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 Why is Cloud Automation Testing gaining popularity?

Why is Cloud Automation Testing Gaining Popularity?

September 2, 2022
 by 
Rohan SinghRohan Singh
Rohan Singh

Test automation is a crucial component of DevOps as it enables software development teams to automate the monotonous, repetitive elements of software testing. It allows them to focus on more innovative, value-creating tasks. An increasing number of businesses are adopting cloud automation testing due to more advantages that it accrues, being a more advanced and the latest form of test automation. Enterprises migrating to the cloud present an opportunity to further modernize and enhance the software development life cycle (SDLC) testing stage with cloud-based test automation.

This article provides comprehensive information regarding cloud automation testing and its benefits, making it a popular choice by enterprises.

What is cloud-based test automation?

Cloud test automation is a software development method that leverages cloud technologies to accelerate software testing and release cycles. It is achieved by spinning up test environments on demand, enabling development teams to continuously build, test, and release digital products without requiring additional infrastructure. Cloud test automation is ideal for organizations that want to shorten testing cycles and accelerate release velocity. Organizations can migrate all testing to the cloud, integrate it with their existing infrastructure, or keep all testing on-premises.

Check: Why Consider Appium to Setup Mobile Testing Infrastructure

Why is cloud-based testing considered as a strategic initiative?

Businesses are migrating to the cloud or integrating the technology with existing on-premises infrastructure considering the following scenarios: 

  • Development teams consider testing as the leading cause of delays in software development. Thus, IT leaders are prioritizing essential measures to eliminate this bottleneck. 
  • Delivering secure and robust software with cloud-based test automation is faster than using the on-premises infrastructure. Testers might also have to choose between testing new features and fixing bugs in the previous versions with on-premise testing infrastructure. 
  • Cloud-based test automation helps developers produce high-quality code, create faultless user experiences consistently, reduce feedback loops, and help the organization achieve its objectives. 
  • Many IT leaders also leverage the collaborative and scalability advantages of merging cloud technology with existing on-premises infrastructure.

Benefits of cloud-based test automation

1. Faster testing and quicker release

Cloud-based test automation shortens testing cycles by providing multiple test environments. Software teams can shorten feedback loops with improved access to test environments. It facilitates faster issue fixes and new feature deployment. Delivering superior software to the market means providing end-users with an enhanced experience.

Also check: How HeadSpin Helped a Global Consumer Subscription App Load Faster?

2. Scalability

Cloud-based test automation enables optimization of IT resources in response to fluctuating demand with minimal downtime. Organizations can increase or decrease their testing capacity by automating the scaling of test execution with cloud infrastructure and automation testing platforms. It resolves a long-standing testing issue when teams compete for limited resources. Development teams have instant access to testing infrastructure without delays or constraints of local installation or hardware. 

3. Parallelization

Parallelization enables test teams to set up multiple pre-configured test environments in parallel that replicate different testing parameters of systems under test (SUT). Many software versions of the same application run on multiple virtual machines with this approach. Alternately, developers can use the same software across different browsers, devices, and operating systems. QA teams can report results and eliminate the machines without retaining user data after testing in these environments.

Also read: A comprehensive guide to parallel testing

4. Reduced cost

Moving test automation to the cloud is cost-saving. Purchasing servers, data centers, and other physical infrastructure are expensive, along with the associated labor and maintenance costs to maintain operations. Moreover, the cost of deploying additional servers to fulfill increasing testing needs rises in case of business expansion. Such issues are eliminated in cloud systems. Additionally, the cloud service provider covers all infrastructure, hardware, and maintenance costs, eliminating prohibitive upfront expenses.

5. Improved collaboration

Cloud-test automation enables distributed development and QA teams to collaborate on the same products in real-time, eliminating the previous impediments in siloed teams. It delivers faster feedback loops, offering testing teams greater visibility across the CI/CD pipeline and actionable insights into the performance of SUTs. It streamlines and accelerates software deployment, providing organizations with a competitive advantage by releasing digital products to market faster than competitors.

6. Sustainability

Teams waste a disproportionate amount of time on repetitive tasks that can be effectively automated otherwise. Cloud-based test automation allows development teams to concentrate on other human-centric testing. Organizations can prioritize usability and accessibility to guarantee the complete optimization of applications. Development and QA teams can also dedicate time to resilience testing, revealing how well systems and applications respond to recovery from shocks and stresses.

Types of testing that are performed on cloud

Exploratory Testing 

Testing linear routes or "happy pathways" is a vital aspect of testing. However, incorporating exploratory testing is essential to maximize test coverage for applications and uncover hidden bugs. 

  • Cloud-based automated testing can be used for exploratory testing. Artificially intelligent algorithms can automatically generate test cases to ensure maximum coverage of user journeys.
  • Exploratory testing also requires more time than regular linear testing due to the exponential amount of complex user journeys. Cloud-based exploratory testing reduces the time needed to achieve 90 percent or more system coverage under test with parallelization.

Regression Testing

Regression testing ensures that continual app upgrades (code changes) do not impact the existing functionality and features of the software. However, tracking many upgrades and versions that require testing can be tedious. 

  • QA teams can run these regression tests concurrently with other features and exploratory testing in scenarios where organizations increase the number of cloud test environments. 
  • Cloud technology also improves productivity by enhancing accessibility along the CI/CD pipeline to accelerate the software release cycle.

Non-invasive testing

The testing software interacts with the system under test via the user interface (UI) rather than analyzing the code in non-invasive testing. Existing test scripts can be easily damaged beyond repair by frequent upgrades required by many applications, resulting in a tremendous maintenance overhead.

  • Teams can evaluate frequent UI modifications using image recognition and OCR regardless of underlying functionality and behavior changes with cloud automation testing. 
  • Cloud-based test automation and its capability to spin up SUTs in parallel and on-demand increases test coverage and testing velocity.

Web-based application testing

Cloud-based testing of web-based applications is critical for evaluating performance across browsers, device types, screen resolution, and OS systems. 

  • Organizations can avoid the costs of devices and setups on-premises by utilizing cloud-based device farms. 
  • Cloud-based test automation is also ideal for scenarios where most users interact with the application via the web. 
  • The ability to quickly generate pre-configured test environments enables testers to simulate and test real-user interactions in the application. 
  • Using a model-based strategy, teams can save time by avoiding the maintenance of test scripts required by linear test automation.

How does HeadSpin help with cloud-based test automation? 

  • HeadSpin provides a differentiated solution for automation testing on both on-premise and hybrid deployment models. 
  • HeadSpin’s fully on-premise deployment model enables customers to host all hardware and data. 
  • Customers can also host UC in bare metal provided by HeadSpin in their virtualized servers or choose complete air gapping as per their preferences. 
  • HeadSpin’s hybrid on-premise deployment comes with a virtual private cloud that offers PBox and AV Box on-premise. 
HeadSpin Test Automation
  • It hosts UC and data, allowing customers to collocate their hardware or devices with the HeadSpin Platform.
  • HeadSpin provides a unique solution for automation testing on the cloud(dedicated and shared) with its global device infrastructure. 
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  • It enables customers to connect to real devices across geographies, enabling cloud automation testing on real devices. 
  • HeadSpin’s AI delivers actionable insights throughout the digital experience lifecycle, enabling QA teams to uncover and resolve issues quickly. 
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Conclusion

Cloud computing was gaining significant popularity before the pandemic. However, it has become nearly vital for enterprises post-pandemic. Performing mobile app automation testing on the cloud offers numerous advantages to businesses, including simple upgrades, saving costs, security, and the ability to meet organizational objectives. It also saves time and enhances teams' productivity by allowing them to work from anywhere on any device. Such advantages have directly and substantially increased the popularity of cloud-based testing automation. 

FAQs 

1. Why is automated testing so essential?

Test automation is essential for reducing the feedback loop and expediting validation for product development phases. Additionally, test automation is critical since it can identify defects and issues throughout the development phase. This may increase the productivity of the team.

2. What is an automated testing strategy?

Test automation strategy is an essential part of testing strategy. It utilizes the same techniques and tools for testing, the same tester and user relationship, and much more.

3. What is cloud API testing?

API testing is a software testing category that examines an application program interface (API) to ensure it meets its expected functionality, performance, security, and reliability requirements. The tests are executed directly on the API or as part of integration testing.

4. What is cloud performance testing?

Cloud performance testing evaluates metrics such as system latency and throughput when the number of concurrent users using the application fluctuates. Additionally, numerous load profiles and performance parameters are also measured.

Why is Cloud Automation Testing Gaining Popularity?

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