I’ve always wondering what’s all this fuss about the cloud testing and how a SaaS should be tested; what is really the difference between a cloud-based web application and one on-demand? Maybe it’s one more topic to talk about and have dozens of web “ink” spent on how to do cloud testing and what exactly it is. This was my first reaction. When I myself started cloud testing it all finally became clear: testing a cloud application is the same with testing one on demand. However, I must admit that there are certain things that a tester “on cloud” should be aware of and pay more attention to. Below you can find four questions that every cloudy tester should keep in mind:
- Are you always up and running? The first thing that comes in mind when man thinks of cloud is availability. Cloud systems are meant to and must be always up and never have downtimes. This is one of the first things that a “cloudy” tester should check. Even if the worst needs to be done (worst= downtime) in case of an update for example, no client should be aware of.
- Are your client’s data secure? Security is maybe the Achilles’ heel of cloud generally. The on-demand fans are always accusing cloud of lack of security. The tester is the one to assure that even the most sensitive client’s data are secure under the cloud.
- Are you fast enough? Is your cloud application ready to be used by many users at the same time? Will it respond efficiently? The answer to all these is Load testing. Keep in mind that unlike the on-demand applications, a cloud one should be elastic that means it should use the minimum resources and increase them accordingly.
- Do you run on Linux, Windows Vista and iPad3? When you are on cloud you should run on each and every operation system and device that exists. These, along with the security are the two characteristics that make cloud unique and an excellent business model; you, the tester should pay extra attention to.
- How fast can your system recover? Ok, cloud systems never have downtimes but let’s suppose that something terrible happens and guess what? You’re down! How fast do you get up and pretend like nothing is happening? This is what a tester should measure in order to minimize as much as possible the recovery period.
- Do your third-party dependencies work properly? Most of cloud applications use external APIs to integrate some of their functions, so the tester is here to check if they are working properly or not. Whether you like it or not it’s a part of your application and should have their own position on your test plan. Do not underestimate them!
Testing on cloud applications is not something difficult, or at least not much more difficult than on-demand applications. If you pay attention to some certain things especially regarding system response and interoperability there’s nothing else to be afraid of. Cloud is not just another trend, most of the companies will adopt cloud solutions in place for their application in the next 5 years or less, so the sooner you get used on cloudy testing the more updated you’ll be.
