cosmos DB, Azure Storage, Redis) for persistence.</li>
<li><strong>Design for idempotency:</strong> Functions may be invoked more than once for the same event. Ensure repeated executions produce the same result.</li>
<li><strong>Single responsibility:</strong> Each function should do one thing. Composing small, focused functions is easier to test, deploy, and scale independently.</li>
<li><strong>Minimize cold-start impact:</strong> Reduce startup time by limiting dependencies loaded at initialization, especially in consumption plan deployments.</li>
<li><strong>Limit internal coupling:</strong> Avoid tight dependencies between functions to reduce cascading failures and simplify independent scaling.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">State Management: Azure Functions vs. AWS Lambda</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Both Azure Functions and AWS Lambda use stateless containers as their execution mechanism for handling transient compute. However, Azure Functions running under an App Service plan (on dedicated VMs) can be configured to persist state between executions using features like Durable Functions, which orchestrates long-running, stateful workflows as a series of individual function calls.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing Considerations</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Direct pricing comparisons across cloud providers are difficult because each model has different variables. For Azure Functions on the consumption plan, charges are based on the number of executions and the duration of each execution measured in memory-time units (GB-seconds). This means memory allocation directly affects your bill — a key difference from simpler per-invocation models. Teams should instrument their functions to understand actual memory usage before estimating costs at scale.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Choosing the Right Azure Serverless Tool</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Azure Functions alone may not be sufficient for every architecture. The right choice depends on how your workload components interact and whether you need pure serverless or a hybrid of serverless and conventional resources.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Self-Steering vs. Orchestrated Workflows</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When designing a serverless workflow, the first architectural decision is whether the application is <strong>self-steering</strong> or <strong>orchestrated</strong>.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a <strong>self-steering</strong> application, functions use their own logic to route events. One function receives an incoming event, evaluates it, and passes it to the appropriate downstream function for processing. Azure Function Proxies fit well in this model because they allow large APIs to be decomposed into smaller microservices without exposing the underlying function URLs directly to clients.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In an <strong>orchestrated</strong> application, an external component defines the sequencing and event-to-process mapping. Azure provides two main options here:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Logic Apps:</strong> A low-code visual workflow designer best suited for integration scenarios and transaction processing built entirely from functions. Logic Apps is ideal when workflows need to be understood and modified by stakeholders who are not writing code.</li>
<li><strong>Event Grid:</strong> A fully managed event-routing service suited for architectures that mix serverless and conventional components. Event Grid is the right choice when components should remain loosely coupled — communicating through events, queues, and signals rather than direct calls.</li>
</ul>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">For complex, long-running workflows that require fan-out, human approval steps, or retry logic, consider <strong>Durable Functions</strong>, which extends Azure Functions with stateful orchestration patterns without requiring external orchestration infrastructure.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Azure API Management Consumption Tier</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">To complement its serverless compute offerings, Microsoft added a <strong>consumption tier</strong> to Azure API Management (APIM). Unlike the Developer, Standard, and Premium tiers — which are provisioned and billed on a monthly basis regardless of usage — the consumption tier follows a pay-per-execution model aligned with the serverless paradigm.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The consumption tier is well-suited for APIs fronting Azure Functions or Logic Apps, where usage is bursty or unpredictable. Key characteristics include:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Pay-per-execution billing:</strong> No monthly fixed cost; you pay only for API calls made.</li>
<li><strong>Autoscaling:</strong> Capacity scales automatically in response to traffic spikes.</li>
<li><strong>High availability:</strong> Built-in redundancy without manual configuration.</li>
<li><strong>Support for long-running services and externalized caching:</strong> The tier accommodates workflows that extend beyond short request-response cycles.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Limitations of the Consumption Tier</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The consumption tier trades some enterprise features for its serverless pricing model. Features absent from this tier include:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Developer portal</li>
<li>Built-in analytics</li>
<li>Logging and metrics integrations</li>
<li>Disaster recovery configuration</li>
<li>Certain advanced security policy features</li>
</ul>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If your API management requirements include a self-service developer portal, detailed built-in analytics, or geo-redundant disaster recovery, a higher APIM tier is likely more appropriate despite the additional cost.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Summary: Matching Azure Serverless Tools to Use Cases</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><thead><tr><th>Tool</th><th>Best For</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Azure Functions (Consumption Plan)</td><td>Event-driven compute, APIs, data processing, IoT, microservices</td></tr><tr><td>Durable Functions</td><td>Long-running, stateful workflows and orchestration patterns</td></tr><tr><td>Logic Apps</td><td>Visual workflow design, integration tasks, transaction processing</td></tr><tr><td>Event Grid</td><td>Event routing for loosely coupled, hybrid serverless/conventional architectures</td></tr><tr><td>APIM Consumption Tier</td><td>Serverless API gateway fronting Functions or Logic Apps with bursty traffic</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Before committing to any single Azure serverless tool, map out your workload&#8217;s event flow, state requirements, integration dependencies, and expected traffic patterns. The right combination of these services can significantly reduce operational overhead while keeping costs aligned with actual usage.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>Original source reference: searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com (2019)</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
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			</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to Get the Most Out of AWS re:Invent 2019</title>
		<link>https://www.bestdevops.com/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-aws-reinvent-2019/</link>
					<comments>https://www.bestdevops.com/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-aws-reinvent-2019/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[anil]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Oct 2019 06:34:07 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[AWS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automation software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deployment challenges]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Global Infrastructure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IT software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security Infrastructure]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bestdevops.com/?p=8766</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[AWS re:Invent 2019 spans six Las Vegas venues and more than 2,700 sessions. Use these practical tips on logistics, session planning, and networking to make the most of your time at the conference.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>Originally sourced from searchaws.techtarget.com. Article reflects information available ahead of AWS re:Invent 2019 (December 1–6, 2019).</em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">AWS re:Invent 2019: What You Need to Know Before You Go</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">AWS re:Invent is consistently the largest cloud computing conference of the year. With more than 50,000 attendees at the 2018 event, re:Invent 2019 is expected to draw an even larger crowd across its multi-venue Las Vegas campus. The sheer scale of the conference—spread across six properties on and near the Strip—can overwhelm even experienced attendees. A bit of preparation, however, goes a long way toward maximising the sessions, meetings, and networking opportunities on offer.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The conference runs from <strong>Sunday, December 1 through Friday, December 6, 2019</strong>. Here is a practical breakdown of what to plan for.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Navigating the Las Vegas Strip</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The main activity hubs for re:Invent 2019 are the <strong>Venetian</strong>, <strong>Aria</strong>, and <strong>MGM Grand</strong>, with additional sessions and events at the <strong>Mirage</strong> and <strong>Bellagio</strong>. Compared to 2018, the MGM Grand is carrying significantly more content this year, so factor that into your hotel choice if you have not already booked.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Getting Between Venues</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">AWS provides <strong>free shuttle buses</strong> between venues, but travel time between conference halls can easily reach an hour or more, especially during peak session changeovers. Once you arrive at a venue, budget additional time to navigate the hotel interiors to reach your specific room.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Other transport options include:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Las Vegas Monorail:</strong> A faster alternative during busy periods. Note that the closest Monorail stop to the Venetian is the Linq station, leaving a short walk. The Monorail is often less crowded than shuttles during session transitions.</li>
<li><strong>Walking:</strong> Practical for shorter hops. The MGM Grand to the Aria is roughly a 20-minute walk; Aria to the Venetian is approximately 30 minutes without detours.</li>
<li><strong>Taxis and ride-sharing services:</strong> Available but can be slow due to Strip traffic during conference hours.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">New Scheduling Policies to Know</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">AWS has updated its booking policy to help manage transit times: attendees <strong>cannot reserve sessions at different venues that are less than 60 minutes apart</strong>. Additionally, the long-standing rule applies: arrive at your session room at least <strong>10 minutes before it starts</strong> or your reservation may be forfeited.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Venue Strategy</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Mark Nunnikhoven, vice president of cloud research at Trend Micro and an AWS Community Hero, recommends a deliberate approach to managing your venue schedule throughout the week:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p>&#8220;Either pick one [venue] and switch around lunch time or pick a different venue every day.&#8221;</p><cite>Mark Nunnikhoven, VP of Cloud Research, Trend Micro</cite></blockquote>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Key destinations worth planning around include the <strong>expo hall at the Venetian</strong>, the <strong>quad at the Aria</strong>, and the various hands-on lab areas distributed across the campus.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Tip:</strong> If you are flying in, register at the airport when you land rather than at the conference halls. This can save significant time and avoid the long registration queues.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Planning Your Sessions</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Re:Invent 2019 features more than <strong>2,700 sessions</strong>, making it genuinely difficult to narrow down a personal agenda. Reserved seating fills up quickly—some sessions were already sold out ahead of the conference. Third-party tools and community-built sites have emerged specifically to help attendees filter and manage the session catalog.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">AWS will again distribute topics equally across venues this year, meaning you can stay at a single venue and still cover a wide range of subject areas. Importantly, <strong>more repeat sessions</strong> are scheduled this year: if a particular talk at the Bellagio does not fit your schedule, there is a reasonable chance it will be repeated at a more convenient venue and time.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Session Formats</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Understanding the different session types helps you build a balanced schedule:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Breakout Sessions:</strong> Held in larger rooms, covering a range of expertise levels. Ideal for learning about new AWS services or getting a deep dive on ones you already use. Customer-led talks from organisations such as Netflix and T-Mobile typically appear in this format.</li>
<li><strong>Workshops (Hands-On Labs):</strong> Practical, lab-based sessions where attendees work directly with a service. These typically run around two hours—the longest format at the conference.</li>
<li><strong>Chalk Talks:</strong> Smaller, discussion-driven sessions led by AWS solutions architects. These follow a short presentation with a real-world example, then open into a group conversation. Good for interactive problem-solving.</li>
<li><strong>Builder Sessions:</strong> Led by an AWS expert, with attendance capped at around six people. Participants work in a sandbox environment to explore new or existing technologies. Highly valuable if you can secure a spot.</li>
</ul>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If you arrive at re:Invent without a full session lineup, look for the <strong>digital session boards</strong> posted around the venues. AWS staff nearby can review your interests and help you identify available options on the spot.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Keynotes</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The keynotes are the headline events of the conference. Based on the pattern from recent years:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Andy Jassy (AWS CEO)</strong> typically leads the main product announcement keynote, covering new services and major platform updates.</li>
<li><strong>Werner Vogels (Amazon CTO)</strong> follows the next day with a broader industry and technology perspective.</li>
<li><strong>Monday Night Live</strong>, hosted by Peter DeSantis (VP of AWS Global Infrastructure), is an in-depth technical session offering a rare look at the infrastructure layer powering AWS. It tends to be light on product announcements but is highly regarded by engineers who want to understand the underlying platform.</li>
</ul>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Keynote lines form well before doors open. If the ambiance is not your preference—or if your schedule is tight—all keynotes and most breakout sessions are posted online within a short window after the conference ends.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Social Activities and Networking</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Re:Invent 2019 includes a full schedule of social events alongside the technical programming:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Midnight Madness (Sunday evening):</strong> The traditional conference kickoff event, featuring music, games, and food.</li>
<li><strong>Annual Pub Crawl (Wednesday):</strong> A popular community social event connecting attendees across venues.</li>
<li><strong>DeepRacer Competitions:</strong> Autonomous model-car racing events for those interested in machine learning and AI.</li>
<li><strong>re:Play (Thursday night):</strong> A large-scale EDM concert and interactive entertainment event—one of the most-attended social events at the conference.</li>
<li><strong>Lower-key options:</strong> New this year are arts and crafts sessions, movie nights, and board games for attendees who prefer a quieter social setting.</li>
</ul>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Throughout the day, <strong>themed networking lounges</strong> are open across the campus, organised around topics such as databases, financial services, and artificial intelligence. These are worth visiting even briefly—the mix of attendees at re:Invent has broadened considerably beyond its developer-centric roots.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p>&#8220;There is this wide and diverse audience. You get these different perspectives, which tend to spur much better conversations.&#8221;</p><cite>Mark Nunnikhoven, VP of Cloud Research, Trend Micro</cite></blockquote>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Whether you are a developer, architect, or business decision-maker, the diversity of the re:Invent crowd makes the hallway track—informal conversations between sessions—as valuable as the formal agenda.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Quick Reference Checklist</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Book your hotel with venue proximity in mind—MGM Grand has significantly more content in 2019</li>
<li>Reserve sessions early; popular ones fill up fast and some are already sold out</li>
<li>Do not schedule sessions at different venues less than 60 minutes apart</li>
<li>Arrive at session rooms at least 10 minutes before start time</li>
<li>Register at the airport on arrival to avoid conference-hall queues</li>
<li>Use the Las Vegas Monorail as a shuttle alternative during peak periods</li>
<li>Plan your venue strategy by day or half-day to reduce cross-campus travel</li>
<li>Mix session formats—include at least one workshop or builder session for hands-on learning</li>
<li>Budget time for networking lounges and community social events</li>
</ul>
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		<title>How Insurance Companies Can Use Kubernetes to Prepare for Open Enrollment</title>
		<link>https://www.bestdevops.com/how-insurance-companies-can-prepare-for-open-enrollment-2019-with-kubernetes/</link>
					<comments>https://www.bestdevops.com/how-insurance-companies-can-prepare-for-open-enrollment-2019-with-kubernetes/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[anil]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Sep 2019 06:01:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Kubernetes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[enrollment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Insurance-companies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Market Trend Analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security Infrastructure]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bestdevops.com/?p=7948</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Open enrollment is the most demanding season for health insurance IT teams. Learn how Kubernetes can help insurers scale reliably, secure member data, and cut costs during peak periods.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>This article is based on a piece originally published on Forbes.com by a contributor covering healthcare IT and Kubernetes adoption.</em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Open Enrollment: The Most Demanding Season for Insurance IT</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Open enrollment is the longest and most operationally demanding period for anyone working in health insurance. Each year, from November through early January, consumers flood insurance marketplaces searching for the best coverage at the most affordable price. That spike in traffic and transaction volume hits insurers from two directions at once.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">First, there is the enrollment rush itself — new member sign-ups, plan comparisons, and application processing can nearly triple relative to off-peak months. Second, existing members race to schedule appointments, complete exams, and use benefits before their deductible resets at year end. Layer on top of that the continuous churn driven by Medicaid qualifying events — job loss, divorce, change in household income — and the result is a sustained, unpredictable load that strains backend systems and support teams alike.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In many organizations, enrollment workflows remain inefficient, leading to delays, consumer confusion, and elevated operational costs. For health insurance IT and engineering teams, the challenge is clear: find scalable, secure, cost-effective infrastructure strategies before November 1 arrives.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Public Cloud as a Foundation for Elastic Scale</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">All three major public cloud providers — Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure — are now widely used by health insurance payers of varying sizes. One of the most practical benefits of public cloud for open enrollment is elasticity: the ability to rapidly scale compute capacity upward during the November–January surge, then scale back down in February when demand normalizes. This pay-for-what-you-use model aligns infrastructure spend directly with business seasonality.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Beyond raw compute scaling, the public cloud gives insurers access to a growing ecosystem of platform services — including managed Kubernetes offerings — that can address enrollment-specific challenges at the application layer.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Kubernetes Brings to Health Insurance Operations</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Originally developed at Google and now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), it has become the de facto standard for running distributed workloads at scale across virtually every industry — including healthcare.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At its core, Kubernetes groups containers into logical units called <strong>pods</strong>. Pods can share resources across multiple machines, replacing the brittle single-server model with a distributed, self-healing architecture. For insurance IT teams, this means applications can be deployed, updated, and scaled without manually managing the underlying operating systems or scheduling maintenance windows.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Many insurers already run Kubernetes workloads in some capacity. The open enrollment season offers a concrete opportunity to expand that usage across three key problem areas.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Three Ways Kubernetes Helps Insurers During Open Enrollment</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Cost Optimization Through Dynamic Scaling</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">During open enrollment, member sign-ups and plan-processing workloads spike sharply on weekdays and during evening hours when consumers are researching options. On weekends or overnight, demand drops significantly.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Kubernetes enables fine-grained, schedule-driven scaling. Engineering teams can configure Horizontal Pod Autoscalers (HPA) to add pod replicas automatically as traffic increases, and scale them back down when load subsides. Combined with cluster autoscaling on public cloud managed node groups, this means compute resources — and the cost associated with them — track actual demand rather than worst-case estimates.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In practice, an insurer running enrollment portals on Kubernetes can reduce weekend and overnight compute spend without manual intervention, then automatically restore full capacity on Monday morning before staff arrive. This is especially valuable when budget pressure is high and infrastructure teams are already stretched thin.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. Securing Sensitive Member Data</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Healthcare data is among the most regulated and most targeted in any industry. Member portals that allow insured individuals to manage claims, view clinical lab results, or search provider networks handle Protected Health Information (PHI) governed by HIPAA.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Kubernetes supports a microservices architecture in which each function of a member portal — authentication, claims retrieval, provider search — runs as a separate, independently deployable service. This reduces blast radius: a vulnerability in one service does not automatically expose all others.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">From a patching perspective, security updates can be applied at the container image level and rolled out progressively across the cluster using rolling deployments or canary releases, without taking the entire portal offline. Kubernetes also supports network policies that restrict traffic between pods, reducing lateral movement risk if a service is compromised.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Secure communication between payers, members, and providers — for case management, prior authorizations, and referrals — can similarly be managed through microservices running on Kubernetes, with TLS termination and secrets management handled at the platform level via tools such as Kubernetes Secrets or external vaults like HashiCorp Vault.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Reducing Outage Risk During Peak Load</h3>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nothing damages consumer trust during open enrollment faster than a portal outage when a member is mid-application. Kubernetes is designed to support high availability at multiple levels.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">By distributing pods across multiple nodes and availability zones, a Kubernetes cluster can tolerate individual node failures without service interruption. Kubernetes continuously monitors pod health through liveness and readiness probes, automatically restarting unhealthy containers and withholding traffic from pods that are not yet ready to serve requests.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Treating container environments as ephemeral and replaceable — rather than as long-lived servers to be patched in place — eliminates the need for scheduled maintenance windows and the accompanying member notifications. Updates are applied as rolling replacements of pods, keeping the application continuously available.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Practical Starting Points for Insurance Engineering Teams</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If your organization is considering expanding Kubernetes adoption before open enrollment, here are practical steps to focus on:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Containerize high-traffic enrollment services first.</strong> Member portals, plan comparison tools, and application submission APIs are the highest-value targets for containerization and autoscaling.</li>
<li><strong>Use managed Kubernetes services.</strong> AWS EKS, Google GKE, and Azure AKS reduce the operational burden of running control planes and simplify node patching, making them well-suited for teams without dedicated Kubernetes infrastructure specialists.</li>
<li><strong>Define autoscaling policies before the enrollment window opens.</strong> Test HPA configurations and cluster autoscaler behavior under synthetic load before November 1 to avoid surprises during the real surge.</li>
<li><strong>Implement network policies and secrets management early.</strong> Security controls are harder to retrofit under peak-season pressure. Establish baseline pod-to-pod network policies and centralized secrets management as part of the initial deployment.</li>
<li><strong>Run disaster recovery drills.</strong> Simulate node failures and pod evictions in a staging environment to verify that your high-availability configuration behaves as expected under realistic conditions.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Looking Ahead: Broader Applications in Insurance IT</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Open enrollment is a forcing function that makes the benefits of Kubernetes highly visible, but the same architecture pays dividends year-round. Revenue cycle management workflows, enterprise scheduling systems, invoice processing pipelines, and member-change approval queues are all candidates for containerized microservices managed by Kubernetes.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As healthcare continues to generate larger data volumes and face more demanding regulatory requirements, a cloud-native infrastructure built on Kubernetes gives insurance IT teams the flexibility to respond to change — whether that change is a sudden enrollment spike, a new compliance requirement, or a shift in the competitive landscape — without rebuilding their platforms from scratch.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The open enrollment season is the highest-stakes test of an insurer&#8217;s infrastructure. Getting the Kubernetes foundation right before it begins is far less costly than recovering from capacity failures or security incidents during it.</p>
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		<title>Top 10 Ways to Achieve Agile Security in the Cloud</title>
		<link>https://www.bestdevops.com/top-10-ways-to-achieve-agile-security/</link>
					<comments>https://www.bestdevops.com/top-10-ways-to-achieve-agile-security/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[anil]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Feb 2017 07:24:40 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Agile]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cloud Computing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DevOps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Agile Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Agile Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cloud]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cloud Infrastructure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DevSecOps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security Infrastructure]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bestdevops.com/?p=590</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Security doesn't have to slow down development. Discover 10 practical tactics for embedding agile security into your DevOps workflow—from adopting a DevSecOps mindset to automating infrastructure and gaining executive buy-in.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As organisations accelerate cloud adoption, the tension between development velocity and security posture has never been more acute. CIOs and CISOs must contend with an expanding attack surface, a growing roster of cloud services, and development teams that expect to ship continuously. The answer is not to slow development down—it is to make security fast enough to keep up.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The DevSecOps movement addresses this challenge directly by embedding security practices into every phase of the software development lifecycle. Rather than treating security as a gate at the end of a release cycle, DevSecOps makes it a shared, continuous responsibility. Below are ten concrete tactics that help engineering organisations achieve genuine agile security without sacrificing innovation speed.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">1. Change the Mindset of Development and Operations Teams</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Developer and operations teams frequently experience security as an obstacle—a layer of approvals and restrictions that slows delivery. Shifting that perception requires early, visible wins. Introduce security tooling that integrates natively into existing developer workflows (IDEs, CI pipelines, pull-request checks) so that secure coding feels like a productivity feature rather than an audit process. When developers see that security catches real bugs before production, the cultural resistance tends to diminish.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2. Introduce a DevSecOps Approach to Security Teams</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Security teams operating as a centralised review board create bottlenecks. Repositioning security as an internal service provider—one that supplies guardrails, tools, and rapid guidance rather than sign-off gates—allows product teams to move continuously. Establish dedicated rapid-response capabilities that operate around the clock, and align security roadmaps with product roadmaps so that security capabilities are ready when new features ship, not weeks afterward.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">3. Standardise on Core Security Principles</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rather than improvising security decisions sprint by sprint, agree on a small set of non-negotiable principles that every team follows. Three principles that map naturally to a DevSecOps context are:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>API-driven security</strong> – security controls are configured and enforced programmatically, not through manual console interactions.</li>
<li><strong>Security at speed</strong> – continuous testing and monitoring replace point-in-time audits.</li>
<li><strong>Security on-demand</strong> – security infrastructure scales dynamically with workloads rather than being provisioned in advance.</li>
</ul>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Documenting and socialising these principles gives every team a shared reference point and reduces the number of one-off security decisions that generate inconsistency.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. Adopt API-Driven Security</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Traditional security systems that rely on engineers logging into a management console to make changes introduce human error and inconsistency. An API-driven approach treats security configuration as code: policy changes are committed to version control, reviewed through pull requests, and applied automatically via a CI/CD pipeline. The practical benefit is significant—if a firewall rule or access policy needs updating, it is changed in one place, tested, and rolled out uniformly. There are no forgotten console sessions, no environment drift, and no unplanned outages caused by manual misconfigurations.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">5. Create a Security Rapid Response Team</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Slow incident response turns containable events into major breaches. A dedicated rapid response function—equipped with runbooks, automation, and clear escalation paths—dramatically reduces mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR). Continuous monitoring, automated alerting, and pre-approved response playbooks allow the team to act within minutes rather than hours. Regular tabletop exercises and game days keep skills sharp and expose gaps before a real incident does.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">6. Leverage Cloud-Native Security Capabilities</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Cloud platforms provide a rich set of native security services—identity and access management, secrets management, network segmentation, logging, and threat detection—that can be composed into a layered security posture. Using these managed services rather than self-hosting equivalent tools means your security posture scales automatically with your infrastructure. It also ensures you are never running unpatched security tooling because the cloud provider handles maintenance. Evaluate native offerings alongside specialist third-party tools to find the combination that best fits your risk model.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">7. Deploy a Code-Driven Security Infrastructure</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) tools such as Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, or Pulumi make it possible to define security controls—security groups, IAM roles, encryption settings, logging configurations—as versioned, repeatable code. This eliminates the manual, error-prone process of configuring security from scratch each time a new environment is provisioned. It also makes security audits straightforward: reviewers inspect code diffs rather than live environments. Embedding security policy checks (using tools such as Checkov, tfsec, or Open Policy Agent) directly into the IaC pipeline catches misconfigurations before they reach production.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">8. Prioritise Visibility and Centralised Management</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">You cannot secure what you cannot see. End-to-end visibility across cloud accounts, services, and workloads is a prerequisite for agile security. Invest in centralised log aggregation, a unified security information and event management (SIEM) platform, and cloud security posture management (CSPM) tooling that continuously audits resource configurations against your defined policies. Granular visibility into who is deploying what, where, and when allows security teams to act on real data rather than assumptions, and supports the kind of fine-grained cost attribution that prevents overspending on peak-provisioned security infrastructure.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">9. Adopt Elasticity and Automation as Security Defaults</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A defence-in-depth strategy requires controls at multiple layers: network, host, application, and data. Automating security controls at the host level—using agents that detect anomalous behaviour, enforce least-privilege execution, and can quarantine compromised instances without human intervention—keeps your security posture responsive even at high deployment velocity. Elastic security infrastructure that scales out during high-traffic periods and scales back in during quiet periods ensures that coverage never has a gap and that costs remain proportional to actual usage.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">10. Secure Executive Buy-In and Organisational Support</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Agile security is a cultural and organisational transformation, not just a technical one. Without visible support from senior leadership, security initiatives stall in the face of competing delivery pressures. Engage decision-makers early by framing security investment in business terms: reduced risk exposure, faster incident recovery, and the ability to ship new features without compliance-related delays. When leadership actively champions agile security—funding tooling, endorsing training, and holding teams accountable—the rest of the organisation follows. Security and delivery speed are not mutually exclusive; with the right foundations, they reinforce each other.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Putting It All Together</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Agile security is not a single tool or a one-time project. It is a continuous practice built on shared ownership, programmatic controls, and constant feedback. Start by addressing culture and mindset, establish the three core principles (API-driven, at speed, on-demand), then layer in automation, visibility, and executive support. Organisations that treat security as an integral part of the delivery process—rather than a checkpoint at the end—consistently achieve both faster release cycles and stronger security outcomes.</p>
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