What is Cloud Testing: Everything you need to know

Several years back, virtualization became a buzzword in the industry which flourished, evolved and became famously known as Cloud computing. It involved sharing computing resources on different platforms, acted as a tool to improve scalability, and enabled effective IT administration and cost reduction. In other words, it includes sharing services like programming, infrastructure, platforms, and software on-demand on the cloud via the internet. To verify the quality of everything that is rendered on the cloud environment, Cloud testing was performed running manual or automation testing or both. The entire process of Cloud Testing is operated online with the help of the required infrastructure. This primarily helps the QA teams to deal with the challenges like limited availability of devices, browsers, and operating systems. It also scrapes the geographical limitations, large infra setup, and process maintenance, making testing on the cloud easier, faster, and manageable. 

What is Cloud Testing?

Cloud Testing deals with the validation of the software services provided on the cloud. In other words, it allows testers to access multiple resources like devices, browsers, operating systems networks, screen sizes, etc., on the cloud to test the app and scrutinize its viability. It uses cloud testing tools and simulates the real user environments to test cloud, web, and other installed applications on a third-party cloud environment equipped with infrastructure to perform cloud testing. It has been a revolutionary road towards strengthening the Testing as a Service model. Cloud testing eventually increases scalability and saves the cost and time of the QA team.

There are three main kinds of cloud systems:

Public Cloud : Public cloud services are open to the public where help is provided on a need basis.

Private Cloud : Private clouds are completely managed under the data privacy terms of the organization and available to closed users within the firm.

Hybrid Cloud : Hybrid Cloud, as the name suggests, shares a mix of characteristics of both public and private clouds. It depends on the organization to decide which services to be open publically and which ones private.

Types of Cloud Delivery models

Every computing service is available on the cloud nowadays, but cloud service providers broadly deliver cloud services using three models mentioned below:

• SaaS (Software as a Service)– Involves sharing products like Email, CRM, ERP, etc., that are consumed directly by the users on-demand using internet services. For Example, Gmail, Google Drive, etc.

• PaaS (Platform as a Service)– It provides an environment and required platforms to build or test your IT products on-demand. For example, it supports application development, web, streaming, etc.

• IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)– It is the most important component of cloud delivery and involves services like Cloud Migration

Here is a helpful comparison poster highlighting the differences between IAAS, PAAS, and SAAS

Why do you need cloud testing?

We all have tasted manual testing; it is not possible to test everything manually. Even performing automation testing is not a cakewalk; it is more complicated to set up and execute. The teams face many challenges in executing automation testing on in-house device labs. So, we need cloud automated testing to simplify the process.

Here is how:

Cloud testing eases the testing process as it facilitates tests for more users on multiple devices parallelly. QA teams can handle their respective test environments individually. In case the tests are queued, Cloud based testing expedites the tests without impacting accuracy.

• Cloud based testing allows easy team collaborations, keeps them aligned with the project progress, and helps to track each team member’s performance from time to time.

• Setting up an in-house device lab requires financial capital, dedicated human resources, skills, expertise, etc. To perform automation testing, testers need continuous access to the devices and test automation frameworks. Along with this, access to CI/CD tools, test logs, and screenshots, etc., is also required. It becomes arduous to handle all at once, but cloud based testing brings everything under one roof. Cloud platforms are pre-equipped with such features, making it uncomplicated for both developers and testers.

• As the apps start gaining traction in terms of more features and users, it demands much faster, reliable, and extensive testing than ever. Cloud based testing easily handles the responsibility of ensuring that the software is capable enough to manage the increased loads as well as provide a great user experience at the same time. So, instead of going back to the in-house labs for the solution, it is better to depend on automated cloud based testing solutions.

Benefits of adopting Cloud Testing and Cloud based testing tools

We all know that Cloud Testing provides countless benefits to testers. Let’s discuss its advantages and why you should shift to testing on the cloud.

 1. Scalability:

Organizations generally do not possess the complete infrastructure required to perform testing. And due to dynamic changes in the business requirements and standards, upgrading their in-house device labs becomes challenging and overburdening. It demands too much in terms of investment in money and expertise as well. Cloud testing solves this problem in a snap by providing benefits that are basic and yet important. It simulates the real environment and allows testing on a mirrored testing environment. Testers follow the easiest steps; they just have to sign up, select devices of their choice, and start testing on them instantly.

 2. Cost Effectiveness: 

Setting up your device labs will be a huge investment. Coping up with the changing business needs, buying new devices, new frameworks, new software, and licenses every time a new one hits the market becomes a costly affair, additionally you would have to spend time and money in maintaining the lab as well. Which is not at all a feasible option and seems illogical even when the organizations have the choice of opting for cloud testing solutions that can handle their testing needs. 

 3. Optimized Environment: 

Cloud testing provides all the necessary services in one place, covering all software and hardware configurations required for testing successfully. Continuous Testing Cloud platforms like pCloudy ensure that every time a new user accesses any device on a real device cloud, it is in mint condition and offered with adjustable factory settings. After every test completion, the data is wiped clean for the next user ensuring data privacy.

4. Faster Output: 

Cloud testing allows testers to run parallel and automated tests that significantly expedite the delivery of the output. Features like cloud collaboration also contribute to delivering faster results where multiple team members can access, review, and edit tasks in real-time, resulting in improved project management. This improvement in collaboration between diverse teams allows members to monitor their respective activities and avoid activity overlaps.

5. No Geographical limitations:  

Testers can access Cloud testing tools to perform cloud based testing automation anytime from anywhere. It makes software testing and deployment quick and easy. It makes it easy to collaborate with geographically dispersed teams of testers and developers.

6. Streamlined Development Pipelines:

Cloud platforms like pCloudy allow easy integrations with tools helping DevOps and CI/CD implementations and building a much reliable and streamlined software development pipeline.

 7. Easy Performance Management: 

Cloud based testing tools are equipped to identify any issues related to the performance of the mobile or web application. It allows multiple users to virtually access the web application resources simultaneously and report any issues they face. It does not seem easily achievable with an in-house infrastructure where the team would manually manage these issues for all existing browsers. It is the responsibility of the cloud testing platform to keep the testing infrastructure updated all the time so that the users have no problem working on existing projects.

8. Better Test Management: 

No product owner would want to leave any bug unresolved in the live web app. This can happen when there is a lack of coordination and poor communication between the Development and testing teams. This can result in a blunder for the organization. To solve this problem, the organization should look for a locally hosted web app that supports integration with commonly favored CI/CD tools and helps to build a strong delivery pipeline. Relying on trusted third-party cloud based testing tools simplifies tracking bugs, prioritizing tests and managing projects, ensuring bug-free apps.

9. Cloud based testing tools advantage: 

Cloud testing tools provide test coverage, allowing extensive testing across multiple platforms, devices, browsers, simulated platforms, making testing faster than before. pCloudy provides cloud based Selenium automation testing tools that support various test reporting and management tools for proper analysis and test performance management.

10. Saves time: 

Cloud testing allows running multiple applications simultaneously on different hardware so that the focus of testers is more on fixing bugs than handling this laborious task.

Conclusion:

Cloud testing is the need of the hour, aiming to bring efficiency, flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness in achieving testing goals. Although cloud based testing has proved to be the best option in the automation testing area, few organizations are still hesitant to adopt it because of the challenges of data security, migration, integration, and simulation. But it is good to know that there are more benefits than disadvantages. Testing products frequently reveals all possible problem areas that can cause any damage later. In the present competitive times, the focus should be on leveraging modern cloud technologies to the maximum and reduce infrastructure costs. Investing in cloud based testing tools makes it possible to bring down huge infrastructure investment and accelerates the testing process. pCloudy makes cross-browser testing easy by allowing organizations to test their applications on multiple platforms, browsers, devices, giving you various browser-OS and device combinations. Cloud testing is a practical way of achieving organizational goals of every business requirement.