“Hire the right talent and build competencies”

Srinavas Chandrasekar VP-India, Testing practices Aztec Software and Technologies Ltd.

Srinavas Chandrasekar says that just as India has become the focal point for most offshore development work, it is also becoming the main destination for offshore testing services.

The Pune-based Disha Technologies is among the world's largest independent quality engineering company. The company was recently acquired by Aztec Software and Technologies Limited. The Vice President of Testing Practices, Mr. Srinavas Chandrasekar shares his insights into the testing industry in India. Excerpts:

How is the outsourced testing business growing in India? What are the prospects for the future?

India is already seeing the benefits of championing the offshore model in this business segment as well. According to our analysis (based on Forrester, META, Gartner, McKinsey studies) the outsourced testing services market is about $4.6bil, of which $3.0bil is sent offshore (remaining is done onshore). Of this 3.0bil offshore outsourced testing marketing, about $600million is done as an independent testing activity. By independent activity we mean the development is done either by the customer or by another outsourced services provider.

According to a META Group study, the testing business (offshore outsourced independent) in India itself was $200 million in 2003-04 and this could increase to $700 million to $1 billion by the year 2007. With India becoming a big base for offshore software development, it makes sense for global product vendors to undertake testing of products in India to benefit tremendously from the offshore model.

In the Indian context, software testing market would include:

• Testing related to IT spending within the domestic market
• Testing related to IT development currently offshored to India
• Independent dedicated testing services for large IT users for IT development activity across the globe

Have Indian independent validation and other testing companies lived up to its potential or customer expectations?

Just as India has become the focal point for most offshore development work, it is also becoming the main destination for offshore testing work. The Indian investments in process improvements have allowed those firms to offer high quality at reduced cost.

Many large software companies are in fact the front runners in outsourcing their product testing. They realized early on that involving specialists wherever possible, brings the maximum value to their products and therefore success in the marketplace. Most of the global ISVs, have long outsourced the testing of their enterprise software products.

India has done remarkably well in serving the testing needs of these large companies. We expect that in the coming years, this opportunity will become bigger for Indian companies, especially for specialists in this business.

Indian test specialists have proven skills, experience and the widest range of full-suite testing abilities. These specialists are more than ready to capitalize on the trend of more and more global software product companies outsourcing their testing requirements.

How big is Aztec's testing business? Where are the orders coming from for the company? (In terms of verticals/customers)

About one-third of Aztec's revenues are from its testing practice. We have added 15 new customers this quarter (to the testing division) to take our count of active customers to 67, with a healthy mix of large ISVs, mid-sized companies and start-ups.

Aztec Software is one of the few testing companies in the world to have tested such a vast range of products - from high-end platforms at one end to web services at the other.

We have tested n-tier applications, desktop applications, device drivers, network firewalls, web services, operating system components among others. We have also tested web based services in CRM, e-learning, financial management, profit management etc

What are typical problems associated with automation that small Indian testing houses face? What are the practical solutions for the same?

The challenges in automation for all testing companies are: when to automate, how to automate and how much to automate keeping in mind product release criteria and release time frames. The challenges are further compounded if the product is continually evolving, and needs to be supported on diverse platforms.

Automation calls for deep involvement with the customer at the test strategy and planning phases. With its evolved methodology, Aztec Software is in a position to advise customers when to automate, how to automate and how much to automate.

We also recommend the right automation tool depending on the customer's test infrastructure, platforms and specific requirements. We have also developed tools for customers in-house in cases where off-the-shelf tools were not found suitable for the project.

What are the other pain points that could potentially harm the industry? What would be the key testing challenges for small Indian testing houses in the next 5 years?

One of the biggest challenges is managing the rapid growth globally. With this come the challenges of hiring the right talent at different locations and building competencies in future growth areas.