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Best Test Automation Tools to Look for in 2018

Software testing has come a long way with the introduction of automation and organizations across the globe are switching to automation to increase test coverage and reduce the time to market. As a result, test automation tools have emerged as the new “must haves” for every organization. The advancements in the field of software development have given rise to new challenges in testing and the new age test automation tools have introduced new and advanced features to cater to the changing requirements.

In other words, the devices have become smarter and this demands for the QA tools to be smart too. Here are 6 test automation tools to look for this year. Some of these tools are open source while the others are commercial, but what they all have in common are the features that you need “right now” to make software testing in your organization a success.

1] Test Complete

Type: Commercial

Test Complete is a functional automated testing platform developed by SmartBear Software. The tool is divided into 3 modules – desktop, web and mobile – and each module allows creation of automated tests specific to that module.

Key Features:

Can be used for mobile & desktop apps, Web UI and API
Supports Windows platform
Supports Python, JScript, Delphi, VBScript, C#, and C++ languages
Based on keyword-driven framework
Explore: https://smartbear.com/product/testcomplete/overview/

2] QARA Test

Type: Commercial

QARA Test stands for Quality Assurance with Rapid Automation and is a test automation tool developed by The Digital Group. The tool offers a complete test management solution as well as an add-on that is available on the Atlassian Marketplace.

Key Features:

Supports multi-browser and multi-platform testing
Generates graphically represented reports for in-depth reporting & analytics
Offers seamless integration with JIRA, SauceLabs & other popular tools
Based on keyword-driven framework.
Explore: http://www.qaratest.com/

3] Katalon Studio

Type: Open source

Katalon Studio is a free automated testing platform developed by Katalon LLC. The software comes with a specialized IDE interface for Web, mobile and API testing.

Key Features:

Supports Windows, Linux & OS X platforms.
Can be used for mobile apps, Web UI and API.
Supports Java Groovy language.
Offers built-in project templates and SDLC integrations.
Explore: https://www.katalon.com/

The Final Word:

Every test automation tool listed above is a testing powerhouse. However, each one is different and is intended to cater to a different requirement. While some of them offer integrations with all the popular tools out there to increase the scope of QA within the same platform, others offer support for multiple languages and/or browsers and platforms. Therefore, it is recommended that you analyze your testing goals before you choose one.

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Capri- Rising Against the Odds

While most NBFCs in India were hit by the IL&FS liquidity crisis of 2018, some, including Capri Global didn’t just remain unscathed but grew during the turmoil. Non-banking financial investment activities took a sharp dive and out of the 113 NBFCs listed on the BSE Finance index, only 48 gave positive returns with Capri Global Capital gaining the most. Although there has been a lot of speculation about the downfall of NBFCs, such growth clearly signifies that it’s not the end of era but the evolution of it.

At Capri Global, we strongly believe in empowering people to help them unlock their potential through sufficient, timely and flexible financing. We strive for the well-deserved and underserved. The financially weaker loan seeker. And, women with dreams worth working towards. We put people before profits with a purpose that goes beyond enabling individuals or businesses to making a societal impact that spans across the country.

So, what’s the secret sauce that sets them apart and ahead of the curve?

Successful Segmentation- When it comes to running a profitable business, one of the most important criteria to take into consideration is the people you’re targeting. Any product created should focus on solving a real-life problem, rather than cutting costs or maximizing profits. A deep understanding of the Indian economy led Capri to primarily providing credit to the MSME sector and individuals who wish to own a home.
MSME Loans- As one of the engines of growth within our economy that significantly contributes to exports, employment generation and the GDP of India. MSME loans in India are essential for these small organizations to meet their daily expense or consider expansion. However, they aren’t easy to come by because most financial institutions in India deny credit as a consequence of limited documentation or irregular cash flows. Capri Global saw and decided to seize the opportunity that lay latent in the 70 trillion-rupee credit gap in this sector.
Housing Finance- After a few years in the business, the huge shortage of homes among the lower income group came to our attention. Millions of Indians dream of owning a home, but only a fraction have the funds to make this dream a reality. Buying a home is a taxing financial decision, and this is truer for the financial weaker households. Capri home loans that are granted to anticipatory home owner are flexible and customised to meet the borrower’s needs.
Construction Finance- We also contribute the cause of affordable housing by providing loans up to 25 crores to small and mid-sized real estate developers.
Expansion into Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 Cities- Rapid urbanization and saturation of Tier 1 cities have led a number of booming businesses, like Capri, to venture into smaller cities that lack financing options. We believe that success shouldn’t be evaluated by the profit earned but the number of lives we’ve touched. Smaller cities don’t mean the absence of financial needs. Our understanding of the nuances of the different locations has helped expand our footprint from 5 to 86 branches across North and West India. This strategic move hit two birds with one stone by providing financial aid to people in these cities while also boosting our growth.
Capri Global has grown 7 times in the past 4 years and stay our path of 30% growth y-o-y. What makes this possible is the fact that we put people, whether it’s customers or employees at the heart of what we do. We think of ourselves not as a business, but a catalyst that drives prosperity of Indians regardless of the size of their business, social class or gender. We treat everyone with dignity, respect and equity. We understand the needs of our unique customers and give them support through the application, loan sanctioning process and disbursal of funds. Finally, the transparency and flexibility we deliver helps us build trust with our key stakeholders including our customers, investors, sources of credit and employees.

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IT Managed Services vs IT Consulting Services: Know the Difference

Information technology (IT) is big today and enterprises from every domain have adopted information technology in order to streamline their business operations and increase productivity and efficiency. Some of the biggest IT companies today provide an entire range of services to cater to the varied requirements of the enterprises and their distinct business goals and objectives. So, you have IT consulting, managed support services, managed IT services, software development services, and so on. Here let us look at two of these services – IT Managed services and IT Consulting services – to understand their differences.

What is IT Managed Services?

IT Managed Services refer to proactive outsourcing of one or more aspects of a company’s IT infrastructure support and management to a managed service provider. The service provider is an Information Technology firm with a team of domain experts and is referred to as Managed Service Providers (MSP). In this model, the enterprise that seeks the services (the client) holds complete ownership of the IT infrastructure being outsourced while the liability of the provider only extends up to providing the managed services. There is a contract or agreement signed by both parties that defines the criteria and metrics to be adhered to.

While most big IT companies have an in-house team that looks into the management of IT infrastructure, small and medium businesses, including startups, cannot afford to have a team of experts working for them. This makes it difficult for them to keep up with the latest technology updates and security threats. Often non-IT professionals in the firm are forced to research on management of IT infrastructure, which takes up time and drives the focus away from other aspects of business operations.

Common Examples:

Systems Management
Backup & Recovery of Data
Data storage & Management
Management and Monitoring of Network Security
Human Resource Management
Production, Support and Maintenance of Software
What is IT Consulting Services?

IT Consulting Services refer to the practice of companies seeking the advice of domain experts on different fields of information technology in order to gain insights on making the best use of information technology to achieve their business goals and objectives. It is also called technology consulting and IT advisory, and basically involves an experts offering advisory or consultancy services to an organization (the client). The IT consulting industry involves three major types of consultancy providers – IT companies and firms, staffing firms, and independent consultants.

With the introduction of new concepts in technology, such as the Cloud, mobility and Big Data changing the business scenario, businesses have to constantly evolve their strategies in order to stay competitive. However, having an in-house team to strategize on the IT-based work and operations is not viable option for many small and medium businesses, primarily because of the costs involved and also the obvious lack of expertise and domain experts.

A client organization can hire the services of a IT consulting firm for different purposes, depending on its requirements. So, you have some IT consultants providing objective advice, others sharing their expertise and knowledge with the organization’s development team, and still others offering temporary help to crack a complex project successfully. However, the common goal of the IT consultants is to develop long-term and short-term strategies that help the client organization to drive business growth, and generate new revenue streams.

Common IT Consulting Services Examples:

Website and Database Development and Management
Expertise in use of complex IT tools and processes
Advice regarding the right IT investments
Insights gained from experience to help companies make correct decisions
Both IT Managed Services and IT Consulting services help organizations achieve the common benefits of cost savings, access to expertise and experience, time to focus on core business issues, and more. However, the basic difference is that while consulting involves seeking advice and suggestions from providers, managed services are about seeking their involvement in undertaking the project.

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