Ensuring reliable data security is a critical part of Application Performance Management (APM) — or at least it should be. The fact is, as a result of our need for speed, increasingly development teams are confronted with the problem of releasing applications faster without compromising security.

There are many ways that this may play out, so let's take Raspberry Pi (RasPi) as one example. This popular platform is well known for its role in Internet of Things (IoT) platforms and applications. This is because RasPi's combination of cost effectiveness, versatility and simplicity make it an attractive solution for small businesses and large enterprises, experts and novices alike — especially those looking to develop and roll-out a solution as quickly and affordably as possible. This tiny computing tool is behind a growing number of IoT devices and applications that are increasing worldwide connection opportunities — but are in tandem increasing how easy it is for hackers to compromise systems that rely on a traditional network perimeter, such as a virtual private network (VPN), and thus aren't properly secured.

2020 will be the year when APM begins to integrate a higher level of security

This is why 2020 will be the year when APM begins to integrate a higher level of security, which can best be achieved through software defined perimeters (SDP). This new class of data security can be effectively paired with RasPi, resulting in IoT networks that are highly secure, easy to manage and quite affordable. SDP's primary benefit is in better protecting intra-device data flows by providing application-level segmentation, rather than automatically granting network-level access to every user. This change in access helps to reverse the security problems caused by conventional perimeter security, which is prone to attack due to its large potential network-wide attack surface.

VPNs do work well in certain situations, but only those they were designed to handle. Since VPNs and other traditional perimeter security solutions weren't designed for the cloud-based world in which we now operate — a world that can only be considered "perimeter-less" today — SDP solutions that isolate and protect data at the app level become vital for to avoid unauthorized access.

Because SDP software was made expressly to handle hybrid- and multi-cloud environments and never gives a blanket nod of trust to all users, whether it's someone within the network or a third party, this perimeter-less "Zero-Trust" approach is poised to gain steam and ultimately overtake VPN as part of APM security in 2020. With platforms like RasPi and the growing ubiquity of IoT devices, it only makes sense to require verification before connection is authorized, not simply allowing a "blank check" approach to accessing data and systems. The discrete, encrypted SDP network essentially eliminates the attack surface and renders all IT assets invisible unless a user is IT-verified to see them, and inaccessible until IT-authorized to access them.

RasPi is a major data security challenge that IT professionals must consider in conjunction with application performance management, but there are other considerations as well. Cloud-based disaster recovery (DR) is also gaining wide acceptance throughout diverse industries, replacing yesterday's VPN-reliant DR strategy in many organizations. This approach allows companies to ensure business continuity and protect data while keeping costs and complexities down. As explained above, VPN simply wasn't designed for today's cloud-based work environment, so SDP's time has come.

We don't need a crystal ball to see that in 2020, enterprises that care about the security side of APM in relation to IoT will secure their RasPi platforms with SDP software. Also this year, look for a disruption in the cloud DR market via the emergence of DR software that wraps SDP security into the package, avoiding VPN costs and management complexities.

2020 has long been on the horizon as a time of technological innovation that until now could only be imagined. We're finally here — the future is now. With the best of what technology has to offer through SDP and its impenetrable perimeters, application performance management can become as secure as it needs to be in a totally connected world.