A New Approach to Security and Image Management
Not long ago, I sat down with the security manager of one of our enterprise clients — a fast-moving company with a small security team overseeing dozens of AWS accounts. Like so many others, they were struggling under the weight of manual processes: chasing down out-of-date images, tracking compliance across environments, and spending endless hours on reporting.
After implementing our Image Management Solution, they cut their security reporting time by 83%.
That kind of impact is a reminder: the old ways of managing cloud security simply aren’t keeping up with the pace required by businesses today.
The Tension Security Teams Live With
In many enterprise environments, security leaders are balancing on a knife’s edge.
On one side, there’s the non-negotiable need for security: proper permissions across every account, security agents correctly installed, policies enforced at scale.
On the other, there’s the drive to move fast: developers and operational teams needing the freedom to build, test, and deploy with the best tools available.
The traditional way to bridge this gap has been through pre-approved images, which are essentially standardized templates packed with required agents and configurations. It made sense. It created control.
But it also created headaches.
Mounting maintenance. Security teams had to update and manage growing libraries of images tailored to specific applications or operating systems — a time-consuming task that didn’t scale well.
Rigid limits. Developers were restricted to using operating sytems (or specific versions of them) because the security team had a hardened, approved image.
Operational drag. The overhead stole valuable time from more strategic, high-impact security work.
Most organizations simply accepted this friction as the price of doing things “securely.”
We knew there had to be a better way.
A Shift in Thinking
At Stratus10, we started asking:
What if security could be guaranteed — without locking teams into static, pre-baked images?
What if the burden of manual image management disappeared, replaced by automation that installs and verifies required security agents dynamically?
That’s exactly what we built with our Image Management Solution (IMS).
Instead of mandating specific images, IMS automates the installation of security agents across any operating system.
Operating system agnostic. Teams pick the OS that best fits their needs; security remains consistent.
Fully automated. No more manually maintaining image libraries across environments.
Stronger compliance. Security controls are enforced automatically, reducing the risk of human error.
The result: security is no longer a roadblock or afterthought. It’s simply there, seamlessly embedded everywhere.
Why It Matters
When that small security team I mentioned earlier adopted this automation process for their security agents, the changes were immediate.
Instead of maintaining long lists of approved images and relying on DevOps teams to ensure the correct agents were installed, they gained visibility to ensure their agents were deployed across all instances, regardless of OS or whether the image was pre-approved.
That visibility made all the difference.
It let them confirm their security posture with confidence, without blocking application teams or enforcing rigid, one-size-fits-all images.
Cutting their security reporting time by 83% wasn’t just a productivity win — it was a strategic shift. They moved from reactive to proactive, from checking boxes to driving meaningful outcomes.
And they did it without slowing their teams down.
Where We're Headed
The future of security in the cloud won’t be about more rigid controls.
It won’t be about endlessly scaling manual processes.
It will be about smarter automations and systems that adapt dynamically, enforce intelligently, and enable teams to innovate without compromising security.
At Stratus10, we believe automation, when designed with intention, can finally align security and agility, and help organizations of every size move with confidence into what’s next.
Looking to tackle similar security agent challenges at your company? Get in touch with one of our engineers »
Explore the technical details about Stratus10’s Image Management Solution on the AWS blog
Would love to hear how other teams manage security agents. Share your best tip (or rant).