May 2017 Summaries

LaunchDarkly introduces support for single sign-on (SSO) via Security Assertion Markup Language 2.0 (SAML 2.0), aiming to simplify and enhance user management. The feature includes a test-drive mode for administrators to verify SAML configuration before enabling it for the entire team. LaunchDarkly also offers just-in-time user provisioning, automatically creating accounts when new employees access the platform via their identity provider. Currently supporting Okta and OneLogin, with more providers planned, this feature is available on enterprise plans.

The text discusses the transition from Waterfall to Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) in software development and introduces "The Risk Gap" concept, which highlights the inherent risks involved in launching new releases. These risks include losing product value or time due to delayed feature updates or competitor advantage. The Risk Gap is also linked to the Iron Triangle concept that suggests teams often have to choose between speed, quality, and cost when developing software. LaunchDarkly aims to close this gap by enabling companies to adopt CI/CD methodology responsibly, accelerate development cycles, eliminate risks associated with large releases, and reduce costs of homegrown feature management systems.

LaunchDarkly has experienced significant growth in the past year, increasing its customer base by 500% and serving over ten billion feature flags daily. The company's NPS score is an industry-leading 50, surpassing tech's average by 20%. Gartner has recognized LaunchDarkly as a "2017 Cool Vendor" in DevOps Technologies for its feature management service that helps businesses adopt Continuous Deployment best practices. The company's offerings include percentage rollouts, feature kill switches, and code-driven A/B testing to help teams manage risks associated with faster release cycles.

The text discusses an individual's transition from working at Box for 9 years to joining the LaunchDarkly team. They express excitement about the company's potential to transform software release management. During their first week, they met with team members, learned about the product, and participated in customer calls. They attended an offsite meeting in San Francisco where the mission and strategy of providing a feature management platform were discussed. The author highlights the interest from companies of various sizes across different industries in partnering with LaunchDarkly. They also mention the company's focus on ensuring customer success and fulfilling demand quickly. Lastly, they express their anticipation for growing LaunchDarkly's footprint by partnering with companies to drive innovation and mitigate risks.

In the latest episode of To Be Continuous, Edith and Paul discuss a massive DDoS attack against Dyn, a major DNS provider, in late 2016. They examine the security flaw that enabled millions of IoT devices to be hijacked and discuss how it could have been avoided. They conclude that to minimize such attacks, all devices that connect to the internet should have easily updatable firmware, and that the IoT industry needs greater regulation.