Darla Kost started as a DevOps engineer at SPK and Associates in July of 2024. Prior to joining SPK, Darla was an engineer in the U.S. military. Now, she works with similar tools and focuses much of her time on managing infrastructure and automating processes.My Role...
DevOps
Accelerating Innovation in Automotive with Codebeamer and Jira
The automotive industry is evolving faster than ever, driven by software-defined vehicles, complex regulatory requirements, and the relentless demand for innovation. In this webinar, Carlos Almedia, SPK’s VP of Software Engineering, will show how combining Codebeamer...
An Executive’s Guide to DevSecOps: Scaling Security Without Slowing Down Development
Hello and welcome back to another SPK and Associates blog. Today we’re going to get into a topic that’s top of mind for nearly every technology and business leader right now: how to scale security without slowing down development. As software delivery accelerates and...
From 18-Month Releases to Continuous Delivery: Real-World GitLab Success Stories
For many enterprises that build software, long release cycles, fragmented toolchains, and manual handoffs still slow innovation. It is not uncommon to find organizations stuck in 12- to 18-month delivery timelines, struggling to balance speed, security, and...
Integrating ALM, PLM, and DevOps to Accelerate the Digital Thread
Modern product development depends on speed, traceability, and collaboration, yet many enterprises still operate with disconnected systems. This fragmentation makes it difficult to deliver high-quality, compliant products on time. A connected digital thread changes...
From Dashboards to Intelligence: Why Engineering Leaders Need an Intelligence Layer for Software Quality
Software teams today are expected to release fast and innovate continuously while maintaining uncompromising quality. This can be done with the right tools and engineers. However, many engineering leaders make critical release decisions every day with incomplete data....
GitLab Duo Agent Platform: Building, Customizing, and Connecting AI agents
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how software teams work. Early AI tools focused on code suggestions and chat-based assistance. Today, the next evolution is underway: intelligent agents that actively participate in development workflows. GitLab’s new...
Unifying Dev, Sec, and Ops: How GitLab’s All-in-One Platform Accelerates Innovation
Modern software teams are expected to ship faster, build more securely, and maintain reliability at scale, often while juggling a sprawling toolchain. The reality is sobering. 69% of developers spend at least a quarter of their time maintaining and integrating tools,...
GitLab Earns a Leader Spot in 2025 Gartner DevOps MQ
Enterprise software delivery is at a turning point. Organizations are under pressure to move faster and meet rising security expectations, all while managing increasingly complex toolchains. In this context, platform strategy matters more than ever. For the third...
A ModelOps Playbook for Real Business Impact
As organizations rely more heavily on data-driven decision-making, machine learning models have become business-critical assets. These models influence everything from pricing and forecasting to customer experience and risk management. But as AI adoption grows, so...
Simplifying Enterprise Tool Modernization Without the Headaches
Migrating from legacy systems to modern platforms doesn’t have to be painful. Yet for many enterprises, moving from tools like Rally, HP ALM, or IBM DOORS to platforms such as Jira or Codebeamer often feels risky and complex. In this webinar, Michael Roberts, Vice...
5 Metrics That Prove the Value of GitLab DevSecOps
What is The Value of DevSecOps? Hello and welcome to today’s SPK and Associates vlog. My name is Michael Roberts, Vice President of Sales and Marketing here at SPK. DevSecOps has become a strategic priority for engineering organizations. But with so many platforms and...












