Highlights of the The Gartner Report can be read here.
You can get the full report if you fill in the form and click download here.
According to Gartners definition, a Niche Player is:
"Niche Players are usually those companies that either provide a unique testing solution to a specific use case or are newcomers to the market."
My questions:
Do you agree with SmartBear's current position as a Niche player?
Do you see the strenghts/weaknesses of TestComplete as stated in the report, in your day-to-day work?
Do you think SmartBear can achieve a position in the a Leaders/Visionairs quadrant? And if to achieve this, what do you think need to be focused on to achieve this?
Very curious to other peoples opinions and answers. All feedback is welcome.
Well, they're close to being dead centre (ie - a bit of everything) so I guess that's no bad thing?
They mention disjointedness between the tools on offer (which is improving I believe) and also this is based on more than just TestComplete, they also factor in other tools offered (API testing, Load Testing, Test Management etc). I only really use TC from SmartBear so not sure how the rest of their offerings stack up against the opposition.
But have used HP stuff in the past and it sounds like they have upped their game. I used to find QTPro (or UFT as it became) a little restrictive. TC covers more for me than QTPro did. And allows you more scripting flexibility.
IBM stuff is OK. I've also used that in the past (mostly Performance software). But it can be over-complex to use (I never liked the interface much) and support was never great (could say the same of HP/QTPro). And Virtual User bundle licenses were CRAZY expensive.
The BIG factor as to why I'm using TestComplete over these two now (I work for a smaller company now and had most of the say in choosing the software) is the cost, support and ongoing licensing costs. Which are WAY cheaper then the two above. And most of the rest as far as I know. And it covers almost all the stuff we use.
Selenium is all well and good if you ONLY want web. But even then, it has it's shortcomings. (I've used it with the Python bindings)
Colin_McCrae being in the middle doesn't really mean best of all.
The more situated to the upper right part of the graph the more vision and completeness/matureness can be expected.
I think TestComplete SmartBear has potential to enter the leadership quadrant (upperright) but the discussion here is started to think about what things need to be done to achieve this.
At least one thing I'd like to mention is TestComplete's SmartBear's interesting pricing! Definitely a pro for TestComplete. SmartBear
When I did my product evals back in 2014 they were in the Visionaries quadrant in August 14. Interesting to see where they are now. Also of note. It has Soasta, Borland, Microsoft and Oracle in the leaders quadrant as well. I dont feel like QTP/UFT is a better automation tool than TestComplete. I think HP has better Test Management tools though. We use QAComplete to drive our testing and its 'ok'.
SmartBear is in the Visionaries quadrant this year, based on its strong capability to support the needs of IT organizations, and investments in extending its test automation portfolio to address additional use cases. Its vision for automated testing has evolved to better address cross-browser and mobile application testing, API testing and Internet of Things (IoT) testing, as well as to reuse test assets in complex end-to-end testing scenarios.
As part of its wider portfolio of testing products, SmartBear offers test automation products for UI testing for desktop, web and mobile applications, as well as API testing and cloud-based cross-browser testing. SmartBear's TestComplete Platform enables QA engineers to develop automated tests using both keyword-driven and programmatic development styles. Its TestLeft product enables developers to contribute to test automation via an integration with Visual Studio or RAD Studio. Overall, SmartBear focuses on improving collaboration between development and test teams, and engaging in open-source communities (e.g., SoapUI and Swagger).
TestComplete offers broad support for Windows applications containing standard Windows or popular GUI framework controls, or built with .NET and Java technology stacks. Web and mobile application testing includes support for a wide range of web development front-end toolkits, desktop and mobile browsers, Selenium, and iOS and Android OSs. SmartBear also supports API testing and service virtualization, and integrates with build and CI servers, defect tracking tools, source control tools, and test management systems.
STRENGTHS
SmartBear is known for providing well-rounded capabilities for functional testing of desktop, web and mobile applications, as well as APIs and web services. It enables different roles to contribute to the process of creating and maintaining automated tests.
SmartBear's acquisition of CrossBrowserTesting has strengthened its capabilities in responsive web design testing on multiple browsers. It also enables support for Selenium and Appium, which can be combined with automated tests created using TestComplete and run as an integrated regression suite.
SmartBear has a strong community that supports customers and helps them to expand and customize products for their specific needs. It provides a plug-in framework that customers can use to extend TestComplete and share it with other users in the community.
CAUTIONS
SmartBear's support for automated testing of packaged applications is limited to Oracle E-Business Suite, and it offers no complementary capabilities such as business process or change impact analysis.
While the process of product upgrade is straightforward, some SmartBear reference customers have reported occasional product quality and instability issues.
SmartBear is strongest in North America and EMEA, but relies on partners for support in other regions.
I wonder if SmartBear Staff have any comments on the current position in the Quadrant? And, maybe some sort of statement regarding ambitions to remain/shift in the Quadrant?
