The Hindu Business Line : It works!

THE software scene is one of contradictions. For, software development is getting more complex but its deployment is getting simpler for the end user.

End-users want different devices to talk to each other. They want to access multiple systems from different ends of the earth, all at the same time.

In such a scenario, even a small hitch in software operation could spell a big loss of business, making a compelling case for software testing before full deployment. IT companies are doing the testing either in-house or outsourcing the task.

Wipro has software service as a new and independent service line. Same is the case with Cognizant. Patni has a verification and validation centre of excellence.

Research firm Gartner estimates the global software testing market at $13 billion.

The current global market size of outsourced testing services could be pegged at around $6.1 billion and India has the potential to corner 70 per cent of the worldwide market.

A META Group study reveals that the testing business in India was $200 million in 2003-04 and this could increase to $700 million-$1 billion by 2007.

IDC sees the testing services market at $2.6 billion by the end of 2004.

Businesses that test their software can expect to reduce actual failures to about 20 per cent. About 30-50 per cent of development work is testing and about 80 per cent of this can be outsourced.

Pradeep Waychal of Patni says five years ago,there was no independent testing market.

Testing was seen as an integral part of the development or maintenance process.

But due to the increasing complexity of applications, and reduced tolerance for defects, the situation has changed.

Customers have started perceiving the need for independent testing. They also have experienced the benefits of outsourcing IT services to Indian vendors "We would not call this a boom but a new trend that is fast becoming a norm.

Reduced cycle time and higher productivity and quality at lower cost are proving to be the drivers of this norm. Indian companies are more than happy to provide services in this area.

All the leading players have set up special testing business units. A number of pure-play organisations are coming up as well,'' he says.

India has close to 10 independent software testing firms. SNS Technologies, for instance, has focused purely on product testing since 1989. Verisoft was originally a division of Prabodhan Info Systems. This was hived off as an independent company this year.

Verisoft has completed over 139 testing projects and has worked for more than 70 clients.

There are other software testing firms as well: RelQ, AppLabs, Maveric, ReadyTestGo, Quexst Associates and Pure Testing.

Is the testing restricted to any particular field or does it encompass all areas — especially automotive, manufacturing etc?

Pradeep says Indian companies offer a whole gamut of services when it comes to testing.

Indian vendors are winning more deals due to the finesse that they have developed in IT services in terms of proper process frameworks and increased knowledge in domains and testing techniques.

The major benefits to outsourcing companies are cost reduction, better quality, shorter time to market and mitigation of risks. As of today, major business in testing, like in IT services, comes from the banking and financial services, and insurance sector (BFSI.)

Ravi Mirchandaney of Siebel says a decade ago, even in the US, not that many companies were outsourcing.

Now, most companies, be it in the US, Europe and even Japan, are looking at outsourcing of testing to either their own subsidiaries or independent testing companies.

"There is no looking back and most of them did not realise it because it happened so quickly," he says.

A large number of tools are being used for various types of testing.

The major vendors are Mercury Interactive, IBM Rational, Segue, Compuware, etc.

Besides, some open-source tools such as Junit, WAS, etc, are becoming popular.

Organisations are also developing home-grown tools. Patni, for instance, has built a multilingual, workflow-enabled tool for defect management.

There are active partnerships between tool vendors and offshore service providers.

These are symbiotic relationships in which the service providers offer inputs for the improvement of the tools and the tool vendors help in better understanding of the applicability and benefits of the tools, he says.

Shankar Roy Chowdhury, General Manager (Marketing), Agilent Technologies India Pvt Ltd, says among the kinds of software currently being developed in India is the `embedded application.'

MNCs and high-end Government R&D institutions are engaged in developing such software.

Testing of such software is very demanding, he says.

savitharin@gmail.com

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