Performance Testing For Modern, Cloud-Based Apps

Performance testing has seen newer challenges in the cloud environment. Most businesses on restricted budgets find that online promotion or a strong online presence can help them. Further, many users prefer conducting their business online, making the case for cloud-enabled applications stronger. However, technology, including cloud technology, is dynamic and ever-changing. This presents newer grounds to cover, for performance testing methods as well. What worked well some months ago may not be adequate right now.

When it comes to performance testing solutions, the one element that comes to mind immediately would be real-time testing. But application monitoring needs to go beyond only real time testing, and bridge development and deployment, while keeping a sharp eye on its real-time performance. In cloud-based apps especially, the important of constant monitoring cannot be overlooked.

Certain elements are common to most application and performance testing.

Performance testing for cloud-based apps

Cloud-enabled applications have many advantages, such as helping to reduce operational costs. A small or mid-sized business firm can also successfully manage a business without needing to first make heavy investments in manpower or infrastructure in-house. Cloud based apps and resources use the cloud itself as a storing place, and the company that is harnessing it. Thus, testing for performance of cloud-based apps does not begin and end in the company's IT room. It is not dependent on the company that is using cloud technology. Instead, cloud-based applications will be affected by not just their platforms and environments, but also the different and rapidly changing environment within the cloud itself. Testing solutions for the performance of cloud based apps will need to take this into consideration.

Ensuring constant monitoring

Perhaps the one surefire method of ensuring strong performance of cloud-based apps is constant monitoring and hence testing and review methods too may need some modification. As part of performance testing of cloud-based apps, their ability to match expectations and requirements can be reviewed right from development up to deployment.

Updated performance testing solutions

Most cloud-based application monitoring is a service. If you have a vendor providing you services, you can ensure that your performance testing is in sync with the latest software changes and is keeping pace with the application updates. Your testing solutions could include a multi-pronged approach where the application is not tested in isolation.

Comprehensive performance testing

Your cloud-based application is dependent on its environment as well. Ideally, your application monitoring solution should take into account the working environment and the platform it is working on. Most performance testing should also reveal or detect discrepancies before they become apparent. For small or mid-sized businesses that operate through cloud-based applications mostly, sound performance monitoring and thorough and consistent application testing is indispensable.

About the Author:

Tevron develops and delivers Application Monitoring Solutions, Service Level Agreement, Performance Testing, and End to End Performance monitoring solutions available globally. Tevron has also successfully delivered enterprise Application Monitoring Solutions and Testing solutions to support every IT enterprise application to hundreds of customers across the globe. Tevron's solutions designed to support diverse environments, business processes and applications with a service oriented management.

Application Performance And The Challenges To Testing

Performance testing is vital throughout the lifestyle of any application. However, if done in the early stages of application development, it can help save organizations a significant amount of costs and efforts that may need to be put in at a later stage. Often, in the initial stages, pressures for quick deployment lead to rigorous performance testing being put off, or postponed for a later stage.

Reviewing performance of any application has to be an ongoing process, because despite rigorous testing, the real world throws up challenges that may be unusual or not understood previously. Even after different reviews and tests are conducted on particular software, assessing its efficacy in the real world can be a challenge, given network conditions and user behavior. Probably one of the biggest challenges faced by experts is accurately predicting application performance on the basis of its testing.

Not integrating product development with performance

Not many developers understand the need to integrate performance in the development and deployment plan for an application. As a result, performance testing gets jeopardized, beginning with development of the application. Also, the application may lose out on the benefits of performance testing applied in initial stages, costing the organization a lot more in poor performance or frequent performance glitches in the later stages. This can get compounded depending on which stage of its lifecycle the product is at. At post-deployment stage, the costs and efforts of fixing software issues can be high enough to cause significant damage in terms of money, and worse, user experience and loyalty.

For Automated Testing Requirements International Diversified Health and Well-being Company Selects Tevron

Nashua, NH. USA - Tevron, the leader in IT performance and end to end monitoring & testing solutions, announced today that a Global diversified Health and Wellbeing company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations, deployed CitraTest (http://www.tevron.com/citratest.asp ) for their automated testing requirements. They are a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting with over 120,000 employees worldwide.

Tevron was selected based on their powerful & flexible testing technology that fully supports every one of their very complex applications and environments (Windows 7, Citrix XenApp, Citrix XenServer, Web, Thick Client). Having one enterprise testing solution that intelligently supports every application, every Windows operating system and every version of Citrix is invaluable and cost effective. Unlike the products from other vendors, Tevron offers a tightly integrated, simplified and scalable solution that proactively meets the testing needs of their ever changing technologies.

About Tevron (http://www.tevron.com )

Tevron® is a global software company that develops and delivers the most powerful and comprehensive suite of End To End performance, Application Monitoring Solutions, SLA (Service Level Agreement) and Automated Testing Solutions available in the world today. Tevron has successfully delivered enterprise APM & Testing solutions that support every IT enterprise application to hundreds of customers worldwide.

Tevron, CitraTest, and the Tevron logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Tevron, LLC. All other company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

© 2013 Tevron, LLC. all rights reserved.

For more information:

North America (HQ)
Tevron, LLC
Phone: +1 866.788.3650

EMEA
Tevron, LLC
Phone: +44 (0) 2033 184 432

Germany
Tevron, LLC
Phone: +49 (0) 698 088 4043

Effective Application Performance Testing

Performance testing is not yet an established practice; it is a field that is emerging and soon would be an essential part of software engineering. It aims to evaluate system performance in terms of its ability to respond and continue to perform under specific conditions.

Performance testing can also be undertaken to determine how a system or application is performing in terms of resources consumption, time taken to complete one process or to check responses to certain tests it may be subjected to.

There are different types of application performance testing:

Configuration test: This is carried out to determine performance changes as a result of alterations in the system configuration or configuration of its parts.

Endurance test: Endurance tests examine application behavior and response under sustained activity or workload periods. Any decrease in performance quality or response time is noted. It is usually measured against values recorded at the beginning of the testing.

Load test: This test includes testing the application for its performance after specifying a number of users carrying out operations within a given time. This test can detect problems in the application software, depending on the criteria being tested.

Stress test: The stress test determines the extent to which the application can manage excess workload while continuing to perform at its optimal values. It helps to evaluate application performance, especially when expected load overshoots normal limits.

Another version of testing with increased workloads is called spike testing, where performance is evaluated while subjecting the system to unexpected spurts of high workload levels. Spike tests help determine whether the system will handle the sudden increase or fail.

Reliable performance testing

There are various performance testing tools and software to carry out reliable performance reviews. An ideal solution for performance testing should cover end-to-end performance of the system or application as well as evaluate it on the basis of real-time user experience. It should also determine whether the Service Level Agreement is being followed or not, as well as monitor the availability of critical applications and their performance before end users face problems.

The ideal performance testing software will not only detect problems, it will also generate an alert that will allow the system administrators to reach out and correct the error before detection by end-users.

About the Author:

Tevron develops and delivers powerful and comprehensive application performance solutions, service level agreement, end to end performance, and performance testing solutions available globally. Tevron has also successfully delivered enterprise application monitoring solutions and testing solutions to support every IT enterprise application to hundreds of customers across the globe. Tevron's solutions are scalable, flexible, and easy to maintain; they are also designed to support diverse environments, business processes and applications with a service oriented management.

Global Security Company Selects Tevron for its Citrix and Terminal Services Performance Testing

Nashua, NH. USA - Tevron, the leader in IT performance and availability monitoring & testing solutions, announced today that one of the leading global security companies that employs over 110,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, and manufacturing of advanced technology systems products, deployed CitraTest VU (http://www.tevron.com/citratest-VU.asp) across their enterprise for the performance testing of all of their Citrix & Terminal Services hosted, mission critical applications.

Tevron was selected based on their powerful & flexible IT performance testing technology that fully supports every one of their complex applications and environments (Windows 7, Windows XP, Citrix, Terminal Services). Having one enterprise performance testing solution that intelligently supports every application that is hosted via all versions of Citrix and Terminal Services is invaluable and extremely cost effective. Unlike the products from other vendors, Tevron offers a tightly integrated, non-intrusive, simplified and scalable solution that meets the needs of their complex technology business and their ever changing, cutting edge application environments.

About Tevron (http://www.tevron.com)

Tevron is a global software company that develops and delivers the most powerful and comprehensive suite of End To End performance, Application Monitoring Solutions, SLA (Service Level Agreement), Performance Testing, and Automated Testing Solutions available in the world today. Tevron has successfully delivered enterprise APM & Testing solutions that support every IT enterprise application to hundreds of customers worldwide.

Tevron, CitraTest VU, and the Tevron logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Tevron, LLC. All other company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

© 2011 Tevron, LLC. all rights reserved.

For more information:
North America (HQ)
Tevron, LLC
Phone: +1 702.518.7435

EMEA
Tevron, LLC
Phone: +44 (0) 2089 066 591

Germany
Tevron, LLC
Phone: +49 (0) 800 664 6695

Fortune-500 Technology Company Selects Tevron for its Application Monitoring Requirements

Nashua, NH. USA - January 12, 2011 - Tevron, the leader in IT performance and availability monitoring solutions, announced today that one of the world’s largest source of intelligent information for businesses with over 60,000 employees, deployed CitraTest APM (http://www.tevron.com/citratest-apm.asp) across all of their global locations for the monitoring and testing of all of their mission critical business applications.

Tevron was selected based on their powerful & flexible IT monitoring technology that fully supports every one of their very complex business applications (Web, Java, Thick Client, Oracle, Mainframe) and environments (VMWare, Windows 7, Windows XP, XenApp, RDP). Having one solution that intelligently supports every application is invaluable. Unlike the products from other vendors, Tevron offers a tightly integrated, simplified and scalable solution that meets the needs of their business and their ever changing technologies.

About Tevron (http://www.tevron.com)

Tevron® is a global software company that develops and delivers the most powerful and comprehensive suite of End To End performance, Application Monitoring Solutions, SLA (Service Level Agreement) and Automated Testing Solutions available in the world today. Tevron has successfully delivered enterprise APM & Testing solutions that support every IT enterprise application to hundreds of customers worldwide. Tevron, CitraTest APM, and the Tevron logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Tevron, LLC. All other company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
© 2011 Tevron, LLC. all rights reserved.

For more information:

North America (HQ)
Tevron, LLC
Phone: +1 702.518.7435

EMEA
Tevron, LLC
Phone: +44 (0) 2089 066 591

Germany
Tevron, LLC
Phone: +49 (0) 800 664 6695

Ensure that your monitoring system has these components

A strong monitoring system is required for all the businesses which deliver their products and services through applications. Constant and consistent monitoring of all applications in your organization will ensure that service level agreement conditions are upheld. If you are looking for a monitoring system for your business applications, you need to ensure that all your business requirements are met with. Some important components of a good monitoring system are as follows:

• Monitoring from the end users’ perspective
  
  A good monitoring system considers all the factors which affect the end users’ experience from not only within the firewalls but from outside them as well. The IT team can not only ensure that end users have a smooth experience by eliminating all problems in applications, they can also meet service level agreement conditions through such a monitoring system.
  
• Monitoring from end to end
  
  Your monitoring system needs to not only point out that there is an error in applications, it also needs to guide the IT team to where the problem lies exactly. Look for an appropriate monitoring system which monitors all processes from end to end. This will make the process easy for your IT department and help you with fulfilling the service level agreement terms. You should also support your monitoring system with a good performance testing tool, which will help you improve the performance of your applications.
  
• Ease of use
  
  Ensure that your monitoring system is easy to use, so that it doesn’t take up a lot of time of your staff in deployment and analysis. If the tool you deploy is too complicate or time consuming, it will fail to serve its purpose as an independent tool.
  
• Reliable
  
  If you want a monitoring system for the long run, look for an experienced service provider, which provides customized solutions. Getting a reliable tool from the beginning will ensure that you are able to meet end user expectations and are well equipped for future performance problems as well. The combination of a strong monitoring system with regular performance testing will ensure that you meet all service level agreement terms with ease.

There are a lot of service providers in the market today which provide reliable monitoring systems for small and mid-sized businesses. Search for a reputed service provider who will become your long term partner in solving application performance issues.

Performance testing: Importance and objectives to keep in mind

Organizations which depend on applications for mission critical activities are increasingly turning to performance testing to overcome bottlenecks. Through effective performance testing, such small and mid-sized businesses can evaluate whether their application performance is up to the established standards. It also helps them in avoiding down time which affects bottom lines of their business. Such a defined performance testing process ensures that all service level agreement conditions are met. The following are some importance and objectives of performance testing to keep in mind.

Importance of Performance Testing

• If mission critical activities depend on applications, performance testing improves the overall quality of services which are provided


• Performance testing is needed to make sure that all applications are running on time so that end users do not face any problem and have a smooth and satisfactory experience


• It also helps in meeting the terms of the service level agreement


• Clients can be satisfied by providing them with a fast and reliable application through performance testing of all important applications

Objectives of Performance Testing

• Helps when IT teams need to compare the performance of multiple applications


• Performance testing minimizes application costs


• Enables faster response time of applications


• Is useful in spotting application bottlenecks and solving them


• Helps in meeting service level agreement terms


• Through performance testing, IT teams can meet application criteria set by a company and its clients

The importance of performance testing in a business setup cannot be over stressed. Most of the small and mid-sized businesses have started using customized packages from experienced vendors for testing their applications. Spotting the need for custom performance testing solutions, a lot of APM vendors have also entered the market. A customized performance testing solution will not only help in spotting and eliminating application performance issues, it will also help with service level agreement conditions.

Thinking of undertaking performance testing for your applications? Some tips to help you out

Performance testing may seem a simple enough task, but it troubles a lot of businesses. When a business owner is asked the reason of undertaking performance testing, he/she might be unable to point to specific reasons. However the main objective of performance testing is to determine application performance in some pre-determined conditions. It helps track the performance of an application, so that the IT department can overcome problems, if any. It can also help IT managers undertake business service management effectively. Performance testing has different purposes for different businesses. They may be:

• Identifying problems in application performance


• Making sure that all applications are of a certain standard


• Comparing application performance of different applications

Some tips for effective performance testing are:

Set specific performance criteria for your applications

Keep your end users in mind when you are setting application performance criteria. You need to meet the expectations of your end users, so keeping them in focus while setting the criteria is very important. Inquire about the problems end users face and the kind of expectations that they have. That way, you will know what your applications need to achieve at the end of performance testing experiments. Most businesses undertaking performance testing have two goals: to meet customer expectations and to meet IT service management goals.

Database is very important for performance testing

Performance testing is usually undertaken by stimulating user sessions and then noting the response times of applications. Load testing is also a part of application performance testing to check the effects and problems, if any, of multiple user sessions. This is especially true in case of businesses which give importance to IT service management. The database has a very high impact on the end user experience. For example, an end user may complete a transaction fast if it is inserted in and empty table, but the response time will be slow once the table grows. The database is hence very important for the performance testing objectives.

Plan for performance testing

If you want the performance testing to be successful, you need to plan in advance. For instance, application performance can be ensured by getting scalable architecture, hardware resources etc. with such strong resources, IT managers can see to it that all applications are performing as per the standards established. A lot of vendors offer custom performance testing solutions, which can help ensure that applications across the organization are working well. Such solutions also help in meeting business service management goals. You should also get to know from end users which applications they use frequently so that you can save time on performance testing of applications which are rarely used.

Reduce application performance issues through strong monitoring tools

When a business provides web services or relies on applications for delivery of services, end users react as soon as there is a problem in application performance. The business will receive calls and emails from end users complaining of lost productivity and depleting revenue as soon as application performance falls below the expected threshold. IT and network managers generally struggle to handle complaints from end users and alerts from monitoring tools at the time of application failure. The main reason for this problem is the deployment of multiple tools within the organization to measure application performance; when applications fail, all of these monitoring tools generate alerts, and IT and network managers struggle to find the root cause amongst so many tools.

Multiple tools for gauging the application performance is a complication that IT and network managers can do without. That is why an end-to-end monitoring tool is required to ensure that downtime can be avoided. Even if applications are down, an end-to-end solution ensures that the root of the problem can be identified quickly and downtime can be minimized. Such a tool can be combined with regular performance testing to ensure that all applications are monitored and end users have a consistent and satisfying experience.

In addition to being an end-to-end solution, a monitoring tool also needs to generate real time alerts so that optimum application performance can be ensured at all times. IT managers can know the performance of all applications through the real-time alerts related to application availability and their response times. Such a monitoring system generally allows managers to establish certain thresholds. When these set thresholds are crossed, the system generates an alert so that IT managers can stop end users from being affected by any problem in the applications. This technique, along with performance testing, can ensure that application performance is up to the par.

The monitoring tool also needs to be consistent and proactive for successfully measuring application performance. Such proactive measures will ensure that any issues with the application can be resolved as soon as possible. Proactive monitoring also means that small problems can be prevented from becoming huge issues, and application performance is optimized. This way, all business-critical applications can function 24/7 without a problem.

Having a monitoring tool which gauges application performance in all the above-mentioned ways helps IT and network managers in making sure that they reduce the number of irate calls from end users about application downtime.

Service Level Agreements: Some features and advantages

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is an important step for establishing a business engagement. When a Service Level Agreement is signed between a vendor and a client, it contains the parameters which will guide the business relationship. A SLA defines the deliverables, priorities, responsibilities and guarantees/warranties associated with the services provided. Service Level Agreements are particularly important for IT service vendors, as buyers specifically look for vendors who define the terms and conditions and roadmap for achieving the deadline of the project from the start. Having established standards and procedures to follow will also allow effective IT service management and performance testing for all business applications. Vendors who wish to get outsourcing projects from IT companies need to have a strong Service Level Agreement to convince them to outsource to them. Forming, tracking and managing SLAs is also an important aspect of the business engagement.

The IT service industry gives particular importance to a Service Level Agreement in all its contracts. Critical business functions depend on softwares and a single malfunction in IT operations can severely damage the bottom line and business functionality. It is hence very important to have a defined process and strict rules to ensure that the promised IT services will be delivered. A Service Level Agreement helps define these processes and regulated the business engagement. It not only helps in IT service management, but is also a good tool for performance testing.

Features of a good Service Level Agreement

A Service Level Agreement is generally customized according to a client’s requirement and hence differs from client to client. However, an effective SLA has some common key aspects. 5 of the most important aspects an SLA should include are:

• Definition what services are being provided


• What the measurement criteria for services will be


• Method of delivery of services


• Action to be taken if the provider fails to deliver as promised


• What the quality standards of the services will be

Advantages of having a SLA

The vendor and the client both benefit from having a Service Level Agreement in place before the start of the project. Some of the important advantages a SLA are:

• Documented evidence of business engagement


• Defines what the quality expectation will be


• Defines the implementation of the agreement


• Becomes a referring point in case of disagreement between both parties


• Gives a standard against which the quality of the services can be measured


• The goals and methodology are clarified from the start

Want to undertake performance testing for your business applications? Importance and objectives you should know

Performance testing is being increasingly undertaken by organizations which depend on applications for critical business activities. Such performance testing of applications can help evaluate how the applications are performing and are crucial for avoiding downtime in mission-critical applications. IT teams can ensure that all applications being tested are available on time so that the bottom line of the organization is not affected by outages. Such availability can also ensure that all service level agreement conditions are met. For you to test the performance of your business applications, you need to know why you require it and what objectives performance testing can achieve for your organization.

Performance Testing: Importance


• Performance testing of all business critical application is important as it helps in improving the overall quality of services provided


• It is only through performance testing that you can ensure that all applications are available so that the end users have a smooth and satisfactory experience when buying your products or services


• Testing is also important if you want to meet all the terms mentioned in the service level agreement


• You can also avoid facing bottlenecks which hamper your business growth. Testing of applications ensures that all problems are solved before the applications go into the production stage


• Performance testing of applications helps meet the expectations of clients for a fast and reliable application
  

Performance Testing: Objectives


• Comparing the performance of two or more applications


• Analyzing the bottlenecks in applications and creating a plan for solving them


• Minimizing the costs through performance testing


• Reducing the response time of applications


• Meeting service level agreement conditions


• Ensuring that all applications meet the criteria set by the organization and its clients


• Eliminating any error or malfunctions in all applications before they go into the production stage

A majority of organizations which use applications for revenue-generating activities have realized the importance of performance testing and are using the appropriate tools which help them maintain the heath of their applications. Until a few years ago, multiple testing solutions were required for different applications. But with the rising popularity of performance testing, APM solution providers now provide integrated tools which cover all applications across an organization. There are many professional APM solution providers which can provide a customized performance testing tool for your organization, with which you can optimize the performance of all applications. This will not only help you meet service level agreement conditions, but will also prevent downtimes in critical applications.

Thinking of undertaking performance testing? Some objectives to keep in mind

Performance testing helps businesses and IT departments to ensure that their systems perform optimally under particular loads. This is especially useful in cases where the applications are critical to the bottom line of the business. Through performance testing, IT professionals can determine how applications perform in certain pre-determined conditions. They can also solve bottlenecks which hamper business service management goals. Performance testing is hence vital in ensuring that all applications are available, stable and speedy when put under load and that service level agreement conditions are met.

Since testing is vital for IT service management, it is crucial to keep its overall objectives in mind when testing your applications. Various performance testing objectives to keep in mind are:

• Improving application performance


• Solving application bottlenecks


• Ensuring that business applications uphold certain standards


• Comparing application performance for two applications


• Minimizing response times of applications


• Assessing the stability and performance of applications


• Ensuring that end users have a smooth experience


• Conforming to the established service level agreement conditions


• Minimizing organization costs through performance testing

Businesses which depend on various applications for revenue-generating activities have increasingly started using performance testing tools to ensure that all applications are fully functional at all times. Performance testing is also included in the business service management goals of all such businesses. Until recently, a business required many testing solutions in order to cover all applications used by it. However, now many APM vendors provide performance testing solutions which cover each and every application across the organization, which makes the process uncomplicated and affordable.

Keeping the above-mentioned performance testing objectives in mind will not only help you get clarity while testing your applications, it will also help you in selecting a testing solution which meets all your testing goals.

Why should you undertake performance testing for your business applications?

It might seem as a simple enough question, but many businesses have trouble answering it specifically. So why do we undertake performance testing? The answer to that is “To determine the performance of application in certain pre-determined conditions.” By undertaking performance testing for your applications, you can not only track application performance under certain conditions but can also perform IT service management successfully. With performance testing, IT teams can know how an application performs under a particular workload, and solve bottlenecks, if any. The purpose of performance testing may be:

• Identifying application performance bottlenecks
• Ensuring that all business application meet a certain criteria
• Comparing the performance of two applications

Some things to keep in mind while undertaking performance testing of applications are:

Setting precise application performance criteria

While setting application performance criteria, keep the end users in mind always. Performance testing is undertaken for the main purpose of meeting end users expectations; hence the end users’ perspective is very important for performance testing. Interact with end users regarding the problems they face and what their expectations are. Most businesses which undertake performance testing want to ensure that they meet customer expectations as well as meet their business service management goals.

The importance of database in performance testing

IT teams usually undertake performance testing by having simultaneous user sessions and noting the response times of applications. Load testing is also performed on applications to check the effect of multiple simultaneous user sessions. This is crucial for companies which give importance to IT service management. That said, the database has a drastic effect on the end user experience. As an example, a user can have a transaction very fast if it is inserted in an empty table; however, the response time may be slow once the table grows. IT teams hence need to give importance to the database for performance testing of applications.

Plan it properly

Performance testing needs some planning in advance. For example, you can ensure application performance by getting scalable architecture and strong hardware resources for your business. Only after this is taken care of, IT managers check whether all applications are available and working well. This can be done with a performance testing solutions from a trusted vendor. This will also ensure that business service management goals are met with. Interact with end users to get an idea of the applications they use frequently and the kind of problems they face. That way, you can save the time spent on performance testing of applications that are used rarely by users.

Tevron Solutions Fully Support all Microsoft Dynamics Environments

CitraTest, CitraTest VU, and CitraTest APM are the only single license, integrated solutions for conducting application performance monitoring, functional, regression and latency testing for every enterprise application that is accessible from a Windows based machine.

Nashua, New Hampshire, March 5, 2010 – Tevron today announced the addition of support for all Microsoft Dynamics environments to its suite of APM & Testing solutions. Microsoft Dynamics is a line of familiar, adaptable enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions designed to meet almost any business need and help people make important business decisions confidently. With the latest releases of CitraTest, CitraTest APM, and CitraTest VU, Tevron again is taking the lead role in the APM & testing industry in providing support for every Microsoft Dynamics environment. As companies across the world move towards Microsoft Dynamics, Tevron’s APM & testing solutions will continue to offer the industry lead for application monitoring, load testing, and general automation for those deployments.

To learn more about Tevron’s automated testing solutions or to request additional information, please call +1.702.518.7435 or visit www.tevron.com.

ABOUT TEVRON

Tevron® is a global leader in APM and Automated Testing. Through our all encompassing customer-centric vision and advanced technology, our APM & Testing Solutions allow the unique flexibility of supporting every application across the enterprise with one methodology delivering the ability to test, monitor, enforce SLAs, and optimize performance with confidence and ease. Founded in 2001, Tevron® is a global organization and is privately held. Our vast and diverse range of customers are global leaders and include companies such as Alcon Labs, Alverno, Northrop Grumman, Xerox, Hewlett Packard, Siemens, and Lucent Technologies, to name a few.

TRADEMARKS

Tevron, the Tevron logo, and CitraTest are registered trademarks of Tevron, LLC. Microsoft Dynamics is a registered trademark of Microsoft. All other product references herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Performance Testing: 3 Tips To Effectively Test Application Performance

Application performance testing is undertaken by companies to determine the performance, availability, speed and reliability of applications. IT departments usually undertake performance testing to note how applications perform under different types of workload. Performance testing of applications is used for different purposes: it can be used to identify performance bottlenecks, to ensure that the applications meet set criteria or to compare the performance of two applications. Performance testing of applications hence helps IT managers in IT service management and also to meet terms of service level agreements by ensuring application availability and reliability.

The following are three tips for performance testing that can make the process easier for you:

1. Set Specific Performance Criteria

Application performance criteria need to be set keeping the end users in mind. Without an idea of their expectations, performance testing may be rendered useless. Take inputs from end users regarding the problems they generally face and what they expect from applications. Companies dealing in various industrial verticals are increasingly using performance testing solutions to ensure that their IT service management meets customer expectations. Only if end user expectations are satisfied can the performance testing activities prove successful.



2. Take the Database into Consideration for Performance Testing

Simultaneous user sessions and their response timings are usually taken into consideration while undertaking performance testing. Load testing is also performed on applications to check the effect of multiple simultaneous user sessions. Such steps are essentially important for companies involved in IT service management. However, the database affects the end user experience drastically. For example, a transaction for a user can be very fast in case it is inserted into a table which is empty; however, the response time deteriorates once the table grows. Taking the database into consideration is hence vitally important for performance testing of applications.



3. Don't Overdo it

You need to take some points into consideration in order to optimize application performance. For example, before even getting involved in performance testing, optimum application performance can be ensured through scalable architecture and strong hardware resources. Performance testing of applications is then done by IT managers to double check that all applications are available according to the service level agreement requirements. However, you should not overdo it. Talk to end users about which parts of the application they use most frequently and concentrate on optimizing those parts for performance. Don't spend more time than required on performance testing of rarely-used application features.

5 Steps To Developing A Service Level Agreement

An important characteristic of completing a business engagement is the service level agreement entered into by the customer and the service provider. SLAs set forth the service levels expected by the customers and deliverable by the service provider. They are especially of importance in businesses in which mission-critical services are supported by applications/softwares and a single malfunction in the IT operations can damage the bottom line of the business in a major way. A service level agreement determines the terms and conditions of the services and creates a roadmap for achieving the goals of the project. SLAs can provide the network administrator with complete details on application availability and is a great tool to application monitoring and performance testing.

However, the process of determining a service level agreement is lengthy and complicated. Industry experts recommend a step by step process for developing a SLA which is explained below.

1. Basic Information
   

Gathering of basic information on part of both the customer and the service provider is the first step in developing a service level agreement. Before any commitments are made in the SLA, the customer needs to spell out his requirements clearly and the service provider needs to verify whether meeting those service requirements is realistically possible. Without this basic understanding, a service level agreement cannot be successful.



2. Establish the Process of Working Together
   

This is a critical step in establishing a service level agreement. When there are two parties involved, there are bound to be differences in communication style, expectations, working method etc. When these differences are identified upfront, the process of working in tandem with each other is easier to chalk out. Once this process is worked out, the exact steps to be taken will be known and the service level agreement will have greater chances of success.



3. Consensus
   

Many times, customers and service providers have two very different viewpoints regarding what a service level agreement can achieve. Negotiations for SLAs are known to have broken down due to differences in viewpoints. It would help this purpose if both the concerned parties hold an open discussion to ensure that their viewpoints match. Any differences in expectations can then be ironed out at this stage and the service level agreement can be developed further.



4. Develop and Approve the Final Draft
   

This step involves developing the structure and content of the service level agreement. This is a time-consuming process, with customer as well as the service provider discussing, negotiating, and after a time arriving to the conclusion regarding the terms and conditions to be included in the service level agreement. Even after the draft is created, members of both the parties who are responsible for the success of the SLA should be allowed to review it and offer suggestions. After such discussions and revisions, the service level agreement can be finalized.



5. Applying and Managing the Service Level Agreement
   

Even after application of the service level agreement, its management remains an important aspect. There should be a member from both parties who has to be a point of contact in case of problems related to the SLA. In addition to this, constant reviews with regards to services provided, modifications in the existing service level agreement, enhancements to the services provided etc. need to be taken care of through the management of SLAs. Finally the teams at both ends need to be taken into confidence so that they help achieve the goals of the service level agreement.

Developing and entering into a service level agreement is a complex process and requires a lot of attention. Through the above-mentioned steps, a successful service level agreement can be developed and entered into.