OREANDA-NEWS. Test automation is a process of using software to test programs to ensure all parts of the code are free of error. Software testing consists of various tests to compare the actual output with the expected output. Such tests are vital for any program, since significant business value may be attached to the software functioning perfectly. The process of software testing is predominantly done manually at present. However, the inevitable human errors in the process have made an increasing number of end users keen to switch to automated testing.

As a result, the global test automation market is expected to exhibit a strong 23.6% CAGR from 2016 to 2024, according to a new market research study released by Transparency Market Research (TMR). The increasing incorporation of IT solutions in business processes has helped the test automation market immensely, as it has made it easier to provide the virtual ecosystem testing software needs to operate at optimum levels. According to TMR, the global test automation market was valued at more than US$12.9 bn in 2015. If the market succeeds in maintaining the robust expected CAGR of 23.6%, the valuation of the market could rise to US$85.8 bn by 2024.

What are the major restraints and drivers for the test automation market?

The primary driver for the global test automation market is the rising adoption of IT solutions in the corporate sector. The growing usage of mobile-based and particularly cloud-based applications has made automation much easier to bring about in any business environment.

However, even though the usage of advanced technological solutions is rising, it is still prohibitively expensive for many companies, particularly in developing countries, where the digital as well as brick-and-mortar infrastructure required for large-scale adoption of IT solutions is often absent. This could be a major restraint on the global test automation market in the coming years.

Which are the largest segments of the global test automation market?

According to test type, the global test automation market is segmented into functional, integration, web services, acceptance, load, compatibility, security, platform, network, usability, migration, and mobile testing, and process design quality analysis. Of these, functional testing emerged as the largest segment of the global test automation market. The flexibility of business processes in many modern corporations is responsible for the dominant share held by the functional testing segment.

On the basis of geography, North America emerged as the largest regional segment of the global test automation market in 2015. The high degree of technological sophistication prevalent in the region and the growing demand for QA from the region’s corporate sector are the main driving factors crucial to the test automation market’s growth in the region in the coming years. In terms of potential, though, Asia Pacific, which is expected to exhibit a 26.2% CAGR in the aforementioned forecast period, comfortably tops the table due to the growing flow of investments in the region’s corporate sector.

Are there any notable recent events that could have an impact on the test automation market?

Leading software testing company, Appvance, has recently announced the launch of a new test automation platform, named Appvance UTP. The USP of the platform is that it is unified. The platform allows companies to unify multiple types of software testing into one, drastically reducing the amount of time it takes to go through the QA process. Appvance UTP also contains a new Designer recording environment, which can script use cases rapidly without the designer needing to write a single line of code. Standard technologies such as HTML5 and JavaScript can be used in this service.

Proliferation of such test automation platforms could be a game-changer in the global test automation industry, with the higher efficiency of unified platforms allowing players to get testing done in a fraction of the time it took before.