Driving Security, Speed, and Collaboration with Sonatype Lifecycle

The Challenge

A large financial institution needed to streamline and modernize its technology ecosystem while boosting open source software (OSS) security and developer efficiency across a team of 1,400 technology professionals.

The Solution

The organization partnered with Sonatype, leveraging Sonatype Lifecycle, Sonatype Repository Firewall, and Sonatype Nexus Repository to address OSS vulnerabilities, implement secure-by-design development practices, and enhance cross-team collaboration.

The Results

The introduction of Sonatype’s platform led to a 50% improvement in OSS scan coverage, a 36% reduction in mean time to remediate vulnerabilities, and a drop in vulnerabilities per application to an industry-leading 21, demonstrating significant software security and productivity gains.

Implementing Sonatype Solutions

The organization’s engagement with Sonatype began with the deployment of Sonatype Nexus Repository to manage build artifacts. Soon after, the need to proactively manage software security and legal risks within OSS components led to the implementation of Sonatype Lifecycle and Sonatype Repository Firewall.

Sonatype Lifecycle’s integration into the company’s existing tooling, including Jenkins pipelines and developer IDEs, made vulnerability management easier and more actionable. Developers gained real-time insights into vulnerabilities and were equipped with tailored remediation recommendations to accelerate releases without compromising security.

Notably, the integration of Sonatype Repository Firewall added an essential layer of defense by blocking known vulnerabilities at the artifact repository stage, preventing them from entering the development lifecycle. These measures collectively shifted security left, embedding proactive risk mitigation into the SDLC.

Additionally, the team used centralized build pipeline templates to enforce best practices across domains. These templates included custom Sonatype Lifecycle scanning configurations, removing the need for individual teams to repeatedly implement time-intensive compliance measures.

The Impact

This collaborative initiative, powered by Sonatype solutions, drove substantial performance and software security improvements. Metrics revealed a transformation between two comparative six-month periods, providing tangible evidence of the platform’s effectiveness:

• App onboarding increased by 10%, reaching 1,382 applications onboarded.
• Scan coverage surged 50%, from 38% to 88%, ensuring comprehensive OSS monitoring across the portfolio.
• The mean time to remediate vulnerabilities improved by 36%, dropping from 58 days to 37 days.
• Vulnerabilities per app averaged 21, far outperforming the industry benchmark of 50.

Additionally, Sonatype Repository Firewall quarantined numerous high-risk components early in the lifecycle, reducing future technical debt. Applications maintained an optimal upgrade posture, indicating proactive attention to component hygiene by developers.

Enhancing Collaboration and Breaking Down Silos

Historically, silos between Development, Security, and DevOps teams hindered communication and efficiency. By integrating Sonatype’s tools and establishing collaborative strategies, those silos were actively dismantled, resulting in stronger alignment and improved outcomes.

A particularly effective initiative involved appointing domain security champions. These specialists, embedded within various operational teams, acted as advocates for security best practices while providing domain-specific insights. Their contributions supported widespread adoption of secure patterns while creating open feedback channels to address domain-specific challenges and foster continuous improvement.

The decentralization of vulnerability waiver and assessment processes further improved agility. By empowering engineering managers and team leads to handle these tasks, bottlenecks were reduced, and decision-making aligned more closely with domain-specific expertise.

Standardized CI pipelines with pre-integrated Sonatype Lifecycle scans also played a critical role in eliminating duplication of effort. A CI/CD team representative noted that nearly 80% of the organization’s applications now utilize these standardized pipelines, offering a consistent approach to vulnerability management and streamlining development workflows.

Supporting Developers

Another critical success of the initiative was the improvement in developer productivity and morale. Sonatype Lifecycle’s IDE integrations allowed developers to perform vulnerability scans locally, avoiding delays associated with triggering full CI builds. This tightened feedback loops and enabled faster iteration cycles.

Automated workflows, such as API-driven processes for application onboarding and continuous monitoring, further reduced manual overhead. Developers were supported with a user-friendly interface that made identifying, understanding, and remediating vulnerabilities straightforward.

Overcoming Silos to Scale Collaboration

Building a sustainable security posture required dismantling silos and encouraging open dialogue across teams. The institution worked closely with its CI/CD team, engineering excellence leaders, and product teams to implement scalable solutions, such as reusable pipelines and Security Champion-led initiatives.

Workshops conducted in collaboration with Sonatype equipped technical teams with an in-depth understanding of the platform’s features, enabling them to apply advanced practices directly into their routines. Adjustments were guided by frequent feedback loops, ensuring that security solutions aligned with operational needs.

By maintaining regular engagement through dedicated forums and knowledge repositories, the organization not only broadened team participation but also adapted more rapidly to evolving threats or challenges.

Quantifiable Success

The post-implementation metrics speak volumes about the bank’s improved OSS security and enhanced collaboration:

• A 10% increase in app onboarding created a larger, more secure application pool.
• Scan coverage nearly doubled, reducing blind spots in the OSS ecosystem.
• Mean time to remediate vulnerabilities improved by 36%.
• Industry-beating vulnerabilities per app (21 vs. 50) indicate world-class application security.

By adopting Sonatype solutions and integrating them into its streamlined, collaborative workflows, this financial institution has established itself as a leader in balancing security rigor, team productivity, and operational efficiency.