Discovering... HashiCorp Boundary

Welcome to BlakYaks' monthly newsletter about all things cloud native. Expect a mix of business news and insights covering everything from cutting-edge solutions to best practices and real-world examples shared directly by our team.

As part of our mission to stay at the forefront of the latest open-source developments (and in response to client demand), we wanted to use the July issue of Have you… Heard? to share some insights and thoughts regarding Hashicorp’s Boundary platform.

Our research is ongoing, but Boundary is definitely one to keep an eye on, helping businesses simplify and secure access to critical services & resources. Continue reading below to find out why we like this tool.

About HashiCorp Boundary

HashiCorp Boundary is an innovative platform designed to redefine how users access systems, applications, and critical data. Boundary provides a secure, simplified approach to managing access, replacing traditional, often complex and vulnerable methods with a streamlined, secure process.

Rather than granting users direct access to systems, Boundary acts as a gatekeeper, creating a secure pathway between the user and the required services. Its design eliminates the need for managing multiple credentials or navigating intricate security protocols, making access easier for users and safer for organisations.

?

Purpose and Benefits

Boundary acts as a comprehensive tool to simplify and secure access management. It provides identity-based access management, verifying the identity of individuals attempting to access specific parts of your system and only allowing authorised access. It's like a digital key master, ensuring that only the right people access appropriate resources within your digital infrastructure.

Significantly, Boundary provides secure access without exposing your network. It creates a secure, invisible tunnel from the user to the required resource, increasing security by keeping potential attackers in the dark.

?

Functionality

The software simplifies secure access to services and resources. Instead of juggling multiple credentials for different services, users authenticate once with Boundary, which then grants access to authorised services.

This not only enhances user convenience but also improves security by reducing the risk of credential loss or theft.

?

Practical Applications

Boundary's modern design and sophisticated features offer practical applications across diverse sectors and industries. A nice example of the power of Boundary is the ability to authenticate and connect to a private Azure SQL database remotely without exposing the network. Hashicorp have a nice example of this in their documentation.

?

End note

HashiCorp Boundary is a digital gatekeeper that streamlines and secures access to systems and services. It offers a centralised, simplified approach to access management, acting as a digital concierge that guides users to required services without the need for multiple passwords or complex navigation.

Boundary's approach to secure remote access and dynamic access controls aligns with our commitment to safeguarding our systems and data while providing seamless access to authorised users. Its ability to provide fine-grained access control and session management could offer significant advantages in securing sensitive environments and we are assessing its suitability for various use cases and potential integration with our clients’ systems to ensure it meets their needs for robust security and operational flexibility.

Boundary is on it's 16th minor version and has had 58 releases since v0.1.0 back in October 2020.

New offers on Azure Marketplace ???

Our new Azure Accelerator Packs are now available through the Microsoft Azure Marketplace:

?? DevOps & IaC Bootstrap ?? See Offer

?? Azure Landing Zone ?? See Offer

?? Enterprise Container Platform ?? See Offer

What should we cover next?

Do you have a specific topic you'd like us to explore in upcoming newsletters? Drop your suggestions in the comments below!

If you’ve got any questions or are looking to partner with us, we're all ears. Let’s chat and discuss how we can collaborate to accelerate your cloud native journey.

??You can reach out to us at [email protected]

??Book a call here: https://www.blakyaks.com/bookings

??Follow us on LinkedIn