November 19, 2015

Only 18 Percent of European Companies Have Implemented a Digital Testing Strategy, According to Research Sponsored by Accenture

NEW YORK; Nov. 19, 2015 – Research sponsored by Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and conducted with Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC) in Europe shows while 18 percent of companies have implemented a digital testing strategy, 82 percent of companies have yet to develop or implement one.

The report “Digital Testing in Europe: Strategies, Challenges & Measuring Success,” launched in October this year, reveals how digital disruption is pushing companies to reinvent their testing approach. Yet, many lack a clear path forward. “We collaborated with PAC on this research to highlight the need for companies to act fast and develop a holistic digital testing strategy. Without it, companies may end up with an unmanageable, piecemeal approach that puts their business at risk,” said Matthias Rasking, Europe and Latin America Testing Lead, Accenture.

The study prompts companies to question if they are prepared for digital disruption with a comprehensive testing strategy and appropriate investments in processes, tools and talent to handle application resiliency and security vulnerabilities.

Key research findings include:

• Digital is expanding: More than three quarters of companies agree that the expansion of their digital presence will be their number one IT priority over the next two years. This can have a significant impact on the testing and quality assurance function. The biggest digital testing challenges relate to supporting the integration of digital into existing applications and providing a consistent approach across multiple platforms of engagement.
• Quality is king: Quality remains the number one goal in testing both digital and existing applications, with an increasing focus on end-to-end business process quality.
• Budget pressure is persistent: More than 85 percent of the companies may find their testing teams challenged with budget pressure, coupled with the need to work more closely with the business leadership.
• Testing requirements are clear: Functional and security testing tops the priority list for more than 90 percent of the companies in terms of their digital testing strategies.
• Most companies have a patchwork approach today: The majority of companies use an array of tools (in-house, packaged, open source) and approaches (virtualization, in-production testing) as part of their digital testing strategies. Additionally, more than 60 percent of businesses use the same team to test both digital and existing applications.

“Social, mobile, analytics, cloud and increasingly the Internet of Things is redefining testing strategies. Adding more testing capacity is not enough. Companies need to develop improved processes and tools and find more specialized resources for testing digital applications, monitoring performance and proactively managing security across the IT ecosystem,” said Venugopal Ramakrishnan, Global Digital Testing Lead, Accenture. “Businesses that understand the implications and proactively transform their testing strategies will be best positioned to thrive in the digital era.”

“This study has shown that the digital agenda is having a profound impact on the testing strategies of many European organizations. It is moving testing closer to the business, driving them to leverage different tools, methodologies and external partners, and it is forcing businesses to change at greater speed,” added Nick Mayes, Principal Analyst, PAC.

The full research report can be downloaded here.

Research Methodology
The Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC) report on “Digital Testing in Europe: Strategies, Challenges & Measuring Success” is the result of a comprehensive survey conducted during July and August 2015 covering 200 senior testing and IT executives across several businesses (Manufacturing, Financial, Retail, Services, Public, Telecoms, Energy, Utilities and Transport) in Europe (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the Nordic region, Spain and the UK) each with more than 500 employees.

About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 358,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

To succeed in a high-velocity, software-driven world, Accenture Testing Services help companies transform testing into a continuous and efficient end-to-end quality engineering function. Accenture offers the entire breadth and depth of testing services across a broad array of applications, digital technologies and industries delivered under flexible business arrangements to help companies shape their digital future and lead their industry while delivering an exceptional customer experience. With more than 31,000 testing professionals across more than 30 delivery centers in 17 countries, Accenture serves over 1,000 testing clients across more than 40 industries. The company combines industry specialization, pioneering cognitive automation, digital leadership and cloud innovations delivered through an unmatched global network of alliances and delivery centers to power high performance.

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Contact:
Julie Bennink
Accenture
+ 1 312 693 7301
julie.l.bennink@accenture.com