The pressure to deliver secure, high-quality software at speed has never been greater, but while DevSecOps has become the standard operating model for modern software delivery, many organisations are still struggling to achieve the promised benefits of faster releases, improved quality and enhanced security. The Shift Everywhere model addresses the need for improved speed and security in application development.
This is according to Dumisani Mukansi, President and CEO of Dugson Consulting, who was speaking ahead of the upcoming OpenText Summit Africa 2026, where Dugson Consulting will be a Diamond Influence Partner of the event.
He says: “Organisations are increasingly adopting AI, machine learning (ML), platform engineering and intelligent automation to streamline software development life cycles. Yet many projects continue to experience delays, quality issues, security vulnerabilities and escalating costs because automation is often implemented in isolation rather than as part of a broader transformation strategy.”
Mukansi says the challenge facing organisations today is no longer whether to automate, but how to automate intelligently.
The new DevSecOps imperative
Mukansi notes that software delivery leaders must not only accelerate release cycles and reduce operational risk; they must also improve developer productivity, enhance visibility across the software delivery life cycle and deliver continuous value to customers.
However, despite significant investments in DevSecOps tools and platforms, many organisations continue to face common challenges such as manual testing bottlenecks, extended project delivery timelines, high defect rates, security vulnerabilities discovered late in the life cycle, poor collaboration between development, security and operations teams, and inconsistent governance and compliance controls.
Mukansi says: “When delivery deadlines become aggressive, testing and quality assurance are often compressed. This creates technical debt that eventually slows delivery even further. Organisations end up spending more time fixing issues than innovating.
“The rise of AI-assisted coding has increased developer productivity, but it has also amplified the need for robust automated testing and security validation,” he adds. “As software is generated faster, defects and vulnerabilities can also be introduced at a faster rate if adequate controls are not in place.
“In many cases, the root cause of these challenges is not technology, but process maturity. To overcome these issues and deliver on requirements, organisations must move beyond the traditional concept of 'Shift Left' and embrace a broader 'Shift Everywhere' strategy,” he says.
The evolution of testing automation
Mukansi emphasises that testing remains one of the most critical components of software delivery. However, traditional testing approaches are no longer sufficient for modern development environments, he says.
"Testing, security, compliance, monitoring and automation should not be confined to a single stage of the software development life cycle. They must be integrated across the entire value chain – from planning and coding to deployment, monitoring and continuous improvement."
Organisations are increasingly adopting AI-powered test automation, automated regression testing, continuous security testing, performance and resilience testing, Infrastructure-as-Code validation, API and micro-services testing and real-time production monitoring to identify and remediate issues as early as possible while maintaining continuous feedback throughout the delivery life cycle. However, automation alone is not the answer, Mukansi says.
"Many organisations purchase automation tools expecting immediate results. True value is realised only when automation is aligned with business processes, governance requirements and organisational objectives."
The future is Shift Everywhere
The future of software delivery belongs to organisations that embrace automation, AI and continuous improvement across every stage of the development life cycle, says Mukansi.
“Rather than focusing solely on shifting testing and security left, organisations must shift quality, security, compliance, monitoring and automation everywhere,” he says. “This holistic approach enables faster project delivery, improved software quality, enhanced security, reduced operational risk and greater business agility. Organisations that successfully integrate intelligent automation into their DevSecOps practices will be better positioned to innovate, respond to customer demands and compete in an increasingly digital economy.
"The question is no longer whether to automate, but how quickly organisations can transform their delivery models to unlock the full value of automation and AI-driven software development.”
With its deep understanding of business and operational processes, expertise in DevSecOps, cloud and platform engineering, strong project and change management capabilities and AI and automation implementation experience, Dugson Consulting leverages leading OpenText technologies to help organisations successfully implement the "Shift Everywhere" DevSecOps approach, accelerating application delivery while enhancing quality, security and operational efficiency.
Mukansi highlights OpenText’s Fortify technology as an example: “Fortify is built up with AI and can detect vulnerabilities and actually propose remediation to help developers resolve issues – right down to the code line level," he says. “We are seeing increasing demand for Fortify among our customers across South Africa, the UK, Middle East, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Australia and Zambia.”
Through intelligent automation, continuous testing, application life cycle management and DevSecOps integration, along with OpenText solutions, Dugson Consulting enables businesses to reduce delivery bottlenecks, improve software quality and achieve faster time-to-market.
At the 2026 OpenText Summit Africa 2026, Dugson Consulting will host a track discussing cyber security and highlighting how to enhance application security using OpenText Fortify.
At its exhibition stand, Dugson Consulting will showcase innovative OpenText solutions and demonstrate how organisations can build cyber resilience and transform their software delivery life cycle through automation and modern DevSecOps practices.
Visitors to the stand will discover Dugson Consulting’s capabilities in cyber security, DevSecOps transformation and implementation, application delivery management (ADM), continuous application security testing and quality engineering, intelligent automation and enterprise integration and support services.
The Dugson Consulting pre-sales, sales and expert technical team will be on-site to discuss real-world use cases, implementation strategies and support models that help organisations accelerate digital transformation and achieve measurable business outcomes.
The OpenText Summit Africa 2026 will be held on Thursday, 3 September at The Canvas in Riversands, Johannesburg. Register for this event here.
To learn more about Dugson Consulting, go to: https://welcome.dugsonconsulting.co.za/.
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