Firms neglect independent testing of their IT systems

DEPLOYING NEW TECHNOLOGY is a risk for any company, so it's somewhat surprising that many don't bother to independently test the kit they're about to run their busineses on.

According to research commissioned by independent software testing firm SQS, 77 per cent of companies recognise that testing is an essential investment when deploying new technology, but more than half (55 per cent) admit they do not have a consistent approach to software testing.

Many won't independently test software, SQS CEO David Cotterell, told the INQ. He said the testing process has largely been morphed into development and that testing, in many organisations, is conducted by people whose main job is something else.

When asked, some 41 per cent of respondents said they thought their testing inefficient while 46 per cent admit they find it difficult to know when they have done enough testing.

And although nearly half confessed to never having set aside budget for testing within the development process, 37 per cent complain that their testing is too costly.

"It's odd that in two-thirds of organisations testing is never budgeted," Cotterall said, yet according to the research conducted on behalf of SQS by Coleman Parkes Research, nearly a third of respondents complained that too many of their systems failed when they went live.

We suggested that firms might rely on their support contracts to get them over problems that may crop up but, as Cotterell pointed out, installed software systems will have multiple points of integration. It may not be about the software logic it will often come down to how a system reacts with what is already installed, he said.

Independent software testing by firms, such as his own, is about mitigating risk, he said. "These says everybody is betting their whole business on technology. It's a major risk. Our focus is narrow but it's deep. At any one time we may be out in 150 different companies. We pull all that knowledge together. We're more likely to find out (what works) than anyone else." µ

L'INQ
SQS