DevOps platform GitLab today announced that it has acquired UnReview, a machine learning-based tool that helps software teams recommend the best reviewers for when developers want to check in their latest code. GitLab, which is looking to bring more of these machine learning capabilities to its platform, will integrate UnReview's capabilities into its own code review workflow. The two companies did not disclose the price of the acquisition. "Last year we decided that the future of DevOps includes ML/AI, both within the DevOps lifecycle as well as the growth of adoption of ML/AI with our customers," David DeSanto, GitLab's senior director, Product Management – Dev & Sec, told me. He noted that when GitLab recently surveyed its customers, 75% of the teams said they are already using AI/ML.

There is no one moment when SaaS – Software as a Service – was conceived, because SaaS as a concept has a host of components; all of which have had to come together in the right context in order to produce value for any sector or vertical market. Different sectors have moved towards SaaS models at different speeds. In technical terms, SaaS relies on cloud delivery at scale, a minimum degree of widely available connectivity, and enterprise-grade security. If any of these are weak, SaaS drops off the agenda. Then there's the business model and the attendant marketing around it – not only do SaaS businesses themselves have to sustain the transformation from a CapEx to an OpEx model, they also have to explain to their customers what's going on, and how they can benefit from it.