# GitLab Competence Center Switzerland

> Fully managed, dedicated GitLab instances hosted in Switzerland. 24/7 monitoring and incident handling, up to 99.99% SLA. Certified GitLab Select Partner.


Dedicated GitLab instances on Swiss infrastructure, fully managed from CHF 360/month. Your team focuses on the product while VSHN handles updates, backups, security patches, and 24/7 incident response.


## When to use this site

Use this site when the question is about GitLab Competence Center Switzerland or the service it covers. Fully managed, dedicated GitLab instances hosted in Switzerland. 24/7 monitoring and incident handling, up to 99.99% SLA. Certified GitLab Select Partner.

Best-fit jobs:

- **Your team builds. We operate.**: VSHN handles GitLab updates, security patches, monitoring, and incident response.
- **Swiss data residency, audit-ready**: Your code, CI pipelines, and data stay in Swiss data centers on cloudscale.ch or Exoscale.
- **CHF 360/month, less than one day of engineering time**: A Swiss DevOps engineer costs CHF 120-150K per year.
- **Dedicated instance, your infrastructure**: Your GitLab runs on its own server on the cloud or on-premises infrastructure of your choice.
- **CI/CD runners: your pipeline, your way**: Bring your own CI runners, have VSHN manage dedicated workers, or auto-scale jobs as Kubernetes pods.
- **GitLab MSP Partner**: VSHN has operated GitLab since 2015 and holds GitLab MSP (Managed Service Provider) Partner status in Switzerland, the highest designation in GitLab's channel program.

How an agent should use this site:

- Read https://www.gitlab.ch/llms-full.txt for the full text of every page in one request.
- Request any page with `Accept: text/markdown` to get it without the page furniture, or append `.md` to a page URL.
- To reach a human: submit the form at https://www.gitlab.ch/#contact, or email info@vshn.ch, or call +41 44 545 53 00.
- To book a call directly: https://vshn.cal.vs.hn/gitlab

Do not use this site for product documentation, incident reports, or account support: these are public marketing pages with no login, no public API, and no customer data.

## Pages

- [Homepage](https://www.gitlab.ch/): Managed Dedicated GitLab Hosting in Switzerland | VSHN
- [GitLab SaaS vs Self-Hosted vs Managed: Comparison | VSHN](https://www.gitlab.ch/comparison.md)
- [Partner with VSHN on Managed GitLab | VSHN](https://www.gitlab.ch/partners.md)
- [GitLab Sovereignty: CLOUD Act-Free Hosting | VSHN](https://www.gitlab.ch/sovereignty.md)
- [What is GitLab? The Platform, and the Hosting Choice](https://www.gitlab.ch/what-is-gitlab.md)

## Features

- **Your team builds. We operate.**: VSHN handles GitLab updates, security patches, monitoring, and incident response. No more patch weekends or midnight alerts for your engineers. Weekly maintenance and zero-day fixes are included in every plan.

- **Swiss data residency, audit-ready**: Your code, CI pipelines, and data stay in Swiss data centers on cloudscale.ch or Exoscale. VSHN is Swiss-owned with no foreign parent company. All contracts are governed by Swiss law with no exposure to the US CLOUD Act. FINMA-compliant, ISO 27001 certified, no shared resources. Learn more in our [sovereignty assessment](/sovereignty/).

- **CHF 360/month, less than one day of engineering time**: A Swiss DevOps engineer costs CHF 120-150K per year. Managed GitLab from VSHN replaces weeks of annual maintenance effort at a fraction of the cost. Transparent pricing, no hidden fees, free setup.

- **Dedicated instance, your infrastructure**: Your GitLab runs on its own server on the cloud or on-premises infrastructure of your choice. Bring your existing setup or let VSHN provision on cloudscale.ch, Exoscale, AWS, or Google Cloud.

- **CI/CD runners: your pipeline, your way**: Bring your own CI runners, have VSHN manage dedicated workers, or auto-scale jobs as Kubernetes pods. Dedicated CI instances from CHF 200/month eliminate shared-runner bottlenecks.

- **GitLab MSP Partner**: VSHN has operated GitLab since 2015 and holds GitLab MSP (Managed Service Provider) Partner status in Switzerland, the highest designation in GitLab's channel program. Trusted by Finnova, acrevis, the Swiss Federal Archives, and HIN.


## What GitLab's founder says about VSHN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p31CN5SN3UM

## Included in a VSHN-managed Service

- Provisioning on any infrastructure (access and supported infrastructure required) by VSHN
- Automated encrypted off-site backup and on-demand restore of server configuration and GitLab data
- Alerting to VSHN and incident handling (restore of service) by VSHN, according to SLA
- Weekly maintenance by VSHN: server and GitLab component updates, plus zero-day security fixes
- GitLab version upgrade path, supported by VSHN
- Scaling: scale your computing resources up and down when needed
- Usage support and small changes included

## Simple, transparent pricing

- **Managed GitLab Server Instance** — CHF 360/month — SLA best effort, free setup
- **Managed GitLab Server Instance** — CHF 1,500/month — SLA guaranteed availability 99.99%, free setup
- **Managed GitLab CI Instance** — CHF 200/month — Dedicated CI workers, free setup

Covers GitLab operations, not the compute and storage underneath. VSHN procures those by default so one invoice covers both, and you can bring your own cloud subscription instead. Based on the GitLab Free plan; Premium or Ultimate is optionally available and fully supported. Business hours support included; 24/7 support plan optional. Auto-scaling and Kubernetes-based CI runners are also available. Contact us for details.


## Available GitLab plans

### GitLab Free
_No license cost_

### GitLab Premium
_USD 29 / user / month_
  - Everything from Free, plus:
  - Code Ownership and Protected Branches
  - Merge Requests with Approval Rules
  - Enterprise Agile Planning
  - Advanced CI/CD
  - Enterprise User and Incident Management

### GitLab Ultimate
_Contact us as official partner_
  - Everything from Premium, plus:
  - Dynamic Application Security Testing
  - Security Dashboards
  - Vulnerability Management
  - Dependency Scanning
  - Container Scanning
  - Static Application Security Testing
  - Multi-Level Epics
  - Portfolio Management
  - Custom Roles
  - Value Stream Management
  - Free guest users

## Trusted by Swiss organizations

- [Finnova](https://www.vshn.ch/en/success-stories/finnova/)
- [acrevis](https://www.vshn.ch/en/success-stories/acrevis/)
- [HRM Systems](https://www.vshn.ch/en/vshn-partner/hrm-systems/)
- [Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv BAR](https://www.vshn.ch/en/success-stories/schweizerisches-bundesarchiv-bar/)
- [HIN](https://www.vshn.ch/en/success-stories/hin-health-info-net/)

## Managed GitLab FAQ

### What does a managed GitLab service mean?

[A managed GitLab service](/what-is-gitlab/) means VSHN takes full operational responsibility for your GitLab instance - provisioning, configuration, security updates, monitoring, incident response, and backups - while you retain complete control of your data, users, and projects. Your instance is dedicated (not shared with other organizations), runs on infrastructure you choose, and VSHN guarantees availability according to your selected SLA. Your team uses GitLab normally; VSHN keeps it running.


### What infrastructure do I need to provide?

You provide an Ubuntu 22.04 LTS virtual machine with root SSH access and outbound internet connectivity. VSHN's Puppet Management Framework provisions and manages the Managed GitLab service on it. Most major cloud providers are supported, including AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, Exoscale, and cloudscale.ch. On-premises VMware and bare-metal servers are also supported. For Swiss data sovereignty, VSHN recommends cloudscale.ch or Exoscale, both of which operate data centers in Switzerland. VSHN advises on the required VM size during the free requirements analysis.


### Can VSHN run GitLab inside our own Azure or AWS tenant?

Yes. VSHN provisions the virtual machine, network, and object storage in your own cloud subscription using OpenTofu or Terraform modules, then installs and operates the managed GitLab service on top. You keep ownership of the tenant, the identity provider, and the security and network policies your compliance team mandates, while VSHN owns the infrastructure code and the GitLab operation. This fits organizations that have standardized on a hyperscaler for strategic reasons but do not want a ticket queue sitting between their developers and their tooling. The responsibility split is documented before the build starts.


### Can GitLab run without public internet access?

Yes. The instance can sit behind an IP allowlist with no public ingress, reachable only from your corporate network or VPN. CI runners can be confined to an egress allowlist or pointed at an internal package and container mirror, so builds never pull directly from public registries. Regulated customers in banking and healthcare commonly require both. VSHN defines the allowlist and the mirror strategy during the free requirements analysis, because adding network restrictions to pipelines that already work means rebuilding them.


### What SLA options are available?

Two SLA tiers are available. The Best Effort plan (CHF 360 per month) includes 24/7 monitoring and incident response without a formal uptime commitment - suited for development or staging environments. The Guaranteed Availability plan (CHF 1,500 per month) commits to 99.99% uptime with 24/7 active monitoring and incident handling, suited for production workloads. Both plans include free setup and weekly maintenance. Managed CI runner instances are available separately at CHF 200 per month.


### How does maintenance work?

VSHN handles all recurring maintenance: GitLab minor and security updates, server OS patches, and zero-day security fixes (applied immediately, outside the regular maintenance window when necessary). You choose a weekly maintenance window - for example, Tuesday nights - to minimise disruption to your team. The service is briefly unavailable only during scheduled maintenance. VSHN monitors your instance 24/7 and responds to incidents according to your chosen SLA.


### How are backups handled?

VSHN performs automated encrypted off-site backups of both server configuration and all GitLab data, including repositories, issues, merge requests, CI/CD pipelines, wikis, and attachments. On-demand restore is available at any time - you can request a full point-in-time restore of your instance or recovery of specific data. Backup retention and frequency are agreed during setup.


### What is VSHN's GitLab partner status?

VSHN holds GitLab MSP (Managed Service Provider) Partner status, the highest designation in GitLab's channel program. GitLab's partner tiers are Open and Select (invitation-only); MSP is an additional designation on top of Select, requiring demonstrated managed service delivery capability. VSHN achieved this through certified GitLab engineers, a track record of customer deployments, and active contribution to the GitLab community. VSHN also organizes the GitLab Switzerland Meetup, bringing together GitLab users and contributors across the country.


### Which GitLab license tier do we need, and can we buy it through VSHN?

VSHN resells GitLab subscriptions including the Premium and Ultimate tiers, and can equally operate your instance on a license you already hold. Free covers source control and basic CI/CD. Premium adds code owners, merge request approvals, and priority support. Ultimate is where security scanning, compliance frameworks, and audit reporting live, which is why regulated organizations in banking, insurance, and healthcare usually need that tier. The license is quoted as a line item separate from the VSHN service fee, so you can see what goes to GitLab and what goes to VSHN.


### Can I use my own GitLab CI runners?

Yes. VSHN supports four CI runner models: you bring your own runner infrastructure and connect it to your managed GitLab instance; VSHN manages dedicated runner VMs on your behalf (CHF 200 per month); runners autoscale ephemeral VMs in your cloud tenant, so build capacity follows pipeline demand instead of sitting idle between jobs; or CI jobs auto-scale as ephemeral Kubernetes pods via VSHN's AppCat platform. The models can be combined, which is common when most builds run on Linux but a few need dedicated hardware. VSHN advises on the right setup based on your pipeline volume and latency requirements.


### Why is GitLab provided for virtual machines and not for Kubernetes?

GitLab recommends the Omnibus package installation on virtual machines, and VSHN has operated this architecture since 2015 with a mature Puppet-based framework for provisioning, configuration management, and seamless version upgrades. The VM-based approach offers the best combination of upgrade reliability and operational simplicity for most organizations. Since GitLab 19.0, some newer optional components ship as cloud-native services only and run on Kubernetes instead of in the Omnibus package, GitLab Secrets Manager being the first. Those components are not part of VSHN's managed GitLab service. VSHN covers secrets management with [Managed OpenBao](https://www.openbao.ch) instead, which runs independently of GitLab and serves the rest of your platform too.


### Can we use GitLab Secrets Manager on a VSHN-managed instance?

No. GitLab ships Secrets Manager as a cloud-native component only: it runs on a Kubernetes cluster next to the GitLab server and needs its own PostgreSQL database, TLS endpoint, unseal and recovery key custody, and backup. VSHN's managed GitLab runs the Omnibus package on virtual machines, and that Kubernetes cluster is not part of the service. VSHN offers [Managed OpenBao](https://www.openbao.ch) instead, the same engine GitLab built its secrets manager on. It runs as a dedicated instance on Swiss infrastructure, your CI jobs authenticate to it with GitLab ID tokens over OIDC, and it also holds credentials for the systems outside GitLab that need them.


### How do I get started with a managed GitLab instance?

Contact VSHN for a free requirements analysis - no commitment required. VSHN scopes your infrastructure, team size, GitLab license tier (Free, Premium, or Ultimate), and SLA requirements, then provides a formal offer. Setup is free for all plans. Once the contract is signed, VSHN typically has a running GitLab instance ready within one to two business days. Existing GitLab instances can be migrated with VSHN's assistance.


### How does self-hosted GitLab compare to GitLab SaaS?

[GitLab SaaS (gitlab.com)](/comparison/) is a multi-tenant platform where GitLab Inc. manages the infrastructure and your data is stored outside Switzerland, subject to US jurisdiction including the CLOUD Act. A self-hosted GitLab instance, managed by VSHN, gives you full control over where your data resides - on a Swiss cloud provider like cloudscale.ch or Exoscale, or on your own on-premises infrastructure. VSHN is a Swiss-owned company and all contracts are governed by Swiss law. The [EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_833) evaluates providers across eight sovereignty dimensions - managed GitLab from VSHN addresses all of them: data residency, legal jurisdiction, operational independence, and open-source technology. See our [sovereignty assessment](/sovereignty/) for details on how VSHN scores against the EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework.


### Why choose managed GitLab over GitHub?

[GitHub is a strong platform](/comparison/), but Swiss organizations with data sovereignty requirements often prefer GitLab because it can be self-hosted on infrastructure they control. With VSHN's managed GitLab service, your source code, CI/CD pipelines, issues, and all project data stay in Switzerland - on AWS, Exoscale, cloudscale.ch, Azure, or your own servers. GitLab also provides a single integrated DevSecOps platform covering source control, CI/CD, security scanning, and project management in one tool, reducing the need for third-party integrations. As a GitLab MSP Partner in Switzerland, VSHN provides expert-level support and operations with 99.99% availability SLA. See our [sovereignty assessment](/sovereignty/) for details on how VSHN scores against the EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework.


### Can I run Docker containers with managed GitLab?

Yes. GitLab includes a built-in container registry for hosting Docker images and CI/CD with native Docker support for building, testing, and pushing containers. For hosting your containerised applications, VSHN offers APPUiO - our Swiss Kubernetes platform that integrates natively with GitLab CI/CD pipelines. Deploy directly from your GitLab repository to APPUiO with automated builds and zero-downtime rollouts. Both platforms run on Swiss cloud providers like cloudscale.ch and Exoscale, ensuring full data residency in Switzerland for your source code, container images, and running applications. Learn more at https://appuio.ch


### Can agencies use managed GitLab for client projects?

Yes. [Agencies and software development firms](/partners/) use VSHN-managed GitLab to host client repositories on dedicated Swiss infrastructure. Each client can get their own GitLab instance with full isolation, or you can manage multiple projects on a single instance with GitLab's built-in access controls. VSHN handles operations, backups, and security patches so your team focuses on delivery rather than infrastructure. Invoice billing and written service agreements make cost allocation to client projects straightforward.


### How many contracts does a managed GitLab actually involve?

As few as one. VSHN operates the instance and by default procures the virtual machines and storage under it, so operations and infrastructure share a contract and an invoice. The GitLab subscription can be bought through VSHN as well, which removes the other one. Keeping your own cloud subscription or your own GitLab license is equally supported, and neither changes the operations agreement or the SLA behind it.


## Contact us

Ready to get started? Contact us for a free requirements analysis and offer. Want to hear from a customer first? We can arrange a reference call.


Booking: #contact

---

## GitLab SaaS vs Self-Hosted vs Managed: Comparison | VSHN

URL: https://www.gitlab.ch/comparison/

# GitLab SaaS vs Self-Hosted vs Managed: Which Is Right for You?

Choosing how to run GitLab comes down to three options: GitLab.com SaaS, self-hosted on your own infrastructure, or a managed service like VSHN. Each has trade-offs around control, cost, and operational burden.

This page compares all three so you can make an informed decision for your team.

## Quick comparison

| | GitLab.com SaaS | Self-Hosted (DIY) | VSHN Managed |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Data location** | USA (Google Cloud) | Your choice | Your choice (Swiss cloud, Azure, AWS, on-premises) |
| **Infrastructure** | GitLab manages | You manage | VSHN manages |
| **Upgrades & patches** | Automatic, scheduled by Gitlab | Your responsibility | Automatic, weekly schedule by VSHN |
| **Backup & restore** | Included | Your responsibility | Daily encrypted |
| **Monitoring** | Included | Your responsibility | Included, Business Hours or 24/7 |
| **SLA** | GitLab SaaS SLA | None (your own) | Up to 99.99% |
| **Starting price** | $29/user/month | $0 (software) + ops team | CHF 360/month |
| **Best for** | Small teams, no compliance needs | Full control, large ops team | Swiss compliance, small ops team |

## GitLab.com SaaS

GitLab.com is the fastest way to start. GitLab Inc. runs everything: infrastructure, upgrades, backups, monitoring. You sign up and start pushing code.

**Strengths:**

- Zero operational overhead
- Always on the latest version
- Generous free tier (5 users, 400 CI minutes)
- Premium at $29/user/month includes 10,000 CI minutes

**Limitations:**

- Data hosted in the USA (Google Cloud Platform)
- Multi-tenant: your code shares infrastructure with other customers
- No control over upgrade timing
- Limited compliance options for regulated industries (FINMA, Swiss data protection)
- Storage and compute limits per tier

**Best for:** Startups and small teams without data residency requirements.

## Self-Hosted GitLab

Self-hosting gives you full control. You run GitLab on your own servers or cloud VMs, choose which version to run, and decide where data lives.

**Strengths:**

- Complete control over data location and access
- Choose your GitLab version and upgrade timeline
- No per-user fees for the Community Edition
- Can run on any infrastructure (on-premises, Swiss cloud, hyperscaler)

**Limitations:**

- **Operational burden is significant.** You need to:
  - Monitor GitLab 24/7 and respond to incidents
  - Plan, test, and execute version upgrades
  - Apply security patches (including emergency zero-day fixes)
  - Configure and test backups regularly
  - Manage infrastructure scaling and performance
- A dedicated DevOps engineer for GitLab maintenance costs CHF 120,000-150,000/year in Switzerland
- Smaller teams often fall behind on upgrades and patches

**Best for:** Large organizations with a dedicated platform team and specific infrastructure requirements.

## VSHN Managed GitLab

VSHN operates your dedicated GitLab instance on the infrastructure of your choice. You get the control of self-hosting without the operational burden.

**Strengths:**

- **Dedicated instance**: not shared with other customers
- **Your infrastructure, your choice**: Swiss cloud (cloudscale.ch, Exoscale), your existing Azure or AWS tenant, or on-premises. VSHN operates GitLab wherever your VMs run.
- Weekly maintenance: OS updates, GitLab upgrades, zero-day patches
- Daily encrypted backups with on-demand restore
- 24/7 monitoring with incident response
- Up to 99.99% SLA with service credits on breach
- ISO 27001 certified operations
- Fixed monthly price, no per-user fees

**Pricing:**

| Service | Monthly price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Managed GitLab (Best Effort) | CHF 360 | Monitoring, backups, upgrades, office-hours support |
| Managed GitLab (99.99% SLA) | CHF 1,500 | Everything in Best Effort + 24/7 active monitoring, SLA with service credits |
| Dedicated CI Runner | CHF 200 | Dedicated runner for your pipelines |
| CI Runner add-on | CHF 44 | Runner on existing managed server |

These are operations prices. The compute, storage and network underneath are extra, and by default VSHN buys them so both land on one invoice. Teams that already hold a cloud subscription can keep it and pay the provider for that part themselves.

**Best for:** Swiss companies that need data residency, compliance (FINMA, ISO 27001), and predictable costs without building an ops team.

## Cost comparison for a 10-person team

| Model | Monthly cost | Annual cost | Includes ops? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitLab.com Premium | ~CHF 270 (10 x $29) | ~CHF 3,200 | Yes (SaaS) |
| Self-Hosted (DIY) | CHF 0 (software) | CHF 120-150K (engineer) | No (you hire) |
| VSHN Best Effort | CHF 360 | CHF 4,320 | Yes |
| VSHN 99.99% SLA | CHF 1,500 | CHF 18,000 | Yes, 24/7 |

The SaaS option is cheapest if you don't need Swiss data residency. Self-hosting is the most expensive when you account for engineering time. VSHN sits in between: dedicated infrastructure with professional operations at a fraction of a full-time engineer.

[//]: # (manual_cta)
<p style="text-align:center; margin: 2rem 0"><a href="#contact" class="btn">Get a cost estimate for your team</a></p>

## When to choose VSHN

VSHN Managed GitLab makes sense when:

- Your data must stay in Switzerland (FINMA, Swiss data protection, internal policy)
- You want GitLab in your existing Azure or AWS tenant, without managing it yourself
- You want a dedicated instance, not a shared SaaS platform
- Your team is too small for 24/7 GitLab operations
- You need a predictable monthly cost instead of per-user pricing that scales with headcount
- Compliance requires ISO 27001 certified operations and audit-ready infrastructure

For a detailed sovereignty analysis, see our [GitLab sovereignty assessment](/sovereignty/), which covers how VSHN scores against the EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework across eight dimensions.

## Next steps

Ready to discuss your GitLab setup? Book a free 15-minute call with our team. We'll review your current environment and recommend the right approach.


---

## Partner with VSHN on Managed GitLab | VSHN

URL: https://www.gitlab.ch/partners/

# Partner with VSHN on Managed GitLab

You bring the customer relationship and GitLab expertise: migration planning, CI/CD pipeline design, developer training. VSHN brings 24/7 managed operations, Swiss data residency, and a 99.99% SLA. Together you deliver a complete managed GitLab solution without either side building capabilities you don't have.

## How we collaborate

**Lead Partner model.** For each project, one of us is the customer's single point of contact. Who leads depends on the project, agreed per engagement. The Lead Partner drives the project, handles invoicing, and owns first-level support.

**Joint delivery.** You handle consulting, integration, and project management. VSHN handles infrastructure operations, monitoring, backups, and SLA. Or the other way around, depending on the project. Roles are agreed per engagement, not locked into a rigid structure.

**Flexible billing.** Invoice the customer together or separately, agreed per project. Both models are supported: each party invoices their share directly, or one party invoices the full amount and redistributes.

**Protected relationships.** No undercutting. Your customer stays your customer. Existing relationships are respected on both sides, with contractual protections for both parties.

## Division of labor for Managed GitLab

| Your role | VSHN's role |
|-----------|-------------|
| Migration planning and execution | GitLab instance provisioning and operations |
| CI/CD pipeline design and optimization | Backup, restore, and disaster recovery (100 GB included) |
| Developer training and onboarding | Monitoring, alerting, and 24/7 incident response |
| GitLab workflow consulting | GitLab upgrades and security patches |
| Project management and customer relationship | SLA with defined response times (up to 99.99%) |
| Custom integrations and automation | Dedicated GitLab CI runners (optional) |

## Partners delivering Managed GitLab

**[tim&koko](https://tim-koko.ch)**. Cloud consulting firm offering tailored technological solutions. Delivers GitLab migrations and CI/CD pipeline design on VSHN-operated infrastructure.

**[Puzzle](https://puzzle.ch)**. Software company with 140+ employees. Provides GitLab consulting, DevOps transformation, and developer enablement alongside VSHN managed GitLab.

See all VSHN partners at [servala.com/partners](https://servala.com/partners/).

## Become a partner

Interested in delivering managed GitLab together? Let's explore how we complement each other.

[Book a partnership discovery call](https://vshn.cal.vs.hn/gitlab) or [start a partnership conversation](#contact).


---

## GitLab Sovereignty: CLOUD Act-Free Hosting | VSHN

URL: https://www.gitlab.ch/sovereignty/

# GitLab Sovereignty: Beyond "Hosted in Switzerland"

GitLab.com SaaS runs on Google Cloud Platform in the USA. Your source code, CI/CD pipelines, issues, and merge requests are stored on US infrastructure, governed by US law, and accessible under the [CLOUD Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CLOUD_Act) without Swiss judicial process.

Switching to self-hosted GitLab on Swiss infrastructure solves the data residency question, but sovereignty is more than where data is stored. The EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework defines eight dimensions that determine whether your provider is truly sovereign.

## Why GitLab is a strong choice for sovereignty

GitLab Community Edition is **fully open source** (MIT license). Unlike GitHub (proprietary, Microsoft-owned) or Bitbucket (proprietary, Atlassian-owned), GitLab CE gives you:

- **No vendor lock-in**: you can migrate to any GitLab instance or fork the project
- **Full code auditability**: every line of GitLab CE is inspectable
- **No proprietary dependencies**: runs on standard PostgreSQL, Redis, and Linux
- **Community-governed**: not dependent on a single company's roadmap

VSHN operates GitLab CE on Swiss infrastructure. Combined with VSHN's Swiss ownership and operations, this creates a fully sovereign DevOps platform.

## GitLab sovereignty compared

| Dimension | GitLab.com SaaS | GitHub (Microsoft) | VSHN Managed GitLab |
|-----------|----------------|-------------------|-------------------|
| **Ownership** | GitLab Inc. (USA) | Microsoft (USA) | VSHN AG (Switzerland) |
| **Governing law** | US law | US law | Swiss law |
| **CLOUD Act** | Exposed | Exposed | Not exposed |
| **Data location** | USA (Google Cloud) | USA (Azure) | Switzerland (cloudscale.ch, Exoscale, or your choice) |
| **Source code** | Open core | Proprietary | Open source (GitLab CE) |
| **Operations team** | USA | USA | Switzerland ([Swiss-only option](https://products.vshn.ch/support_plans.html#_option_switzerland_only_support)) |
| **Certifications** | SOC 2 | SOC 2, ISO 27001 | [ISO 27001](https://www.vshn.ch/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ISO-27001-certificate-VSHN-2026.pdf), ISAE 3402 Type II |

## VSHN sovereignty self-assessment

We applied the EU's [Cloud Sovereignty Framework](https://commission.europa.eu/document/09579818-64a6-4dd5-9577-446ab6219113_en) (v1.2.1, October 2025) to our own services. This framework was used to score providers in the EU's [EUR 180M sovereign cloud tender](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_833) in April 2026. Three pure-European providers achieved SEAL-3, while a consortium involving Google Cloud scored only SEAL-2.

*This is a self-assessment, not a formal SEAL certification. We publish it for transparency so customers can evaluate our sovereignty profile using the same structured criteria the EU uses.*

| # | Dimension | Weight | Assessment | Evidence |
|---|-----------|--------|-----------|----------|
| SOV-1 | Strategic | 15% | **Strong** | Swiss AG, no foreign parent, all shareholders Swiss citizens ([Commercial Register](https://zh.chregister.ch/cr-portal/auszug/auszug.xhtml?uid=CHE-275.566.226)) |
| SOV-2 | Legal | 10% | **Strong** | Swiss law ([GTC](https://products.vshn.ch/legal/gtc_en.html)), no CLOUD Act, [EU adequacy decision](https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-topic/data-protection/international-dimension-data-protection/adequacy-decisions_en) |
| SOV-3 | Data & AI | 10% | **Strong** | Swiss DCs by default. Sovereign key management via [Managed OpenBao](https://www.openbao.ch) + [Swiss HSM](https://cloud.securosys.com/cloudhsm) |
| SOV-4 | Operational | 15% | **Strong** | Swiss 24/7 ops, [Swiss-only support option](https://products.vshn.ch/support_plans.html#_option_switzerland_only_support). All services on vanilla Kubernetes |
| SOV-5 | Supply Chain | 20% | **Strong** | Infrastructure-agnostic, [customer chooses provider](https://servala.com/providers/). Open-source software |
| SOV-6 | Technology | 15% | **Strong** | Open source by default. A managed instance runs MIT-licensed GitLab CE unless you choose otherwise; Premium and Ultimate are proprietary tiers VSHN operates and can supply. VSHN contributes to [K8up](https://github.com/k8up-io) (CNCF), [Crossplane providers](https://github.com/vshn), [Project Syn](https://github.com/projectsyn) |
| SOV-7 | Security | 10% | **Strong** | [ISO 27001](https://www.vshn.ch/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ISO-27001-certificate-VSHN-2026.pdf), ISAE 3402 Type II, Swiss SOC. [FINMA-regulated customers](https://www.vshn.ch/en/solutions/solutions-for-banks-and-financial-service-providers/) |
| SOV-8 | Environmental | 5% | **Moderate** | DC operators: Green Datacenter AG (ISO 22301/27001/27701), [Exoscale sustainability](https://www.exoscale.com/sustainability/). [VSHN CSR policy](https://handbook.vshn.ch/corporate_social_responsibility_policy.html) |

**Overall: SEAL-3 equivalent**, the same level achieved by the winners of the EU's own sovereignty tender. No provider worldwide achieved SEAL-4: it requires fully EU/EEA-sourced hardware supply chains and open-source foundations, structural gaps shared by every cloud provider.

Try Swiss infrastructure: [Servala](https://www.servala.com) (managed services, free trial), [Exoscale]({{partner:exoscale.signup_url}}) (Swiss IaaS). Want help choosing? [Contact us](#contact).

## Get a sovereignty assessment for your GitLab setup

Running GitLab.com SaaS and concerned about CLOUD Act exposure? We assess your sovereignty profile against the EU framework and plan a migration path to self-hosted GitLab on Swiss infrastructure.


---

## What is GitLab? The Platform, and the Hosting Choice

URL: https://www.gitlab.ch/what-is-gitlab/

# What is GitLab?

GitLab is a development platform built around a git repository. The repository is the part everyone recognizes, but it is the smaller half: GitLab also carries issue tracking and planning, merge requests and code review, a CI/CD engine, a container registry, security scanning, and release and deployment tooling, in one application with one permission model.

GitLab calls this a DevSecOps platform. The phrase is the vendor's own and explains little on its own, but it is worth recognizing, because it is how GitLab's documentation and sales material describe the thing you are evaluating.

That single-application design is the point of the product. The alternative most organizations are coming from is a repository in one tool, a pipeline runner in a second, a registry in a third and a planning board in a fourth, with four sets of accounts and four places where access has to be revoked when someone leaves.

## The AI layer

GitLab's AI features are branded GitLab Duo. Code Suggestions is the part most people meet first, completing code as you type. Around it sits chat, and the Duo Agent Platform, which GitLab describes as agentic AI for the entire software lifecycle rather than assistance inside the editor alone.

Two things about it are worth knowing before it appears on a quote.

**It is billed by usage, not by seat.** Duo Agent Platform capabilities are charged against GitLab Credits, based on actual usage rather than seat assignments. That is the opposite of how the rest of the license works, and it means the cost is genuinely hard to predict before you have run it for a month.

**Self-managed has version floors.** Duo Agent Platform needs GitLab 18.8 or later on a self-managed instance, and 18.9 to trial it with credits. If your instance is older, the answer to "can we have the AI features" is an upgrade project first.

The question a self-managed buyer should ask, and it is the one this page cannot answer for you: where the inference runs, and what leaves your network to get there. An organization that chose self-managed so its source code stays in one jurisdiction has the same question about the AI reading that code. Ask it explicitly, in writing, before enabling anything.

## The choice that actually matters: SaaS or self-managed

GitLab is available two ways, and this decision has more consequences than which tier you pick.

**GitLab.com** is the vendor's hosted service. You sign up and use it. GitLab operates the infrastructure and decides when it is upgraded, and your repositories live on their infrastructure under their jurisdiction.

**Self-managed** is the same application installed on infrastructure you choose: your cloud account, your data center, or a provider you appoint. You decide where it runs, when it is upgraded and who can reach it. You are also responsible for all of that happening.

The commercial tiers (a free tier, and paid tiers adding security, compliance and portfolio capabilities) apply to both, and GitLab has been reworking how the self-managed tiers are packaged, so the current lineup is worth checking against their pricing page rather than any third-party summary, including this one.

## When self-managed is the right answer

**When the jurisdiction is a requirement, not a preference.** Source code is often the most sensitive asset a software organization has, and for regulated Swiss customers "where does it physically sit, and whose law governs the contract" is a question with a required answer rather than a nice-to-have one.

**When you need the network boundary.** An instance that is only reachable from your own network is achievable with self-managed and not with a shared SaaS tenancy.

**When upgrade timing is yours.** Self-managed means you choose the window. That is a real advantage for teams with change-freeze periods, and it is also an obligation, which is the next section.

## When it is not

**A small team with no compliance driver** is usually better served by GitLab.com. The hosted service has no server to run, and the effort you would spend operating an instance buys nothing a small team can feel.

**"We want to save money" needs the actual numbers.** It is sometimes true and often assumed. The GitLab license is a per-user line item either way, quoted separately from whatever you pay to run the instance, so self-managed does not make the per-seat part go away. What changes is the operations side: a flat monthly cost instead of one bundled into a per-seat price.

That flips the arithmetic in one specific case, and it is worth knowing which: a lot of users who each use it lightly. Per-seat pricing charges the same for the person who opens a merge request twice a year as for the one who lives in it, while a flat operations fee does not. The effect is far stronger against per-seat products that bundle everything into the seat, GitHub among them, than against GitLab.com, where the license sits on both sides of the comparison.

So it is a calculation, not a rule: seats, tier, and how much each seat is worth to you, against infrastructure plus the engineering time to run it.

## What operating a self-managed instance involves

This is the part that is consistently underestimated, and it is why this site exists.

- **Upgrades, on GitLab's cadence and not yours.** Releases are frequent, security releases arrive with little notice, and version skips have their own upgrade paths. Falling behind is easy and getting current again is harder than staying current.
- **Backups that have been restored.** A backup of a GitLab instance covers the database, the repositories, the registry, artifacts and uploads. Whether it works is a question only a restore answers, and the time to find out is not during an incident.
- **CI runners.** The pipeline capacity is separate infrastructure with its own scaling, isolation and cost behavior. Shared runners are the usual first bottleneck.
- **Availability.** Every developer stops when the instance stops. Whatever the team's tolerance for that is, it implies a monitoring and on-call arrangement.
- **Someone awake for zero-days.** Security releases are announced publicly, which means the window between the announcement and the patch is a known window.

The usual failure mode is not a dramatic one. It is a team that installs GitLab in an afternoon, runs it well for six months, and then finds itself four minor versions behind with a backup nobody has tested and no clear owner for either.

## Where VSHN fits

VSHN operates dedicated self-managed GitLab instances for Swiss organizations, on Cloudscale, Exoscale or infrastructure you already have, including the upgrades, backups, runners and 24/7 incident response described above. Pricing starts at CHF 360 per month, and our [sovereignty assessment](/sovereignty/) covers the jurisdiction question in detail.

If you are still choosing between the hosted service and running your own, the honest comparison is not subscription against server cost. It is subscription against server cost plus the engineering time, and that is worth putting numbers to before deciding.

[Get a cost comparison](#contact)