Testing Mobile Apps in the Cloud: Benefits and Strategies

Introduction 

• Around 8.58 billion mobile subscriptions and close to 255 billion global mobile applications downloads clearly characterizes the complicated and competitive sector of mobile apps. (Source)  

• Do you know that more than 50% users abandon an app once one flaw in it shows? Businesses need to employ a testing engineer to prevent this. It guarantees the quality of the mobile application, thereby enabling developers and companies to maximize it with total mobility and openness. (Source) 

The widespread usage of mobile phones in our everyday life makes it imperative for companies to guarantee that their uses are best possible. Cloud-based mobile app testing provides economical solutions for testing mobile applications on numerous virtual devices. 

This blog covers the advantages of mobile application testing on cloud systems and best practices. Let us start by defining cloud-based mobile testing. 

What is cloud-based mobile app testing 

Cloud testing is all about using cloud services to create a robust, scalable, and flexible testing environment. A cloud-based testing ecosystem can actually house running devices or emulators. Teams and individuals may test web and mobile apps on chosen platforms, browsers, and phones using these devices and emulators accessible 24×7. 

A cloud testing environment partially eliminates the need for an on-site mobile device lab. Using actual Android, Windows, and iOS devices will not cause any concerns about maintaining or configuring the lab. 

Although there are several cloud testing solutions on the market, selecting one might become difficult without knowledge of the correct procedure.  

Choosing the best cloud testing tool for your needs 

Selecting the correct cloud-testing tool for your mobile apps requires only a few basic steps. 

• Make a list of the top tools: Either you have strong developer feedback, or you must investigate the best cloud-based testing technologies advised by industry professionals. Make the first list of instruments found in all the top suggestions. 
• Know their advantages and disadvantages: Next, evaluate the benefits and limitations of any tool based on its capabilities, scalability, platform support, and other factors. Free trials or demonstrations provide another way for you to gain practical knowledge of the technologies.  
• Opt for the most suitable: Depending on the breakdown, you have to match the tools with your testing criteria. You have to consider things like the types of apps you want to test and the integration level required with your current CI/CD system.  
• Determine the appropriate value added: Examining the pricing strategies of the shortlisted tools will assist you in evaluating them based on their overall value. Make a conscious decision to enhance your mobile app testing process.  

Benefits of mobile application testing on cloud platforms 

In recent years, cloud mobile app testing has gained popularity due to its substantial advantages over conventional testing. Thanks to the expansion of the cloud, companies now understand that it is not just a platform but also a necessary infrastructure. In many different ways, cloud-based testing is enabling companies to migrate to agile procedures. Teams employing this approach might finish testing the mobile apps faster and with far greater results. 

Scalability, cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and collaboration are the four primary advantages of cloud-based mobile application testing. 

Scalability: Cloud-based mobile app testing enables testing teams to rapidly and effectively scale their resources, either up or down. Depending on their present needs, they may readily add or remove testing tools. Developers can thus finish the testing process faster and more successfully and modify their resources to fit a project of any kind or scale. 

Cost-effectiveness: Teams testing mobile apps in the cloud do not have to commit any of their funds toward infrastructure or hardware. Using pay-per-use rented resources, the whole testing process can be conducted in the cloud. In this sense, the procedure is less expensive and more economical, saving money and resources.  

On-premise testing requires significant capital investment. You will first have to spend to acquire and set up the hardware; next, control running costs. Spending a lot of time building and reconfiguring the configuration for every new app, the QA testing team would be focusing less on testing and fine-tuning the application. Imagine if an app had to be evaluated on five different running systems and fifty different phone types. Bringing all that testing capability to your property would be rather costly. Although there are many factors involved in app testing—from the number of screens to the kinds of testing to the number of devices, among others—that make it difficult to estimate a general price, Still, applying all these variables in the cloud, as opposed to on your own hardware, will produce amazing savings. 

Flexibility: Testing teams may create tailored testing environments very easily, therefore demonstrating flexibility. Whatever their particular user situation and network conditions may be, they will have the means to design an environment that exactly fits their demands. The natural constraints of on-site infrastructure are probably going to prevent projects from growing outside of the intended scope of operation. Testing a new app may mean updating your on-site system, which would increase expenses and demand extra preparation time. 
 
Collaboration: Cloud-based mobile application testing enables your team to collaborate closely, despite its dispersion across multiple sites and time zones. They can instantly interact with one another, coordinate testing operations, and freely exchange test findings. Working together allows groups to be more productive and efficient. More of a closed system, on-site testing limits teamwork to team members working on-site. Naturally, on-site solutions allow remote cooperation; however, once more, this would mean more expenses. 
Not required for maintenance or updates. Without any on-site equipment, you won't have to worry about maintaining the correct device mix, upgrading software, or hardware repair. 

Challenges of cloud-based mobile application testing 

Cloud-based testing has advantages, but it also has several drawbacks, like the following: 

Security: The cloud stores data, potentially making it accessible to more users and susceptible to cyberattacks. These security issues do not make cloud-based testing impossible but rather highlight the importance of putting sufficient security policies in place. Usually, sufficient protection of data comes via effective encryption. Typically, effective encryption provides sufficient data protection. A competent cloud operator that offers a platform for data-sensitive operations, including app testing, should provide end-to-end encryption, protect all data, and tightly restrict access only to authorized users. 

Dependability: Testers must be able to believe the cloud infrastructure they are utilizing is dependable. Technical problems or downtime can stymie the project and cause unnecessary and unanticipated expenses.  

Data protection: Cloud-based mobile app testing cloud process entails distributing private information to outside service providers. Any time we exchange data, it could be vulnerable and raise concerns about data protection and privacy. Once again, cloud platform operators have a responsibility to guarantee data security using rigorous configuration guidelines and encryption. Users may further increase security by safeguarding all the devices they use to access the cloud, employing strict permission and password management, avoiding public Wi-Fi connections, and utilizing current anti-malware software.  

Unification: Cloud-based mobile application testing might call for integration with several systems and platforms, including the testing framework, automation tools, and testing instruments. Combining all of these components may require a more complex and time-consuming configuration and setup. 

Strategies for mobile app testing platform on cloud 

Ensuring the quality and performance of apps is absolutely crucial in the demanding field of mobile app development. From scalability to real-time monitoring, using a cloud platform for mobile app testing has several benefits. Using good cloud-based testing strategies can help to greatly improve the dependability, security, and user experience of the app. 

• Comprehensive test planning: Clearly define testing objectives, name target devices and operating systems, and describe the testing extent to guarantee complete coverage. 
• Utilize automated testing: Leverage automated testing technologies to conduct repeated and large-scale test cases effectively, therefore saving time and human error by means of efficiency. 
• Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD): Integrating testing into the CI/CD pipeline will help to provide continuous testing, ensuring early problem identification and flawless app upgrades. 
• Cross-device testing: Verify compatibility and consistent performance across several scenarios by testing the app on a range of devices and operating systems accessible on the cloud platform. 
• Performance testing: Under several conditions—including peak usage times—do performance testing to evaluate the app's responsiveness, speed, and reliability. 
• Security testing: Using the sophisticated security capabilities of the cloud platform, we guarantee strong security testing to safeguard user data and stop vulnerabilities. 
• User experience testing: Run usability tests to get suggestions on overall user experience, navigation, and design of the app so that it fulfills user expectations. 
• Scalability testing: As the user base rises, test the app's capacity to manage and scale rising user loads so it can function as intended. 
• Real-time monitoring and reporting: Implement real-time monitoring to track the app's functionality and create comprehensive reports that will facilitate rapid problem discovery and resolution. 
• Collaboration and communication: Among development, testing, and operations teams, encourage positive cooperation and communication to simplify the testing process and improve general efficiency.  

Does my app require cloud testing? Making the correct choices 

Before choosing cloud-based mobile testing, it is important to assess whether your app calls for this method. These guidelines help you determine whether cloud testing is required for your application:  

• Target audience: If your software appeals to a worldwide audience and is reachable by millions of users, we advise cloud testing to guarantee comprehensive testing for real-world situations on many devices. 
• OS version: Regressing apps that primarily rely on specific operating system versions across multiple OS versions demonstrates the advantages of cloud-based testing.  
• Device model and display: Cloud testing can effectively test apps with flashy UI or image elements on a variety of screen sizes and phone models. 
• Frequency of updates: If your app experiences frequent feature changes, we may not recommend cloud testing due to the additional costs and potential lack of significant benefits for unstable apps.  

Delivering a premium offering to consumers depends on selecting the correct strategy for mobile app cloud testing. Still, it's crucial to evaluate if your software satisfies the requirements for cloud testing.   

Conclusion 

Cloud-based mobile app testing is a breakthrough method of developing mobile apps. Developers and testers all over find it appealing as it offers simple accessibility, scalability, and economy. One benefit of cloud-based mobile testing is access to a vast array of devices and platforms from anywhere. Using cloud-based mobile testing, teams can effectively execute concurrent tests on many virtual devices, ensuring complete app coverage. 

Following best practices in cloud-based mobile app testing helps companies maximize their testing initiatives, provide excellent apps, and guarantee a pleasing user experience. Contact us for individualized help, professional recommendations, and customized solutions that fit your testing requirements.