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Welcome back everybody to another deep dive today.

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We're going to be taking a look at GitLab and for this one,

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we're going to have a little help from our friends at safe server.

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They know a thing or two about digital transformation and hosting software just

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like GitLab. You can check them out at www.safeserver.dde.

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Now you might be thinking of GitLab is just that place where you store your code,

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but the stuff that we've been looking at suggests that they're aiming for

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something way, way bigger. Yeah, a lot bigger. Yeah.

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I think 80 times faster bills AI just sprinkled all over the place and a single

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platform for like your entire software development process.

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That sounds pretty ambitious, right? It is, it is. And you know,

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one of the things that's really interesting is how GitLab is positioning themselves.

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They're calling themselves the most comprehensive AI powered dev sec ops

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platform. So they're really kind of like hammering home that message. Yeah.

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And the AI aspect definitely jumps out at you.

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It's like they're trying to weave it into like every single part of software

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development and even say that it helps them ship secure software faster.

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And it's not just them talking, you know,

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they were recognized as a leader in Gartner's magic quadrant for both AI code

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assistance and DevOps platforms. Yeah.

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They have a lot of serious industry accolades,

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but let's break this down a little bit.

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What does all this really mean for someone who maybe isn't, you know,

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knee deep in the software world every single day? Yeah. Right.

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So let's start with like the term dev sec ops.

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That sounds a little bit like someone just made up a word.

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It does sound like a made up word, but actually it's a pretty important concept.

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It's basically, you know, you've got your development team,

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your security team and your operations team,

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and it's bringing all those teams together under one roof.

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They're working together through that whole process of building software.

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So it's really about breaking down those traditional silos.

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So instead of having all these different teams working totally separate from

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each other, it's like a more collaborative approach.

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Exactly. Yeah, exactly.

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And that's where the idea of like a single platform comes and GitLab is

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basically saying, Hey, wouldn't it be great if you could manage, you know,

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all your code, your testing, security deployment, all that stuff, all in one place.

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I mean, I guess that does sound appealing from like a simplicity standpoint,

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but like realistically, is that even possible?

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Well, that's what we're here to try to explore. GitLab certainly thinks.

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So they're touting all these benefits, like, you know, increased automation,

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you know, being more productive, tighter security, more flexibility.

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And that's all because you're not, you know, constantly switching between,

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you know, five, six, seven different tools. Okay. I mean, that makes sense,

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but I'm still a little bit stuck on like how bold those claims that they're

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making are, especially that 80 times faster build figure.

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Like what does that actually look like in practice?

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Well, they have some pretty compelling case studies that back up that figure,

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you know, like Lockheed Martin, you know, the big aerospace giant,

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they reported an 80 times speed increase in their builds and then a 90% reduction

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in system maintenance time after they started using GitLab.

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80 times faster.

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So I'm picturing like a developer goes to grab a cup of coffee and by the time

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they come back, their code's all built and ready to go.

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Pretty much.

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Yeah.

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It frees up developers to focus on the more creative and complex parts of their

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work instead of getting bogged down in like those tedious tasks.

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And it's not even just Speed Iron Mountain, the data storage and management company.

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They saw huge cost savings, like $150,000 every year.

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And they shaved off like 20 hours from their onboarding time for each project.

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Okay.

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Now we're talking about like real impact.

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This is some serious numbers, but let's be real for a second.

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This is all coming straight from, you know, their marketing material.

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So it's probably safe to say that they're painting a pretty rosy picture, right?

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Yeah, of course.

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Every company wants to, you know, highlight their successes.

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It's always smart to kind of approach these claims with, you know, a

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healthy dose of skepticism.

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Those case studies are impressive, but you know, they're just snapshots.

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They're not the whole picture.

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Right.

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Exactly.

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So what are some questions that we should be asking to kind of dig a little deeper?

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You know, what's lurking beneath the surface here?

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Well, for starters, you know, how does GitLab's pricing scale, you know, can

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it handle the complexities of like a really large organization with, you

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know, thousands of developers?

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And then what about the potential for vendor lock-in, you know, where you

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become so reliant on one company's platform that switching to something

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else is a huge headache.

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Well, getting trapped in a tech ecosystem is never ideal, but wouldn't

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the benefits of a unified platform outweigh that risk if it actually like

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delivers on all of its promises?

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Yeah, that's a valid point.

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It's all about weighing the pros and cons.

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And speaking of weighing things, we haven't even talked about the AI

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features that GitLab keeps highlighting.

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Is that just a buzzword or is there some real substance there?

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Yeah, the AI angle feels like a little bit of a mystery box, you know, what's

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actually going on under the hood.

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Well, their AI suite is called GitLab Duo, and it's supposed to help developers

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through that entire development life cycle.

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It's kind of like a co-pilot for your code.

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Okay.

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So what does that co-pilot actually do?

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Like give me some concrete examples.

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So imagine you're writing code and all of a sudden GitLab Duo suggests the next

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line that you're about to type.

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It's like an auto complete, but for programming, it can save you a ton of time

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and it can even catch potential errors before they become problems.

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And then they also have AI powered security scanning tools that can identify

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vulnerabilities early on.

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So it's not just about speed.

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It's about writing cleaner, more secure code right for the beginning.

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That's pretty impressive.

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Exactly.

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And that's where the real value of AI and DevSecOps comes in.

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It's all about intelligent automation, using AI to not just speed things up,

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but also to make the software, you know, better and safer.

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That makes sense.

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But call me old fashioned.

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Isn't there a risk of becoming too reliant on AI?

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What if it misses something crucial or makes a mistake?

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Yeah, you're right to be cautious.

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AI is a powerful tool, but it's not a replacement for human expertise.

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You know, developers still need to understand how the AI works, you know,

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its limitations and how to interpret its results.

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It's more a partnership than a takeover.

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So it's more about AI augmenting human capabilities, not replacing them entirely.

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It's like a safety net for developers, helping them catch things they might've

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missed.

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Exactly.

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It's humans and AI working together to build better software faster and more

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securely.

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But we shouldn't get carried away with all the hype.

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You know, we need to think about the potential downsides of

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relying on a platform like GitLab.

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Okay.

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So let's play devil's advocate for a second.

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What are some of those potential pitfalls?

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Well, one challenge could be complexity.

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You know, GitLab is incredibly feature rich, which can be a little overwhelming,

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especially for people who are new to it.

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It's having a Swiss army knife with a hundred different blades.

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You might not even know where to start.

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Yeah.

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Too many options can definitely be paralyzing.

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And I imagine that steep learning curve could lead to some frustration and

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potentially even errors if people aren't properly trained.

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Exactly.

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And with that much power at your fingertips, there's more room for things to

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go wrong if you're not careful.

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It's really crucial to have a solid understanding of the platform before you

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just dive in head first.

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So robust training and support are essential.

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You don't want to hand someone like a superpower tool without, you know,

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teaching them how to use it safely and effectively.

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Absolutely.

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And that's another thing to consider the level of support that you need might

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depend on your organization's size and budget.

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So it's not a one size fits all solution.

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Companies really need to carefully assess their needs and resources before they

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jump in, but stepping back for a second, GitLab seems to have this grand vision

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that goes way beyond just being a code repository.

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They want to be like that central hub for everything related to software

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development.

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Yeah.

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And that vision is driving a lot of innovation in the DevSecOps space or pushing

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boundaries and forcing other companies to step up their game.

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It's a really exciting time to be a software developer.

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It sounds like the software development landscape is evolving at like lightning

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speed, but let's say a company truly embraces GitLab and they achieve all those

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outcomes that GitLab claims.

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What kind of impact could that have on their industry or even the wider tech world?

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Now, that's a really fascinating question.

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Imagine a world where software is developed at an incredible case with minimal

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errors

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and robust security that's built in from the ground up.

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It could completely revolutionize industries from healthcare to finance to

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transportation.

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We're talking about a potential paradigm shift.

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It's almost mind boggling to think about.

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It is, it is.

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And that's what makes this whole space so captivating.

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You know, we're witnessing this convergence of all these really powerful trends.

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You know, you have cloud computing, AI automation and a shift toward more

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collaborative development practices.

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It seems like all the pieces are falling into place for like a major

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transformation in how software is built and delivered and GitLab is positioning

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itself to be at the forefront of this whole revolution.

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It's like we're standing right on the edge of like a whole new era of software

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development and GitLab is just, you know, going all in on it.

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They are.

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And you know, whether or not they reach like all of those ambitious goals,

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they're definitely shaking things up and making the whole industry, you know, step

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up their game.

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So we've covered a lot of ground today.

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We've explored all those claims that GitLab is making, dissected all the jargon,

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and we've considered both the potential benefits and, you know, all the risks.

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Yeah, we've seen how they're trying to be that, you know, one stop shop for

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software

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development using AI and automation to hopefully streamline that entire process.

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But as with any new technology, you know, there are some valid concerns.

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You know, the complexity of it, all the reliance on it and the potential downsides

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of, you know, putting all your eggs in one basket.

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Exactly. It's super important to approach these new advancements, you know, with a

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critical eye and really carefully evaluate whether a platform like GitLab is the

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right fit, you know, for your specific needs and goals.

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Well said. So to our listeners out there, we've given you a little glimpse into the

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world of GitLab. And now we want to hear from you.

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What are your thoughts? What parts really resonated with you?

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Yeah. What questions are still swirling around in your mind?

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What aspects of this deep dive really sparked your curiosity?

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Head over to our website or, you know, our social media channels and let us know.

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We'd love to hear from, you know, all of our fellow deep divers.

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And of course, a huge thank you to Safe Server for supporting the deep dive.

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If you're looking for experts in digital transformation and hosting, you can find

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them at www.safeserver.de.

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Until next time, keep exploring, keep questioning and keep diving deep.

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We'll catch you on the next episode.