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So let’s get an\u00a0up-close view of the report from the man himself, Tom Reuner:<\/p>\n
So what’s new in App testing these days, Tom?<\/span><\/p>\n Thanks Phil, in order to answer your question, I have to\u00a0start by going one step back and outline where the industry is, as there is little\u00a0reference material from\u00a0analysts and third-party advisors. The notion of independent testing is evolving where services are not just bundled as part of an IT outsourcing contract but are\u00a0delivered as a stand-alone offering. But, broadly speaking, testing services lag\u00a0most IT service lines in terms of mindshare and broader visibility. A lack of investment, immaturity of organizational models, a highly fragmented supply-side, and\u00a0inadequate marketing top\u00a0the list of reasons behind this. Or, to put it in simpler terms, it is rare to see testing as part of broader sourcing discussions or conversations on\u00a0how testing is helping organizations on their journey into the As-a-Service Economy.<\/p>\n But things are starting to change and the maturation is tangible. Increasingly, we see standalone testing outsourcing deals in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Organizational models are evolving with mature approaches, often blending centralized and decentralized concepts. Furthermore, the leading providers are progressively embedding testing into the delivery of business processes, in the process\u00a0moving up the value chain beyond a narrow focus on tools and technology. And lastly, capabilities around cognitive computing and artificial intelligence are being built out and are increasingly underpinning mature approaches to test automation However, what is still woefully inadequate is the marketing around testing services. In order to get a seat at the table for the big IT decisions, the testing community has to move beyond an emphasis on tools and technologies by building out narratives that resonate with process owners, namely around business case, transfer of assets and people as well as mitigating risks.<\/p>\n You’re considered a real guru in automation these days. Surely, automation\u00a0is having a huge impact on the app testing space? Or is this simply driving up the quality of the labor component? What’s your view and experience here?<\/span><\/p>\n As I tried to explain in my introductory remarks, testing is at a different maturity level than most IT disciplines. So\u00a0automation is largely discussed as a means to get to higher levels of industrialization by augmenting labor. But it’s not included as much as a means to replace FTEs \u2013 as we have seen for instance in the discussions around RPA. Fundamentally, we haven\u2019t had a discussion on disruption in the testing community as yet \u2013 and it would be a difficult one because\u00a0most professionals chose testing as a career and it wouldn\u2019t be easy to retrain or rebadge them.<\/p>\n However, it\u00a0is striking that there are some strong innovations in test automation that haven\u2019t been leveraged in the broader market. The testing community should be more vociferous about its achievements. Furthermore, leading providers should demonstrate the increasing maturity with capabilities around cognitive computing and artificial intelligence \u2013 all with a view to move toward more predictive models. However, the flip side of this argument is that you can\u2019t confine automation to testing. It needs to be part of a holistic approach to delivering services. And the acceleration of the journey into the As-a-Service Economy will exacerbate these issues significantly.<\/p>\n How are the winning service providers approaching app testing services today? What are they doing beyond the bread-and-butter basic operational services?<\/span><\/p>\n To differentiate your offerings is, by no means, easy. Much of the technology is based on standardized third-party tools. But the providers we have positioned in the Winners Circle stood out in a crowded marketplace for different reasons. Starting with some highlights in the context of execution:\u00a0For TCS, testing is a standalone business unit and testing is a door opener for new logos. At the same time, Cognizant is the leading provider for comprehensive outsourcing with strong traction in the banking sector. IBM demonstrated solid traction in complex global deals, including its strong capabilities in the Japanese market. Finally, Capgemini deserves credit for educating the market on comprehensive outsourcing. Looking more closely at innovations, Accenture added a strong narrative on evolving toward predictive testing, underpinned by expansive analytics capabilities, plus\u00a0the provider has built out strong industrialized vertical capabilities. NTT Data stood out through its innovations around mobile testing. In addition, Wipro embedded testing automation within its overall approach to automation, leveraging tools such as Fixomatic to provide predictive analytics and cognitive systems. These are just some examples and I could have added more providers with similar approaches. But the common denominator of the companies in the Winners Circle is that they stand out due to their vision to increasingly embed testing into business processes and encourage its evolution into a much more strategic proposition.<\/p>\n Tom Reuner, HfS Research (click for bio)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Many of the Indian-heritage service providers built their businesses over the years from app testing support for major Western enterprises. Is this still the case for many? Isn’t it still a\u00a0major component of their revenue base? <\/span><\/p>\n There are various ways of looking at it, Phil. Fundamentally, testing services are high-margin business. As such, they have a high strategic importance for every provider. Suffice it to say the leading Indian-heritage providers are constantly evolving and building out capabilities across the board, including consulting, infrastructure, BPO \u2013 you name it. This way they have much more balanced portfolios and can move up the value chain to become strategic providers for their clients. On the other hand, the market for testing services is highly fragmented. There are still many pure plays with a focus on specialist services or specific verticals. So\u00a0consolidation is unavoidable, as IT services are all about global reach and scale.<\/p>\n With the maturity of global labor delivery at scale, and with these advances in intelligent automation and cognitive computing, how to you see the app testing market\u00a0<\/span>unfolding<\/span>\u00a0in the next 2-3 years? Is the advent of digital, mobile, RPA,\u00a0and so forth,\u00a0driving the need for more testing? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Good question \u2013 but not easy to answer briefly.\u00a0My gut feel tells me that the leading providers will accelerate building out more business-centric approaches. As a result, they’ll provide a much stronger demarcation to the many pure plays. The reference points here are embedding testing into business processes, embracing comprehensive outsourcing and supporting clients in their journey into the As-a-Service Economy.<\/p>\n While the direction of travel is easy to depict, the road ahead will be a bumpy one. For instance, how can providers ring-fence their high margins in view of the rise\u00a0of Intelligent Automation? Flipping it to the more positive side, the testing community should provide a much more proactive approach in guiding clients on\u00a0how to test innovative products and offerings that\u00a0can\u00a0be\u00a0As-a-Service propositions. Take RPA and Autonomics as an example:\u00a0Testing these highly industrialized offerings is paramount, but\u00a0I have yet to\u00a0hear how the testing community will\u00a0rise to this challenge or grab the\u00a0opportunity. Similarly, in the context of \u201cdigital transformation,\u201d the community should switch from reactively stating that it\u00a0supports mobility, cloud, social and analytics to outlining how it\u00a0will support business transformation. Much of this is about cultural change. And we are looking forward to engage with the community around exactly these challenges.<\/p>\n HfS readers can click\u00a0<\/i><\/b>here<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/a>\u00a0to view highlights of all our 22 HfS Blueprint reports.<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Tom_Reuner_HfS-150x150.jpg\")
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