---
title: "How to overcome toolchain security challenges with GitLab"
author: Vanessa Wegner
author_gitlab: vwegner
author_twitter: gitlabvanessa
categories: security
image_title: "/images/blogimages/toolchain-security-gitlab-cover.jpg"
description: "Use GitLab to control your toolchain sprawl, improve team communication and productivity, and secure your DevOps lifecycle."
tags: DevOps, collaboration, security
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twitter_text: "How to overcome toolchain #security challenges with @gitlab"
---

Integrated toolchains [are on the rise](https://go.forrester.com/blogs/the-rise-fall-and-rise-again-of-the-integrated-developer-tool-chain/), according to Forrester analyst Christopher Condo. Integrated toolchains actually faded out for a while
because developers wanted to avoid vendor lock in - and because sometimes solutions didn’t [play well with others](/handbook/product/#plays-well-with-others).
But today, the growing popularity of CI/CD and open source means more free tools in the software delivery market and dev teams are happily adding them to their arsenal.

Unfortunately, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Integrating,
managing, and protecting the DevOps lifecycle has become a burden on many teams.
In a recent [Forrester report](/resources/whitepaper-forrester-manage-your-toolchain/),
over three quarters of survey respondents said their teams use more than two
toolchains to support software delivery, and a majority reported that each
toolchain is made up of six or more tools.

DevOps fosters innovation but an overly complex toolchain stifles it.
Toolchain maintenance and management shouldn’t consume resources that could
otherwise be invested in product development and innovation, but that’s the reality
on the ground for too many teams.

## Complex toolchains compromise security

Managing these toolchains has become a monumental task, with some businesses
devoting 10% of their dev team to toolchain maintenance, according to the Forrester report.
Besides inhibiting productivity, toolchain complexity also poses a risk to
your security posture.

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Most teams are tasked with integrating their toolchains by manual means, such
as plugins and scripts or hard-coded custom integrations. Not only is this
labor-intensive, it also adds the significant risk of human error.
Additionally, more tools mean more authentication and security requirements to
manage, less visibility into the software
lifecycle, and no view into the process of maintaining the toolchain
itself - all of which adds unnecessary risk for your IT and dev teams to deal
with.

Meanwhile, the consequences of poor security practices are mounting. [According to IBM](https://databreachcalculator.mybluemix.net),
it takes businesses an average of 279 days to identify and contain a breach,
at an average cost of $3.9 million.

## DevSecOps with GitLab: your knight in shining armor

Luckily, we’re here to save the day. [GitLab is a single out-of-the-box solution
for your **entire** software delivery lifecycle](/product/) -
solving your authentication and requirement woes right off the bat. We’ve built
a number of security and risk prevention measures into many of the DevOps lifecycle
phases: code reviews, static and dynamic application security
testing, dependency and container scanning, license compliance, and incident
management. We also have an exciting array of new features on the horizon, which
can be found in the table below.

![GitLab is a complete DevOps platform, delivered as a single application.](/images/blogimages/toolchain-security-gitlab-inline.png){: .shadow}

DevSecOps is a product of the shift-left movement, integrating security into
the earliest possible phases of DevOps. Bringing security in at the beginning
helps teams understand where certain testing processes and controls need to
fall, and helps save time, energy, and resources as you move through the final
phases of DevOps.

GitLab’s single application eases communication between teams, increases
visibility, and streamlines your DevOps lifecycle as a whole. We’re here to
help your teams achieve faster delivery cycles without compromising quality,
and bring your security practices to the speed of the business.

Cover image by [Jukan Tateisi](https://unsplash.com/@tateisimikito) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/)
{: .note}

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