Cloud-native applications have become a staple in modern software development, streamlining organisations to create and deploy applications rapidly and at scale. With the increasing intricacy of these applications, developers are encountering a harrowing battle to guarantee that they are furnishing quality and steadfast products. This has ushered in an upsurge in the adoption of automation testing tools for cloud-native applications. These tools help developers uphold application quality, enhance testing efficiency, and diminish the costs associated with manual testing.
Cloud-native applications are distinguished by their use of microservices architecture, containerization (such as Docker), orchestration (like Kubernetes), and continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines. These attributes demand testing tools that can seamlessly integrate with these technologies and acclimate to the rapid changes inherent in cloud-native development.
This blog will discuss the top automation testing tools available for cloud-native applications. But before that, let us first have a brief understanding of cloud-native and cloud-native applications.
Let’s go.
What is Cloud Native?
Cloud-native refers to the software strategy of developing, deploying, and administering advanced applications in cloud computing environments. Modern organizations want to create highly scalable, adaptable, and resilient applications that can be updated swiftly to meet end-users’ needs. In order to accomplish this objective, organizations utilize contemporary tools and methodologies that inherently facilitate application development on cloud architecture. Cloud-native technologies facilitate swift and frequent modifications to applications while ensuring uninterrupted service delivery. Adopting these technologies endows organizations with an innovative and competitive edge.
How Cloud-Native Approach Benefit Organizations?
Organizations achieve competitive benefits in myriad ways when they create cloud-native software applications. Below are a few benefits of the cloud-native approach:
Increase Efficiency: The adoption of cloud-native development brings along agile procedures such as DevOps and continuous delivery (CD). Testers and developers utilize automated tools, modern design culture, and cloud services to create scalable applications rapidly.
Ensure Availability: Cloud-native technology authorizes organizations to build resilient and highly accessible applications. Feature updates do not result in any downtime, and organizations have the ability to increase their application resources during high-traffic periods to ensure a seamless customer experience.
Reduce Cost: By embracing a cloud-native approach, organizations can sidestep the expense of acquiring and sustaining expensive physical infrastructure. This leads to significant cost savings in the long run when it comes to operational expenses.
What are Cloud-Native Applications?
Cloud-native applications refer to software programs that are composed of several small, interconnected services known as microservices. Traditionally, software developers have employed monolithic application architecture, which features a single-block structure encompassing all necessary functionalities. By utilizing the cloud-native approach, developers split the functionalities into smaller microservices. With the adoption of the cloud-native approach, software developers can partition functionalities into smaller microservices. This design philosophy imbues cloud-native applications with greater agility, as each microservice operates independently and requires minimal computing resources to function.
Cloud-native applications utilize a collaborative procedure and are highly scalable on various platforms. Software developers leverage various software tools to efficiently automate the building, testing, and deploying procedures implicated in cloud-native applications. Microservices can be swiftly set up, deployed, and replicated, furnishing a level of agility that is unattainable with traditional applications.
Automation Testing Tools for Cloud-Native Applications
As modern organizations continue to shift towards cloud-native applications, the need for more efficient and effective testing approaches has never been bombed. The rise of DevOps practices and the need for swifter releases have placed a tremendous emphasis on automation testing tools. Automation testing tools for cloud-native applications are devised to help developers and testers guarantee that their applications are scalable, steadfast, and performant in cloud environments. These tools automate the testing procedure, from unit testing to end-to-end testing, to streamline developers to deliver high-quality software swiftly.
Nonetheless, with the extensive array of automation testing tools available in the market today, it can be daunting to determine the right one for your business needs. Selecting the right tool is paramount to achieving faster releases, diminished costs, and improved software quality.
Let’s explore the best automation testing tools that are specifically designed for cloud-native applications.
LambdaTest
LambdaTest is an AI-powered test orchestration and test execution platform that is excellently crafted to fulfill the testing necessities of cloud-native applications. This automation testing tool furnishes a comprehensive set of functionalities to streamline the process of creating, automating, and executing test cases for cloud-native applications. It allows running tests on large farms of 3000+ real devices and OS combinations. It authorizes developers and testers to efficiently perform their tasks and guarantee the quality of the software product.
With LambdaTest, users can readily create and manage test cases utilizing a straightforward drag-and-drop interface. Organizations can effectively make use of the automation capabilities of the platform, powered by AI, to carry out tests in a more efficient and precise manner. The tool also delivers a wide range of integrations with popular tools like JIRA, Jenkins, and Git, making it leisurely for users to incorporate testing into their existing workflows. Overall, LambdaTest is an immaculate choice for teams looking to streamline their testing efforts for cloud-native applications.
Features of LambdaTest
- This software application utilizes uncomplicated English commands for generating test cases, thereby requiring minimal technical proficiency for its operation.
- It also incorporates popular CI/CD tools.
- The tool can automatically update and manage your test cases, effectively reducing the need for manual efforts on routine tasks.
- LambdaTest delivers support for a range of programming languages, facilitating seamless integration into your technology infrastructure.
- It integrates with automation testing frameworks like Cypress, Playwright and Selenium.
Selenium
Selenium is a popular open-source automation testing tool for web applications. The platform provides a diverse range of features and functionalities that aptly cater to the requirements of cloud-native applications. Selenium is a versatile tool that furnishes support for various programming languages and frameworks, making it a highly adaptable solution for diverse application environments. Furthermore, Selenium provides effortless incorporation with cloud-based platforms like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, thereby facilitating the automation of testing procedures for cloud-native applications in a convenient manner.
Selenium stimulates testers to develop and implement automated tests in a distributed and scalable manner, a critical aspect of cloud-native applications that demand continuous testing and deployment. Selenium is a proficient automation testing tool that caters to cloud-native applications and guarantees the quality and dependability of said applications. It provides an extensive array of features and functionalities, making it a highly adequate choice.
Features of Selenium
- The most notable benefit of utilizing Selenium is its capacity to automate web application testing on a wide range of browsers and platforms.
- This software platform accommodates a range of programming languages, including Java, Python, C#, and Ruby, rendering it a well-suited option for developers and testers with diverse skill sets.
- Selenium possesses the capability to serve dual purposes of functional as well as regression testing, thereby demonstrating its versatility as a tool for conducting cloud-native application tests.
Akamai CloudTest
The Akamai CloudTest platform is a cultivated cloud-based testing solution that furnishes automated and intelligent real-time testing services for cloud infrastructures. The tool can be a useful option for DevOps teams looking to utilize a test engine that can imitate real-life performance scenarios. The platform presents a viable option for DevOps teams seeking a robust testing engine capable of emulating realistic performance scenarios. Irrespective of the test load, CloudTest efficiently determines and documents any application issues at a rapid pace.
Akamai CloudTest authorizes developers to simulate user traffic and analyze the application’s response time under different workloads. This tool furnishes integral support for API testing, which is particularly important for cloud-native applications that heavily depend on APIs. Furthermore, the tool offers seamless integration with widely-used DevOps tools such as Jenkins and GitHub, streamlining the process for developers to include testing in their Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment pipelines. Overall, Akamai CloudTest is a highly recommended choice for conducting testing on cloud-native applications, particularly those that necessitate elevated levels of scalability and performance.
Features of Akamai CloudTest
- The service authorizes teams to efficiently develop and re-use test parameters without documenting any line of code.
- It furnishes a customizable dashboard, authorizing teams to set their test necessities accordingly.
- The tool can execute a testing cycle even in a live production environment, thereby generating performance results that simulate real-life scenarios.
- The tool readily supports continuous integration. This allows for seamless feedback on app performance, enabling proactive identification of areas for improvement and timely implementation of necessary changes.
CloudQA
CloudQA is a robust automation testing solution tailored to meet the needs of cloud-native applications. This is a cloud-based software solution that empowers end-users to conduct thorough testing of their applications across various browsers, devices, and platforms concurrently. The tool furnishes a diverse array of features and functionalities that render it ideally suited for testing cloud-native applications.
CloudQA utilizes codeless automation testing technology that authorizes end-users to create and execute tests without writing any code. It also furnishes a thorough reporting system that facilitates end-users to track their testing progress and specify any issues or bugs. CloudQA is a highly suitable option for testing cloud-native applications due to its adaptable and expandable architecture.
Features of CloudQA
- It diminishes the time spent on writing codes for the tests; therefore, with limited coding knowledge, developers can utilize the tool.
- The platform furnishes a team collaboration functionality that facilitates distinct teams to collaborate efficiently and effectively.
- The tool facilitates scheduling the regression test.
- It delivers prompt deployment with minimal setup.
Conclusion
Automated testing tools have become an indispensable requirement for cloud-native applications owing to their ability to scale, deliver consistent results, and offer a cost-effective solution. As the need for cloud-based solutions boosts, the evolution and advancement of automation testing tools will persist, furnishing developers with superior means of testing their applications. It is vital to select the right automation testing tool for your precise requirements and to keep up with the latest advancements in the industry to stay ahead of the competition. By leveraging the power of automation testing tools, developers can guarantee that their cloud-native applications are of the highest quality and furnish a seamless user experience.
