In brief
- Continuous integration and delivery/deployment (CI/CD) are a set of practices that prioritize automation and frequent releases in integrating and deploying code changes
- Adopting Murex CI/CD allows you to reap benefits like a faster code change cycle, reduced TCO, improved agility and resilience, and mitigated risks
- When implementing Murex CI/CD, embrace short feedback loops, automate all manual processes, set up monitoring to continuously improve the pipeline, and bring all developers on board in the transition
Does every Murex update feel like a massive undertaking that takes up days or weeks of your developers’ time?
If so, there’s a better way. You can automate most integration, delivery, and deployment processes – and enjoy the efficiency and speed of establishing a continuous integration and continuous delivery/deployment (CI/CD) framework around your Murex platform.
CI/CD is also key to improving performance across all DORA metrics, from deployment frequency to change failure rate. But this is not an overnight task. It requires a holistic approach to revamping every code release integration and deployment process.
What is Murex?
The Murex platform, MX.3, is a leading capital markets integrated solution that combines functionality across:
- Sales and trading
- Enterprise risk management (e.g., limit control, stress testing)
- Treasury management
- Operations and finance
- Investment management
Murex is used by 60,000+ users globally and is implemented at 65 of the world’s top 100 banks.
The platform’s key strengths include:
- Extensive asset coverage, from FX options to alternative investments and equity
- Support for all integration patterns and frequencies (batch, event-driven, real-time)
- Comprehensive regulatory compliance out-of-the-box
- Cloud readiness and a wide variety of deployment options (hybrid, IaaS, SaaS)
What role does CI/CD serve in MX environments?
CI/CD is a set of practices that streamline frequent code changes with automation, accelerating upgrades as a result.
Continuous integration automates merging code changes into the shared code branch (“trunk”). Once the code changes are introduced, automated unit and integration tests validate those changes for reliability and ensure seamless integration without any conflicts.
Continuous delivery, in turn, automates code release to the source code repository (e.g., GitHub, container registry), as well as the necessary testing. Continuous deployment finalizes the deployment of new code, automating the code release to production.
Thanks to automation, CI/CD can reduce the update cycle to mere minutes or hours instead of days or weeks.
Implementing CI/CD in the context of an MX platform
Murex offers its customers technologies like MXtest and MxCI to help them benefit from the platform’s continuous evolution.
However, adopting CI/CD practices requires a holistic approach to the development lifecycle; they can’t be adopted only partially.
On top of that, the CI/CD pipeline will be at its most efficient only if your organization follows the DevOps methodology.
If you lack the necessary in-house expertise to transform your Murex integration and deployment processes, consider turning to a certified Murex DevOps partner like DXC Luxoft. Our technical architect and Murex expert team will help you implement test-driven development and maximize QA efficiency.
Five benefits of adopting the Murex CI/CD pipeline
Implementing CI/CD for your MX platform means:
- Faster code changes. Automating manual integration, delivery, and deployment processes, including unit and integration testing, minimizes the time-to-market for updates
- Reduced total cost of ownership (TCO). Rapid, highly automated releases minimize the cost of quality assurance, bringing down the TCO without sacrificing software quality
- Enhanced agility and operations resiliency. With CI/CD, your organization can quickly adapt to changes in the regulatory landscape or market environment. CI/CD practices also improve operations resiliency as automated testing mitigates the risk of human error
- Always up-to-date. The Murex CI/CD pipeline ensures you’re always using the latest version of the platform without the exorbitant costs of frequent manual updates. This mitigates the risk of technical deprecation and end-of-life issues and allows you to leverage the most recent Murex features
- Improved risk management. Integral to building the CI/CD pipeline, automation means all testing is standardized, reducing the risk of bugs and conflicts remaining unaddressed
Four best practices for implementing Murex CI/CD
Considering a journey to the CI/CD pipeline for your MX platform? Keep these four best practices in mind when preparing for it.
Embrace shorter feedback loops
CI/CD practices aren’t only about automating manual tasks – the high frequency of deployments is another defining feature. So, build your pipeline to support frequent commits, ensure continuous feedback, minimize conflicts, and speed up bug fixes.
Automate everything that can be automated
While testing is a prime candidate for extensive automation, it’s not the only one. Any repeatable process should be automated, from dependency gathering to configuration changes.
Keep in mind that automated processes are standardized and executed the same way every time. So, automated tests should be designed to handle the full extent of possible scenarios to ensure their efficiency.
Continuously monitor and improve the Murex CI/CD pipeline
Building a CI/CD pipeline isn’t a one-and-done project: once the initial pipeline is ready, you need to keep an eye on its performance, catch issues and shortcomings, and improve it. Typical CI/CD metrics concern:
- Number of builds triggered
- Build success rates
- Test coverage
- Deployment speed
- Automated test statistics
- QA results
Make CI/CD a team effort
Adopting CI/CD requires a shift to the DevOps mindset, which may necessitate organizational and cultural changes. If not done yet, break silos between dev, QA, and ops teams before browsing CI/CD tools or automating tests.
Leveraging CI/CD for Murex: Case studies
These three organizations have already kicked off their journey toward Murex CI/CD to reduce the platform’s TCO, speed up code changes, and increase agility.
Major Italian banking group
A major Italian banking group was looking to primarily protect its investment into Murex while maximizing cost savings and testing efficiency with Murex’s MXtest. Adopting Murex CI/CD was part of the group’s larger CI/CD journey and allowed it to improve its agility, speed up testing, and reduce TCO.
Dutch banking provider
A Dutch banking and financial services provider leveraged Murex CI/CD as part of its larger digital transformation project. This transition allowed the bank to benefit from standardization and increase control over deliveries, with its DevOps teams now able to focus on more pressing QA tasks.
Renewable energy financer
This German-based renewable energy financier implemented Murex continuous integration solutions as part of its transition to the new MX.3 version. The transition helped the bank mitigate the risks associated with third-party components – and ensure compliance with the DORA regulation that becomes fully applicable in 2025.
Let’s talk
Need a hand with implementing Murex CI/CD practices? As a trusted Murex partner, DXC Luxoft has the expertise you need to maximize your efficiency gains from Murex continuous integration solutions. Contact us now to discuss how we can assist you in your DevOps journey.
