Jan 2, 2015
Automation: The natural next step in security operations management
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In October 2021, low-code security automation made its debut with Swimlane Cloud. The Swimlane platform unlocks automation beyond the SOC to serve as a system of record for the entire security organization, integrating any set of security tools with existing people and processes for a faster and more effective defense and incident response. This was a groundbreaking announcement because it brought to market the industry’s first cloud-scale low-code platform that is available as software-as-a-service. Just one quarter later, and we have welcomed some of the worlds best brands in the automotive, financial services, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, MSSP industries and more, to the Swimlane customer base.
New platform feature enhancements
Today, I’m excited to announce that version 10.5 of the Swimlane low-code security automation platform is now available for on-premises and cloud customers. This release presents 4 themes of feature enhancements.
Simplified applet experience
In the Swimlane platform, an applet is a preconfigured set of fields and layout specifications for Swimlane. Applets are appended to an existing application layout. They are designed to allow users to easily update and expand their existing applications. Now, with 10.5 Swimlane customers have the ability to export tasks with applets. Tasks are an action, or series of actions, that consist of inputs, configuration details, output, and triggers. Depending on the sophistication that the use case requires, tasks can be very complex and contain multiple input and output variables.
This change to Swimlane’s applets simplifies the experience of using the product, so that admins can more easily create modular components of the app for automation. By making task exports compatible with the SSP format, customers have the ability to use applets to export tasks between Swimlane environments. Here’s a demo video of how applets work in 10.5. See this demo video of how you can use applets to export tasks for a threat intelligence use case
Expanded actionability of logging
One of the most simple, yet impactful, enhancements coming out of 10.5 is how logging enhancements increase the actionability of the platform. Before 10.5, logs were presented in order based on what was most recent, and there wasn’t a smooth way to narrow in on an older log entry.
10.5 leverages Swimlane’s low-code visualization studio to present a user-friendly calendar widget. The widget makes it easy for the user to submit the date they care about. This enhancement will help analysts speed their mean-time-to-respond (MTTR), and reduce burnout, because of how simply they can hone in on the logs they need. Check out this brief demo video to see how these enhancements improve actionability of Swimlane logs.
Python updates bring performance improvements
Python 2.7 is deprecated by the 10.5 release, and support for Python 3.7 is added. This change enhances core platform performance, and helps future-proof customer investments in Swimlane due to the maintenance support cycle running through June 2023.
Platform Usability Improvements
One thing that we pride ourselves on here at Swimlane, is being not only a great product, but also a great partner. Because we are 100% dedicated to security automation and have the resources of being the world’s largest independent SOAR, we have the ability to be a nimble company. This means listening to our customers, and quickly implementing even the smallest changes, that are going to make their experience using Swimlane better.
There were a handful of usability improvements resulting from customer feedback included in the 10.5 release. For example, now customers have the ability to open a record in a new tab, which means that they can also look at multiple records at one time. Another improvement is the ability to create an asset from the task view. Before, if a user was working on a task and they needed an asset to leverage the task, they would have to exit the task view to create the asset, and then come back. Now, without ever leaving task view, they can create the asset needed to successfully run the task. This demo video shows how it works.
2022 Product Roadmap Themes
While I can’t spill the beans of our 2022 roadmap in a blog post, I can give you a hint to a few themes that our upcoming releases will deliver. We will continue to expand upon our low-code security automation approach to empower more people to become builders and automators. New applications will expand visibility and actionability beyond the security operations center (SOC). And finally, Swimlanes’ automation and orchestration enhancements will enable continuous improvement, not just a series of point in time actions, to better prevent breaches and ensure compliance.
Learn more about Swimlane low-code security automation
Current customers who are interested in learning more about the 10.5 release can go here, or reach out to their customer success manager (CSM).
If you are currently evaluating security automation solutions and would like to learn more about Swimlane, schedule a live demo today!
Gartner: Create a SOC Target Operating Model to Drive Success
“Security and risk management leaders often struggle to convey the business value of their security operations centers to non security leaders, resulting in reduced investment, poor collaboration and eroding support…” — Access this Gartner SOC Operating Model report – courtesy of Swimlane.
