Anticipated Top Trends in Load Testing for 2016
====================================================
In 2016, the landscape of load testing for businesses underwent significant changes, with a growing focus on scalable, efficient, and integrated quality assurance processes. Key trends that emerged included cloud testing, lifecycle virtualization, mobile performance testing, performance engineering, and web testing.
Cloud Testing: A Cost-Effective Solution for Scalability
Cloud testing provided businesses with scalability and flexibility by enabling on-demand testing environments without the need for expensive physical infrastructure. This allowed companies to simulate large-scale loads cost-effectively, making it easier to test applications under real-world conditions.
Lifecycle Virtualization: Integrating Performance Testing Early
Lifecycle virtualization helped create virtual replicas of components such as services and databases early in the development lifecycle. This enabled continuous and integrated performance testing even when some components were unavailable, ensuring that applications performed well throughout the development process.
Mobile Performance Testing: Essential for Real-World Performance
With the explosion of mobile app usage, mobile performance testing became critical. Testing across diverse devices, networks, and usage scenarios was necessary to ensure reliable performance in real-world conditions and meet end-user service level agreements during periods of increased traffic.
Performance Engineering: A Proactive Approach to System Optimization
Performance engineering evolved beyond traditional load testing to a proactive, holistic approach focusing on designing and optimizing system performance from the earliest stages of development, not just in testing phases. This approach ensured uptime and efficient use of resources, as poor performance can lead to losses of up to $5 million per hour for large companies.
Web Testing: Focusing on Conversion Flow and Web Funnel Optimization
Web testing continued to be essential for load and performance tests focused on web applications and services. Optimizing the conversion flow and each component of the web funnel was key to establishing a strong web testing model.
The Shift Towards Mobile Operations and the Urgency for Improved Load Testing
As more enterprises closed brick-and-mortar stores in favor of mobile operations due to cost savings and growth opportunities, the urgency for improved load testing increased. The average enterprise was getting only 30 percent of its revenue from mobile, yet mobile users accounted for a much higher percentage of traffic. Complete mobile performance testing was crucial for businesses to ensure their mobile applications functioned optimally and met user expectations.
The Rise of the Internet of Things and the Need for Application Excellence
The rise of the Internet of Things increased the urgency among companies to get their applications right to avoid major consequences. Releasing a buggy video-streaming application or a hack-vulnerable smart home security system could have significant repercussions.
Andrew Voysey, Head of Software UK at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, highlighted these insights, emphasizing the importance of integrating performance and load testing within broader development and quality assurance practices. Leveraging automation, cloud infrastructure, and virtualization helped accelerate time to market and ensure application scalability under real-world conditions.
As systems become more composite and complex, and user demands continue to accelerate, the need for improved load testing becomes even more urgent. More enterprises are expected to use cloud infrastructure services as a key vehicle for 'IT-as-a-service initiatives' in 2016. Organisations are competing for customers on multiple fronts, including in-person, on the web, and via mobile applications. Complete mobile performance testing is crucial for businesses to ensure their mobile applications function optimally and meet user expectations. Lifecycle virtualisation allows businesses to recreate the real-world conditions of a full-scale production environment without the massive costs of production-like environments. Mobile apps with two-star reviews can be difficult to correct, emphasizing the importance of initial quality. Performance engineering requires a cultural shift and adoption throughout the organization.
- In the land of data-and-cloud-computing, technology has revolutionized load testing for businesses, with cloud testing offering a cost-effective solution for scalability.
- Leveraging cloud infrastructure and performance engineering, organizations can create an environment that recreates real-world conditions, ensuring application scalability and mobile performance testing to meet user expectations.
