Introducing SUSE Rancher Developer Access (EA) to reduce risk and boost time to market

The software journey is inherently risky, it starts from a developer downloading a container to shipping code on a mission-critical application in production. Developers, naturally, prioritize speed and functionality, which often means grabbing unsafe images with critical vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, platform and operations teams struggle to enforce compliance and security consistently across ever-changing development workflows.

That changes today with SUSE Rancher Developer Access (Early Access), it’s built specifically to resolve this tension while increasing development speed. Our goal is to ensure security before developers start building on images and all the way up to production. We are restoring enterprise-grade trust across the notoriously difficult to tame developer workflow.

Consistency and trust cut risk to increase speed

A truly powerful offer, SUSE Rancher Developer Access (EA) is focused on two strategic outcomes: reduce risk and accelerate time to market. 

Unified toolchain for seamless context

The core principle of SUSE Developer Access (EA) is security from day one. True velocity doesn’t come from chaos, it comes from seamless context. 

Establishing a single source of truth for applications and Base Images (BCI), making them directly accessible to all developers in their local Rancher Desktop environment. Therefore, eliminating the common problem of it “works on my machine” and standardizing the build foundation across an organization ensures production security is present from the moment a developer starts a new project.by using the same high-security SUSE Linux Base Container Images (BCI) for both development and production, we guarantee that when a developer start working using content from  SUSE Application Collection, they are starting secure.

How SUSE delivers enterprise-grade foundations

The quality of your software foundation determines the stability of the final application, which is why we build images to the highest security posture with SUSE Application Collection, prolonging the life of your application.

Our images deliver low vulnerability with no to low CVE counts accomplished through automatic maintenance of dependencies so developers can settle their code on robust foundations without constant, disruptive rebase efforts.

Crucially, we embed built-in compliance and provenance directly into the content. The SUSE Developer Access (EA) artifacts with SBOMs (Software Bill of Materials) and SLSA L3 Provenance tracking. Additionally FIPS compliant apps are now being added. This gives operations teams auditable proof of what is inside their containers, simplifying security reviews and dramatically shortening audit cycles.

Accelerated delivery and onboarding

The primary benefit for every developer is a friction-less, fast development cycle that doesn’t compromise trust. SUSE Developer Access (EA) accelerates delivery with compliant applications via Helm Charts. Each app is consistently and meticulously maintained to always be up to date. New app releases are made available when dependencies change. It means your teams spend less time chasing dependency drift and more time shipping features and ultimately business value.

Ready to start your next project on a rock-solid, enterprise-ready foundation?

Start your journey to freedom today

The SUSE Rancher Developer Access Early Access program is the definitive bridge between developer freedom and enterprise necessity. By starting every project on secure, trusted, and consistent foundations, we help your teams reduce risk, simplify compliance, and achieve unparalleled acceleration.

Want to hear more about how SUSE can support you to modernize your business with cloud native and AI solutions?

• Sign up for the Early Access Program to pioneer SUSE Developer Access

Get in touch with your local SUSE sales team and read about all the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2025 announcements.

Explore how SUSE Rancher Prime is redefining enterprise Kubernetes operations:

• Learn how SUSE Rancher Prime was recognized in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Container Management
• Discover insights from the Forrester Wave™ Report on Kubernetes and hybrid cloud strategy
• Read IDC’s ROI study showing 258% ROI and multimillion-dollar benefits for SUSE Rancher Prime customers

Unify your identity. Secure your fleet. Choose Rancher Prime.