Cloudfresh, a GitLab Select and Professional Services Partner, has secured the 2025 EMEA GitLab Partner of the Year award in the Emerging Markets category for Eastern Europe and Israel. This accolade underscores the company’s role in advancing DevSecOps practices and AI integration across a diverse client base. Operating as a provider of multi-vendor cloud solutions, Cloudfresh supports enterprises in IT, software development, banking, fintech, telecommunications, gaming, and cybersecurity sectors.
The award highlights Cloudfresh’s contributions to GitLab’s ecosystem in a region marked by rapid digital transformation. Eastern Europe and Israel have emerged as hotspots for tech innovation, driven by skilled workforces and increasing investments in cloud-native technologies. Cloudfresh’s efforts focus on bridging gaps in adoption, particularly for organizations transitioning to secure, AI-enhanced development pipelines.
Recognition of Regional Impact
GitLab’s partner awards recognize contributions to platform growth and customer success. For 2025, the EMEA category spotlights partners excelling in specific geographies. Cloudfresh’s win in Emerging Markets reflects its targeted work in Eastern Europe—encompassing countries like Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltics—and Israel, where geopolitical tensions and talent pools shape unique market dynamics.
In these areas, enterprises face challenges such as legacy infrastructure migration, regulatory compliance, and talent shortages. Cloudfresh addresses these through tailored GitLab implementations. The company delivers end-to-end services, from initial audits to ongoing optimization, helping clients achieve scalable infrastructure. This includes cost planning, flexible licensing models, and multi-currency support, which prove essential in volatile economies.
Beyond basics, Cloudfresh guides teams toward GitLab Duo, GitLab’s AI suite. Duo enables code suggestions, vulnerability detection, and workflow automation, embedding AI directly into development cycles. As organizations prepare for GitLab’s platform evolutions, such as enhanced Duo features, partners like Cloudfresh ensure smooth transitions. This proactive stance has fueled adoption in security-sensitive sectors, where DevSecOps—integrating development, security, and operations—demands precision.
Leadership Perspectives on the Partnership
Dmytro Irzhytskyi, Cloudfresh’s COO and CTO, emphasized collaboration as the award’s true value. He noted that success stems from joint efforts among GitLab, Cloudfresh, and customers. Irzhytskyi views AI-native DevSecOps as a key edge for engineering teams, signaling trust in the partnership and GitLab’s support for transformations.
From GitLab’s side, Alex Picker, VP of Global Ecosystems, praised the alignment on secure software delivery. Picker highlighted how the awards spotlight partner impacts, expressing pride in Cloudfresh’s past-year achievements and optimism for future collaboration.
These statements reveal a maturing ecosystem. GitLab’s partner program, expanded in recent years, incentivizes specialized expertise. Cloudfresh, certified at Select and Professional Services levels, exemplifies this by offering comprehensive engagements. Clients benefit from consulting that spans strategy to execution, reducing time-to-value for GitLab deployments.
Broader Context: DevSecOps and AI in Emerging Markets
Evolving DevSecOps Landscape
DevSecOps has shifted from niche practice to enterprise standard. Tools like GitLab unify the software lifecycle—planning, coding, testing, releasing, and securing—in a single platform. This reduces silos, accelerates releases, and embeds security early, addressing vulnerabilities that plague 70% of breaches according to recent Verizon DBIR reports.
In Eastern Europe and Israel, adoption accelerates amid cloud spending growth. Gartner forecasts EMEA public cloud services to reach $200 billion by 2025, with Eastern Europe growing fastest at over 25% CAGR. Israel, a cybersecurity powerhouse, invests heavily in AI-driven defenses, while Eastern European firms leverage cost advantages for nearshoring.
Cloudfresh navigates these trends by customizing GitLab for regional needs. For telco and fintech clients, it optimizes CI/CD pipelines for compliance with GDPR and local regs. Gaming studios gain from scalable builds, while banks prioritize secure vaults for AI model training.
AI Integration via GitLab Duo
GitLab Duo’s rise marks a pivotal AI infusion. Launched in 2024, it offers conversational AI for code generation, explanations, and merge requests. Cloudfresh’s services demystify its rollout, from pilot testing to enterprise scaling.
Teams adopting Duo report 30-50% productivity gains, per GitLab benchmarks, but require guidance on data privacy and integration. Cloudfresh provides audits to align with zero-trust models, crucial in cybersecurity-focused markets. It also handles licensing complexities, enabling flexible subscriptions amid currency fluctuations.
This expertise positions Cloudfresh as a linchpin. As GitLab eyes AI expansions—like predictive analytics—the partner ecosystem will drive uptake. In emerging markets, where budgets constrain experimentation, proven implementations lower barriers.
Challenges and Opportunities Ahead
Regional hurdles persist. Eastern Europe’s infrastructure lags in some areas, exacerbated by energy costs and conflicts. Israel’s market contends with export controls on AI tech. Yet, these foster resilience: Ukrainian devs, for instance, excel in remote GitLab workflows despite disruptions.
Cloudfresh counters with hybrid models, blending on-prem and cloud for resilience. Its global footprint aids multi-region deployments, vital for gaming and telco spanning EMEA.
Looking forward, the award signals momentum. GitLab’s 2025 roadmap emphasizes AI governance and open-source security, areas where Cloudfresh can deepen impact. Joint customers stand to gain from refined practices, potentially setting benchmarks for EMEA.
Implications for Enterprise Technology Strategies
This recognition arrives as enterprises reassess DevSecOps amid AI proliferation. Platforms like GitLab reduce vendor sprawl, cutting costs by 20-30% versus fragmented tools, per Forrester. Partners amplify this by localizing value.
For IT leaders in banking or telco, Cloudfresh’s model offers a blueprint: audit current stacks, pilot Duo, optimize workflows. Success metrics—faster cycles, fewer incidents—validate investments.
In Eastern Europe and Israel, the award elevates Cloudfresh’s profile, attracting talent and deals. It also reinforces GitLab’s commitment to non-Western markets, countering U.S.-centric dominance.
Ultimately, the partnership exemplifies ecosystem synergy. As 2026 approaches, expect accelerated AI-DevSecOps fusion, with Cloudfresh steering regional adoption.
About Cloudfresh
Cloudfresh is a GitLab Select & Professional Services Partner. At the core of every engagement is a clear mission: ensuring businesses make the most of all SDLC stages and the broader cloud ecosystem, using the proper tooling and guidance from strategy through scale.
Since 2017, the company has assisted organizations of all sizes with designing, implementing, and optimizing complex cloud environments, from early proof-of-concept and system integration to AI-powered invention and long-term support.
