Bangalore: While cloud is a buzz word in many of the IT industries, Cloud- based software testing is a relatively new term. Testing in the cloud has not only reduced the cost of testing but it is of great help to software firms that lack the resources and other requirements to set up an in house testing department. It provides such firms with the required test environments and tools. Moreover, in a cloud based testing environment, companies can hire testers on a contract basis without providing them access to the company’s internal network.
The advantages of cloud based software testing are noteworthy, but the high cost to develop a cloud testing framework is keeping many of the software firms away. To address this issue, companies are depending on third – party companies that have a test framework which they have developed in their data centers. These third party companies also provide trained testers as well as automated tools for testing purposes. This type of service is popularly known as TaaS or Testing as a Service. Using this service, companies can remove the cost for on – premise and frameworks. Furthermore, testing services are provided on an hourly basis and companies can buy the testing services depending on their requirements.
Caleb Billingsley on cloudtweaks.com highlighted the types of testing which are suitable for cloud – based environment. Here are some of them.
1. Functional Testing
Testing the functional aspects of software is vital. Testers can perform functional testing quickly and effectively in a cloud environment as it provides them with the required speed and scalability for functional testing.
2. Load Testing
In a cloud testing environment, testers can use various tools to create heavy load to measure an application’s performance. However, in a traditional test environment, load testing is either simulated or testers can skip this type of testing as it is expensive to build a load testing eco-system.
3. Compatibility Testing
Some applications are expected to be compatible with the various versions of an operating system or with other operating systems. The cloud with its ability to host different operating environments makes it ideal to check if an application is compatible with the various versions of an operating system or with other operating systems.
