Valid Eval Achieves 2-5x Performance Gains, Improves Security for Ruby on Rails Architecture
Founded in 2011, Valid Eval provides a secure, SaaS-based platform that helps organizations make defensible, data-driven decisions in high-stakes situations involving many applicants, subjects, domain experts, and judges. The Denver, Colorado-based company primarily serves federal government agencies that need to evaluate complex bids before awarding contracts.
Here was our challenge
The nature of Valid Eval’s work demands an exceptionally high degree of system performance. However, the organization was experiencing speed and memory challenges with its Puma web server, a key component of its Ruby on Rails architecture.
“We’re not large enough to justify building an internal team of engineers experienced in highly specific technologies, and as a fast-growth business we have to take a fail-fast approach”, said Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer Jacob Ablowitz.
So after an initial attempt to solve the web server performance issue on its own, Valid Eval pivoted and hired FastRuby.io in February 2023 based on the recommendation of a trusted supplier.
“They’re deep domain experts in this piece of our stack, which is a crucial element of our user experience given the way response times affect how fast or slow the system ‘feels’ to users” he explained.
Here’s how we solved it
FastRuby.io’s highly experienced engineers evaluated and adjusted key server settings and configurations, quickly resolving the web server performance constraints to ensure Valid Eval could meet its clients’ demanding service expectations. This initial success prompted the company to contract for our Bonsai monthly maintenance plan beginning in June 2023. Now, Valid Eval has a specified number of days to devote toward the technology deliverables and assistance they most need at any given time, tapping senior engineers who become an extension of their team.
“We felt this arrangement would improve our productivity and free up our internal staff to focus on adding solution features and keeping our platform moving forward,” Ablowitz said.
In one of the first critical initiatives under the Bonsai program, FastRuby.io managed significant Ruby and Rails upgrades, which both had the potential to introduce unintended breaks that could impact the SaaS platform’s performance. With our team’s technical guidance, Valid Eval successfully updated Rails from 6.1 through 7.0 to 7.1, will soon move to 7.2, and moved from Ruby 3.2 through 3.3 to 3.4.
“When you’ve been through many of these upgrades you see patterns and know what to expect,” Ablowitz said. “That’s why FastRuby.io was able to get us those boosts in performance and productivity: They’ve done it so many times.”
With FastRuby.io serving as the creator or lead maintainer of critical new Rails gems, our team can make these contributions quickly and repeatably.
We simultaneously addressed our client’s information security challenges in several ways, helping to safeguard the sensitive and confidential data that’s inherent in their work. For example, our team provided advice on how to incorporate observability tools and metrics into the infrastructure layer, such as integrating a Rails security analysis tool capable of catching issues that other solutions were missing.
“FastRuby.io knew the right tool to use, and they integrated it effectively and quickly,” he said.
Our team even improved information security reporting by enabling Valid Eval to view all potential failure indicators in the same place, in the same way, regardless of which tool identifies them.
We also helped our client overcome the technical challenges associated with self-hosting many of its applications, which government agencies often require to reduce security risks.
“FastRuby.io analyzed a self-hosted application performance monitoring and metrics package and provided the information we needed to proceed with the decision,” Ablowitz said.
See the results
Throughout this long-term relationship, FastRuby.io has delivered tangible advantages on all fronts—helping Valid Eval reduce customer pain points by improving system performance and information security, while also beginning to resolve its tech debt.
“We get good value relative to the time and dollars invested on the FastRuby.io engagement,” Ablowitz said.
For example, it’s widely known that security-related patches often introduce a bug or break an assumption the system is based on. So when a Rails upgrade introduced changes with unintended consequences, inadvertently breaking 15-20 views in our client’s Super Admin application, we solved the issue fast so their team could focus on other tasks.
“FastRuby.io saved us three or four days of trying to solve the problem ourselves,” he said.
Server memory and response time also have greatly improved with our team’s guidance and recommendations.
“I can think of three or four endpoints that FastRuby.io has helped speed up by 2, 3, or even 5 times in some cases,” he added.
Teaming with FastRuby.io to improve information security has created a powerful competitive advantage, according to Ablowitz.
“Even though we don’t have the resources of a Lockheed Martin or a Boeing, better information security allows us to compete with larger companies for government contracts.”
FastRuby.io’s information security expertise will pay major dividends during government-mandated audits.
“These audits are very complicated, with many controls and requirements, so there are always gaps,” Ablowitz said.
Valid Eval needs to be equipped to identify such gaps and their severity and show they have a plan to close them.
“With FastRuby.io on our side, we can accomplish a better outcome and demonstrate that we care about information security.”
Beyond these measurable results, Valid Eval appreciates its partnership with the FastRuby.io team.
“Their staff has the right attitude about client success, and they provide the flexibility to strike a balance between the outcomes we need to achieve and what we can afford to do,” Ablowitz said. “Their team is accommodating and collaborative, and they seamlessly fit into our process and rhythm of working.”
Valid Eval also values the option to access additional FastRuby.io staffing on a temporary basis to address short-term needs.
“If we want to buy extra developer hours to get a critical project over the finish line, FastRuby.io gives us that flexibility,” he noted.
Building on this strong foundation, FastRuby.io will continue to help our client achieve its most essential IT objectives. Future projects include evaluating how to make the platform’s message queuing more robust, resilient, and available (allowing Valid Eval to scale its traffic significantly) and keeping up with Rails patches and upgrades to ensure high performance and strong security.
“Based on their success helping resolve our Rails technical debt, we’re now asking them to solve similar problems in our Javascript layer,” Ablowitz added.
Project type
- Bonsai Monthly Maintenance Plan
- Ruby on Rails Upgrade
Who we are:
OmbuLabs is Philadelphia’s lean software boutique and developers of the FastRuby.io suite of productized services, including application upgrades to a secure, supported Rails version.
Specializing in Ruby, JavaScript, minimum viable product development, and reducing technical debt , we help startups to Fortune 500 companies build and improve their digital products. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, our experienced and diverse team of developers is ready to do whatever it takes to help your business grow.
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