Most teams start with basic security practices, such as branch protection and simple access controls. But, there's often a moment when teams realize they need more. It could be when they land their first enterprise client, when they start handling sensitive data, or when they experience their first security incident.

If you’re unsure whether you’re ready to upgrade your security, here are a few signs you’ve outgrown your security needs:

• You spend more time managing permissions than writing code.
• Security reviews create development bottlenecks.
• You can't definitively say who changed what and when.
• You're unsure if security policies are consistently followed.

Do any of these signs resonate with you? Let's explore how teams typically mature their security practices as they grow.

1. Your organization requires advanced access controls.

Manual permission management can be tedious and prone to errors. While it’s manageable for a team of three, it becomes much more complex as your team grows to 15, 30, or 100 developers.

The disadvantages of an intricate permission system are two-fold:

1. It becomes more likely that accidental or unauthorized changes are made to critical parts of the codebase.
2. Managing complex permissions takes time that could be spent developing valuable software for the business.

Features that automate permission management

Scaling teams need features that automate permission management. GitLab Premium offers enterprise-grade Agile planning features that provide organizational hierarchies, enabling advanced permissions management at the group or sub-group level.

This, alongside features like Protected Branches and restricted push and merge access, save growing teams time while providing an additional layer of security.

2. You need to build a robust review process.

Many teams have senior developers review security-sensitive code. However, as your codebase expands, it becomes more challenging to ensure the right people are reviewing the right changes. This can lead to an elongated review process or the release of insecure code before it’s been reviewed by the right parties.

When you notice security reviews becoming inconsistent or creating bottlenecks, it’s time to consider solutions that give you tighter control over your merge request pipelines.

Features that enhance the review process

GitLab Premium helps teams mature beyond manual processes with capabilities like Multiple Approvers and push rules. These features improve your code by ensuring it’s reviewed before it is merged, preventing errors from occurring late in the development process. It also requires higher levels of authorization and verification to those who push or commit to a git branch.

3. You need to strengthen compliance adherence.

When your team is small, you know who is working on what projects and when deployments will occur. But, as your team grows it becomes more challenging (if not impossible) to follow all code changes and activities. It’s also easy to lose sight of security policies and whether all team members are consistently following them.

These are signs that you need tools to help you track changes and ensure code quality meets regulatory requirements.

Features that improve compliance efforts

With GitLab Premium’s Audit Events, you can track and review changes, such as who performed certain actions at what time within the repository. At the same time, Code Quality Reports can check for adherence to compliance standards. This can help teams more readily prove compliance while also quickly identifying and fixing problems within the code.

Scale your security efforts with GitLab Premium

If you’re experiencing security-related growing pains as your business scales, consider upleveling your security needs before it’s too late. Empower your team with features that prioritize security and compliance, and accelerate software delivery.

Upgrade to GitLab Premium today!