Incredibuild Team
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With the rise of the agile mindset, there is constant pressure on both development and DevOps teams to shorten release cycles and speed up deployments iteratively to satisfy growing customer expectations. As this drive for speed intensifies, the complexity of maintaining security and compliance standards also increases.
One of the major challenges in today’s DevOps workflows is the “speed vs. security dilemma.” The question is: How do you keep up with rapid development without compromising on security protocols and regulatory requirements?
In this guide, we’ll explore some of the most pressing challenges faced by DevOps teams. We’ll also discuss how IncrediBuild can help you deliver high-quality and secure applications faster without sacrificing DevOps compliance.
Common bottlenecks and compliance challenges
Let’s take a look at some of the common bottlenecks in the build process responsible for slowing down release cycles.
Long build times for large codebases
As applications grow in complexity, so do their codebases. With each new feature, bug fix, or update, builds take longer, resulting in extended wait times that slow down development.
Long build times stem from the need to recompile, run tests, and package code across multiple dependencies, modules, and services. In complex, monolithic architectures, this issue is particularly challenging, as changes in one area might require a full application rebuild.
While splitting monoliths into microservices can help, it often requires a significant architectural overhaul. For DevOps teams under constant pressure to speed up their releases, tools like Incredibuild that distribute workloads intelligently can play a pivotal role by running accelerated builds without requiring a complete re-engineering of your existing pipeline.
Test execution bottlenecks
Testing is essential for delivering high-quality and secure software development, but it can also be a major bottleneck, especially as codebases and test suites expand.
Automated tests, which often need to be re-run after each code change, can consume a significant portion of build time. While unit tests are generally fast, integration and end-to-end tests, which validate functionality across multiple services, can be time-intensive.
Testing bottlenecks are often made worse when teams lack parallel testing capabilities, causing queued test runs to delay the release process. Effective test management and prioritization strategies—such as testing only modified code or running critical tests first—can help reduce delays.
This is where a solution like Incredibuild can help. It executes tests in parallel across distributed machines, enabling large test suites to run simultaneously.
Resource constraints in CI/CD Pipelines
With multiple developers working in parallel, the demand on shared infrastructure resources—such as CPU, memory, and disk I/O—increases, especially during peak times.
When these resources become constrained, builds and tests queue up, leading to delays across the entire development pipeline. Additionally, scaling up resources in a cloud environment can be costly, particularly for organizations that have burst traffic patterns or use intensive services sporadically. On-premises infrastructure may not offer sufficient flexibility to scale up quickly when workloads spike, while cloud scaling introduces potential latency and budget concerns.
To address these issues and optimize resource use, Incredibuild distributes build and test workloads across idle CPUs in your network or cloud; this alleviates resource constraints, reduces build queue times, and allows for faster scaling.
Strategies for accelerating builds without compromising security
Let’s explore some strategies to accelerate builds while maintaining robust DevOps security standards.
Parallel execution and distributed processing of build pipelines
One of the most effective ways to reduce build times is to distribute workloads across multiple machines or processors, enabling parallel execution. By splitting tasks, such as compilation or testing, across available resources, teams can significantly speed up processes without sacrificing accuracy or security.
Distributed processing platforms like Incredibuild allow DevOps teams to utilize idle CPU power across networks or cloud instances.
Caching and incremental builds
Caching and incremental builds help avoid redundant processing by reusing previous build results for unchanged code. When minor changes are made to a large codebase, full rebuilds can be inefficient, wasting time on files that haven’t been modified.
Incremental builds only recompile or reprocess altered files, significantly reducing build times. By using caching mechanisms to store these intermediate results, DevOps teams can achieve faster builds while ensuring that only relevant files are re-evaluated.
Automated testing and security scans
Automated testing and security scans are essential for identifying vulnerabilities and functional issues early. By integrating security scans, such as static code analysis and vulnerability assessments, directly into the CI/CD pipeline, teams ensure that security protocols are followed at every stage.
Tools that support parallelized testing allow these tests to be conducted rapidly. Automated, continuous testing provides the assurance needed for safe, secure builds while preserving high velocity, preventing security from becoming an afterthought in accelerated workflows.
Implementing security and compliance checks in the CI/CD pipeline
Incorporating security and compliance checks throughout the CI/CD pipeline is essential to delivering software that is both resilient and compliant. A “shift-left” approach introduces security measures early in development, reducing vulnerabilities and compliance risks from the start.
By integrating security practices at every stage of the CI/CD process, teams create a continuous feedback loop, making security a proactive rather than reactive measure. Various solutions are available to help with this integration.
Essential tools for CI/CD security
During the code commit stage, developers can perform code reviews, static analysis, and commit signing to validate code security. In the build stage, teams can analyze source code and uncover vulnerabilities in the codebase before execution using static application security testing (SAST) tools.
Further down the pipeline, during testing, dynamic application security testing (DAST) can assess runtime vulnerabilities in deployed environments. DAST tools simulate attacks against the application in runtime environments, uncovering issues like improper access controls or session handling vulnerabilities.
And at deployment, compliance checks—using policy-as-code or compliance-as-code (CaC) solutions—ensure adherence to regulatory standards and governance before final release. CaC tools automate regulatory checks within infrastructure configurations and policies, verifying that deployments meet compliance standards.
By implementing a combination of shift-left practices, security checkpoints across CI/CD stages, and automated tools, DevOps teams can improve security without slowing down development.
Tools and technologies to help balance speed and security
Balancing speed and security is a critical challenge for DevOps teams as they strive to deliver high-quality applications quickly. Fortunately, there are modern tools available that support both accelerated development and robust security practices.
We discuss some of these solutions below.
Incredibuild: Distributed processing and caching for faster builds
Incredibuild is a distributed computing platform that significantly accelerates build times by breaking down tasks into smaller processes and distributing them across multiple CPUs, whether on-premises or in the cloud.
Figure 1: Incredibuild build cache
By harnessing idle CPU cycles across a network, Incredibuild transforms ordinary build processes into highly parallelized tasks. This reduces build times dramatically, helping developers iterate faster without compromising on accuracy. Additionally, Incredibuild’s caching mechanism ensures that unchanged components are reused in subsequent builds, further leading to build process optimization and saving time.
This combination of distributed processing and caching allows teams to keep up with fast release cycles while maintaining build quality and stability.
GitLab CI/CD and Jenkins: Facilitating automated compliance checks
GitLab CI/CD and Jenkins are popular CI/CD platforms that support end-to-end automation in secure DevOps workflows. These tools let teams embed security and compliance checks at various stages of the pipeline so that code meets security standards early in the process.
For example, teams can set up Jenkins pipelines to automatically run static code analysis and security scans with each build, catching issues before they reach production. GitLab CI/CD offers similar functionality with its security and compliance management features, allowing teams to define and enforce compliance policies throughout the CI/CD process.
With automation-driven compliance checks, these tools streamline security verification without slowing down development.
Snyk and OWASP ZAP: Automated vulnerability detection
Snyk and OWASP ZAP are powerful tools for identifying security vulnerabilities in applications.
Snyk specializes in scanning open-source dependencies, identifying known vulnerabilities, and suggesting remediation steps; all of this allows teams to secure their codebase early on.
Figure 2: Snyk code scan example (Source: Snyk)
As a DAST solution, OWASP ZAP lets you scan running apps for vulnerabilities like misconfigurations and security missteps, often at the final testing stage. By automating vulnerability detection, these tools reduce the risk of deploying insecure code while integrating seamlessly into CI/CD workflows.
Terraform and AWS Config: Maintaining compliance at scale
As infrastructure grows, ensuring compliance at scale becomes challenging. Tools like Terraform and AWS Config implement compliance as code to automate the enforcement of regulatory standards across your infrastructure.
With Terraform, teams can codify infrastructure configurations, embedding policies directly in the code to prevent unauthorized changes. AWS Config, meanwhile, monitors your AWS resources for configuration changes, alerting teams to non-compliant configurations.
Best practices for balancing speed and security/compliance
Achieving a balance between speed and security in software development requires a strategic approach and adherence to two key best practices.
Consistent auditing and monitoring
Regular monitoring ensures that new vulnerabilities, configuration changes, or compliance issues are identified and addressed as early as possible. By implementing automated security scans, logging, and audit trails, DevOps teams can catch potential issues before they escalate, cutting the risk of breaches and regulatory penalties.
Continuous compliance tools like AWS Config and monitoring platforms like Prometheus provide real-time alerts and automated responses, keeping the system secure while development proceeds rapidly.
Collaboration
The traditional separation between development, security, and operations teams often creates bottlenecks. Adopting a DevSecOps model encourages close collaboration between these teams, embedding security practices directly into development workflows.
With DevSecOps, developers, security experts, and operations personnel work together to create secure applications from the ground up, rather than retrofitting security at the end. This collaboration aligns everyone on shared goals and best practices that prioritize security.
Regular cross-functional meetings, shared dashboards, and joint planning sessions ensure that teams address security and compliance concerns early, maintaining development speed while mitigating risks.
Case studies
Below are real-life scenarios from customers who used Incredibuild and their experience doing so.
Adobe
Adobe, a global leader in digital media, faced slow build times for its large-scale software projects, impacting productivity.
To address this, Adobe implemented Incredibuild, reducing build times from 7.5 hours to 15 minutes. The platform’s high-performance compiling (HPC) clusters, accessible on-demand, allowed developers to accelerate builds without the need for additional hardware.
Incredibuild’s flexibility, stability, and integration with Adobe’s infrastructure saved significant time and costs, proving invaluable for Adobe’s enterprise needs.
Major European bank
A leading European financial institution with a 300-year legacy and operations in 55 countries leveraged Incredibuild to streamline its CI/CD processes.
Facing regulatory limitations on cloud use and frequent internal shifts, the bank’s 700-member quantitative analysis team used Incredibuild to optimize C++ compilation and Ninja builds across a large-scale infrastructure with over 15,000 helper cores and 700 initiators.
Incredibuild reduced build times from 25 hours to 40 minutes, significantly enhancing productivity for cross-functional and remote teams. Incredibuild’s exceptional support and infrastructure acceleration are also credited for making the bank’s operations stable and efficient.
Wrapping up
The need for rapid app deployment often competes with stringent security and regulatory requirements, but with the right approach, teams can achieve both.
By implementing strategies like parallel processing, caching, incremental builds, and comprehensive monitoring, DevOps teams can significantly speed up workflows without compromising on quality or compliance.
With Incredibuild’s distributed processing and caching, teams can boost build speed and efficiency with faster iterations that accelerate time-to-market. At the same time, the platform supports rigorous security practices to keep your applications safe and compliant.
Faster, secure, and compliant app development is within reach for any organization willing to adopt a balanced approach. Try Incredibuild today and discover how you can streamline your DevOps pipeline while enforcing the quality and security of your apps.
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