Migrating to GitLab is more than a technical exercise — it’s a strategic step toward faster, more secure software delivery. OTTRA specialises in transitioning regulated organisations from legacy systems including Jenkins, Bitbucket, GitHub Enterprise, Azure DevOps, and on-premise Git solutions with zero downtime and compliance assurance.
Whether you’re consolidating fragmented toolchains or moving away from end-of-life platforms, a well-planned migration accelerates delivery, strengthens security, and reduces operational overhead. But getting it wrong can disrupt teams, break pipelines, and put compliance at risk.
Built for Regulated Industries
We understand the unique pressures faced by organisations operating under FCA, NCSC, ISO 27001, and Cyber Essentials Plus standards. Migrations embed compliance from inception, ensuring repositories, pipelines, and access controls meet security obligations from day one.
Every migration is backed by documented controls, audit trails, and automated validation steps that satisfy even the most demanding audit environments. There are no shortcuts. Each step is traceable, repeatable, and aligned to your governance model.
Proven Migration Framework — 5 Steps
1. Assessment & Planning
We start by auditing your existing DevOps toolchains, mapping repositories, users, integrations, and compliance dependencies. This gives us a complete picture of what needs to move, what needs to change, and what risks to mitigate before a single line of code is transferred.
2. Design & Architecture
Next, we create secure GitLab environments — self-managed or cloud — aligned to your governance models. Group structures, permissions, runner configurations, and integration points are all designed before migration begins.
3. Migration Execution
We securely transfer projects, pipelines, and history using in-house migration tooling with data integrity validation at every stage. Nothing is left behind, and nothing arrives corrupted.
4. Testing & Validation
Before go-live, we conduct sandbox verification, performance testing, and access reviews. Pipelines are validated end-to-end. Your teams get early access to confirm everything works as expected in the new environment.
5. Training & Handover
Finally, we provide hands-on enablement sessions ensuring smooth transitions and team confidence. Your engineers leave the migration knowing how to use GitLab effectively — not just where the buttons are.
Why Choose OTTRA
Certified Expertise. Our engineers are GitLab-certified professionals with decades of combined experience in regulated DevOps environments. We have done this before — many times.
Security by Design. Every migration includes security scanning, RBAC review, and secret-management alignment. Security is not an afterthought — it is baked into the process from the start.
Compliance First. Full traceability and evidence generation for ISO 27001, SOC 2, and FCA frameworks. When auditors come knocking, you will have everything they need.
Zero Downtime. We schedule migrations around your production cycles. Your teams keep shipping while we handle the move.
Post-Migration Support. Managed services ensuring platform optimisation long after go-live. We do not disappear once the migration is complete.
Ready to Move?
If you’re considering a migration to GitLab — or you’re mid-migration and it’s not going to plan — get in touch to discuss your migration roadmap. We’ll help you get there securely, on time, and without disruption.
Learn more about our GitLab Migrations service.