10 Benefits of Software Composition Analysis Integration By DevTools

Overview

Do you know 96%¹ of applications use at least one open-source component?

These resources from third-party frameworks, open-source libraries, and proprietary modes offer many advantages that help developers speed up software development. However, these benefits come with a host of risks: possible license violations, poor code quality, security vulnerabilities, and more. To build quick yet secure applications, development teams need to track these open-source dependencies used in the projects and also assess them for these risks.  

The Software Composition Analysis (SCA) offers a complete solution to manage various aspects of using open-source dependencies. SCA can help you improve your software quality, security, and compliance by identifying, prioritizing, and fixing the risks associated with open-source dependencies.

In this blog post, we discuss what Software Composition Analysis (SCA) is and how you can benefit by integrating it into your development workflow.

What is Software Composition Analysis?

Software Composition Analysis is a process to identify the open-source components used in a source code and inspect them for vulnerabilities, verify compliance with licenses, and run periodic scans to keep a check on the code’s health.

Moreover, the analysis provides a detailed report that covers various aspects of using open-source dependencies in an application. The report includes a list of all open-source components in the codebase, details about their license and version, and a record of common vulnerabilities and the applications affected by them.

The process is automated and hence is of great help to the development teams in getting real-time insights into the use of open-source components. Its integration into the development workflow can relieve teams of tedious yet vital tasks.

DevTools is a leading expert in DevSecOps solutions and we have been successfully implementing result-oriented development workflows for several esteemed clients. We offer integration with leading SCA solutions so your development team can deliver robust and secure applications more efficiently, by using quality open-source components.

Let us have a look at how DevTools SCA integration solutions can further strengthen your software development process and your applications.

Benefits of Software Composition Analysis

In the fast-paced software development landscape, agility and efficiency are the two factors driving software businesses. With DevTools Software Composition Analysis services, you can pace up your development process by using open-source components while SCA works for you to ensure safety.

Automatic identification of open-source components:

The Software Composition Analysis process automates crucial steps of analysis such as identifying, assessing, and tracking each component. This automation steps up the process of tracking open-source components while saving time and improving transparency in the software development process. DevTools offers integration with leading SCA tools to give you a complete picture of the open-source landscape and helps you reduce audit risks and manage your compliance requirements.

Eliminates business risks & improves security:

Software Composition Analysis evades the security threats posed by unsafe open-source dependencies. When you have SCA-integrated workflows, you leverage the benefits of these open-source components without risking your business. DevTools combines vulnerability databases and ranks the alerts based on their severity level to keep you updated on possible incidents of expensive security breaches. It also prepares you for swift remediation in case any such event unfolds.

Keeps a constant check on vulnerabilities:

In the ever-evolving threat landscape, Software Composition Analysis ensures the security of your applications through constant monitoring and scanning of your codebase for newly introduced weak points. DevTools SCA integration services effortlessly incorporate this monitoring into your workflows, so that the scans are triggered automatically to keep you informed and help you manage the risks proactively.

Protects against litigation and copyright profiteering:

Software Composition Analysis helps you identify and avoid licensing conflicts and copyright issues linked with open-source components. With DevTools SCA integration solutions, legal compliance tools become part of your workflow, letting you pick components that are apt for your project but do not get you into legal complications.

Provides priority-based vulnerability alerts:

Software Composition Analysis tools remain vigilant constantly and rank the issues according to their severity so that you can fix high-priority issues proactively. DevTools SCA solutions provide integration with security automation tools that help streamline the remediation process. Consequently, you close the potential breach points and mitigate the risks before any damage.

Promotes innovation:

With Software Component Analysis, you can leverage the open-source technology that plays a prominent role in software development as it facilitates innovation, collaboration, and efficiency. However, the security threats that come along pose hindrances in the way of smooth development. With DevTools SCA solutions, you get a risk-benefit analysis of open-source components to help you make informed decisions and continue your journey to secure innovations.

Reduces time-to-market:

With Software Composition Analysis integrated into your workflow, you relieve your team of tedious, manual, and time-consuming tasks such as identification and vulnerability scanning. In this market of intense competition, no business can afford to lose a chance to present the best product in the shortest time possible. With streamlined processes and remediation measures offered by DevTools SCA solutions, you can focus solely on building better software before the competition.

Improves efficiency of the team:

With Software Composition Analysis taking care of the security issues, your teams save time and become efficient, eventually opening new pathways for your business. Integrating DevTools SCA solutions into your workflow lets your development team invest their time and knowledge in their core tasks, that is development. While your team is busy innovating new ideas, our SCA solution quietly works at the backend by keeping a constant check on potential threats, providing real-time insights, and streamlining the remediation process.

Helps You Reduce Security Costs:

When you adopt Software Composition Analysis solutions for your business, you avoid fatal incidents of security breaches and the associated consequences in terms of financial loss. SCA tools also prioritize the identified vulnerabilities and notify you accordingly so that you can address the most critical issues before they cause any harm. If you choose DevTools for your SCA solutions, we offer integration with security cost optimization tools that let you optimize security expenses by analyzing and prioritizing your security resources and tasks. Further, you can expect maximum ROI as you align your security initiatives with business objectives.

Boost Quality work:

Software Composition Analysis tools analyze open-source components that are usually poorly tested and can introduce bugs or performance issues to your system. Such components if used without screening for quality can impact the outcome of your project. DevTools SCA solutions meticulously integrate these insights directly into your development environment ensuring quality work from the beginning till the end of the software development process.

Best Software Composition Analysis Tools

JFrog XRay

JFrog’s XRay is a powerful SCA tool essential to a secure software delivery setup. It proactively scans open-source components and dependencies for vulnerabilities, facilitates license compliance management, and analyses the impact of vulnerabilities on software. Moreover, XRay simplifies issue tracking by integrating with Jira to generate the tickets automatically. DevTools, a JFrog gold partner, can help you maximize its benefits by installing, migrating, configuring, and integrating the XRay tool into your DevSecOps workflow. 

SonarSource

SonarSource offers SonarQube, a software composition analysis tool, that examines the underlying components of a software application, with a special focus on third-party open-source components. The tool scans the source code layer by layer from modules to classes to identify all the components used in the application, including open-source ones. Not only does it check them for security vulnerabilities, but also provides high-quality actionable feedback so that you can take timely steps to improve your security posture. DevTools, as a SonarSource partner, stands by you in achieving this goal through the seamless integration of SonarQube into your setup.

Conclusion

Software Composition Analysis facilitates the development of new software applications by addressing security concerns related to open-source components. It also improves the overall quality and pace of the software development process while keeping you safe from legal complexities. DevTools goes one step ahead and offers more than just the SCA tools. Our SCA integration solutions extend further to offer you a complete ecosystem for integrated security and compliance. We create a harmonious platform by combining leading SCA solutions with your development workflow to generate a streamlined experience for your teams. Contact us today and take your first step to embrace the future of secure development with DevTools and SCA, and build software with confidence.