$200 Million Mobile Application Testing Market Boosted by Growing Demand for Automation

The revenues from mobile application testing tools will exceed $200 million in 2012, finds a new study from ABI Research. About three-fourths of the current revenue base comes from tools that enhance manual testing, yet over the coming years the market will be driven predominantly by test automation. The growth from the automation segment will push the revenues close to $800 million by the end of 2017.

What makes testing mobile software more demanding than testing computer software is the sheer complexity of the environment, which stems from the diversity of relevant devices, operating systems, and networks. Furthermore, for consumer-facing apps the low barriers to entry and the intense competition over users’ attention mean that the first impressions are critical for any app’s success – and there can’t be good first impressions without adequate, rigorous testing processes. For employee-facing enterprise apps the cut-throat competition isn’t an issue, but in their case a poorly conducted quality assurance can result in user inertia and productivity losses.

Importantly, mobile testing has not evolved as an extension to the traditional software testing industry, but ground-up, with inventive start-ups responding to gaps in the market. Senior analyst Aapo Markkanen comments, “At the moment, there are two clear market leaders in Keynote’s DeviceAnywhere and Perfecto Mobile, but they are being increasingly challenged by disruptive entrants such as Experitest and Soasta. The client needs will change as the user interfaces and the features of apps change, so no vendor can rest on its laurels.”

Going forward, there will likely be far-reaching convergence between the mobile space and the wider testing market. Or as Markkanen puts it, “In a few years’ time, the most sough-after testing vendors will be the ones that can address the client enterprises’ needs comprehensively, regardless of the form factor and the input method. That will lead to some level of industry consolidation.”

These findings are from ABI Research’s Mobile Application Technologies Research Service, which takes a deep dive into various technologies that enable new and transformative applications. This research involves identifying early signals of how advances in areas such as Augmented Reality, HTML5, NFC, and Voice Recognition are translating into developer activity, as well as visionary predictions on how these enablers may reshape the industry in the future.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 70+ research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.

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