Business Trends for Custom Software Development Services in India Show Drastic Rise

Today, custom software development companies and offshore software development firms are on the rise as every day on an average more than 100 startups register their companies. The wages are also increasing day-by-day in India, especially due to the immense business received from westerners. India has been constantly updating software with the latest technology to gain a competitive edge over other countries. Fluent English, easy assimilation of different cultures, strong educational background etc is pivotal in India. Western companies prefer India as a software outsourcing service destination and mostly end up saving a lot of time, efforts, resources and money invested in the field.

Custom software development, which is also known as custom software engineering, relies heavily on the developers’ creativity and vision. The quality of software developers and engineers is crucial for the making of ideal software for a specific need. Clients usually have a unique set of software designed and are usually different from the application programs, one uses in daily life. These technologies are custom approaches to solving the client’s or company’s problems.

Companies also desire tailor made but cost-effective, time-saving and best quality software solutions for their business needs. They try to derive complete benefit of custom software development services. The selected provider needs to understand the needs of the client and then implement the business plan in the software. It is also important for getting the feedback for it.

In the making of the software, the look and feel should also be taken into consideration. The navigation features should be good; most important is the home page and the back-links to the relevant pages. The offshore software development firms in India are much in demand because it is very easy for westerners especially US and UK, to converse with Indians who have neutral accents. Ideas can be communicated efficiently resulting in best results.

The goal of custom software development is basically to develop unique solutions for a problems faced by a company. One has to depend on the most progressive and advanced technologies in accordance of the expectations of the customer. Custom software may be developed and designed in stages and modules so that the logical flow remains unhampered and bugs and errors can be sorted out even though there is no mention of them in the specifications.

It is necessary to make sure that the selected provider is worth the money which it charges or not. It is good and advantageous to employ professionally skilled software developers to do the software tasks. The custom software development service provider should take certain steps to improve the software and its working.

Offshore software development companies provide custom software programming and engineering services. Additionally, maintenance services should be provided by the developers and providers so that the software which is dispatched does not face any problems, along with its smooth functioning for the years to come.

How to go about with Software Testing

The software testing should be aware of the basic principles can land the tester into trouble. Haphazard testing results in chaos and incorrect judgment. Here are some of the software testing rules which when abided, can result in overall success:

1) Predefining expected results

Mostly the testers do not have the definition of their results and do not pay heed to the expected outcome. Without gauging the expected result, errors in the output might miss the tester’s eye. Pre-defining the expected results can solve this problem for each of the test cases.

2) Testing of self made programs should be avoided

Software programming is actually a very creative process while the software testing process is a negative and destructive process. To ward off creativity and then focus on the negative process of testing is a difficult switch if you are the programmer yourself. This writer’s analogy is similar too, as writers do not edit their own written material but get it edited through an editor.

Additionally, it might happen that the programmer has had a faulty understanding of the software design. In this case, it is most likely that the programmer would initiate the same application with a faulty outlook leading to incorrect results.

3) Importance of testing thoroughly

In many test cases, a hindsight review of earlier test results in a software testing service shows that errors which were present were often overlooked because the results were not thoroughly studied.

4) Unexpected conditions should be recorded in test cases

Programs which are already under production when used in an innovative fashion cause a great deal of errors and bugs because most software testers test the applications using valid and expected input conditions only. Using invalid or unexpected input conditions, the chances of detecting errors increase manifold.

5) Test the program for what it is expected to do and what it is not

Along with the test of whether the program is giving desired results, software testing services should also include testing of unintended side effects. These include unwanted disk files records which get tarnished. Examination of data structures and reports will reveal that the output can shows what it is not supposed to do though it does what it is expected to do.

6) Software testing should be done with the intent of finding errors

Software testing services include testing processes that locate errors and not with the intent of rendering the program as perfect. The probability of locating more errors is directly proportional to the number of errors already found.

Custom software development Services Rising to Prominence in India

Custom software development services mostly are dependant on new developers who harness the latest web technology and testing skills for web design development solutions and web-enabled IT services. Developed countries like UK, are following a lucrative outsourcing policy which places them at the behest of enormously skilled technicians and developers along with a competitive IT infrastructure. This has led to a surge in the number of providers of IT development in India.

Most established businesses in western countries need solutions and there is no actual shortage of software outsourcing firms today. There are lots of software programming experts who are involved in testing, development and different validation tests along with the developmental processes. Thousands of western countries and companies are harnessing outsourcing services for the execution of their projects. Even though IT development and outsourcing has increased manifold in India, people are still skeptical about the working and viability of custom software development services in offshore centers.

Nevertheless, the option of offshore software development has already commanded huge popularity to help satiate rising software related needs. Many small and large companies have invested substantially in offshore software development so that they can cut costs by outsourcing their non-core functions. In fact, outsourcing software requirements regulates and saves time for focusing on core functions.

Consider this, according to several research reports, 40% of the Fortune 500 companies including Microsoft, General Electric, Oracle, etc. are outsourcing much of their work today and this list is consistently growing in the field of custom software development. Many of them have started with the aim of yielding the maximum ROI by reducing costs extracting work from low-cost areas like India, China, and Philippines. Majority of them stand to save in the range of 40%-70%.

Here are some arguments why India is a favorable destination for outsourcing services:

• Custom software outsourcing services in India generally deal in highly lucrative deals for their clients and also let their clients select the perfect commercial deals. The companies also offer competitive administrative services as well.
• Indian companies are said to understand client organization needs perfectly well, also tend to create innovative business strategies and work hard to implement them.
• India now has the highest compound growth rate in the software and computing services sector since 2000. It also has a thriving indigenous software industry.
• According to recent surveys, phenomenal growth of the custom software outsourcing market is projected in India, especially the IT sector. Their work quality is genuinely improving as per international standards with the emergence of innovative solutions from the developers themselves. Most of them are well-versed in different software languages such as PHP, JAVA, .NET, Perl, Flash, Oracle and many other upcoming languages like Ruby on Rails (ROR) for custom software development services.

Software Testing Services: Why, What and How

The offshore software testing process typically involves a plethora of steps which are interconnected with the SDLC path of the creation of the said software. There are a number of approaches to software testing, but effective testing of complex products is essentially a process of investigation, not merely a matter of creating and following routine procedure.

The risks of launching a product which is still not devoid of its errors are tremendous due to the change in expectations of the clients today. Quality is needed very earlier in the software development lifecycle so that there are no problems later on.

How is it done? Software testing providers basically focus on quality, which is realized through the following practices:
1. Defects need to be found and documented for maintaining software quality.
2. Validate assumptions made in design as also in requirement specifications and prove them through convincing demonstration.
3. Validation that the software is working as needed.
4. Validation that the requirements are implemented properly through standard coding.

Advantages of software testing services:
• Risk is identified easily and in the primary stages thus reducing the risk to multiply in the later stages of software development lifecycle.
• Problems if sorted out and beforehand save on money and thus the offshore testing process helps the software to be more and more cost-effective.
• If software testing is done at the starting stages, depending on the bugs one finds, one can assess how much time will the software take to get developed and that the release date can be more accurately predicted throughout the project.
• The product can be shipped sooner and the results can be accurately verified many times over if the software testing process starts earlier than expected.
• Since the software is under constant check whether its requirements are met or not, the providers can easily plan an effective business plan. The business strategy can be executed more effectively.
• There is much more transparency in the software development process due to the rigorous eye of the software testing area.
• Most of the part can be re-utilized for further projects as those modules have been severely tested and tried.
• The software testing process and qualitative analysis is not restrictive to any vendor.

A good testing team asks questions like: can the software break? Or in what possible situations will this software fail to work predictably or will it won’t? The software testing process always challenges the risks, and uncertainty which is there in the development work done by other software professionals. A third party software testing team always assures that the testing is impartial to the core.

Advent and Relevance of Custom Software Development in India and Other Asian Countries

The concept of custom software development has redefined the trends existing in the IT industry. With the transformation of the business world and its inclination towards new concepts and technological tools, many firms are trying to bank on the benefits of custom software development. Today, the IT world is changing with respect to innovations and inventions which are pouring out at a frantic pace. Software development from offshore service providers have resulted in savings of billions of dollars, especially in the western world. Now all companies, big or small are inclined to opt for offshore software consulting services and try to avail its large benefits and services.

Taking the present IT scenario at a glance, the importance of customized software cannot be slackened. In the race for software outsourcing services, custom software development services deserve a top priority to maintain an edge over competitors. The development process does not only save money for clients worldwide but reduces the time period too.

Here is where custom software development plays an important role. As competition between companies is increasing day by day, offshore software development centres seek to capitalize on their manpower and economy to promote cheap services in the IT field. It has been proved time and again that offshore development centres in India, China, and Phillipines have been instrumental in the profitability of many western markets within US and UK. Reports suggest that companies tend to save at least 75% of the costs through outsourcing software services to the eastern countries.

Additionally, every firm is searching for custom software development services in India for its cost-effectiveness, high quality software solutions, and a financially cheap workforce which can perform and is result-oriented. The offshore partners also invariably use cutting-edge technologies for providing state-of-the-art services tailored towards a firm’s business needs. Another benefit of custom software creation and development is that companies need not buy generic office software and then adjust according to the software’s features.

It is advisable to find a software developer who has expertise in relevant field and can easily comprehend the nature of your business along with your needs. Also look in to the benefits what the developer will offer other than its monetary benefits like the time required for development, the maintenance work which will go on after the software is made. In addition to this, it is essential to confirm whether the company is well-versed in multi-platform project management.

It is very important for business owners to state their requirements succinctly and to define the different fields of responsibility, so that developers have clarity on the project and can estimate the staff-hours which will be required for the task. Also, both the client and the provider should be well aware of the terms and conditions which are put forth before the awarding of the project. Custom software development is a lucrative option if used wisely enough.

Database Archiving Solutions Help to Meet Data Retention Compliance Standards Efficiently

Large enterprises today are neck-deep with information flooded from all directions in their respective storage mediums. Unused data is continually eating up resources, and gobbling up the organization’s profits. Megabytes gave way to gigabytes, gigabytes have acceded to terabytes, and in the near future, terabytes is sure to escalate to petabytes. The data is growing relentlessly with organizations waking up to the reality of data explosion. The latest data retention clauses for pharmaceutical companies are at least 20 years while nuclear facilities will have to hoard data for 50 years. Database archiving helps in reducing costs, retaining data, and also aids in complying with regulation procedures.

The latest compliance measures cited by the government have made it mandatory for all organizations to retain much of their company data for inspection. These regulations were mostly proposed and enacted by the government in the light of several recent corporate accounting scandals. These laws state the procedures and rules to be implemented by various organizations for handling their business-critical data. The US government actually wants the companies to handle their corporate information in the best way possible. Out of all the regulations, the most critical and important happens to be periods specified for data retention compliance.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, HIPAA and BASEL II are some of the laws and regulations related to data retention. It has been estimated that there are over 150 federal and state laws which elaborate extensively on the subject of data retention in the US. Today, the retention period is basically determined by the government itself. The data retention period which ranged from five to seven years are now crossing the barriers of 20 to 70 years.

In the face of exploding data filling up servers in the world over, information lifecycle management has become complicated to be implemented efficiently. Database archiving helps in managing data effectively; releasing data is rarely used or redundant to other cost-effective storage mediums. Data retention compliance issues are also resolved through such an approach.

Database Archiving is a widely-used process of plucking out selected records from operational databases which are not to be used quite often. The archived data is then stored in a non-erasable format like XML files where they can be searched and retrieved if needed.

Software Testing Services: In Aid of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing and offshore software testing services surely have a great connect. Right from the start, it has been difficult for assessing the feasibility of cloud computing solution and its usage within the business’ context. Business requirements have always been the key drivers to the success of the solution. It has also been seen that today businesses are not wary of offshore software testing and outsourcing their non-core services and get testing solutions. Most companies undergo the process of several linear workshops to get hold of what the business actually requires. This ultimately will save time and money in the SDLC (Software development lifecycle) by removing potential flaws in the initialization and planning phase.

Cloud computing solutions are said to be scalable on demand. Businesses verify whether they can handle the workload of the proposed project by load or stress testing. These types of offshore software testing services can prove that the developed solution is scaleable according to the requirements. By applying techniques which can ascertain the load, the estimates can be given efficiently.

Most performance testing techniques measure and verify systems performance accurately. Using both performance testing and load testing in consonance, the user allows an accurate image of the solutions ability over the cloud to be created. Security testing helps in providing assurance that critical data related to a business is stored and delivered safely. Offshore software testing methods like penetration testing help in proving that the mechanism that are developed to maintain security will remain intact.

It is important to note that before consideration of any deployment it is extremely necessary to prove that all the system functions are according to the proposed design, and that the components will perform together in tandem, and the overall results of both inputs and outputs are satisfactory.

Other offshore software testing techniques like integration testing help the business in the verification of the compatibility of the cloud solution with the current infrastructure and test environments. This step is to prove that any cloud solution does not detrimentally impact any existing systems.

In the end, all the business requirements are verified and validated to effectively prove that computing cloud surely meets up with the documented needs of the business. This will be further seconded with the use of User Acceptance Testing. In terms of versatility through offshore software testing process, the location independence of cloud computing scores full marks. Much infrastructure needs get lessened by the benefits of offshore software testing as well as onsite base, and they are well documented and present as an instant option for testing cloud computing solutions.

Saving on Costs with Custom Software Development and Offshore Outsourcing Services

Most custom software development companies prefer outsourcing their non-core services without realizing as to why they are doing it. Many are following suit of the companies in the market and hearing stories of how they are saving on money big time. Every body is trying to find an offshore partner just because their rivals are interested. Is that it? Absolutely not!

The reality is that developing software in the western world is an expensive proposition. It is common enough for companies there to charge $75-$100 on an hourly basis. To be realistic enough, are there many businesses which can afford it? Obviously, not many can. Hiring full-time staff which are diligent, hard-working, talented, and those who fit the bill too is quite something to ask for. Hardware and software costs combined with the taxes, emoluments, infrastructure bills, they add up pretty fast. Custom software development offers a way out.

But what is obligatory is sound software assistance and that is what every company needs in spite of the nature of its core services. Maybe the financial software is not working or requires updating, or a manufacturer needs a new software application to manage the inventory and reduce costs. There is immense need for software developers, but they should not be too heavy on the pocket either.

Nowadays, industries and companies of various sectors choose to outsource their projects to offshore companies. Yes, this approach does have its share of pitfalls. For instance, there is no direct way of knowing whether intellectual property rights and confidential information will be protected or not. Also it is difficult to know whether the assigned project was completed according to recognized coding standards. In the event of a dispute, it is very difficult for the client to take action in a foreign country. Custom software development and offshore software outsourcing of projects does become tedious and heavy-handed here.

Though custom software development has its own share of minuses, if one finds out the right software provider for their needs, the chances of making a neat profit are round the corner. The development process starts with understanding of business requirements, creation of records, primary software execution plan, followed by the software development lifecycle processes (SDLC) at various stages of the project.

It is advisable to find a software developer who has expertise in relevant field and can easily comprehend the nature of your business along with your needs. Also look in to the benefits what the developer will offer other than its monetary benefits like the time required for development, the maintenance work which will go on after the software is made. In addition to this, it is essential to confirm whether the company is well-versed in multi-platform project management. Finding the right custom software development company while picking up an offshore outsourcing partner is crucial for the client company to achieve its goals and concentrate on its core service areas.

Social Networking for Success in one’s Career and Business

Social networking services are playing a major role in today’s society and can even stretch one’s contacts outside the communities we are connected socially. It is well-known that for professional or business success, “it's not what you know, but who you know,” and it's especially very true when looking for the best education or the best employment.

The best jobs are usually unadvertised so are the vacancies for elite schools or colleges; social networking services helps college students as well as employees to collaborate with each other to find hidden opportunities. Likewise, one can always take the help of social networking websites to find some sources that are actually unknown to you and strike a business alliance after confirming the credentials for the work. One can even help out fellow college mates or school mates to explore hidden opportunities which you might have come across.

Social networking websites provide various resources and easy navigation features for career development. There have been specialized social networking portals which are aimed at niche interest groups which are done by companies specializing in custom social networking solutions. Spoke and LinkedIn are popular social sites which aim to help users make useful business connections. A recent research by global recruitment consultants Harvey Nash and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) revealed that more than one-third of employers use social networking sites to connect with seconding the ideology that it’s not what you know but how are you known on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn that counts.

In this recession, according to experts, attending trade shows for business, replying to ads on online job boards, and sending resume for a position to the relevant HR department is not much of a use. Instead, meet people and make a strong network of people who can enhance your career.

Many companies also demand custom social networking solutions for their own intrinsic socialization. According to Forrester, social networking works as a decent alternative for knowledge management applications. The research company says that social networking can even yield ROI, but for the success ratio to be high enough, IT departments are required to maintain legacy hardware and sound software infrastructure.

The job market and the business scenario today are extremely competitive. Understanding how to harness technology for finding opportunities and making strategic use of the internet in job search as well as to network in business is helpful for progress. Social networking sites and custom social networking solutions will not only help you get a job quicker, but can also land up with deals which might be profitable for your business.

Independent Software Testing Services in India: Are they Feasible Enough?

Offshore software testing and development has undergone a drastic change in recent years. With companies striving for minimum cost input along with good quality testing services for their products and services, the competition is tough. The software testing providers in India make it happen by helping clients avoid infrastructure cost as well as hiring of resources.

Companies outsource their projects to offshore software developing companies and in the process avoid administrative costs. Offshore software testing development in India especially has been mightily successful because of its innovative approach to technology solutions.

Software Testing determines the functioning of custom-made software and is a crucial phase in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Testing removes all the bugs in the functioning of the software.

Offshore software testing makes a complete check and tries to detect any gaps. The providers can sort out potential problems in a cost-effective manner. Organizations do not keep an in-house team to conduct professional tests of the software. Hence the need of an offshore software testing company always creeps in.

Offshore software testing use several different techniques to ensure a bug-free output. The individual modules of programs are tested followed by testing of the whole software. The software testing process involves two different phases:

Alpha Testing: Alpha testing is done from the programmer’s side and usually involves the efforts of the complete team. It also involves all software professionals who work in sync on different aspects of the modules. They examine different ways trying to dig out problems. Solutions are proposed and then the most effective solution is acted upon. The ideas are proactively proposed by the team.

Beta Testing: This type of testing is done by the users who are using the site for the first time. They check the site; it is like that they are proof reading the software. The communication should be good between the tester and developer so that the bugs can be removed properly.

An offshore software testing company should pay a great deal of attention in testing of the software. Adequate attention should be paid to the usability and the utility factor for making the product bug-free. Most companies insist on both alpha and beta testing. In India, especially there are individual companies with expert teams who specialize in software testing. The best tools are also used for the offshore testing process and that too at less than 50% of the costs that might be incurred in the western world.

The Software Testing Tools: A Description

The offshore software testing process basically involves a series of steps and follow-ups related to the tests. It is entirely the testing team’s strategy of testing of applications. There are many approaches to software testing, but effective testing of complex products is essentially a process of investigation, not merely a matter of creating and following routine procedure. Following are some of the tools found in the market which are useful in different stages of the offshore software testing process:

Anteater: Anteater is a software testing framework which provides an easy way for the software testing process including writing of tests required for checking the functionalities of web applications.

Apodora: This is a framework and tool which is used for functional testing automation of web applications. Apodora provides programmatic control of the web browser allowing direct interaction with its own user interface. It consists of a database backend which helps the user to remember how HTML elements can be found.

Autonet: Autonet is a GUI (graphical user interface) network test platform which is based on CLI. The tool is helpful in arrangement of test cases, configure commands to devices. Autonet can also run commands to check the test results and record them simultaneously.

Avignon: This tool is helpful in acceptance testing wherein executable tests can be written in a user-defined language. XML is used to define the language syntax and leaves the semantics of the tests with the user if he or she wishes to extend the language. Avignon also includes modules which are useful for testing HTML applications.

Blerby Test Runner: Blerby Test Runner is an Ajax test runner for PHP language. This tool supports SimpleTest and PHPUnit 3.x. Blerby allows software developers to reengineer the code while also issuing notification about changes. The tool is also useful for tracking test dependencies.

Canoo WebTest: Canoo WebTest is widely used for outsourced functional testing process of web pages. It is actually an open source framework used for testing and is built on top of HttpUnit.

Crosscheck: Crosscheck is an open source testing framework used for the verification of the in-browser JavaScript. The tool ensures that the code can be run in different web browsers or not without any installation of the browsers. Only JVM (Java Virtual Machine) is needed for the purpose.

Dogtail: Dogtail is a GUI tool used for offshore software testing services and an automation framework coded in Python language. Dogtail uses different technologies for accessibility and to communicate with desktop applications. The scripts are written in Python language and executed likewise.

Offshore software testing services are reasonable enough. Most of the offshore software testing providers use some of the above tools in different stages of the software testing cycle. Even the quality assurance services provided in India are cost-effective and right on the money.

Database Owners Wary of Database Archiving Software Even After Knowing its Benefits

Database archiving software and database archiving solutions are created by some of the biggest companies in the IT world. But there has been a resonating hesitance on the part of the companies to adopt the software although news has been wild that the software can trim the fat and protect historical data present in the enterprise databases. There are some reasons mentioned for this, by analysts. The prime reasons are:

1) The benefits of database archiving have always been difficult to quantify. Those database archiving softwares which are introduced by companies are catered to large database. Burgeoning database owners can always look to shell money on hardware for backup.

2) Databases contain critical data related to the company and hence database owners are averse to exposing it to relatively unknown products.

3) Some database archiving solutions providers are unable to point out the benefits of database archiving in an effective manner. Also, they are unable to address the direct pains of different companies related to data management. Compliance issues and their future monstrous consequences if not heeded to, are not explained in detail by the vendors.

4) Firms are not usually proactive to search for characteristics they actually need from a database archiving software.

5) Storage administrators and DBAs need to understand more about the intricacies of query building and other stuff rather than just the plain benefits of database archiving software. Awareness of recalling and modifying the data along with its purging technology is needed.

6) Some database administrators and users equate database archiving to deleting data. Hence awareness should be built up at first that archiving basically relates to data being moved from production database to the archive.

7) Before database archiving solutions to be implemented in any environment, it is essential to understand the data retention policies applicable to the industry. Many vendors do not attach much importance to it, but it is essential to pinpoint the advantage of archiving for retention as it is one of the most pivotal reasons why any company will opt for database archiving.

8) It is important to note that service-level agreements (SLAs) associated with data which is archived are not like those applicable for production databases. The number of users who will have archive access should also be predetermined. Backup plans for database archives should be considered too. Because the DBAs are not well prepared or the management of the company is hesitant, the archiving process can undergo lot of difficulties.

It is vital for database archiving software vendors to address the pains and misapprehensions of database administrators and storage managers about the concept. It is only then that database archiving can be a success.

The Basic Principles of Software Testing

Outsourced software testing process if not subject to the basic principles can land the tester into trouble. Haphazard testing results in chaos and incorrect judgment. Here are some of the software testing rules which when abided, can result in overall success:

1) Definition of expected results
Mostly the testers do not have their results defined and do not chalk out the most expected outcome. Without knowing this, errors in the output might miss the tester’s eye. Pre-defining the expected results can solve this problem for each of the test cases. Though this might sound ridiculous, many of the testers are known to skip this step and land eventually in a no man’s land.

2) Don’t test your own programs
Software programming is actually a creative process while testing is a negative and destructive process. To ward off creativity and then focus on the negative process of testing is a difficult switch. This writer’s analogy is similar too, as writers do not edit their own written material but get it edited through an editor.

Additionally, it might happen that the programmer has had a faulty understanding of the software design. In this case, it is most likely that the programmer would initiate the same application with a faulty outlook leading to incorrect results.

3) Check each and every test thoroughly
In many test cases, a hindsight review of earlier test results in software testing service shows that errors which were present were often overlooked because the results were not thoroughly studied.

4) Test cases should be used for unexpected conditions
Programs which are already under production when used in an innovative fashion cause a great deal of errors and bugs because most testers test the applications using valid and expected input conditions only. Using invalid or unexpected input conditions, the chances of detecting errors increase manifold.

5) Test the program for what it is expected to do and what it is not
Along with the test of whether the program is giving desired results, software testing services should also include testing of unintended side effects. These include unwanted disk files or tarnished records. Examination of data structures and reports will reveal that the output can shows what it is not supposed to do though it does what it is expected to do.

6) Software testing should be done with the intent of finding errors
Software testing services include testing processes that locate errors and not with the intent of rendering the program as perfect. The probability of locating more errors is directly proportional to the number of errors already found.

Offshore Software Testing: Best Practices for Testers

Offshore software testing has certainly come of age. In recent years, the quality of software testers from India and other Asian countries — which serve as prime outsourcing destinations for the western countries — have improved considerably.
Herein are some of the best practices for software testers:

1) The test results need to be analyzed thoroughly and should not be ignored. Troubleshooting the failed attempts are crucial too as it might lead to eventual success. Also providing solutions to bugs which are stored in logs is also important.

2) It is helpful to maximize the test coverage while on a test.

3) For ensuring maximum test coverage, using application under test (AUT) for breaking into smaller functional modules is useful. Break them in to smaller parts if possible, and write test cases for these modules.

4) It is beneficial to write test cases for intended functionality i.e. for valid conditions first and then invalid conditions.

5) Test the application with a clear intent of finding bugs/errors. If the application is tested with the intention of finding bugs then chances are, that even subtle bugs can be traced from the program.

6) It is essential as well as beneficial in software testing to write the test cases in requirement analysis and design phase itself.

7) Prior to coding, make the test cases available to developers and do not wait in anticipation of more bugs.

8) Grouping will ensure quick and effective manual regression testing.

9) Software applications should be thoroughly tested for performance especially those applications which require quick response time. If manual software testing and preparation of test cases is not possible manually, then take help from developers.

10) After basic unit testing of developed applications, to release the application for testers. But the testers should never force the developers to complete the project hurriedly; they should take their own time.

11) After requirement testing, try to do some negative software testing on the application that is for what it is not supposed to do.

12) Always note down the new terms while conducting tests of an application and during the creation of the final test release report.

13) Keep developers away from test environment to detect any possible configuration changes which might get missed in the release or deployment document.

14) Its a good practice to involve testers right from software requirement and design phase so that they can get the hold of the whole software development lifecycle.

15) It is advantageous for software testing teams that they share best testing practices and experience with other software professionals in the organization.

16) Prepare an unambiguous bug report by not only stating the bugs, but about its effects and effective solution.

The Timeline and History of SaaS (Software as a Service)

It's known very well in the computing world that SaaS (Software as a Service) almost met its doom during the dot com bubble in 2001. While this concept was a revolutionary concept, it basked upon highly expanded expectations and boomed initially. When the dot com bubble burst, SaaS services came to a decline competing with most other new technologies which had an edge over it. However, after the dot-com bubble burst, SaaS regained its stature and has ever since marching forward, never looking back.

In the late 90's few people disagreed with the concept of subscription pricing along with the hosted delivery and outsourced expertise features. However, the applications present during that time were not capable of operating in the limited bandwidth environment of the Internet. Even the software vendors were not even slightly interested in tweaking their pricing models which was an all-money-up-front approach. The SaaS approach was basically a deferred revenue collection over the life of the customer and vendors needed serious convincing to switch in with the pricing model. The high-profile CRM vendors too which consisted of big shots like Microsoft, Oracle and SAP ignored and ridiculed the SaaS approach. Most of the vendors did not embrace this application software evolution at that time.

The SaaS products which belonged to the first generation CRM had their birth as point solutions. Some of the most prominent niche players consisted of UpShot and SalesNet. These solutions provided an application-specific solution to assimilate specific business needs, but were not useful or appealing to the customer in the broader sense. These providers had limited features in their products and also limited resources at their disposal. Hence when the market took a turnaround and competitors offered better products, they lost their importance and eventually vanished in to thin air.

This led to the advent of Salesforce.com, NetSuite, and the like who created intentionally-built SaaS solutions and marketed them as software subscriptions. These then formed applications have later helped the evolution of this business model and reap much of the profits and the industry's market share.

Major growth drivers for SaaS services have been:
1. Today’s world boasts of an omnipresent Internet access especially broadband access, online media solutions are flourishing extensively, while wireless access is growing tremendously too. Penetration rates are recorded to have reached 50% or more in most developed countries. Amazon, eBay and similar sites have created faith in people to do business online and have literally wiped out their hesitance in dealing online. People do business and communicate online extensively today.

2. There also has been intensive and rapid improvement in application functionality. Online CRM systems are evolving from standalone contact managers to full-fledged CRM applications and in many cases, outperforming their decades-old client/server predecessors.

3. There has been severe backlash over the software licensing model as software vendors have a notorious reputation. Once they lock up a customer with a license, they do not care about the proceedings. SaaS services are much more accountable for satisfying customers after the initial sale. 4. SaaS has reduced the upfront cost and the overall risk for customers. With a modest investment under one’s belt, one can take benefit of the services and does not hold one with a non-refundable software license.

Have You Resorted to Database Archiving in Your Enterprise? The Approach Matters!

Many IT managers and decision-makers are resorting to information lifecycle management (ILM) solutions and different database archiving solutions. In the archiving process, historical data can be transferred to an offline production environment and retained in read-only format till it is ultimately disposed. This practice of data management is said to be crucial for the implementation of ILM.

Database archiving solution’s prime driver is enhancement of application performance and availability. Companies tend to use database archiving for meeting regulatory compliance procedures or for reducing the overall cost. Companies have chalked out different ways to implement different archiving methodologies in their enterprise and some strategies bring disadvantageous results:

1) Some enterprises consider building database archiving software themselves but the time and labor involved tend to eat into their budgets. For instance, some enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications often consist of thousands and thousands of interconnected database tables which make classification of the processes a tedious task to implement.

2) Sometimes it happens that companies have inbuilt archiving features within their enterprise software programs. These usually solve archiving needs of a single application only but cannot be scaled for multiple databases and platforms.
3) The functionality of native database tools is limited to a certain extent and does not have the ability automate archiving. Conversely, these tools might even increase the complexity of the database.

It has been assessed by many analysts and concluded that the best solution for archiving of database information is the enterprise approach. An enterprise-level database archiving system can redress the problems faced due to improper data management or data explosion in the IT organization.

ArchivePlus, the Database Archive & Purge Solution, created by Indusa Technical Corp., boosts performance across your enterprise database. Built to address the most demanding challenges of data growth, ArchivePlus solves performance issues and compliance requirements with its archiving and purging technology. It helps in migrating data from live production databases to database archives, while managing the integrity and accessibility of information in those archives.

At the same time, the solution takes care of not providing access to critical information to unauthorized users to maintain the integrity of the data. ArchivePlus — the enterprise database archiving solution can also help speed up application performance. Also the migration depends on specific business rules and relationships which make the archived data accessible as needed. With the help of ArchivePlus solution, users can archive/copy the data in either Oracle/MS - SQL Server or XML. When data is archived/ copied in XML format, the solution helps to encrypt the data for security purpose.

Oracle Database Archiving Solutions — the Implementation and Management

Database archiving is an integral part of enterprise database solutions. Oracle databases are today handling terabytes of data, in some cases even petabytes of data. In most cases, data is not deleted or updated regularly which leads to the inflating the size of the database in the long run. Now the problem with enterprises is not saving on disk space, but protecting corporate data for longer periods of time through data retention software for meeting regulatory requirements. But the retention should not come in the way of performance. Archiving of data helps in information lifecycle management wherein along with optimum system performance; retention of data is assured, along with quick and efficient restoration.

The company has to first assess the amount of active data that is present in the database while starting out with Oracle database archiving implementation. Risks associated with database archiving solutions are:

· Escalating costs due to improper database handling
· Loss of relevant and critical data
· Huge demand and responsibility for database damages
· Non-compliance with SLAs during backup and recovery process
· Manipulation of data due to improper archiving.

While it may seem trivial that to select information from one data source and put them in another database, it is not as easy as it seems. A perfect data retention software guarantees that the data is intact and all relationships are in place. Most databases also define referential integrity constraints; hence it is very important that all of that data is extracted keeping in view of those constraints. Relationships should be mentioned in the archive so that after their restore, it is easy to use the data again.

Operationally, it is important to remove rows out the production database and keep it in the archive. There are different row removal options like SQL Delete, Truncate, CTAS (Create Table as Select), and Oracle Partitioning. Post-deletion, a large number of rows would have been reviewed from a table which leads to queries’ execution faster and faster.

Database archiving solutions are critical for the optimum performance of every Oracle enterprise database and should be planned at the start much like disaster recovery. Due to data explosion, most applications will require cleaning of rarely accessed data from transactional and operational databases either for meeting compliance demands, for internal business requirements or for boosting application performance. The data can be retained as and when needed in an archive or purged by applying a discard policy.

To delete a huge amount of data from Oracle tables, one should explore many considerations. The goal of Oracle database archiving solutions is to take out data from the database and then optimize the resulted transactional and operational data so that the database can perform better.

Database archiving as a Vital Factor of Information Lifecycle Management (ILM)

Information lifecycle management (ILM) has evolved to define an approach for data management and cost-effective storage medium over time, based on its value for business. Database archiving is also pivotal for ILM as it helps eliminate redundant data stored in the production server. Data kept in storage networks have a defined lifecycle which is associated with the way information travels through an organization from its beginning till its removal. Data is usually stored in structured relational databases, semi-structured databases (emails), and unstructured databases (documents and graphics). Huge databases pose some very definite problems for information lifecycle management.

Large enterprises today are neck-deep with information flooded from all directions in their respective storage mediums. Unused data is continually eating up resources, and gobbling up the organization’s profits. Megabytes gave way to gigabytes, gigabytes have acceded to terabytes, and in the near future, terabytes is sure to escalate to petabytes. The data is growing relentlessly with organizations waking up to the reality of data explosion. The latest data retention clauses for pharmaceutical companies are at least 20 years while nuclear facilities will have to hoard data for 50 years. Database archiving helps in reducing costs, retaining data, and also aids in complying with regulation procedures.

Database archiving plays an important role in implementing ILM in a complex relational database. Removal of rarely accessed data releases the processing power and improves application performance and efficiency. Purging of irrelevant data also helps in implementation of new applications in the present hardware itself, without adding to any or little overheads. Additionally scheduled archiving releases a huge amount of disk space which is then utilized for other uses saving millions in software or hardware upgrades. Archiving provides a worthwhile solution to the data explosion problem, while cutting on the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

A comprehensive archiving solution archives data from a plethora of platforms. It is also expected to ensure referential integrity and help in restoring information when needed especially for business and compliance requirements. Additionally, the archiving solution should enable data retention in cost-effective mediums like a near-line on a file server, or disk-based WORM (Write-once-read-many type devices).

Implementing archiving strategies for databases is crucial for the efficiency of information lifecycle management.

Database archiving solutions: an Overview

Database archiving solutions are springing up with every coming day, but not at the pace at which information is just piling up in several enterprises. The consistent gigantic growth in the size and space of databases is known all over, but the integration of database archives into ILM (Information Lifecycle Management) strategies poses an overwhelming challenge for many database administrators. What once was measured in megabytes and gigabytes, have now given way to terabytes and petabytes. Storage is also a critical issue from the legal point of view because the latest rules and regulations for compliance have stressed that the organization must retain data for several years and availed at will for inspection.

Many companies and organization spend heavily in the maintenance of their databases but the worst part is that 85% of the databases are rarely used. The rest of the data is used in business operations and the decision-making process. Thus, overloaded databases hamper server performance to a great extent and restrict the use of comprehensive capabilities that various database applications were primarily designed to deliver.

A comprehensive database archiving methodology should be adept in archiving data from a variety of RDBMS and platforms. Database archiving solutions must ideally also ensure of the referential integrity and business context of the archived data and provide for easy access. In addition, there must be a cost-effective storage medium to store loads of data like tape or disk-based WORM devices. It is also important to take care that all resources and information are well looked after during ILM.

Database archiving solutions and software allows for archiving rarely accessed data which comprises of historical and referential data. The storage mediums used are basically for providing easy access - a critical requirement of most data retention legislation. The best mix of storage alternatives is recommended always. It is vital for the success for any enterprise to have its current data online and rest of the data archived in low-cost storage medium, which can be accessed quickly. This ensures a lucrative and cost-effective balance throughout ILM. Through archiving, the huge databases get restricted to a manageable size always thus improving the performance of critical applications and data. It also allows organizations to utilize existing data storage solutions and save on further expenditure.

ArchivePlus Meets Data Retention Compliance Standards Efficiently

Industry analysts have continually stressed on the need for data retention in enterprise databases. The size of the databases is estimated to be growing at the rate of 125% annually. On an average, about 80% of the data in various enterprise databases is estimated to be redundant or not used for real-time purposes, which makes it ready for archiving purposes.

The current rate of data growth has been astounding and the latest compliance measures cited by the government have made it mandatory for all organizations to retain much of their company data for inspection. These regulations were mostly proposed and enacted by the government in the light of several recent corporate accounting scandals. These laws state the procedures and rules to be implemented by various organizations for handling their business-critical data. The US government actually wants the companies to handle their corporate information in the best way possible. Out of all the regulations, the most critical and important happens to be periods specified for data retention.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, HIPAA and BASEL II are some of the laws and regulations related to data retention. It has been estimated that there are over 150 federal and state laws which elaborate extensively on the subject of data retention in the US. Today, the retention period is basically determined by the government itself. The data retention period which ranged from five to seven years are now crossing the barriers of 20 to 70 years.

Database Archiving is a widely-used process of plucking out selected records from operational databases which are not to be used quite often. The archived data is then stored in a non-erasable format like XML files where they can be searched and retrieved if needed.

ArchivePlus is a comprehensive database archive & purge solution created by Indusa Technical Corp. to boost enterprise database performance in a variety of ways. The database archiving solution is said to be built to address the most critical problems encountered due to data growth. Other than that, it solves the endless list of compliance requirements with its archiving and purging technology by promoting more retention of data.

ArchivePlus successfully helps in transferring redundant data from live production databases to database archives. With the process of the data conversion to XML format, ArchivePlus helps in maintaining the integrity and accessibility of information in those archives.