A real AST program means flaws get assigned, owned, remediated, certified, or accepted and recertified. That is a business process, not a scanner you deploy and forget.
THE PYRAMID for Application Security Testing defines seven components every AST program needs: SAST, DAST, SCA, reporting and trending, secure code training, remediation assistance, and pentesting services.
Most vendors cover two or three. Veracode delivers all seven. That completeness is why FOURCASTERS and Lionfish Tech Advisors named Veracode a "Difference Maker" at the top of the 2026 vendor pyramid, positioned above Black Duck, OpenText, HCL Software, and GitLab.
If your current vendor cannot pass all seven, you have a tool, not a program.