Want to test your Mobile App in the Cloud?

Mobile Cloud Infrastructure services provide a simple but efficient and optimized testing of mobile apps on multiple devices. Because of their high affordability, scalability and availability, mobile cloud infrastructure is increasingly becoming a popular medium for testing mobile applications.

So, when do you shift mobile application testing to the cloud? Is the Return on Investment high enough for companies to adopt and pursue a mobile cloud testing strategy? Let us take a look.

The Pros:

a) Reduced testing costs: There is no infrastructure setup costs required to establish a mobile test environment. Companies can avoid the cost of building and maintaining a traditional mobile lab. Configuring a mobile test environment in the cloud is quick.

b) Improved testing: With cloud, it is easy to simulate the wide range of devices, OS and screens that the app needs to be tested on, including test devices that are yet to penetrate the market. Functional testing is easy as all it takes is a few clicks to simulate various test scenarios. Test cases can be easily uploaded to the cloud and downloaded from other locations. This makes it easy for teams spread across geographies to collaborate with each other. Cloud based mobile testing services also come pre-configured with test environments so that you can avoid the defects arising out of inaccurate environment configuration.

c) Scalability: With the immense scalability that cloud offers, it is easy to ramp up or ramp down your testing activities. You can test various stress testing scenarios like multiple user requests, large number of users logged in etc. to check the load bearing capacity of the app.

d) Time to market: Testing on the cloud is quicker and more efficient. With its high availability, testing can continue 24/7. With cloud you can easily simulate various scenarios required for a holistic testing. Without the need to purchase infrastructure, your organization can quickly react to changes in market demands.

e) Geographies and Carriers: Utilizing a mobile cloud service enables you to test in multiple geographies and using various 2G, 3G, 4G carriers to ensure you have all your test scenarios covered, which is not possible by building an in-house mobile test lab.

The Cons:

a) Security: Security is the biggest concern when it comes to mobile testing in the cloud as the test data and code are stored in a remote location. This is a bigger concern for apps that use sensitive user information like banking apps. This risk is somewhat mitigated by opting for a private cloud testing.

b) Bandwidth concerns: Insufficient bandwidth may slow down your testing. Also, progress of testing depends on availability of service.

c) Switching cloud service providers is a challenge: Each cloud service provider has their own architecture and method of integrating cloud resources with the client organization’s data and applications. In the absence of a universal standard, changing cloud service provider is a challenge.

Adopting cloud for mobile testing does not guarantee a high ROI. Analyze various cloud services in the market and find a solution that is optimum for your organization. With an effective mobile testing strategy, you can reap the benefits of cloud to meet the dynamic and highly competitive nature of the mobile market.

Not sure if a Mobile Cloud service is right for you? Write to us at contact@cigniti.com and we can assist you with your evaluation. We at Cigniti have helped various organizations analyze their mobile testing needs and helped setup private, public and hybrid mobile test clouds with significant cost savings.