[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":820},["ShallowReactive",2],{"/en-us/blog/how-the-devops-platform-makes-building-accessible-software-easier":3,"navigation-en-us":42,"banner-en-us":453,"footer-en-us":463,"blog-post-authors-en-us-Sara Kassabian":702,"blog-related-posts-en-us-how-the-devops-platform-makes-building-accessible-software-easier":716,"blog-promotions-en-us":758,"next-steps-en-us":810},{"id":4,"title":5,"authorSlugs":6,"authors":8,"body":10,"category":11,"categorySlug":11,"config":12,"content":16,"date":20,"description":17,"extension":25,"externalUrl":26,"featured":14,"heroImage":19,"isFeatured":14,"meta":27,"navigation":28,"path":29,"publishedDate":20,"rawbody":30,"seo":31,"slug":13,"stem":35,"tagSlugs":36,"tags":40,"template":15,"updatedDate":26,"__hash__":41},"blogPosts/en-us/blog/how-the-devops-platform-makes-building-accessible-software-easier.yml","It's time to build more accessible software. A DevOps platform can help",[7],"sara-kassabian",[9],"Sara Kassabian","\n\nThe earlier a feature or process is introduced in the multi-step software development lifecycle (SDLC), the more likely it is to be fully integrated into the product. \n\nIt's well documented how security can [shift left using a DevOps platform](/blog/devops-platform-supply-chain-attacks/), so it's time to make the case that accessbility needs to be thought about earlier (and, clearly, a DevOps platform can facilitate that too). Although there are laws that require applications to meet certain accessibility requirements, which [opens an application up to a broader user base](/blog/how-the-open-source-community-can-build-more-accessible-products/), rarely is accessibility considered a core product requirement. Instead, it is just a test tacked on at the end instead of being built into the DevOps platform process.\n\n**[Learn more about [how the open source development community helps build accessible software](/blog/how-the-open-source-community-can-build-more-accessible-products/)]**\n\n\"The problem really is that accessibility is not usually explicitly defined as a problem,\" said Segun Ola, a frontend web developer at engineering talent finder Andela, during a presentation at accessibility conference [axe-con](https://www.deque.com/axe-con/). \"Most of the time, developers go through the product lifecycle and we identify all the other problems with a product or all of the things we want to solve and ignore accessibility for the greater part.\"\n\n## Accessibility in software development: It starts with education\n\nOftentimes, omissions are unintentional and have more to do with a lack of awareness around why accessibility in software development is so important for many people living with disabilities and a key driver of business value. After all, the more accessible your product, the more users can benefit from it.\n\n\"I have met software engineers and designers who did not even know that there's a thing called a screen reader,\" Ola said. \"Just last week, I was reviewing some code and explaining why the code needed to be refactored. A junior engineer asked me ‘what is a screen reader?’ So I had to get on a call with him and show him how screen readers work. And then he asks me, ‘What's the point of a screen reader?’ And I had to tell him: ‘Oh yeah there are people who can't see the way you and I see.’\"\n\nThis is just one example of why having empathy and education around accessibility so important, says [Taurie Davis](/company/team/#tauriedavis), product design manager on Ecosystems at GitLab. Earlier in 2021, the GitLab UX team set a [goal to become a department of accessibility experts and advocates at GitLab](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/5235) by completing a 26-hour training at [Deque University](https://dequeuniversity.com/) on accessibility in software development.\n\n## Ignoring accessibility? Expect more technical debt\n\nSometimes software companies will see investment in accessibility components for a product as expensive and/or as a trade-off for innovation. Development teams that wait until the end of the SDLC to think about accessibility are more likely to have coded components that are inaccessible, only to have to go back and rework them to suit legal accessibility standards. This process can lead to an immense amount of technical debt.\n\n**Take a deep dive into [all aspects of the DevOps platform](/solutions/devops-platform/)**\n\n\"Once a team does start to become educated about accessibility and they have the empathy and have the drive to make the change and start shifting accessibility left it's easy to see all of the debt that you've accrued around accessibility,\" says Taurie. \"It can be really expensive to get yourself out of that debt.\" Taurie points to examples such as having to go back to change variables for color contrast, and ensuring that filtering and tab reordering can be done in a way that screen readers understand it.\n\n\"There are just so many different aspects and elements that could cause you to go back and just rewrite how the entire feature was originally developed and that can affect every aspect of your product,\" she adds.\n\n## Other barriers to implementing accessibility earlier\n\nFor UX designers like [Jeremy Elder](/company/team/#jeldergl), staff product designer on Ecosystems at GitLab, and Taurie, the typical workflow is about testing artifacts and responding to customer feedback, as opposed to thinking proactively about how someone might use the product.\n\n\"It’s more of a softer skill to think through a lot of those abstract ideas and what-ifs upfront rather than just saying, ‘Hey, we need this widget to do XYZ,’\" says Jeremy. \"Instead of asking questions like ‘how might somebody want to use this? How does it fit in their workflow?’. That is more inclusive thinking that helps you to do that, but it's harder and not as common.\"\n\n## Building accessible software isn’t just ethical, it drives business value\n\nOftentimes accessibility in software development is framed around building products to better serve people living with disabilities. While this is essential and ethical, accessibility can also be about building software products that can easily adapt to a user’s workflow.\n\n\"It’s more rigor around understanding workflows and how somebody is wanting to use it and less about focusing necessarily on a disability per se, or an outcome,\" says Jeremy. \"You want to think about personas or jobs to be done, not just think about the ultimate task, but how somebody is achieving that task.\"\n\n**[Ten key features](/topics/devops-platform/) of a DevOps platform**\n\nProducts that are customizable and adaptable are more likely to pique the interest of clients who have specific needs (e.g., a screenreader) or workflow preferences (e.g., using a particular type of keyboard).\n\n## What are the solutions?\n\nThe simplest solution to building more accessible software solutions is to think about accessibility at the beginning of the SDLC, rather than waiting until the end. Companies that use a complete DevOps platform like GitLab will find it simpler to take iterative steps toward shifting accessibility left. Need an example? Make accessibility part of the requirements a dev team needs to complete before a particular feature can be considered \"done.\" One way to do this would be to update issue templates and MR templates to ensure an accessibility step is part of the checklist.\n\nWhether it’s security or accessibility, shifting something left is about bringing the conversation to the beginning of the SDLC, something made much more straightforward with a DevOps platform. When it comes to accessibility, the more accessible the product is, the broader the pool of users (and future customers) can benefit.\n\n## Read more about the DevOps Platform:\n\n- [The journey to a DevOps Platform](/blog/the-journey-to-a-devops-platform/)\n\n- [How ten steps over ten years led to the DevOps Platform](/blog/how-ten-steps-over-ten-years-led-to-the-devops-platform/)\n\n- [Making the case for a DevOps platform: What data and customers say](/blog/making-the-case-for-a-devops-platform-what-data-and-customers-say/)\n\n- [Agile planning with a DevOps platform](/blog/agile-planning-with-a-devops-platform/)\n\n- [Welcome to the DevOps Platform era](/blog/welcome-to-the-devops-platform-era/)\n\n","devsecops",{"slug":13,"featured":14,"template":15},"how-the-devops-platform-makes-building-accessible-software-easier",false,"BlogPost",{"title":5,"description":17,"authors":18,"heroImage":19,"date":20,"body":10,"category":11,"tags":21},"Shifting accessibility left can make building accessible products simpler and more efficient. A DevOps platform makes it easier to customize and adjust priorities to suit your business needs.",[9],"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1749667281/Blog/Hero%20Images/accessibility.jpg","2021-09-21",[22,23,24],"DevOps","inside GitLab","open source","yml",null,{},true,"/en-us/blog/how-the-devops-platform-makes-building-accessible-software-easier","seo:\n  title: It's time to build more accessible software. A DevOps platform can help\n  description: >-\n    Shifting accessibility left can make building accessible products simpler\n    and more efficient. A DevOps platform makes it easier to customize and\n    adjust priorities to suit your business needs.\n  ogTitle: It's time to build more accessible software. A DevOps platform can help\n  ogDescription: >-\n    Shifting accessibility left can make building accessible products simpler\n    and more efficient. A DevOps platform makes it easier to customize and\n    adjust priorities to suit your business needs.\n  noIndex: false\n  ogImage: >-\n    https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1749667281/Blog/Hero%20Images/accessibility.jpg\n  ogUrl: >-\n    https://about.gitlab.com/blog/how-the-devops-platform-makes-building-accessible-software-easier\n  ogSiteName: https://about.gitlab.com\n  ogType: article\n  canonicalUrls: >-\n    https://about.gitlab.com/blog/how-the-devops-platform-makes-building-accessible-software-easier\ncontent:\n  title: It's time to build more accessible software. A DevOps platform can help\n  description: >-\n    Shifting accessibility left can make building accessible products simpler\n    and more efficient. A DevOps platform makes it easier to customize and\n    adjust priorities to suit your business needs.\n  authors:\n    - Sara Kassabian\n  heroImage: >-\n    https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1749667281/Blog/Hero%20Images/accessibility.jpg\n  date: '2021-09-21'\n  body: >+\n\n\n    The earlier a feature or process is introduced in the multi-step software\n    development lifecycle (SDLC), the more likely it is to be fully integrated\n    into the product. \n\n\n    It's well documented how security can [shift left using a DevOps\n    platform](/blog/devops-platform-supply-chain-attacks/), so it's time to make\n    the case that accessbility needs to be thought about earlier (and, clearly,\n    a DevOps platform can facilitate that too). Although there are laws that\n    require applications to meet certain accessibility requirements, which\n    [opens an application up to a broader user\n    base](/blog/how-the-open-source-community-can-build-more-accessible-products/),\n    rarely is accessibility considered a core product requirement. Instead, it\n    is just a test tacked on at the end instead of being built into the DevOps\n    platform process.\n\n\n    **[Learn more about [how the open source development community helps build\n    accessible\n    software](/blog/how-the-open-source-community-can-build-more-accessible-products/)]**\n\n\n    \"The problem really is that accessibility is not usually explicitly defined\n    as a problem,\" said Segun Ola, a frontend web developer at engineering\n    talent finder Andela, during a presentation at accessibility conference\n    [axe-con](https://www.deque.com/axe-con/). \"Most of the time, developers go\n    through the product lifecycle and we identify all the other problems with a\n    product or all of the things we want to solve and ignore accessibility for\n    the greater part.\"\n\n\n    ## Accessibility in software development: It starts with education\n\n\n    Oftentimes, omissions are unintentional and have more to do with a lack of\n    awareness around why accessibility in software development is so important\n    for many people living with disabilities and a key driver of business value.\n    After all, the more accessible your product, the more users can benefit from\n    it.\n\n\n    \"I have met software engineers and designers who did not even know that\n    there's a thing called a screen reader,\" Ola said. \"Just last week, I was\n    reviewing some code and explaining why the code needed to be refactored. A\n    junior engineer asked me ‘what is a screen reader?’ So I had to get on a\n    call with him and show him how screen readers work. And then he asks me,\n    ‘What's the point of a screen reader?’ And I had to tell him: ‘Oh yeah there\n    are people who can't see the way you and I see.’\"\n\n\n    This is just one example of why having empathy and education around\n    accessibility so important, says [Taurie Davis](/company/team/#tauriedavis),\n    product design manager on Ecosystems at GitLab. Earlier in 2021, the GitLab\n    UX team set a [goal to become a department of accessibility experts and\n    advocates at GitLab](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/5235) by\n    completing a 26-hour training at [Deque\n    University](https://dequeuniversity.com/) on accessibility in software\n    development.\n\n\n    ## Ignoring accessibility? Expect more technical debt\n\n\n    Sometimes software companies will see investment in accessibility components\n    for a product as expensive and/or as a trade-off for innovation. Development\n    teams that wait until the end of the SDLC to think about accessibility are\n    more likely to have coded components that are inaccessible, only to have to\n    go back and rework them to suit legal accessibility standards. This process\n    can lead to an immense amount of technical debt.\n\n\n    **Take a deep dive into [all aspects of the DevOps\n    platform](/solutions/devops-platform/)**\n\n\n    \"Once a team does start to become educated about accessibility and they have\n    the empathy and have the drive to make the change and start shifting\n    accessibility left it's easy to see all of the debt that you've accrued\n    around accessibility,\" says Taurie. \"It can be really expensive to get\n    yourself out of that debt.\" Taurie points to examples such as having to go\n    back to change variables for color contrast, and ensuring that filtering and\n    tab reordering can be done in a way that screen readers understand it.\n\n\n    \"There are just so many different aspects and elements that could cause you\n    to go back and just rewrite how the entire feature was originally developed\n    and that can affect every aspect of your product,\" she adds.\n\n\n    ## Other barriers to implementing accessibility earlier\n\n\n    For UX designers like [Jeremy Elder](/company/team/#jeldergl), staff product\n    designer on Ecosystems at GitLab, and Taurie, the typical workflow is about\n    testing artifacts and responding to customer feedback, as opposed to\n    thinking proactively about how someone might use the product.\n\n\n    \"It’s more of a softer skill to think through a lot of those abstract ideas\n    and what-ifs upfront rather than just saying, ‘Hey, we need this widget to\n    do XYZ,’\" says Jeremy. \"Instead of asking questions like ‘how might somebody\n    want to use this? How does it fit in their workflow?’. That is more\n    inclusive thinking that helps you to do that, but it's harder and not as\n    common.\"\n\n\n    ## Building accessible software isn’t just ethical, it drives business value\n\n\n    Oftentimes accessibility in software development is framed around building\n    products to better serve people living with disabilities. While this is\n    essential and ethical, accessibility can also be about building software\n    products that can easily adapt to a user’s workflow.\n\n\n    \"It’s more rigor around understanding workflows and how somebody is wanting\n    to use it and less about focusing necessarily on a disability per se, or an\n    outcome,\" says Jeremy. \"You want to think about personas or jobs to be done,\n    not just think about the ultimate task, but how somebody is achieving that\n    task.\"\n\n\n    **[Ten key features](/topics/devops-platform/) of a DevOps platform**\n\n\n    Products that are customizable and adaptable are more likely to pique the\n    interest of clients who have specific needs (e.g., a screenreader) or\n    workflow preferences (e.g., using a particular type of keyboard).\n\n\n    ## What are the solutions?\n\n\n    The simplest solution to building more accessible software solutions is to\n    think about accessibility at the beginning of the SDLC, rather than waiting\n    until the end. Companies that use a complete DevOps platform like GitLab\n    will find it simpler to take iterative steps toward shifting accessibility\n    left. Need an example? Make accessibility part of the requirements a dev\n    team needs to complete before a particular feature can be considered \"done.\"\n    One way to do this would be to update issue templates and MR templates to\n    ensure an accessibility step is part of the checklist.\n\n\n    Whether it’s security or accessibility, shifting something left is about\n    bringing the conversation to the beginning of the SDLC, something made much\n    more straightforward with a DevOps platform. When it comes to accessibility,\n    the more accessible the product is, the broader the pool of users (and\n    future customers) can benefit.\n\n\n    ## Read more about the DevOps Platform:\n\n\n    - [The journey to a DevOps\n    Platform](/blog/the-journey-to-a-devops-platform/)\n\n\n    - [How ten steps over ten years led to the DevOps\n    Platform](/blog/how-ten-steps-over-ten-years-led-to-the-devops-platform/)\n\n\n    - [Making the case for a DevOps platform: What data and customers\n    say](/blog/making-the-case-for-a-devops-platform-what-data-and-customers-say/)\n\n\n    - [Agile planning with a DevOps\n    platform](/blog/agile-planning-with-a-devops-platform/)\n\n\n    - [Welcome to the DevOps Platform\n    era](/blog/welcome-to-the-devops-platform-era/)\n\n  category: devsecops\n  tags:\n    - DevOps\n    - inside GitLab\n    - open source\nconfig:\n  slug: how-the-devops-platform-makes-building-accessible-software-easier\n  featured: false\n  template: 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Washington lecturer Stephen G. Dame uses GitLab for Education to manage student assignments, distribute course materials, and provide inline code feedback at scale.\n",[722],"Rod Burns","https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1749659537/Blog/Hero%20Images/display-article-image-0679-1800x945-fy26.png","2026-04-29","For instructors teaching software development, one of the biggest logistical challenges is assignment distribution and feedback at scale. How do you give large groups of students access to course materials, keep solution code private, and still deliver meaningful, contextual feedback without lots of administrative overhead?\n\nThe **[GitLab for Education program](https://about.gitlab.com/solutions/education/)** provides qualifying institutions with free access to **GitLab Ultimate**, enabling instructors to build professional-grade workflows that mirror real-world software development environments. In this article, you'll learn how Stephen G. Dame, a lecturer in the Computing and Software Systems department at the University of Washington, Bothell, uses simple workflows in GitLab to manage everything from course materials to student feedback across multiple classes.\n\n## From aerospace to academia: Bringing GitLab to the classroom\n\nDame came to academia with years of experience as a chief software engineer at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, where GitLab was used for aerospace projects. As an adjunct professor, he became an early advocate for GitLab within the university, joining the GitLab for Education program to access the full feature set needed to run structured, scalable course workflows.\n\n> **\"GitLab provides the greatest way to organize multiple classes, student assignments, lectures, and code samples through the use of Groups and Subgroups, which I found to be unique to GitLab compared to other repository platforms.\"**\n>\n> - Stephen G. Dame, University of Washington, Bothell\n\n## Set up groups: Build the right structure before writing a line of code\n\nThe foundation of an effective GitLab-based course is a well-planned group hierarchy. GitLab's **[Groups and Subgroups](https://docs.gitlab.com/tutorials/manage_user/#create-the-organization-parent-group-and-subgroups)** allow instructors to model the natural structure of a university department institution, course, and role with precise, inheritable permissions at every level.\n\nDame's structure places the university at the root (`UWTeaching`), with each course occupying its own subgroup (e.g. `css430`). Within each course sit repositories for `lecture-materials` and `code`, alongside dedicated Subgroups for `students` and `graders`. Instructor materials remain private, while student and grader subgroups are configured with controlled permissions so that assignment briefs and solutions are visible only to the right people.\n\n![Screenshot of GitLab group hierarchy — institution, course subgroup, and per-student subgroups](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1777463673/dpxfnitv76pdmvcqtgag.png)\n\nPermissions cascade downward through the hierarchy via **Manage > Members**, allowing Dame to add students to a course's `students` subgroup with `Reporter` access and an expiration date tied to the end of the academic quarter. Students can clone and pull from assignment repositories but cannot push — keeping solution code firmly under instructor control.\n\nStudents are guided to set up SSH keys across all their working environments (local machines, cloud shells, virtual machines) so they can clone repositories and receive weekly updates via `git pull`. They copy relevant code into their own private repositories to manage their own version history.\n\n**Tip for large classes:** For larger cohorts, adding students by hand is impractical. GitLab's REST API lets you automate subgroup creation and membership from a list of usernames. Below is a sample Python script that handles this:\n\n```python\n    import gitlab\n    from datetime import datetime\n\n    # Connect to your GitLab instance\n    gl = gitlab.Gitlab('https://gitlab.com', private_token='YOUR_PRIVATE_TOKEN')\n\n    # Target parent group ID (e.g., the ID for \"css430 > students\")\n    parent_group_id = 12345678\n\n    # Set expiration: typically the beginning of the next month after quarter end\n    expiry_date = '2025-01-01'\n\n    # List of collected student usernames\n    student_list = ['alice_css430', 'bob_css430', 'carol_css430', 'dave_css430', 'eve_css430']\n\n    for username in student_list:\n        try:\n            # 1. Create a personal subgroup for the student\n            subgroup = gl.groups.create({\n                'name': username,\n                'path': username,\n                'parent_id': parent_group_id,\n                'visibility': 'private'\n            })\n\n            # 2. Add student to the new subgroup with Expiration\n            user = gl.users.list(username=username)[0]\n            subgroup.members.create({\n                'user_id': user.id,\n                'access_level': gitlab.const.REPORTER_ACCESS,\n                'expires_at': expiry_date\n            })\n            print(f\"Success: Subgroup created and student added for {username}\")\n        except Exception as e:\n            print(f\"Error processing {username}: {e}\")\n```\nThere is also an [open source project that automates class management](https://gitlab.com/edu-docs/class-management-automation) published by GitLab that provides additional tooling for this workflow.\n## Give feedback where the work actually lives\n\nOnce the structure is in place, the feedback workflow is where GitLab's value becomes most apparent to students. Dame asks students to submit assignments by opening a **[merge request](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/project/merge_requests/)** in their repository. This gives instructors an immediate, clean diff of everything the student has written.\n![A GitLab merge request showing inline code comment function for an instructor](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1777467468/icclzyglbkwlvfysggbi.png)\nInstructors can click any line of code and leave an **inline comment** — not just flagging what is wrong, but explaining why, and pointing to what to look at next. Students receive this feedback in direct context with their code, which is far more actionable than a comment at the bottom of a submitted document.\n\n## Join GitLab for Education\n\nSetting up your first GitLab assignment takes some initial effort, but once the structure is in place it largely runs itself. The real payoff goes beyond organization: Students graduate having worked daily in an environment that mirrors professional software development, building habits around [version control](https://about.gitlab.com/topics/version-control/) and [code review](https://docs.gitlab.com/development/code_review/) rather than learning them as abstract concepts.\n\nIf you are just getting started, keep it simple. Begin with a single course group, one assignment template, and a basic pipeline. The structure will grow naturally alongside your confidence with the platform.\n\nMake sure to **[sign up for GitLab for Education](https://about.gitlab.com/solutions/education/join/)** so that you and your students can access all top-tier features, including unlimited reviewers on merge requests, additional compute minutes, and expanded storage.\n\n> [Apply to the GitLab for Education program today](https://about.gitlab.com/solutions/education/join/).",[624,24],{"featured":14,"template":15,"slug":728},"teaching-software-development-the-easy-way-using-gitlab",{"content":730,"config":742},{"description":731,"authors":732,"heroImage":734,"date":735,"title":736,"body":737,"category":11,"tags":738},"AI-generated code is 34% of development work. Discover how to balance productivity gains with quality, reliability, and security.",[733],"Manav Khurana","https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1767982271/e9ogyosmuummq7j65zqg.png","2026-01-08","AI is reshaping DevSecOps: Attend GitLab Transcend to see what’s next","AI promises a step change in innovation velocity, but most software teams are hitting a wall. According to our latest [Global DevSecOps Report](https://about.gitlab.com/developer-survey/), AI-generated code now accounts for 34% of all development work. Yet 70% of DevSecOps professionals report that AI is making compliance management more difficult, and 76% say agentic AI will create unprecedented security challenges.\n\nThis is the AI paradox: AI accelerates coding, but software delivery slows down as teams struggle to test, secure, and deploy all that code.\n\n## Productivity gains meet workflow bottlenecks\nThe problem isn't AI itself. It's how software gets built today. The traditional DevSecOps lifecycle contains hundreds of small tasks that developers must navigate manually: updating tickets, running tests, requesting reviews, waiting for approvals, fixing merge conflicts, addressing security findings. These tasks drain an average of seven hours per week from every team member, according to our research.\n\nDevelopment teams are producing code faster than ever, but that code still crawls through fragmented toolchains, manual handoffs, and disconnected processes. In fact, 60% of DevSecOps teams use more than five tools for software development overall, and 49% use more than five AI tools. This fragmentation creates collaboration barriers, with 94% of DevSecOps professionals experiencing factors that limit collaboration in the software development lifecycle.\n\nThe answer isn't more tools. It's intelligent orchestration that brings software teams and their AI agents together across projects and release cycles, with enterprise-grade security, governance, and compliance built in.\n\n## Seeking deeper human-AI partnerships\nDevSecOps professionals don't want AI to take over — they want reliable partnerships. The vast majority (82%) say using agentic AI would increase their job satisfaction, and 43% envision an ideal future with a 50/50 split between human and AI contributions. They're ready to trust AI with 37% of their daily tasks without human review, particularly for documentation, test writing, and code reviews.\n\nWhat we heard resoundingly from DevSecOps professionals is that AI won't replace them; rather, it will fundamentally reshape their roles. 83% of DevSecOps professionals believe AI will significantly change their work within five years, and notably, 76% think this will create more engineering jobs, not fewer. As coding becomes easier with AI, engineers who can architect systems, ensure quality, and apply business context will be in high demand.\n\nCritically, 88% agree there are essential human qualities that AI will never fully replace, including creativity, innovation, collaboration, and strategic vision.\n\nSo how can organizations bridge the gap between AI’s promise and the reality of fragmented workflows?\n\n## Join us at GitLab Transcend: Explore how to drive real value with agentic AI\nOn February 10, 2026, GitLab will be hosting Transcend, where we'll reveal how intelligent orchestration transforms AI-powered software development. You'll get a first look at GitLab's upcoming product roadmap and learn how teams are solving real-world challenges by modernizing development workflows with AI.\n\nOrganizations winning in this new era balance AI adoption with security, compliance, and platform consolidation. AI offers genuine productivity gains when implemented thoughtfully — not by replacing human developers, but by freeing DevSecOps professionals to focus on strategic thinking and creative innovation.\n\n[Register for Transcend today](https://about.gitlab.com/events/transcend/virtual/) to secure your spot and discover how intelligent orchestration can help your software teams stay in flow.",[739,740,741],"AI/ML","DevOps platform","security",{"featured":28,"template":15,"slug":743},"ai-is-reshaping-devsecops-attend-gitlab-transcend-to-see-whats-next",{"content":745,"config":756},{"title":746,"description":747,"authors":748,"heroImage":750,"date":751,"body":752,"category":11,"tags":753},"Atlassian ending Data Center as GitLab maintains deployment choice","As Atlassian transitions Data Center customers to cloud-only, GitLab presents a menu of deployment choices that map to business needs.",[749],"Emilio Salvador","https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1750098354/Blog/Hero%20Images/Blog/Hero%20Images/blog-image-template-1800x945%20%281%29_5XrohmuWBNuqL89BxVUzWm_1750098354056.png","2025-10-07","Change is never easy, especially when it's not your choice. Atlassian's announcement that [all Data Center products will reach end-of-life by March 28, 2029](https://www.atlassian.com/blog/announcements/atlassian-ascend), means thousands of organizations must now reconsider their DevSecOps deployment and infrastructure. But you don't have to settle for deployment options that don't fit your needs. GitLab maintains your freedom to choose — whether you need self-managed for compliance, cloud for convenience, or hybrid for flexibility — all within a single AI-powered DevSecOps platform that respects your requirements.\n\nWhile other vendors force migrations to cloud-only architectures, GitLab remains committed to supporting the deployment choices that match your business needs. Whether you're managing sensitive government data, operating in air-gapped environments, or simply prefer the control of self-managed deployments, we understand that one size doesn't fit all.\n\n## The cloud isn't the answer for everyone\n\nFor the many companies that invested millions of dollars in Data Center deployments, including those that migrated to Data Center [after its Server products were discontinued](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/atlassian-server-ending-move-to-a-single-devsecops-platform/), this announcement represents more than a product sunset. It signals a fundamental shift away from customer-centric architecture choices, forcing enterprises into difficult positions: accept a deployment model that doesn't fit their needs, or find a vendor that respects their requirements.\n\nMany of the organizations requiring self-managed deployments represent some of the world's most important organizations: healthcare systems protecting patient data, financial institutions managing trillions in assets, government agencies safeguarding national security, and defense contractors operating in air-gapped environments.\n\nThese organizations don't choose self-managed deployments for convenience; they choose them for compliance, security, and sovereignty requirements that cloud-only architectures simply cannot meet. Organizations operating in closed environments with restricted or no internet access aren't exceptions — they represent a significant portion of enterprise customers across various industries.\n\n![GitLab vs. Atlassian comparison table](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1759928476/ynl7wwmkh5xyqhszv46m.jpg)\n\n## The real cost of forced cloud migration goes beyond dollars\n\nWhile cloud-only vendors frame mandatory migrations as \"upgrades,\" organizations face substantial challenges beyond simple financial costs:\n\n* **Lost integration capabilities:** Years of custom integrations with legacy systems, carefully crafted workflows, and enterprise-specific automations become obsolete. Organizations with deep integrations to legacy systems often find cloud migration technically infeasible.\n\n* **Regulatory constraints:** For organizations in regulated industries, cloud migration isn't just complex — it's often not permitted. Data residency requirements, air-gapped environments, and strict regulatory frameworks don't bend to vendor preferences. The absence of single-tenant solutions in many cloud-only approaches creates insurmountable compliance barriers.\n\n* **Productivity impacts:** Cloud-only architectures often require juggling multiple products: separate tools for planning, code management, CI/CD, and documentation. Each tool means another context switch, another integration to maintain, another potential point of failure. GitLab research shows [30% of developers spend at least 50% of their job maintaining and/or integrating their DevSecOps toolchain](https://about.gitlab.com/developer-survey/). Fragmented architectures exacerbate this challenge rather than solving it.\n\n## GitLab offers choice, commitment, and consolidation\n\nEnterprise customers deserve a trustworthy technology partner. That's why we've committed to supporting a range of deployment options — whether you need on-premises for compliance, hybrid for flexibility, or cloud for convenience, the choice remains yours. That commitment continues with [GitLab Duo](https://about.gitlab.com/gitlab-duo-agent-platform/), our AI solution that supports developers at every stage of their workflow.\n\nBut we offer more than just deployment flexibility. While other vendors might force you to cobble together their products into a fragmented toolchain, GitLab provides everything in a **comprehensive AI-native DevSecOps platform**. Source code management, CI/CD, security scanning, Agile planning, and documentation are all managed within a single application and a single vendor relationship.\n\nThis isn't theoretical. When Airbus and [Iron Mountain](https://about.gitlab.com/customers/iron-mountain/) evaluated their existing fragmented toolchains, they consistently identified challenges: poor user experience, missing functionalities like built-in security scanning and review apps, and management complexity from plugin troubleshooting. **These aren't minor challenges; they're major blockers for modern software delivery.**\n\n## Your migration path: Simpler than you think\n\nWe've helped thousands of organizations migrate from other vendors, and we've built the tools and expertise to make your transition smooth:\n\n* **Automated migration tools:** Our [Bitbucket Server importer](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/import/bitbucket_server/) brings over repositories, pull requests, comments, and even Large File Storage (LFS) objects. For Jira, our [built-in importer](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/project/import/jira/) handles issues, descriptions, and labels, with professional services available for complex migrations.\n\n* **Proven at scale:** A 500 GiB repository with 13,000 pull requests, 10,000 branches, and 7,000 tags is likely to [take just 8 hours to migrate](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/import/bitbucket_server/) from Bitbucket to GitLab using parallel processing.\n\n* **Immediate ROI:** A [Forrester Consulting Total Economic Impact™ study commissioned by GitLab](https://about.gitlab.com/resources/study-forrester-tei-gitlab-ultimate/) found that investing in GitLab Ultimate confirms these benefits translate to real bottom-line impact, with a three-year 483% ROI, 5x time saved in security related activities, and 25% savings in software toolchain costs.\n\n## Start your journey to a unified DevSecOps platform\n\nForward-thinking organizations aren't waiting for vendor-mandated deadlines. They're evaluating alternatives now, while they have time to migrate thoughtfully to platforms that protect their investments and deliver on promises.\n\nOrganizations invest in self-managed deployments because they need control, compliance, and customization. When vendors deprecate these capabilities, they remove not just features but the fundamental ability to choose environments matching business requirements.\n\nModern DevSecOps platforms should offer complete functionality that respects deployment needs, consolidates toolchains, and accelerates software delivery, without forcing compromises on security or data sovereignty.\n\n[Talk to our sales team](https://about.gitlab.com/sales/) today about your migration options, or explore our [comprehensive migration resources](https://about.gitlab.com/move-to-gitlab-from-atlassian/) to see how thousands of organizations have already made the switch.\n\nYou also can [try GitLab Ultimate with GitLab Duo Enterprise](https://about.gitlab.com/free-trial/devsecops/) for free for 30 days to see what a unified DevSecOps platform can do for your organization.",[575,568,754,755],"product","features",{"featured":28,"template":15,"slug":757},"atlassian-ending-data-center-as-gitlab-maintains-deployment-choice",{"promotions":759},[760,774,785,796],{"id":761,"categories":762,"header":764,"text":765,"button":766,"image":771},"ai-modernization",[763],"ai-ml","Is AI achieving its promise at scale?","Quiz will take 5 minutes or less",{"text":767,"config":768},"Get your AI maturity score",{"href":769,"dataGaName":770,"dataGaLocation":246},"/assessments/ai-modernization-assessment/","modernization assessment",{"config":772},{"src":773},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772138786/qix0m7kwnd8x2fh1zq49.png",{"id":775,"categories":776,"header":777,"text":765,"button":778,"image":782},"devops-modernization",[754,11],"Are you just managing tools or shipping innovation?",{"text":779,"config":780},"Get your DevOps maturity score",{"href":781,"dataGaName":770,"dataGaLocation":246},"/assessments/devops-modernization-assessment/",{"config":783},{"src":784},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772138785/eg818fmakweyuznttgid.png",{"id":786,"categories":787,"header":788,"text":765,"button":789,"image":793},"security-modernization",[741],"Are you trading speed for security?",{"text":790,"config":791},"Get your security maturity score",{"href":792,"dataGaName":770,"dataGaLocation":246},"/assessments/security-modernization-assessment/",{"config":794},{"src":795},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772138786/p4pbqd9nnjejg5ds6mdk.png",{"id":797,"paths":798,"header":801,"text":802,"button":803,"image":808},"github-azure-migration",[799,800],"migration-from-azure-devops-to-gitlab","integrating-azure-devops-scm-and-gitlab","Is your team ready for GitHub's Azure move?","GitHub is already rebuilding around Azure. Find out what it means for you.",{"text":804,"config":805},"See how GitLab compares to GitHub",{"href":806,"dataGaName":807,"dataGaLocation":246},"/compare/gitlab-vs-github/github-azure-migration/","github azure migration",{"config":809},{"src":784},{"header":811,"blurb":812,"button":813,"secondaryButton":818},"Start building faster today","See what your team can do with the intelligent orchestration platform for DevSecOps.\n",{"text":814,"config":815},"Get your free trial",{"href":816,"dataGaName":53,"dataGaLocation":817},"https://gitlab.com/-/trial_registrations/new?glm_content=default-saas-trial&glm_source=about.gitlab.com/","feature",{"text":509,"config":819},{"href":57,"dataGaName":58,"dataGaLocation":817},1777493596573]