SaaS (software as a service) which is one of the most popular forms of cloud computing has completely revolutionized the world of cloud computing as it is being adopted by a majority of the IT organizations to modernize their IT structure.
With companies shifting their tools and platforms from on-premise to cloud-based solutions, there is no doubt the future belongs to the SaaS test automation platforms.
As cloud-based frameworks require no expertise, installation time or effort and do not depend on a robust internal infrastructure, your tests can be up and running in just a matter of a few minutes.
With SaaS, you don’t need to invest in internal infrastructure. In addition, you won’t need a dedicated team to maintain its operation.
But one question which still haunts most of the big software enterprises is:
Is SaaS Really Safe?
Though SaaS has numerous advantages for businesses, a lot of organizations are afraid of moving to SaaS because of data security issues. The fear is because the data is no long managed internally and is now hosted on the cloud.
Some businesses don’t like this idea of outsourcing the security of their data to a third-party company, especially if they are dealing with sensitive data on a regular basis.
A lot of trustworthy SaaS companies or cloud service providers such as Testsigma having a strong history of client satisfaction have very strict data security policies which make them immune to breaches in their systems.
Apart from this, a lot of SaaS providers host software in extremely safe and secure facilities which avoids a hacker or any type of cybercriminal from getting their hands on your organization’s sensitive or critical data.
Though organizations can have more control over on-premise applications through their own firewalls and antivirus software, they need to have a professional IT department for watching over data policies, access privileges, and application securities.
But in the case of SaaS, the SaaSproviders are data security specialists who proactively manage and protect the clients’ servers, applications, platforms, and sensitive data.
This particularly is a major advantage for small companies as they can get enterprise-grade technologies at a low price by adopting SaaS.
Hence the culture of distrusting third parties should be set aside to avoid the obstacles in achieving high growth and progress for the organization.
But there are certain precautionary measures which the managers and employees using or working on the SaaS products/services need to keep in mind, the most important of which is making the right SaaS platform selection.
How to Choose a Trustworthy SaaS Platform?
It is your responsibility to check whether the SaaS platform you are going to use is safe or not, be it a quality management software, an ERP (Enterprise resource planning) software, or a codeless test automation tool.
It is important to make sure that the SaaS is safe by –
1. Determining whether the SaaS was deployed on a safe cloud server
2. Checking that it has proper certifications
3. Ensuring data privacy and other major security concerns
4. Ensuring whether the platform is reliable and scalable
5. Checking the current security protocols and the steps to be followed in case of a system breach
For instance, Testsigma works hard to provide faultless software and keep security at enterprise-grade standards to give their clients the best in class services.
Best Practices for Controlling Cloud Access in Your Organization
According to the Security Tracker Survey conducted by Shred-it on information security, it has been found that employee negligence is one of the biggest information security risks to businesses.
Hence it is important to effectively control and monitor how your employees use SaaS solutions to ensure that security standards are maintained.
Here are some of the best practices to be followed for controlling cloud access in your organization:
1. Set a fixed day and time for allowed access with the help of automatic locking systems
2. Give hierarchical access as per the employee’s function within the company
3. Enhance the security layers, for example, a two-step authentication
4. If possible, give access to systems and applications via mobile or just through corporate computers
5. Frequent training as a practice should be adopted in organizations to help employees regarding the responsibilities of access and use of phones, computers in order to avoid security-related issues
Steps to Ensure a Safe SaaS Network Access
It is important to make sure that the basic safety precautions have been taken before adopting a SaaS network to ensure safe and secure access to the platform. Here are certain steps to follow:
1. Don’t record extremely sensitive or critical data. Though you get access to your company’s most critical information on a single platform, it does not mean that you have to leave them saved in your virtual environment.
It is ideal to have a filter or another type of storage to secure the most precious and valuable information for the company.
2. It is important to select a SaaS provider which can fully integrate with your enterprise with identity verification services.
Make your IT architecture such that it monitors even the slightest of suspicious activity continuously and take necessary steps to avoid damage.
3. Make sure you have extra internal security solutions such as having periodic backups and regular audits from time to time.
Organizations must understand that even a loose nut can open the doors for hackers and other types of virtual criminals.
4. It is important to know what and how much to expect from a complete SaaS testing solution as SaaS is safe as long as the organization knows how to implement it.
5. Data encryption is one of the most important parts of data security as always make sure that your cloud data is encrypted, at rest and in transit.
QA managers should keep these security measures in mind while they are planning to implement a secure SaaS platform.
Though there are several options available in the market, it is always best to analyze both their requirements and the features provided by these SaaS platforms to select the best solution which perfectly fits with the company’s architecture.
The idea of SaaS applications more vulnerable to data breaches as compared to on-premise solutions is a myth as cloud security is only going to get stronger with time and give businesses more reasons to switch to SaaS.
Being a SaaS codeless test automation platform, Testsigma completely understands the privacy and security of its customer’s sensitive data and hence uses the best information security practices to provide a secured and reliable test automation platform.
Testsigma has commercially reasonable security measures in place in order to protect its clients against the loss, misuse or alteration of the information under control.
In the end, security in the cloud is a shared responsibility and the onus of a safe SaaS is not only on the hands of the SaaS service provider but also on the hands of the QA manager and the employees of the company and each party should know and practice their duties regularly with honesty to achieve a no security breach environment.
