What is our primary use case?
I am using it for software assurance focused on security. I am using its latest version.
How has it helped my organization?
I use both the static code analysis and the open-source analysis engine. It gives visibility into weaknesses and the software that may be there in the source code and static analysis. It also gives some insights into the open source vulnerabilities that may be there in the codebase.
What is most valuable?
I like that you don't have to compile the code in order to execute static code analysis. So, it's very handy. Typically when using SCA tools on C/C++ and C# you must compile the software for SCA to work. CX doesn’t require any compilation due to the way the tool does synthetic compilation to help find errors in code. Many times 3rd party assurance providers don’t have all the files to compile so CX comes in handy.
What needs improvement?
They should make it more container-friendly and optimized for the CI pipeline. They should make it a little less heavy. Right now, it requires a SQL database, and the way the tool works is that it has an engine and then it has an analysis database in which it stores the information. So, it is pretty heavy from that perspective because you have to have a full SQL Server. They're working on something called Checkmarx Light, which is a slim-down version. They haven't released it yet, but that's what we need. There should be something a little more slimmed down that can just run the analysis and output the results in a format that's readable as opposed to having a full, really big, and thick deployment with a full database server.
I had several issues with the installation. It should just work out of the box.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it off and on for about a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I've run into a few bugs here and there but i would recommend installing on virtual machine and snapshoting a working install.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My setup is standalone. They do have a scalable version, but it's not something I need.
We're not using it a lot. Its usage is once a month. The way our organization works is that we don't do static code analysis every day. It's more on an as-needed basis. So, it's no fault of the Checkmarx tool. It's just not something that we've been working on.
How are customer service and support?
They were pretty good. I would rate them a four out of five, but I was using their salespeople. It wasn't their traditional tech support, so I can't really evaluate their traditional tech support. When they're selling something, they give you a lot more service instead of having to go through the support system.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I still use other tools, so I just added it to the tool chest. I have Fortify, CodeSonar, etc and I added Checkmarx as a different tool.
How was the initial setup?
I installed it. It's straightforward to install, but I had several issues with the installation. I don't know if it was with my environment or not. If it works properly, it's a simple install, but in my example, it did not work right off the bat. There was some troubleshooting that had to go on, which was a little frustrating.
It took weeks. It required back and forth communication with support for a couple of days, but I wasn't actively working on it for days. I would run into a bug, send the log file, and go back and forth. It wasn't anything crazy, but it was a little frustrating. It should just work out of the box. It should be pretty straightforward where you just click the installer and go, but it wasn't.
What about the implementation team?
It was implemented in-house, and then I had to call support when needed.
In terms of maintenance, it is pretty self-sustaining. You update it whenever it needs to be updated.
What was our ROI?
There hasn't been much return yet because we haven't used it much, but I have enough faith in it that I committed to it for multiple years. We are starting to use it more but not enough to state ROI yet
What other advice do I have?
I would rate it a seven out of ten. It's not the best tool on the market, but it provides some good capability for what it is.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.