New study from Capgemini reveals significant investment in application development expected in 2010

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Published 16 December 2009

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Capgemini, together with Sogeti, its local professional services division, today released the findings of the 2009 World Quality Report. This in-depth study of enterprise application quality assurance testing and emerging trends in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM), sponsored with HP, reveals that significant investment in new application development projects is expected in 2010. The majority of respondents – 88 percent – expect more investment from business leaders in this area over the coming year, despite the economic downturn, as IT spend shifts from a focus on just maintaining business operations towards new application development that provides a competitive advantage.

The study, which reached over 10,000 CXOs, IT directors, quality assurance managers and engineers around the world, reveals that nearly nine out of 10 respondents see application complexity increasing. However, while this may be expected to lead to a reduction in quality, the report indicates that this is not the case, as the majority of respondents agree that application quality has kept pace with this change.

Application complexity also has implications for the process of testing and quality assurance. The quality assurance resources of the future will require more diverse skill sets including application-specific, technical expertise to better guide the development team. They will also be required to have a deeper business domain knowledge and improved expertise in the automation of all stages of the ALM lifecycle. The study shows that 25 percent of respondents are already using automation for test cases, and 22 percent are using it for defect management. The survey results also indicate that there will be more emphasis on the earlier stages of ALM such as requirements definition and visualization. This organizational shift will help achieve a shorter and higher quality ALM lifecycle with reduced overall project costs.

The continued growth of application testing outsourcing

The findings of the survey also show that the outsourcing of application testing and quality management is set to increase in the next few years, with Europe realizing the biggest growth, outpacing all other regions. The study shows that 41 percent of European respondents say their organization is looking to increase outsourced resources for testing, compared to 29 percent in North America and 10 percent in Asia, as more companies focus primarily on their core business.

The trend towards quality assurance resources having IT and business domain knowledge is also increasing in outsourcing, along with more highly skilled capabilities. In the earlier phases of outsourcing, companies were seeking cheaper resources to support the business at a lower cost. As the competitive advantage of cost savings achieved through outsourcing levels off, the study reveals an average of 45 percent of respondents would increase outsourced testing resources if they could have more value-added services from vendors such as sector-specific, industrialized solutions.

“Application quality is at the forefront of the minds of many CIOs today. Organizations are increasingly challenged by having to develop new applications faster and cheaper, with stricter quality requirements than ever before,” said Olivier Picard, chief sales officer, Capgemini. “Companies will need to focus on accurately measuring their ROI to justify continued investment in testing and quality management services and technologies in the future.”

To respond to the changing realities of the applications landscape, Capgemini recently launched a global Application Lifecycle Services service line. It combines the robustness and productivity of its application outsourcing capabilities with the flexibility and speed-to-market of its application development capabilities. This new service line helps clients manage the entire lifecycle of applications from development to maintenance, including testing, implementation and optimization. In Q1 2010, Capgemini, together with Sogeti, also plans to launch an enhanced testing solution to enable organizations to maximize the investment in their IT systems through a proven approach to software testing and quality assurance.

“As businesses increasingly turn to new application projects to gain a competitive edge, they are looking for ways to lower project costs and address the growing complexities of new technologies,” said Jonathan Rende, vice president and general manager, Business Technology Optimization Applications, Software and Solutions, HP. “HP Business Technology Optimization software, which Capgemini leverages with their clients, can help businesses meet these goals and improve the customer experience by reducing time to market and delivering higher quality results throughout the application lifecycle.”

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About the study

The 2009 World Quality Report reached over 10,000 CXOs, IT directors, quality assurance managers and engineers at more than 400 unique companies around the world. All major industries were represented in the survey: Information Technology, Financial Services, Manufacturing & Logistics, Telecom & Media, Healthcare, Government, Research & Education and Energy. The global study included 46 percent of respondents based in North America, 26 percent in Europe, 11 percent in Asia and 17 percent from the rest of the world. In terms of the size of the companies the respondents represented, 40 percent worked in small companies (less than 1,000 employees), 18 percent were from mid-size companies (1,000 to 5,000 employees), 14 percent worked in large companies (5,000 to 20,000 employees) and 28 percent were from enterprise companies (more than 20,000 employees). In addition to the responses collected from survey participants, the content of this report is supported by Capgemini benchmark data carried out on client projects and best practices, as well as over 30 years of experience in testing and quality management.

About Capgemini

Capgemini, one of the world’s foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services, enables its clients to transform and perform through technologies. Capgemini provides its clients with insights and capabilities that boost their freedom to achieve superior results through a unique way of working, the Collaborative Business Experience^TM. The Group relies on its global delivery model called Rightshore^®, which aims to get the right balance of the best talent from multiple locations, working as one team to create and deliver the optimum solution for clients. Present in more than 30 countries, Capgemini reported 2008 global revenues of EUR 8.7 billion and employs 90,000 people worldwide.

Rightshore^® is a registered trademark of Capgemini.