Sonatype Lifecycle Reviews

Name: Sonatype Lifecycle
Brand: Sonatype
Rating: 4 (43 reviews)

Vendor: Sonatype

4.2 out of 5

43 reviews
89% willing to recommend

454 followers

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What is Sonatype Lifecycle?

Sonatype Lifecycle is an open-source security and dependency management software that uses only one tool to automatically find open-source vulnerabilities at every stage of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Users can now minimize security vulnerabilities, permitting organizations to enhance development workflow. Sonatype Lifecycle gives the user complete control over their software supply chain, allowing them to regain wasted time fighting risks in the SDLC. In addition, this software unifies the ability to define rules, actions, and policies that work best for your organizations and teams.

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Sonatype Lifecycle is the #2 ranked solution in top Software Supply Chain Security solutions, #4 ranked solution in top Software Composition Analysis (SCA) solutions, and #5 ranked solution in application security solutions. PeerSpot users give Sonatype Lifecycle an average rating of 8.4 out of 10. Sonatype Lifecycle is most commonly compared to SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube): Sonatype Lifecycle vs SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube). Sonatype Lifecycle is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 76% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 34% of all views.

Helped 814,763 peers since 2012

Featured reviews

SrinathKuppannan2

Integration Manager at CommScope

While Sonatype Lifecycle effectively manages artifacts in Nexus Repository and performs code firewall checks based on rules, it has the potential to expand further. I am looking forward to additional features similar to SonarQube, especially since licenses are often split per component. SonarType could integrate cloud-based capabilities, addressing the increasing shift towards cloud workloads. While there have been demos and discussions around this, significant progress on scanning and analyzing cloud images remains to be seen. I am looking forward to Sonatype incorporating these enhancements, particularly in regard to cloud-based features. On-prem workloads are getting to the cloud workloads. * I would like to see more cloud-related insights, such as logging capabilities for the images we use and image scanning information. * Additionally, it would be beneficial to have insights into the stages of dependencies and ensure they comply with standards. If there are any violations in respect to CVSS reports, * Integrating CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) report rules into the Lifecycle module to detect and report violations would be valuable. I am hoping to see these enhancements from Sonatype in the future. On the security side, I think there's a lot of development needed. There are many security tools on the market, like open-source ones, that Sonatype doesn't integrate with.

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reviewer2317233

Vice President, Cybersecurity at Fiserv

The Software Security Center, which is often overlooked, stands out as the most effective feature. This on-premises portal, included with their primary SaaS offering, streamlines the process of triaging our results. With thousands of daily active users, the Software Security Center serves as a centralized platform, consolidating results from various tools, including Sonatype, WebInspect's DAST results, and Pen Test findings from our internal team. This unified view eliminates the need for developers to log into multiple portals to access code vulnerabilities, open-source issues, web app scans, and Pen Test results. Instead, they can access everything they need from a single, convenient location. Secure Code Warrior is an invaluable integration and partnership for us. Fortify consistently collaborates with top-tier companies to deliver cutting-edge solutions. For instance, if a developer encounters a common code vulnerability, such as a path manipulation vulnerability in their Java website, and is unsure of how to resolve it, Fortify provides some guidance and standard response protocols. However, for more in-depth information and assistance, they direct us to Secure Code Warrior. Upon providing information on the vulnerability type and language, Secure Code Warrior offers tailored training courses, such as how to fix path manipulations in Java-based applications. This remediation technique, which is unmatched by any other provider, has proven to be incredibly effective.

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Jumani Blango

Adjunct at University of Maryland

As a security analyst, I like the management view. From there, you can review the code and review findings in order to approve, deny, or recommend. Their Software Security Center, which acts as a portal, is quite useful. It's a good overview. You can really see what's happening after you've developed something. Fortify's AppSec testing is great for application portfolio inventory and project releases. It works both at a portfolio level and also at a project level. They also give you the capability to click train of all your vulnerabilities that happened within Apache Crossroads support. You give them a history to keep track of them, how they've been developed, how they've been saved, to give you a way of tracking your issues and how they get resolved. It's pretty easy to find vulnerabilities. Then, you go to the source. It is very good at tracking to see where the data or the issue enters into your source code so you can track it or go back to where it started. Fortify helps remediate potential vulnerabilities by using more accurate, reliable results. They offer recommended remediation. I can go to the website tools to resolve issues and search for remediations. This helps our developers to build more secure code from the start. It has reduced vulnerabilities. We've never had issues when we ran our scans. We're notified, and we're able to identify most of our vulnerabilities and fix them before anything goes to production. If you're running this on your CI/CD pipeline, notifications are in real-time. The level of detail is very informative. It provides you with recommendations on how to fix items. And they provide you with other resources available for how to address the issues. You can also see the root cause. It works well with cloud-native applications. Fortify helped us to free up staff time since it helps us resolve issues faster. It's helped us save costs as, if we catch a vulnerability faster, it's easier to fix than later. Fortify and Sonatype help maintain compliance with the applicable regulations. We mostly use Sonatype for compliance and licenses. By combining both solutions together, it enables you to solve a lot of issues that may occur in the future.

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Sonatype Lifecycle mindshare

Product category:

As of November 2024, the mindshare of Sonatype Lifecycle in the Software Composition Analysis (SCA) category stands at 6.0%, down from 7.6% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

Key learnings from peers

Valuable Features

The most valuable features of Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle include vulnerability scanning, evaluation of unit test coverage, detection accuracy, early detection of vulnerabilities, integration with developer tooling, quality profiles, remediation of issues, and flexible default policies. The IQ server and repository are also highly valuable. Customers appreciate the guidance provided by the product in identifying which components or applications have vulnerabilities and the ability to effortlessly migrate to a version with the lowest risk. The engine is considered the most important feature due to its accuracy in identifying security vulnerabilities. The product's security, severity listings, and editor plugins are also praised.

"The price is high."
"The violation reports provided by Lifecycle are key, giving specific details on the types of violations and identifying the component within the application."
"The solution is very easy to use."

Room for Improvement

Users have suggested several areas of improvement for Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle. Firstly, the reporting and dashboard features need to be improved, as users have found it challenging to understand the data presented. Documentation or a more extensive knowledge base would be helpful.
Secondly, there is a need for an automatic vulnerability detection feature and the ability to automatically push dependencies or create notifications.
Thirdly, the solution needs to be a complete SaaS product and the remediation accuracy needs to improve.
Fourthly, some functionalities are missing from the UI that could be accessed using the API but are not available, and the annotations for .NET packages need to be checked.
Fifthly, the user interface is slow and unresponsive at times.
Sixthly, installation needs to move to EKS or Kubernetes to avoid downtime during updates.
Finally, the licensing model needs to be improved, as it is unclear how Sonatype calculates the number of licenses being used.

"On the security side, I think there's a lot of development needed. There are many security tools on the market, like open-source ones, that Sonatype doesn't integrate with."
"Improvement as per customer requirements."
"There is room for improvement in the code analysis aspect of Sonatype Lifecycle, specifically in the area of deployment security."

ROI

Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle has proven to be beneficial for companies that heavily use open-source, with a high return on investment for security checks. The tool has helped companies quickly identify components with vulnerabilities, saving time and preventing potential outages or data loss. While it may be too early to fully evaluate the impact on release time, it has increased developer productivity and improved overall security. There is no research on the ROI for Nexus IQ, but it has helped companies avoid security issues. Adoption of IQ may be hindered by company culture and engineer adoption.

Pricing

Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle's pricing is comparable to other enterprise tools, but some users find it to be more expensive. However, those who prioritize security do not find the cost to be an issue. The license is paid yearly and includes technical support. The pricing includes a license for each server and a charge per user involved in software development. Customers find the price fair for the value received, but some would prefer it to be cheaper. There are additional costs for add-ons like Nexus Container or IDE Advanced Toolkit. Some users find it to be one of the most expensive tools in their portfolio. The ambiguity in how licenses are calculated adds to the cost, but there is no extra cost from Sonatype.

"In comparison with other tools, Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle could be more expensive. Still, at the same time, my company prioritizes security, so the pricing for Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle hasn't been an issue.If IT security weren't at the top of the list for my company, somebody would have raised the question about cost and how Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle is in terms of ROI. So far, there's been no question about the price. The cost of Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle hasn't been a problem so far.My company pays for the license yearly, plus technical support."
"Given the number of users we have, it is one of the most expensive tools in our portfolio, which includes some real heavy-duty tools such as GitLab, Jira, etc. It is definitely a bit on the expensive side, and the ambiguity in how the licenses are calculated adds to the cost as well. If there is a better understanding of how the licenses are being calculated, there would be a better agreement between the two parties, and the cost might also be a little less. There is no extra cost from Sonatype. There is an operational cost on the BT side in terms of resources, etc."
"There are additional costs in commercial offerings for add-ons such as Nexus Container or IDE Advanced Toolkit. They come with additional fees or licenses."

Popular Use Cases

Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle is mainly used for scanning and checking vulnerabilities in open-source libraries and products. It is used in continuous integration and deployment pipelines, IDEs, and in the software development pipeline for automated quality assurance. It provides software composition analysis for application security and helps customers embrace open-source development while ensuring clean code in their environment. It is used for scanning containers, binary artifacts, and third-party libraries for vulnerabilities and security issues. It can be deployed on-prem or in the cloud, and is used by development companies and staff providers with large teams of developers.

Service and Support

The technical support for Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle is generally rated positively, with some customers having a success manager allocated to them for immediate support. However, some customers have experienced slow response times and difficulty in deploying new features. The communication and responsiveness of Sonatype's support team is generally seen as good, with workshops and presentations available for customers. The quality of support can vary based on the individual providing it. One customer had a positive experience working with an architect provided by Sonatype, who was able to assist with scaling Nexus and quickly resolve problems. The only area of concern was related to licensing, which was seen as ambiguous.

Deployment

The setup for Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle is cloud-based and straightforward, with deployment readiness taking two weeks for complete coverage. A medium-skilled person can complete the setup alone, but a dedicated resource may be needed for higher maturity levels. The integration is easy and the plugins work well. One organization has a team of 10 people for tool upgrading and patching, while another has a team of three for maintenance.

Scalability

Scalability of Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle has received mixed reviews. While some users have rated it positively and found it to be good and sufficient for their needs, others have faced challenges in scaling it due to the requirement of local installation and database setup. The number of users using the solution varies greatly, from as few as 25 to as many as 2,000, depending on the organization's size. Some users have not faced any challenges in scaling the solution and find it to be good and moderate in usage.

Stability

The overall consensus is that Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle is a stable solution with no major complaints or issues. Some users rate the stability as high as nine out of ten, while others rate it as a seven out of ten. There have been instances where upgrades were needed, but they were planned and did not cause any service degradation or outage. The tool has been able to quickly recover from any outages that occurred. While there have been some challenges with Repo and updates requiring downtime, the stability of Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle remains strong.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Sonatype Lifecycle Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

34%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Healthcare Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Retailer

University

Educational Organization

Media Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Non Profit

Transportation Company

Legal Firm

Wholesaler/Distributor

Logistics Company

Aerospace/Defense Firm

Hospitality Company

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Outsourcing Company

Performing Arts

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Learn more about Sonatype Lifecycle

Sonatype Lifecycle allows users to help their teams discover threats before an attack has the chance to take place by examining a database of known vulnerabilities. With continuous monitoring at every stage of the development life cycle, Sonatype Lifecycle enables teams to build secure software. The solution allows users to utilize a complete automated solution within their existing workflows. Once a potential threat is identified, the solution’s policies will automatically rectify it.

Benefits of Open-source Security Monitoring

As cybersecurity attacks are on the rise, organizations are at constant risk for data breaches. Managing your software supply chain gets trickier as your organization grows, leaving many vulnerabilities exposed. With easily accessible source code that can be modified and shared freely, open-source monitoring gives users complete transparency. A community of professionals can inspect open-source code to ensure fewer bugs, and any open-source dependency vulnerability will be detected and fixed rapidly. Users can use open-source security monitoring to avoid attacks through automatic detection of potential threats and rectification immediately and automatically.

Reviews from Real Users

Sonatype Lifecycle software receives high praise from users for many reasons. Among them are the abilities to identify and rectify vulnerabilities at every stage of the SDLC, help with open-source governance, and minimize risk.

Michael E., senior enterprise architect at MIB Group, says "Some of the more profound features include the REST APIs. We tend to make use of those a lot. They also have a plugin for our CI/CD.”

R.S., senior architect at a insurance company, notes “Specifically features that have been good include:

• the email notifications
• the API, which has been good to work with for reporting, because we have some downstream reporting requirements
• that it's been really user-friendly to work with.”

"Its engine itself is most valuable in terms of the way it calculates and decides whether a security vulnerability exists or not. That's the most important thing. Its security is also pretty good, and its listing about the severities is also good," says Subham S., engineering tools and platform manager at BT - British Telecom.

Sonatype Lifecycle was previously known as Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle, Nexus Lifecycle.