News

Compuware Enhances Support for .NET, Oracle and SAP in QACenter

• By Lana Gates
• March 23, 2005

Compuware Corp. has enhanced its QACenter automated functional and performance testing suites in both the enterprise and performance editions. The enterprise edition now includes TestPartner 5.3, the most recent version of Compuware's functional testing software. The performance edition features enhancements to Compuware's load testing application in QALoad 5.2.

Designed for testing complex applications based on Microsoft, Java and Web-based technologies, TestPartner 5.3 features improved support for Microsoft .NET, providing the capabilities to automate third-party .NET WinForm controls using Object for .NET. The upgrade also includes extended support for all environments with Unicode enablement. This allows organizations to test mission-critical applications regardless of their language, company officials report.

The most significant enhancement in TestPartner 5.3 for a Paris-based provider of portfolio analytics for the global asset management industry is the capability to use third-party .NET components through the code, notes Bastien Maiziere, QA analyst. "Our new application is using .NET technologies with external components," he explains. "I was not able to automate a major part of the tests on this new application with the previous version. I can now recognize these components as objects and work with them."

As a result, he adds, "Compuware TestPartner 5.3 helps our QA and development teams automate full regression and generic tests on our applications, increasing the quality of our products. Automation has a cost in terms of time and money," Maiziere continues. "But when it's done properly, automation is an investment with a positive return."

Although unable to provide a good estimate as to how this upgrade will impact his company's business, Maiziere believes it will be beneficial. "In the software industry we always have to face the ratio of time:quality. We have to deliver upgrades and new products very quickly with the best quality we can," he points out. "I think TestPartner is a great tool for that. Setting up regression and generic tests may take time and may be sometimes very complicated, but it's always a benefit in terms of quality."

Compuware's QALoad 5.2 load testing software for the packaged applications market has added support for OracleAS and Oracle E-business Suite and for the SAP 6.40 Windows GUI. The latest version also features increased support for SAP through enhancements to QALoad's Web middleware support to handle SAP portal-based applications. In addition, QALoad 5.2 includes enhancements to reporting and results analysis, the availability of real-time feedback during test execution, and post-test analysis with the addition of the "Worst Performing Checkpoints" report.

Pricing for QACenter Performance Edition starts at $50,000 for 100 virtual users. QACenter Enterprise Edition is $8,000 per concurrent user. All pricing includes one year of maintenance, and volume discounts are available.