Everyone thinks CISOs make the final call on security tools.
But in modern software organisations, adoption starts long before the boardroom, inside CI/CD pipelines, developer workflows, and pull requests. By the time a tool lands on an executive’s desk, engineering teams have already accepted or rejected it.
If you’re a vendor optimizing your event strategy around CISOs, you might be speaking to the wrong audience.
Who Really Decides What Security Tools Get Adopted?
In 2026, security adoption is bottom-up, not top-down. While CISOs control budgets, it’s developers, DevSecOps, and platform engineers who decide which tools actually stay in the workflow.
Security vendors often assume that getting a CISO’s approval equals adoption. That approval just formalises what the engineering team has already validated, or silently vetoed.
How Adoption Usually Starts
- DevSecOps teams embedding scanners into CI/CD pipelines.
- Platform engineers testing usability, latency, and friction.
- Developers evaluating whether a tool breaks the “flow” in their inner loop.
When your product appears naturally in the places developers learn and test (docs, GitHub, events, forums), it’s far more likely to be adopted, and therefore recommended up the chain.
How Security Adoption Really Works Today
Security is no longer a gate at the end of the development cycle. It’s part of design, build, and deployment.
That shift means:
- Developers evaluate usability before CISOs ever see a demo.
- Engineering leaders validate ROI based on friction, not price.
- Procurement approves tools already integrated by engineers.
By the time executives talk about a vendor, the tool has already been “shadow-tested” by those who’ll live with it every day.
Closing the “Approval Gap”
Large security conferences like RSAC (RSA Conference) are great for executive credibility and brand authority. They are “the closer.” But they’re not where developers discover tools they love.
Developer-first events, like the WeAreDevelopers World Congress, are where hands-on engineers exchange solutions, debug problems live, and build the trust that leads to organic adoption.
| Strategic Goal | Executive-Focused (e.g., RSAC) | Developer-First (e.g., WeAreDevelopers) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Outcome | Budget & Legal Approval | Technical Advocacy & Workflow Integration |
| Key Persona | CISO, VP of Risk, Procurement | DevSecOps, SREs, Senior Engineers |
| Market Role | “The Closer” | “The Opener” |
| Influence Area | Approval, Budget, Standardization | Evaluation, Usage, Advocacy |
If you’re only showing up where CISOs are, you’re missing where adoption actually begins.
Interested in being part of a developer event, like the WeAreDevelopers World Congress?
Learn more about partnership opportunities
Why Developers Prioritise Developer-First Events
Developers don’t attend conferences for swag; they attend to solve problems. They want answers, architecture insights, and honest takes.
Here’s what attracts them most:
- Speed of Learning: Hallway conversations transfer knowledge faster than any documentation or Slack thread.
- Global Scaling Lessons: Developers study how others solve massive infrastructure problems. If your product appears as part of those stories, it earns instant credibility.
- Direct Access to Visionaries: Meeting the people behind the tools (like framework creators or CTOs) builds technical trust that marketing alone can’t buy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the real decision-makers in security tool procurement?
While CISOs hold the budget, DevSecOps leads and senior architects hold the power of adoption. If they reject a tool due to false positives, friction, or workflow disruption, it won’t survive, no matter the price tag.
Why do some security tools become “shelfware”?
Because they were purchased top-down. When tools slow developers down or spam alerts, engineers route around them. True ROI comes when tools integrate natively into pipelines, not when they’re mandated from above.
Where does developer-led adoption happen?
In trusted, high-density learning environments: community forums, documentation hubs, and developer-first events like WeAreDevelopers World Congress, where technical credibility matters more than sponsorships.
Developers Are the New Gatekeepers
Approval and adoption are linked, but they’re not the same. Security vendors who stop treating all events as equal and start designing strategies around bottom-up adoption gain more than just contracts. They gain champions.
Champions who:
- Integrate your product early.
- Defend it in architecture discussions.
- Accelerate executive approvals.
So next time you plan your marketing calendar, ask yourself:
- “Which events or communities drive evaluation and advocacy?”
- “Where do developers actually talk about our product online?”
- “Are we cited in technical discussions or only press releases?”
Interested in being part of a developer event, like the WeAreDevelopers World Congress?
Learn more about partnership opportunities.
More resources:
How Security Companies Drive Adoption Through Developer-First Events
It breaks down how developer-first environments influence security adoption, and how vendors can design event strategies that reflect how decisions are really made today.