Cloud computing has taken the world by storm, and businesses are realizing the many advantages that this technology can bring to their workflows. In nearly every industry, organizations are making headway with cloud adoption, and software development teams are certainly becoming part of this trend as well. For agile software testing methodologies, in particular, the cloud has a lot to offer groups in terms of new ways to operate and conduct testing effectively. There are numerous opportunities that have come from the onset of cloud testing.
1. Assured performance
With any asset, you want to verify that it will continue to meet your needs well into the future. Something that you outgrow within a year or two isn't going to be worth your money or time when you can devote these resources toward a system that will scale alongside your team and its testing requirements. Under agile practices, more people are collaborating over test cases than ever before, and legacy solutions may not be able to support this type of effort. DevOps Digest contributor Tom Fisher noted that cloud infrastructures are well-suited to handle enterprise performance testing. This technology easily provisions itself to manage peak demands, and teams can add capacity as needed.
"Businesses can simply schedule time for a test and resources are automatically provisioned," Fisher wrote. "This makes scheduling more flexible, helping to eliminate what are often long delays as internally managed hardware is deployed and verified by the IT department."
2. Better competition
Smaller teams could never pursue the same types of projects as larger ones due to a lack of resources and capabilities. However, the scalability of the cloud puts organizations of all sizes on a similar playing field, creating a more competitive atmosphere. TechTarget's Moriah Sargent noted that cloud infrastructure enables companies to attempt larger projects than they normally could.
Teams can add capacity to match testing services when necessary, saving time and money on equipment and personnel. This type of provisioning will make it easier for available professionals to do their jobs effectively while building in quality. The cloud is a major game changer for businesses, because they can all have access to the same tools, functionalities and assets as their competitors. Teams can also take more of the initiative on project decisions, enabling them to be more invested in the app's success while allowing IT to spend more time addressing other issues.
3. Faster time to market
Pairing the cloud with quality testing tools can help yield one of the most anticipated benefits of agile development: a faster time to market. A Cognizant white paper noted that traditional test environment restricted teams because these were often time-consuming to set up, taking weeks or months to develop even a simple build. This would delay release and put teams behind schedule, creating a time crunch and additional pressure. The cloud has changed this forever because teams no longer have to worry about procuring servers, program licenses or tools, as providers have all these resources ready to use. Teams can also gain greater control within the cloud to look for bottlenecks while tests are running as well as build and execute scripts when needed. These benefits will provide better oversight of potential errors and can prepare teams to avoid problems in the future.
It's clear that the advantages of cloud-based testing opportunities are simply too good to ignore. Testing teams should look at their options and begin utilizing cloud infrastructure to bolster their testing capabilities and deliver quality applications. By understanding the opportunities afforded by the cloud, QA professionals can make better use of the technology to improve their operations.