Sandboxing

The Benefits of Using a Test Environment as a Service for IT Testing 

team@cloudshare.com

Mar 14, 2022 - 3 min read
Benefits of Test Environment as a Service for IT Testing-min

For companies looking to take a piece of software to market, it’s vital that all components and behaviors of a product are put under the microscope. Using a test environment as a service (otherwise known as a sandbox environment) is a surefire way to assess a product and make necessary adjustments before it goes to market. Ultimately, it ensures that a customer receives the best product or service possible.

What is a Testing Environment?

A software testing environment is any space in which a piece of software undergoes a trial run. It is an important part of the development process for the creators and can be used to identify bugs and errors which might impact a product’s functioning. It also allows developers to assess the quality of a product and think about the end result for the user.

The testing environment should resemble a live environment where possible, to ensure that bugs or errors can be fixed prior to the production stage. It’s a crucial part of the software development lifecycle and can help developers analyze a product from various standpoints, including security, performance, user experience, and functionality.

Want to see a test environment in action? Discover the power of virtual testing and sandbox environments with CloudShare.

What are the Benefits of Using a Test Environment as a Service?

The need for early bug detection is clear, but what else makes the testing process an important part of development? Let’s look at some key benefits.

Time and Cost-Efficient

Using a virtual environment platform for testing software saves on both time and cost. The earlier a bug or error is identified, the sooner it can be fixed, saving time for development teams. Performing these tests in-house has become inefficient and costly. The commitment to building and maintaining a test environment is one that most organizations cannot afford, especially since many development teams will only use the environment occasionally. Opting for a test environment as a service is a cost-saving alternative to building or leasing in-house systems.

Get to Market Faster

A test environment as a service fast-tracks the development process. It speeds up testing initiatives, removing the need for testing environments to be built on company premises. It can be set up quickly, ensuring that bugs and errors are detected and acted upon swiftly, during various stages of the development process. Ultimately, your product or service should reach the market faster.

Use Throughout the Development Lifecycle

A test environment as a service can be used at any and all stages of the software development lifecycle. This includes functionality testing, performance testing, and security testing. The facets of a software product are complex—there’s a lot that needs to be taken into consideration—and so an ongoing process of testing and refinement ensures that each part of the development lifecycle is paid due diligence.

Get it Right the First Time

When building a piece of software, there’s a lot that can go wrong. Downtime, persistent bugs, and product outages will all contribute to a negative user experience and dissuade customers from using a product. This can lead to plummeting customer retention, loyalty, and advocacy rates, and will impact a company’s ROI. For some organizations, it can be detrimental to the brand as a whole. Using a virtual environment platform flags issues early on and mitigates the risk of problems occurring when in the hands of a customer.

Improve Quality Overall

A test environment as a service isn’t just there to weed out bugs and errors. It can be leveraged intelligently, as a springboard for new ideas, better features, and more user-friendly tools. Using a sandbox environment gives organizations the opportunity to play around with a product and really push it to its limits. It’s a chance for developers to slip into the customer’s shoes and engage with the product in a way that they haven’t before. A virtual environment platform gives developers a fresh angle on their products and ensures that features can be refined in time for market.

Get your Software off the Ground with CloudShare

Before you roll out any piece of software, you’ll want to ensure that it’s functional, secure, well designed, and user-friendly. A test or sandbox environment achieves this while saving costs for organizations who cannot afford, nor have the time, to implement testing systems in-house.

CloudShare’s testing environments enable users to spin up exact environment replicas, ensuring that products can be tested “live”. There is no wait for labs to free up—organizations can scale with as many labs as they need. CloudShare enables multiple teams to work in parallel, speeding up the development process, and ensuring that your products get to market faster.

Want to see the power of a testing environment? Join CloudShare for a free demo and discover how businesses worldwide are taking their software developments to new heights.