In the world of testing services/quality assurance, data testing has in the past been somewhat overlooked, still largely relying on spreadsheets and manual tasks. While much of the current attention has been on agile/continuous testing, data testing remains an important element of IT projects, and gained further interest a few years ago in the context of big data, with migration o[...]

  Back in early 2018, we discussed with Accenture how the company had created its Industry X.0 unit to address client demand for product engineering services along with Industry 4.0 and emerging technologies such as AR/VR and digital twins. In Industry X.0, Accenture grouped its capabilities around digital manufacturing, embedded systems, PLM services, MES services, and other units. [...]

  We recently caught up with Tech Mahindra’s QA practice, Digital Assurance Services, to assess recent progress with their IP strategy. Digital Assurance Services’ test automation strategy is based on IP and accelerators in its LitmusT platform. The company has been aggregating and integrating automation artifacts within LitmusT and intends to automate the full testing l[...]

  We recently chatted with Amdocs about how the company has been progressing with its automation framework, ‘Ginger by Amdocs’. Amdocs launched Ginger four years ago, initially as a test automation framework designed for use by non-automation engineers. Since then, Amdocs has aggregated some of its test IP around Ginger and has become its main test automation platform, with[...]

  We recently talked to Infosys about its analytics and big data capabilities in its Data and Analytics (DNA) practice. DNA is a significant practice within Infosys, which we estimate represents ~8% of Infosys’ headcount. It continues to enhance its portfolio, expanding from technical services to business services, and segments its portfolio around three themes: Modernize, Mon[...]

  We recently talked with Cognizant’s Salesforce Consulting & Solutions Group (CSG) unit, recently set up in Europe. The unit reflects ongoing investment by Cognizant in its Salesforce capabilities, with a more vertical focus, accommodating Salesforce’s growing product portfolio.   CSG complements the capabilities of Cognizant Interactive and Cognizant Consultin[...]

  Deutsche Telekom (DTAG) recently announced it is moving T-Systems’ communication services activities with enterprise clients (TC division) and Government clients (Classified division) to Telekom Germany. Accordingly, T Systems’ TC and Classified divisions will be folded into Telekom Germany’s B2B Communications division that currently services small businesses and m[...]

  NelsonHall has commented several times about the role of platforms in quality assurance (QA) and how these are playing a central role in functional testing in the world of agile methodologies and continuous testing. Platforms take a best-of-breed approach to software components and rely, by default, on open source software, sometimes including expert functionality from COTS. In th[...]

  Tieto recently announced its intention to acquire EVRY. The company is offering 0.12 Tieto share and NOK 5.28 in cash per EVRY share. EVRY shareholders will receive €0.2bn in cash and 37.5% of Tieto’s capital, valuing EVRY to ~€1.4bn ($1.6bn). Also, Tieto is taking over the net debt of EVRY (NOK 6bn/$0.7bn). The acquisition will give birth to the largest Nordics-he[...]

  In the world of testing services, crowdtesting stands out. While efforts towards automation are accelerating in testing services/quality assurance (QA), the perception that crowdtesting is labor intensive and relies on communities of tens of thousands of testers seems at odds with this. This perception is no longer valid: the crowdtesting industry has changed. Managing crowdtestin[...]

  We recently talked to DXC Technology’s Analytics business line about its work with German premium car OEM BMW, its positioning in autonomous vehicles, and its differentiation strategy. BMW recently provided some light on the dynamics behind its Vision iNEXT autonomous car due to launch in late 2021. Vision iNEXT, BMW’s first autonomous vehicle, will offer Level 3 auton[...]

  This week Capgemini announced its intention to acquire Altran in an all-cash transaction of €14 per share. The €5.0bn transaction, which includes €3.6bn in cash and Altran’s net debt of €1.4bn, provides a 30% premium over the last month. Capgemini has secured the 11% stake from Apax Partners and expects to close the acquisition by the end of 2019. The acq[...]

  NelsonHall has been commenting recently on the future of testing, looking at how AI algorithms and RPA tools fit in the context of QA. This blog takes a different perspective by looking at how one of the tier-one software testing service vendors is approaching its testing of bots and connected devices. With the fast adoption of connected devices, automating testing of consumer or ind[...]

  We recently talked with Sopra Steria about its work and capabilities around big data and analytics. The company has created a Data Science CoE (or Technology Stream in Sopra Steria’s terminology), which brings specialized services and expertise to the various in-country systems integration (SI) business units, focusing on its key accounts and bringing vertical knowledge. Sop[...]

  NelsonHall has commented several times on how vendors have been introducing AI into their QA/software testing activities; for example, to enhance defect analysis and prediction. We have talked less about the use of RPA because it did not seem to bring much innovation on top of what testing software products already offer. Testing software products have been around for over 20 year[...]

  NelsonHall continues to examine the AI activities of major testing service vendors. In the past 18 months, many testing service vendors have expanded their AI capabilities around analytics, making sense of the wealth of data in production logs, defect-related applications, development tools, and in streamed social data. We recently talked with Expleo with regard to its AI-related [...]

  NelsonHall continues to explore how cognitive is reshaping software testing services, and here I look at how Amdocs is automating chatbot testing. The market is shifting from continuous testing to cognitive Over the last year, for many testing services providers, the focus evolved from creating continuous testing platforms (in the context of agile and DevOps adoption), to incor[...]

  In a recent meeting with NIIT Technologies, we discussed how its Data & Analytics offering has been adapting, with a focus on developments around big data and AI. Here are the main talking points. Overcoming tool fragmentation One priority has been NIIT Tech’s Xpress Suite, one of Data & Analytics’ most popular offerings, which seeks to overcome the fragment[...]

We recently had a briefing with Topcoder, an entity acquired by Wipro in 2016. Topcoder is known for its crowdsourcing capabilities and its extensive community network and recognized for the wide range of services it offers across several areas of technology services, with a focus on agile development, digital design, and algorithms/analytics. Topcoder’s four main operational principl[...]

  Software testing services continue to show vitality in their adoption of tools to increase automation. One of the areas in which vendors are investing heavily is AI, not just leveraging AI to increase automation through an analytics approach, but also in testing of AI systems. Back in November 2017, we reported on how Infosys was expanding its testing service portfolio in the areas o[...]