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The
concept of cloud computing has brought
about phenomenal changes in the way IT is delivered
to consumers and enterprises alike. For instance,
SaaS (Software as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as
a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service) and DaaS
(Desktop as a Service) have made matters less
complicated and more afordable for enterprises
and organizations. Now the latest to join the service-
oriented cloud computing bandwagon is TaaS
(Testing as a Service). Even though Testing as a Service
is a new concept, more and more enterprises and
organizations are taking the plunge realizing its many
benefts. Let us see why.
Importance of Testing
Software testing provides details as to the quality of
a product or service. Testing is an ongoing process
in software development as it is performed during
the development phase (called Unit Testing), actual
testing phase (called System Testing), just before the
deployment (called Acceptance Testing) and post-
deployment.
In the software development life cycle, the role of
testing can never be underrated. It plays the most
important part as it reviews the coding, design and
specifcation of the software developed. The fate
of any software developed without performing
the proper amount of testing is defnitely doomed.
Without software testing, the development team
would not be able to ensure whether they are on
the right track or not. Testing needs to be tightly
integrated with development to make sure that
the software developed is in accordance with the
requirements of the end users. Unless and until the
software developed meets the requirements of the
end users, even if the software performs fairly well, it
is of no real value.
Outsourced Testing
Often enterprises and organizations outsource
their testing activities for a variety of reasons. There
is increasing pressure on software companies to
develop new and innovative software on a regular
basis, and outsourcing software testing seems to be
the most viable option to cope with it. Outsourcing
testing activities also help enterprises and
organizations to focus more on their core business
activities. Most companies prefer outsourced test
teams to in-house because the frequency of testing
activities are not always the same throughout
the year, making it impractical to maintain a fully
resourced test team. Today more and more companies
are relying on software testing outsourcing as it helps
to reduce costs, speed up testing, enhance quality and
attain quality test environment facilities.
Then Why TaaS?
Though outsourcing has lot of benefts, it has its
own share of disadvantages as well. It can become
complex and difcult to manage since the teams are
distributed across diferent geographical locations,
time zones and work cultures. This leaves ample
room for miscommunication, discrepancies and
disorganization to take place. Here is where Testing
as a Service, or TaaS, becomes absolutely essential. It
provides a cost efective option to outsourcing that
can be either domestic outsourcing, nearshoring
or even ofshoring. Being a pay-as-you-go model,
it ofers fexibility in service and pricing. Software
testing services help enterprises and organizations to
reap the benefts of an afordable pricing model, on-
demand testing environment, and no overhead costs.
Thus, it helps companies to manage efectively high
and low peaks of testing activities.
Lisa Smith
http://www.articlesbase.com/technology-articles/why-is-taas-growing-in-popularity-4138256.html
Why Is TaaS Growing in
Popularity?