A Continuous Integration and Deployment Framework for Secure Enterprise Systems Using Azure DevOps and Azure Key Vault

Background: Modern enterprise systems increasingly rely on Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines to accelerate software delivery, but this rapid automation introduces significant security risks if not properly managed. Cloud-native DevOps platforms demand integrated security mechanisms to protect credentials, configurations, and deployment processes. Traditional CI/CD frameworks often lack centralized secret management and automated security enforcement. Azure DevOps and Azure Key Vault provide native capabilities to address these challenges. However, a systematic framework combining these tools for secure enterprise deployment remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by proposing a secure CI/CD framework.

Aim: The primary aim of this research is to design and evaluate a secure, scalable, and automated CI/CD framework for enterprise systems using Azure DevOps and Azure Key Vault. The framework seeks to minimize credential exposure and enhance compliance. It also aims to integrate security checks directly into the deployment lifecycle. Ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability of enterprise applications is a core objective. The study further aims to demonstrate practical applicability. Overall, the framework targets secure DevOps adoption in enterprise environments.

Method: The proposed framework is designed using Azure DevOps pipelines integrated with Azure Key Vault for secrets management. Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and automated security scanning are embedded into the CI/CD workflow. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is applied to enforce least-privilege access. A prototype pipeline is implemented and tested using simulated enterprise workloads. Security events and deployment metrics are monitored. The framework is evaluated through controlled experimentation.

Results: The implementation demonstrates significant reduction in secret exposure risks and manual configuration errors. Pipeline execution time remains stable despite added security controls. Automated secret retrieval improves consistency across environments. Security scanning detects misconfigurations early in the development lifecycle. The framework successfully enforces compliance policies. Overall system reliability and security posture are enhanced.

Conclusion: This study presents a practical and secure CI/CD framework for enterprise systems using Azure DevOps and Azure Key Vault. Integrating security natively into CI/CD pipelines improves protection without sacrificing agility. Centralized secret management and automation reduce operational risks. The framework is scalable and adaptable to various enterprise scenarios. It supports secure DevOps practices. Future work may extend the framework with advanced threat detection and zero-trust architectures.