Testing system integration market – doubling in size

The global software testing system integration market is set to almost double, growing at a CAGR of 14.6% from 2014 – 2019, according to new information from tech-focused research firm Technavio.

As the software development process gets more and more complex, organisations are looking to new testing techniques to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

This increasing complexity is driving steady growth in the global software testing system integration market, which was valued at US$9.48 billion in 2014 and will likely reach US$18.74 billion by 2019.

The market can be broadly categorised into two segments: SOA and middleware testing services and cloud-based software testing integration services.

Market Segmentation
Market Segmentation

The Technavio report projects that, while the SOA and middleware segment accounted for 90.2% of the market in 2014, the cloud-based testing segment is growing at an aggressive rate, and chipping away at the SOA and middleware market share.

Cloud-based testing integration services offer scalability to organisations that enable companies of all sizes to handle larger projects.

Key trends to watch 

Shift towards cloud-based services 

The global cloud-based software testing integration market was valued at US$0.93 billion in 2014 and is projected to reach US$3.89 billion by 2019, growing at a CAGR of 33.1%, says Technavio.

Many organisations are increasingly shifting their testing environment to the cloud, which saves them from having to establish dedicated on-premises infrastructure.

Cloud computing has opened up new opportunities in testing such as access to testing tools and test environments from anywhere in the world. It enables both product development and testing teams to work independently, but also in synchronisation with each other.

Specifically, the emergence of subscription and on-demand service models have triggered the demand for SaaS and TaaS, as these services offer benefits like less resource use, low initial costs and less capital expenditure. CAST Software, Gomez, HP, Keynote, Neumerix, and Surgient are the prominent vendors in the cloud testing and ASQ SaaS and TaaS segments. Emerging third-party vendors such as SOASTA and Skytap have come up with some new and innovative products, which is expected to help the market gain traction among end users through the forecast period. Small and niche vendors with differentiated functionality and offerings are the primary drivers in the SaaS and TaaS ASQ segments.

Use of agile development methods 

Software development and testing services are major areas where organisations are increasingly adopting agile development practices, as these practices promote collaboration, flexibility and quick response to change during the entire development cycle. Agile development methods continuously push for higher quality by adopting techniques that employ static analysis, acceptance testing, and code reviews – all tied together into an integration environment. This has helped bring dramatic changes to the way organisations approach testing, with a greater emphasis on automation at the unit and source level, as well as exploratory testing.

Adoption of open-source 
testing tools 

An increasing number of small market players are now looking to open-source testing tools, as these tools are ideal for smaller projects where developers perform the bulk of the automation. In addition, these tools have less documentation processes and require little support from external suppliers.

Growing mobile testing solutions 

In the current scenario, the mobile market is reshaping the landscape for software testing. Most mobile testing solutions are offered by niche players that also provide device-testing support. This has led to a large number of partnerships for technology exchange, which has facilitated a shift to more B2B consumer-oriented product development.

Shifting software testing landscape could spell trouble for smaller service providers

In the last few years, the markethas witnessed a shift from technology-driven to business-driven service level agreements. Similarly, more and more organisations are opting for opex models for their IT spending as opposed to capex models.

“Businesses are constantly evolving the way in which they procure and manage their IT resources, and providers are continuously playing catch-up and re-aligning their business structure to match the changing market requirements,” says Amit Sharma, Senior Technavio Analyst.

This shifting landscape is putting a lot of pressure on technology service providers to be flexible, in order to keep up with changing customer requirements. While larger software providers have been successful in this, smaller organisations with limited resources might struggle to offer the broader range of products required to stay afloat in the competitive market.

As the enterprise IT environment transforms, organisations are taking a solution-focused approach, and are opting for service providers with end-to-end coverage when procuring services. Big data, mobile apps and social business all demand broader coverage, which is definitely going to give the upper hand to big companies who can provide these comprehensive service portfolios across multiple domains.

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