Security, Performance and Quality in Bespoke Enterprise Software Development

Enterprise software - the custom advantage

Most enterprise level businesses use software. In fact, you'd be hard pushed to find one that doesn't - it's just the norm. With large pools of staff, even larger customer bases and ever more complex operations, software is absolutely vital for managing the day to day processes and people that keep the business moving. Whilst some enterprise organisations use off-the-shelf solutions for managing things such as customer communication, scheduling, production, logistics, accounting and so on and so forth, many rely on bespoke software that can be tailored to fit their organisational requirements exactly. Whilst the functionality and features of the software are inherently important, so too, is ensuring the software is secure, performs well and is built using quality technology and methodologies. 

Enterprise grade security built into bespoke applications

With big business, comes big responsibility. Enterprise organisations are the creme de la creme when it come to cyber criminals who want nothing more than to steal and exploit sensitive data including customer and employee records, financial information, intellectual property and other commercially sensitive business intelligence.

And it does happen. Often.

All digital systems hold some level of risk although some more pertinent than others. For example, a public facing web app offers a much more accessible and larger attack surface than a desktop application that only runs on internal computers. However, regardless of where and how a system is deployed, securing it should be top of the priority list.

So, how do you secure bespoke software? Let's take a look at what can be done on the development side:

User authentication

Let's start with the basics. User authentication ensures users are in fact who they claim to be through mechanisms including strong password policies, multi factor authentication and single sign on. 

Access controls & permissions

Users should only ever have access to the information they need and nothing more. This is called The Principle of Least Privilege and is a core fundamental of many security frameworks.  Organisations can do this based on roles, locations, departments or entirely custom parameters.

Data encryption

Data should be protected at every available opportunity and can be done through encryption at rest, encryption in transit, data masking where appropriate and secure storage of credentials and secrets.

API & integrations

Integrations are an absolute necessity for many enterprise organisations allowing them to connect their internal systems to each other so data can flow between them whilst also connecting their systems to relevant third party software to access additional services. However, when data moves between systems, it is another potential opening for criminals to access it. APIs and integrations can be secured through API authentication, rate limiting, input validation and token management.

Database security

Arguably the most valuable target for would be attackers, databases are a treasure trove of information and should be treat as as such. Developers can provide: restricted database access, query parameterisation, SQL injection prevention, encryption and backup protection.

Audit trails & monitoring

Software systems can be developed with inbuilt monitoring mechanisms that will detail who did what and when. These mechanisms include user activity logging, security event monitoring, change tracking, failed login monitoring and live alerts.

An important distinction

It is important at this stage to highlight the difference between developers and specialist security organisations. Whilst software developers are responsible for building secure applications through robust coding practices, authentication, access controls, audit logging and vulnerability mitigation, dedicated security firms are equally as important in that they will focus on assessing, testing and validating these controls to determine their suitability for your specific scenario.

Performance optimisation for high traffic enterprise web applications

Enterprise applications often support hundreds or even thousands of users concurrently. Take Amazon for example. At any given minute, customers, suppliers, warehouse staff, logistics and support reps are all interacting with the Amazon system(s) to carry out whatever task it is they are doing. That's a vast amount of data that needs be processed every second and even a small drop in performance can have a knock on effect on productivity, customer service and ultimately - revenue. 

That's why performance optimisation is critical in any development project and not as a one off thing but a continuous process that is constantly refined from the very start.

Built for enterprise

Any developer worth their salt understands that enterprise apps are fundamentally different to apps that are developed for SMEs. They must be engineered in a way that allows them to accommodate significant user baes and high transaction volumes whilst incorporating the enterprise organisations operational requirements. It is critical that the development team understand how the software is going to be used in the real world as this will allow them to design the architecture in a way that makes it capable of maintaining responsiveness even during times of peak demand.

An example: An SME has 20 employees using an internal CRM system. At any given time, a handful of users at most is accessing the CRM updating customers records, creating quotes or uploading documentation. In this scenario a single web application and database set up is probably going to be sufficient.

Now let's compare that with an enterprise organisation who employs thousands of people across multiple locations where hundreds of users may be accessing the system simultaneously. To cope with this increased demand, the enterprise application should be split across multiple layers and services rather than a single application and database. That would mean traffic can be distributed across several application servers using load balancers, frequently accessed data is stored in caching layers to reduce database load, background processes are managed by dedicated worker services and databases may be replicated or separated according to function. 

They key takeaway here is that enterprise software isn't just a bigger version of SME software - it's architected differently from the ground up to ensure performance, reliability and scalability at scale.

Performance testing

Keeping with the same example used above, the single application and database CRM being used by 10 users will perform a lot differently when being used by hundreds of people. So, it is absolutely crucial that enterprise apps undergo rigorous performance testing before being deployed into service. That's not to say SME apps shouldn't be tested but the tests must reflect the realistic usage patterns of the applications rather than made up scenarios. Applications can be tested through processes such as load testing, stress testing, scalability testing and benchmarking exercises.

Optimisation

Optimisation shouldn't stop at deployment. It shouldn't stop the week after and it shouldn't stop the month after. It should be ongoing and continuous, especially during times of change where user numbers might increase or operational demands shift. Enterprise organisations might wish to go even further, incorporating continuous performance monitoring into their software. This provides constant visibility into system health, response times, database performance, infrastructure utilisation and even user experience metrics.

Quality assurance and testing protocols in bespoke enterprise development

When an enterprise application supports business critical processes - which differ from organisation to organisation but all have catastrophic results when there's a problem - the quality of the system cannot be left to chance. Bugs, performance problems and unplanned downtime can have disastrous results for enterprise businesses but unfortunately, this is a common occurrence.

Testing...at every stage

In an ideal world, all developers would do this for all applications regardless of whether they were for SMEs, Enterprise or otherwise. However, the reality is that this isn't plausible for all development agencies and customers do not always want to pay the higher costs associated with thorough testing. However, this shouldn't be negotiable when it comes to large, complex applications - it is a necessity.

At a minimum, testing should cover:

Individual components - to ensure they function individually

Integrations

End-to-end testing to make sure the solution works as a whole

The added benefit of testing after each 'stage' or 'feature' is that issues can be identified and rectified early rather than at the end when the full solution may need to be reviewed or worse, once it has been deployed and is being used live.

Testing in real world scenarios

Many organisations get the testing at every stage right. However, they miss one of the most crucial testing opportunities which is testing in real world conditions. If a web app is going to be used by multiple employees, in multiple departments, in multiple locations between the hours of 8am and 4pm every day, having two people test the app at midnight whilst sitting next to each other is not going to give an accurate picture of whether it will actually work under the conditions it needs to.

User acceptance testing can be a great help here. It involves getting the end users themselves to validate the software against the business requirements and workflows that they will be using the software for.

Automated testing

Due to the size and complexity of many enterprise applications, manual testing is sometimes impractical. Automated testing pipelines can be used in addition (or independently) to manual testing although it is particularly useful for 'regression testing' which means tests are automatically run to ensure older features work whenever new code is added. 

The bottom line

Testing should be a fundamental part of any software development project and if it isn't - consider looking elsewhere. Yes, testing helps to root out bugs and ensure your software is in the best condition possible prior to roll out but more than that, it protects your financial investment over the longer term. Software that is thoroughly tested during the development phase causes less issues when it goes live. Lower support costs and reduced operational disruption equals a higher return on your investment.

Why bespoke?

In short, because you decide how the software is built. Unlike off-the-shelf solutions, bespoke software allows you to dictate the security measures, performance optimisation strategies and quality assurance processes that are incorporated into the application. This allows the solution to be engineered around your organisation's specific operational requirements, risk profile, user volumes and growth ambitions. Off-the-shelf software does not give you that flexibility - you have to assume a third party vendor who doesn't understand your business at all is capable of selecting the best mechanisms to serve your business. Risky indeed.

To finish

Enterprise software is the foundation upon which reputation, operational efficiency and commercial success are built. Therefore, the security, performance and quality of these software systems should be a key focus from the get go. 

Any software system built in this day and age must be designed in a way that responds to the constantly evolving cyber threat landscape, maintaining responsiveness with increased usage and consistent performance in a reliable and stable way that meets the expectations of clients and customers alike. Those organisations that do this are positioning themselves as credible, secure and responsible which are key traits for attracting the talent and customer base that keeps them operating.

See also

Integration Capabilities at the Core of Enterprise Bespoke Solutions

Bespoke Enterprise Software