GitLab is launching its partnership with Adaptavist in South Africa on 23 July 2025 at The Capital Empire in Sandton. GitLab is the most comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps platform for software innovation. GitLab enables organisations to increase developer productivity, improve operational efficiency, reduce security and compliance risk, and accelerate digital transformation. More than 40 million registered users and more than 50% of the Fortune 100 trust GitLab to ship better, more secure software faster.
The launch will convene key industry stakeholders, technology partners, and clients for a strategic engagement centred on collaboration, innovation, and the role of AI in the evolving DevSecOps landscape. The expansion into South Africa comes at a critical juncture. As organisations respond to shifting market demands, evolving cybersecurity risks, and the imperative for digital inclusion, there is a growing need for platforms that bring development, security, and operations into a single, coordinated environment. GitLab’s approach is rooted in visibility, speed, and control, offering a solution where collaboration is embedded, compliance is built in, and AI is leveraged to support precision and performance throughout the software lifecycle.
The event is a deliberate engagement with the local industry, focused on creating a shared understanding of the strategic value of DevSecOps. GitLab’s presence aims to support organisations as they shift from siloed practices to integrated workflows that improve delivery outcomes, reduce risk, and increase operational agility.
Mounir Ben Saad, GitLab South Africa Leader, intends to use the launch as an opportunity to outline the company’s local vision and ambition, including its alignment with national innovation priorities and the growing need for platforms that integrate development, security, and operations.
“We’re excited to announce our partnership with Adaptavist, at a time when South Africa’s digital potential is rapidly expanding. This collaboration will engender support for local innovation, align with national digital priorities, and partnerships with organisations that are shaping the next chapter of secure, scalable software development across the region.” – Mounir Ben Saad, GitLab South Africa Leader
According to Stephen Walters, GitLab’s Field CTO, the need for unified platforms has never been more pronounced: “We see across industries that the pressure to deliver quickly often collides with the need to remain secure and compliant. GitLab is designed to address this tension by offering teams a single source of truth, enabling greater collaboration across development, security, and operations. This model creates the conditions for trust, accountability, and resilience.”
As a GitLab Select partner and GitLab Professional Services partner, Adaptavist are experts in digital transformation and creators of innovative solutions, integrations, and services. Their expertise in enterprise transformation will play a key role in supporting organisations as they adopt GitLab’s capabilities. Attila Bernariusz, Adaptavist South Africa Lead, notes the strategic importance of aligning people, process, and technology in driving meaningful outcomes. Said Bernariusz, “The success of DevSecOps is not simply about tools; it’s about how teams work together. We’ve seen time and again that when collaboration is prioritised, organisations are better equipped to navigate complexity and move with clarity.”
In parallel, the launch of the GitLab-Adaptavist partnership highlights the intention to contribute to the broader growth of South Africa’s digital economy through targeted engagement with developers, engineers, and institutional leaders seeking to enhance their DevSecOps maturity. By enabling access to a comprehensive, end-to-end platform, GitLab provides a practical foundation for modernisation, digital trust, and software-driven competitiveness.
The engagement also reflects confidence in South Africa’s position within the wider global technology landscape. With its growing developer community, expanding digital infrastructure, and increasing focus on regulatory alignment, South Africa presents a significant opportunity for deepening technical capability and advancing high-impact innovation.
Attendees at the event will engage with real-world case studies drawn from both local and global organisations that have implemented GitLab’s tools to improve efficiency, governance, and time-to-deployment. These insights intend to provide context on how the platform adapts to diverse industries, from public institutions and financial services to telecommunications and software startups.
For South Africa’s public and private sectors, this represents an opportunity to rethink development strategy, not as a technical function alone, but as a core enabler of service delivery, innovation, and economic resilience. By focusing on the South African market, GitLab is extending its footprint, with Adaptavist’s support, and reinforcing its position as a trusted partner to those shaping the future of digital infrastructure, product development, and secure innovation on the continent.
