5 Benefits Of Testing In Cloud

Testers are used to performing routine tasks on a daily basis – be it setting up or configuring or refreshing test environments. These tasks can be quite frustrating as they are time consuming – especially when the number of testing combinations grow in mobile environments where new devices are introduced every year which need to be tested.

But, is it possible to increase the productivity while avoiding these frustrations?

Yes, it is very much possible when cloud comes into the picture with its unlimited computing power available on demand. Virtualization enables us to have multiple pre-configured test setups ready, and allows us to spend less time configuring and more time performing testing which would make testers more productive. The cloud gives us the added benefit of mobility, as all resources are centralized and easily accessible through the Internet, which means that teams from across the globe can collaborate with ease.

So, what are some of the advantages of cloud-based testing? Let’s look at the top five benefits

1. Anywhere, Anytime Access

Easy access through the Internet allows team members to work from anywhere, anytime. It’s a known fact that Cloud Testing is perfect for Agile. Agile development is a concept which enables cross-functional teams to get involved at every stage of the development process and also take care of every step in testing. Cloud testing empowers stakeholders with access to all tools available in the company regardless of where they are located or what they are working on at the moment.

2. Increase in Productivity

If frustrations and time spent on configuring can be minimized, it helps the team in spending more time on actual testing, thus increasing the productivity. There are over 20,000 device models in the market with 27 different varieties of operating systems. At a minimum, we can achieve a test coverage of over 600,000 scenarios. Nonstop cloud testing gives you the luxury of expanding the amount of scenarios you can cover in the same time period.

3. Cost Reduction

No capital expenditure and much faster deployment times means you can have minimal project start-up cost and infrastructure cost. To perform testing, to load the tool and to provide a substantial hardware/ infrastructure platform in-house, you can straightaway opt for the cloud service provider without investing in tool licenses (by aaron). You have an option of choosing a tool of your choice depending on the product to be tested. The service provider will ensure that the latest version of the tool is provided. So, instead of paying a very high amount to buy a tool, keeping track of updating it with latest patches, getting bothered about the new release, and then depending on it for all your product range, you just need to ‘pay as you use’.

4. Perfect for the Mobile Economy

Twenty percent of all online commerce is on mobile, and ten percent of this is online. Since the concepts of mobile commerce and online commerce didn’t exist 15 years ago, the growth of these markets is eye-popping. The present generation has created an entirely new way of doing business and it is changing everything. The one and only method that puts an application through such a rigorous process, to make it ready for the unexpected surprises that will come in traffic and usage, is cloud testing.

5. Continuous Integration

The development team is also benefited because continuous testing leads to continuous integration. Adding a piece of a code each time to a mobile application which is to be tested is very complicated, as it has to be redeployed. Cloud testing ensures there is always a tester closeby. It means that you can test under larger scenarios right away. New builds can become new versions faster than ever before, benefiting not only the testing team but also the entire development team as well. And the mobile application tester has a wider variety of devices to choose from. Any tester can choose any device, rather than only the physical devices he can access to. A tester can book devices in advance, as he knows exactly when he wants to test on which device. Making all devices available to all testers eliminates the need to buy more than one type of device for multiple teams, and saves a lot of money.

Shravani Keerthi works as Senior QA Engineer at [x]cubeLABS, and has 4+ years of experience in Mobile and Web Applications in testing varied domains like Social, Gaming, Logistics and Insurance.