Configuration files and YAML (Yet Another Markup Language) files are essential elements in establishing standards in software development. Configuration files store settings for an application or system, thereby ensuring consistency across different environments and deployments. On the other hand, YAML files are used for configuration files due to their human-readable data serialization feature. They offer a clear and easy-to-understand format for defining and managing configurations.

Adherence to a standard format for configuration files such as YAML can significantly enhance the readability and maintainability of configurations. This can also help prevent configuration errors that might lead to bugs or security vulnerabilities. Furthermore, using configuration files can facilitate collaboration and version control. Changes to configurations can be tracked, reviewed, and rolled back if necessary. This leads to enhanced reliability and traceability of configurations.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a practice that manages and provisions IT infrastructure through machine-readable definition files. Terraform and Azure Resource Manager (ARM) are key players in setting industry standards for IaC. Terraform is an IaC tool that provides a platform to create, manage, and update infrastructure resources using a declarative configuration language. On the other hand, ARM is a service provided by Azure for managing resources.

Both Terraform and ARM deliver a standardized, repeatable, and automated way to manage infrastructure, reducing the risk of manual errors and inconsistencies. They also support version control, allowing changes to infrastructure to be tracked and reviewed. Adherence to industry standards for IaC ensures consistency, reliability, and security of infrastructure.

Configs hold a pivotal role in upholding standards in software development. They define the settings and parameters for an application or system, ensuring it operates as expected. Configs can be used to define various settings such as database connections, API endpoints, and feature flags. They can also manage environment-specific settings ensuring that an application behaves correctly in different environments.

Adhering to a standard format and structure for configs enhances readability and manageability of configurations while preventing configuration errors that could lead to bugs or security vulnerabilities. Configs can be managed using Configuration as Code (CaC), a practice involving management of configurations as code files that can be version controlled and automated. This enhances consistency, reliability, and traceability of configurations.

Compliance scans check code and systems against security standards identifying potential issues thereby making them cornerstones of industry standards in software development. Compliance scans check compliance with standards such as PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act), GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), ensuring systems meet all necessary regulatory requirements.

Security scans check for vulnerabilities like injection flaws, cross-site scripting (XSS), insecure direct object references among others. Regular compliance and security scans enable teams to identify potential issues promptly thereby enhancing the security compliance of their software products while preventing security breaches and protecting sensitive data.

In DevSecOps culture, a secure deployment pipeline stands as an industry standard. In this approach, security is integrated into every part of the software development lifecycle ensuring that vulnerabilities are identified early before deployment to production.

The pipeline-as-code (PaC) approach is used where the entire delivery pipeline is defined as code thus making it versionable, testable, repeatable, and more reliable than a manual process. This approach makes it easier to apply changes across multiple pipelines without manual intervention leading to greater consistency across different environments.

Portability is another key factor in setting DevSecOps standards. It involves designing software applications so they can easily be moved from one computing environment to another without significant redesign or retesting.

Containerization tools like Docker or Kubernetes help achieve portability by packaging applications along with their dependencies into containers which can run on any platform that supports containerization technology.

This standardization helps make applications more reliable when moved from one environment to another reducing bugs caused by environment differences also known as "works on my machine" problems.

Vendor strategy plays a crucial part in standardization especially when choosing third-party services like cloud providers or CI/CD tools. Developers must consider factors like compatibility with existing tools or systems, scalability needs, cost-effectiveness among others when selecting vendors.

Managed services provided by vendors can help streamline operations by taking care of routine tasks like maintenance or monitoring allowing developers more time to focus on core tasks like writing code or designing systems.

In conclusion, embracing the importance of standards in software development involves adhering to coding and security standards facilitating consistent effective development leveraging Policy as Code (PaC) approach among others. By implementing these measures teams ensure quality security compliance streamline their development processes delivering high-quality software products.