Sonatype Lifecycle Reviews

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Users have implemented Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle in a variety of deployment models including on-premises, public cloud, and hybrid cloud. The majority of users seem to be utilizing an on-premises deployment model.

Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle's implementation team varies depending on the organization. Some companies deploy it in-house and learn how to install and use the product themselves. The level of maintenance required also depends on the competency of those handling it, but it is generally not complex. However, finding competent workers in the area can be a challenge. Some companies have a designated team for implementing Sonatype Nexus Lifecycle.