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Every type of product or service has an essential step: the tests. At some point you have to submit what was created to an analysis and check if everything is working as planned.
The conventional method, however, required that the solution be developed in its entirety, so that, in the end, it would be subjected to analysis. In case of failures the project should be refactored for error correction and retested.
This happens even today, including in the area of information technology. But what if it were possible to simulate a test environment with all the real variables still during the development of the product, in an easy way? Certainly, this would save time and minimize various expenses.
The good news is that this possibility exists and is available through the concept of service virtualization. Continue reading this content to understand a little more about this type of virtualization, aimed at medium and high complexity projects.
How does service virtualization work?
In another post we have already discussed some concepts and terminologies related to virtualization, as well as the advantages and the main types that exist. Now let’s go into another strand, focused mainly on professionals who need to simulate specific software behavior in a development environment. These behaviors can be the result of interactions with mainframes, databases, cloud servers, mobile devices, payment gateways, ESPs, CRMs, ERPs, and so on.
With service virtualization, therefore, it is possible to streamline the software development process by allowing parts to be tested independently, even before the end of the project, giving the opportunity to identify faults more quickly. And since the goal is to accelerate development and evaluate specific functions and interactions, there is no need to virtualize any API or service that is not strictly required in your test environment.
Imagine, therefore, that your team is developing an application that needs a payment gateway. In a real test environment, every time it was necessary to observe the functionality of this functionality, it would be necessary to make a real payment. By using service virtualization, it is possible to simulate this interaction within a virtual environment. In this way the technology analyst can identify the behavior of the application without being stuck to the solution of a third party or the completion of the project.
Is service virtualization for my company?
Increasingly, companies are using service virtualization to improve productivity, lower test costs, and deploy high-quality software in a short period of time.
While some companies still have a linear development and rely on third-party solutions, those relying on service virtualization can gain competitive advantage by being able to emulate large software applications, third-party services, and even full back-end systems. These virtual assets can also be shared and used reliably by the entire team, removing bottlenecks that could delay the production and time-to-market of a test application (AUT), for example.
By virtualizing the behavior of a CRM, ERP, or payment gateway in your system architecture, for example through simulated data and software responses, your development efforts can proceed freely and you can conduct tests as many times as you wish. In an increasingly dynamic corporate world, it becomes essential that responses be faster and more assertive, so service virtualization can be strategic for your business.
Which software to choose?
When choosing which software will assist in the deployment of these resources, the analyst must first think about the needs of his business. From there you can choose between commercial or open source solutions.
Open source tools have a low initial cost, or zero, but may not have all the options and settings required for your type of problem. Commercial tools may be accompanied by technical support, which may be essential to maintain the dynamism of operations.
If the manager is not sure about the best way forward, it is always advisable to seek the support of companies that provide specialized virtualization services. Thus it is possible to implement the appropriate processes and tools to meet specific needs, of the most varied types of business.
Go further!
You may still have questions about the feasibility of investing in this type of virtualization in your business. However, if you can identify that this type of solution can actually represent greater dynamics in your operations, go ahead and dig deeper into the subject.
As mentioned earlier, there are free and paid solutions that can be used. Commercial service virtualization providers also come up with interesting offers.
Now that you’ve taken the first steps, you know how service virtualization tools work and you know how they can become a differentiator for your business, it’s time to go beyond testing some open source applications, talk to your team IT, seek support from specialized professionals and analyze the implementation of robust solutions.
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