Implementing Secrets Management with Vault When to Use - When applications store database passwords, API keys, or certificates in environment variables or config files - When migrating from static long-lived credentials to dynamic short-lived secrets - When Kubernetes workloads need secure access to database credentials or cloud provider APIs - When compliance requirements mandate centralized credential management with audit logging - When CI/CD pipelines contain hardcoded secrets that represent supply chain risk Do not use for AWS-only environments where AWS Secrets Manager suffices without…