Modern applications rely heavily on secrets such as database passwords, API keys, and certificates, which complicates management as infrastructure scales. According to industry reports, 96% of organizations face challenges with secrets sprawl, which poses significant security risks as shown by data breaches involving compromised credentials. To address this, secrets management has evolved beyond simple storage to include intelligent orchestration across distributed environments. Platforms like Pulumi ESC exemplify this shift by offering configuration-as-code, dynamic credential generation, and multi-source integration without requiring organizations to abandon existing infrastructure. Cloud-native solutions like AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, and Google Secret Manager offer seamless integration within specific ecosystems, while developer-focused tools like Doppler and 1Password emphasize ease of adoption. The future of secrets management lies in orchestration, configuration-as-code, and dynamic credentials, aligning with zero-trust principles and enhancing security and operational efficiency. Choosing the right platform involves considering factors like existing infrastructure investments, cloud strategy alignment, team expertise, and compliance requirements to ensure scalable and secure management of secrets as organizations grow.