Securing Software Development without Sacrificing Innovation: Crowdsourcing and the Gig Economy
By Michael P. Morris, CEO for Topcoder | Global Head of Crowdsourcing for Wipro
Given the increase in suspicious cyber activity, modern IT teams have a tough challenge: to continuously
innovate, and yet, to do so in a way that is secure for the enterprise and its customers. Securing software
development without sacrificing that rapid pace of true innovation is topping the agenda of C-levels across
every industry.
A strategy proving to be efficient and cost-effective (for both employers and workers), is the cultivation
and use of the global community of virtual freelancers (a.k.a. the gig economy workforce). A 2018 BCG
and Harvard Business School survey of 6,500 worldwide executives recorded that 40 percent expect
freelancers to account for an increased share of their workforce over the coming five years. McKinsey &
Company found that 162 million people in the US and Europe “engage in some form of independent
work.” Google made headlines this March when it revealed temporary workers and contractors
outnumber full-time employees.
Clearly, technology is at the root of this evolution. It makes it easier for people to collaborate from
anywhere in any time zone, which has resulted in an endless pool of gig economy workers available for
hire.
Security and the Gig Economy
Whether talking with companies from the US or abroad, it seems the concern around security and remote
workers is a key factor holding them back from diving into the gig economy waters. However, modern-
day cyber strategies are making the physical location of employees almost irrelevant—a 2018 Shred-it
study found that employee negligence is actually the main cause of data breaches. The truth is, like many
aspects of software development, it’s all about the methodology.
Crowdsourced software development projects allow organizations to access vetted software developers
and designers from anywhere in the world that have in-demand skills for cutting edge technologies, like
AI and quantum computing. Qualified crowd platforms have built-in processes—from scoping and
specifying to coding and QA/testing—that take extreme measures to make sure every interaction with a
gig economy worker is secure, down to a very granular level, with multiple checks and balances