At AWS re:Invent 2024, GitLab is showcasing its comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps platform, offering enterprise technology leaders a glimpse into the future of software development.

In an exclusive interview with VMblog, Emilio Salvador, GitLab's Vice President of Strategy and Developer Relations, highlights the company's strategic approach to transforming software innovation, multi-cloud deployments, and the emerging role of AI in the development lifecycle. With multiple speaking sessions planned and an interactive booth experience, GitLab is set to demonstrate how organizations can streamline their software development processes, enhance security, and leverage cutting-edge AI technologies.

VMblog:  Before we dive into AWS re:Invent specifics, can you give our readers a brief overview of your company and what sets you apart from others in the market? 

Emilio Salvador:  GitLab is the most comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps platform for software innovation. With our DevSecOps platform, organizations can automate and streamline the processes involved in developing, testing, deploying, and maintaining software, enabling them to deliver high-quality software faster and more reliably. 

VMblog:  How can attendees of the event find you?  What do you have planned at your booth this year?  What type of things will attendees be able to do at your booth?  

Salvador:  Attendees can connect with us at Booth 1828, located on the show floor in The Venetian! Stop by the booth to talk to DevSecOps experts, dive into our latest AI capabilities built directly into the platform, learn best practices, and have all your technical questions answered. Plus, we'll be handing out GitLab swag to those who stop by. 

VMblog:  Have you sponsored AWS re:Invent in the past?  If so, what is it about this show that keeps you coming back as a sponsor?

Salvador:  GitLab has been a proud sponsor of AWS re:Invent since 2019. We value connecting with the community, customers, and contributors at the event. 

VMblog:  Do you have any speaking sessions during the event?  If so, can you give us the details?

Salvador:  Several GitLab team members will be participating in speaking sessions during the event - be sure to check them out: 

• December 5 at 10:30am PT: Jackie Porter, Director, Product at GitLab and Kyle Seaman, Senior Technical Product Manager, Amazon Q Developer will host a 20 min session on GitLab + Amazon Q Developer
• Location: Theater 4 - Data & AI/ML Pavilion
• December 5 at 11:00 am PT: Lee Faus, Global Field CTO at GitLab, will participate in a breakout session with Jason Valentino, Head of BNY's Software Engineering Practice, about the rise of the platform engineer. 
• Location: MGM Grand | Level 3 | Chairmans 370
• Dec 5 at 2:00 pm PT: Sabrina Farmer, CTO, GitLab, will be participating in the keynote hosted by Adam Seligman, VP of Developer Experience at AWS on reimagining the developer experience at AWS. 
• Location: Venetian | Level 5 | Palazzo Ballroom B

VMblog:  What are the most significant cloud-related challenges your customers are facing in 2024, and how does your solution address these pain points? 

Salvador:  When organizations begin implementing DevSecOps, they often experience toolchain sprawl by linking together multiple-point solutions.

According to the recent GitLab Global DevSecOps Report, too many tools can hinder development velocity. Nearly 54% of individual contributors say their teams use up to 14 tools for software development, while only 17% have begun tool consolidation efforts.

Moreover, the problem with relying on point solutions with their respective AI assistants is that they become trapped in silos, unable to see and understand the broader context. Each tool offers only a limited perspective, hindering the AI's ability to provide comprehensive insights and support. 

This fragmented approach limits the potential of AI to truly revolutionize the software development lifecycle. In contrast, a unified platform like GitLab breaks down these walls, providing AI with a complete and contextualized understanding of the development process.

VMblog:  Which of your products or solutions will you be highlighting at AWS re:Invent 2024, and why are they particularly relevant for today's AWS users? 

Salvador:  AWS and GitLab announced an integrated offering that brings together GitLab Duo with Amazon Q Developer.

The AWS and GitLab integrated AI offering helps customers deliver innovation in complex environments with a single software development solution that empowers teams from idea to delivery with built-in security, enterprise scale, and proven AWS reliability at its core.

GitLab Duo with Amazon Q is in preview today for GitLab Ultimate tier customers on Self-Managed.

VMblog:  How does your technology specifically complement or enhance AWS services, and what unique value proposition do you offer to AWS customers? 

Salvador:  GitLab and AWS combine the most comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps platform with the broadest and deepest set of cloud capabilities and AI agents. Together, we provide complex customer environments with built-in security, scale, and reliability, enabling teams to deploy to cloud workloads using a single solution. 

This comprehensive approach allows organizations to increase software development velocity, resulting in improved operational efficiency and faster time to value for cloud investments.

VMblog:  With AI and machine learning being hot topics, how is your company incorporating these technologies to improve cloud operations and management? 

Salvador:  Due to intensifying market competition and rapidly evolving customer expectations, companies need to innovate faster. Developer teams need to deliver secure software quickly in response to market changes. AI tools should empower the whole team to collaborate and contribute to better software and business outcomes.

At GitLab, we take a unique approach to AI. Rather than relegate it solely to code generation, GitLab Duo integrates AI throughout the software development lifecycle to streamline development and deployment workflows, enable better collaboration, identify and mitigate potential security issues, and visually forecast the impact on business results. 

VMblog:  What new product announcements or demonstrations can attendees expect to see at your booth during AWS re:Invent 2024? 

Salvador:  GitLab and AWS announced a strategic collaboration to co-develop an integrated offering, GitLab Duo with Amazon Q. We will be providing demonstrations of this new offering at our booth, in addition to demos of GitLab Duo and lightning talks in our booth's mini theater.

VMblog:  Security and compliance are top priorities for AWS users. How does your solution strengthen an organization's cloud security posture? 

Salvador:  GitLab takes a security-first approach to software development by organically fostering secure software development practices. By bringing all the DevSecOps capabilities into one platform with a unified data store to improve the user experience, GitLab reduces context switching to help teams produce higher-quality code, make fewer mistakes, and ship secure software faster.

Key benefits of GitLab include: 

• Secure by default: Security is integrated throughout the platform for secure source code management, CI/CD, and AI. 
• Consolidated instrumentation: Organizations can adopt DevSecOps best practices while saving costs on internal tooling maintenance, automating manual tasks, and freeing up resources to be redeployed for value-driving feature development.
• AI throughout the entire software development lifecycle: Increasing efficiency, improving cycle time, and strengthening security.

VMblog:  What hands-on experiences or interactive demonstrations will you be offering at your booth this year? 

Salvador:  GitLab and our partners will give 15-20-minute lightning talks with Q&A opportunities in our booth's mini theater throughout the week. The talks will cover topics such as securing the software supply chain with GitLab, how to easily deploy AWS using GitLab, and an overview of GitLab's AI features. Stop by Booth 1828 to learn more!

VMblog:  Many organizations are adopting multi-cloud strategies. How does your solution support customers who use AWS alongside other cloud providers? 

Salvador:  Approximately 85% of organizations use multi-cloud environments, but not every organization is at the same level of maturity.

Modern enterprises need deployment flexibility - especially organizations with complex security, compliance, and regulatory requirements. With GitLab, organizations can choose the cloud providers that work for their technology and technology strategy. 

VMblog:  Looking ahead to 2025, what technology trends do you anticipate will have the biggest impact on AWS users, and how is your company preparing for these changes? 

Salvador:  While organizations are realizing AI-assisted development's efficiency and productivity benefits, even more significant changes lie ahead. I predict there will be three ways AI will significantly alter software development in the coming year: 

1. The future of applications are intelligent, adaptive AI agents
   The future of applications is shifting toward intelligent, adaptable AI agents that surpass the limitations of traditional software. Rather than interacting with fixed interfaces and preset workflows, users will engage with AI agents that respond intuitively and learn over time. These AI agents will serve as the application, providing a more interactive and conversational experience. They will perform tasks, offer guidance, and learn from interactions in real-time. This change will lead to significantly more personalized and responsive applications, fundamentally reshaping how we use software.
2. AI assistants will evolve from reactive tools to proactive collaborators
   AI assistants are getting smarter, moving beyond reactive prompt-based interactions to proactive problem-solvers. As central hubs for code assistance, AI agents will anticipate developers' needs and offer real-time suggestions for optimizing application performance, security, and maintenance. This shift will streamline the entire software development lifecycle, making it more accessible through a simple user interface. 
3. More companies will run customized AI models on-premise
   In 2025, we will see a shift toward on-premise AI deployments. As open-source models become more cost-effective and accessible, organizations will increasingly opt to run customized versions within their data centers. As a result, it will be cheaper, faster, and easier to own AI models and fine-tune them to individual needs. 

VMblog:  Are you giving away any prizes at your booth or participating in any prize giveaways?

Salvador:  Attendees can come by the GitLab booth, #1828, to grab totes, wireless chargers, stickers, and Lego-like sets to build the GitLab Tanuki mascot. We will also have a coffee cart at the booth for re:Invent attendees to fuel up during the event on Tuesday, December 3, and Wednesday, December 4.

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