“The model which has persisted up till now has been a heavy reliance on third-party platform providers such as IBM, who provide a managed service to government agencies which includes the development of mission-critical services and the hosting of those services on managed platforms,” commented Wayne Tofteroo, Head of Test Common Services at DVLA.

The ready availability of cloud platforms and the rise in agile and DevOps methodologies have driven an insourcing of key government IT services. It is now possible for government services to retake control of IT and take ownership of those of IT-enabled services.

This has created an environment where a government agency can develop a closer relationship with its new in-house IT Service Providers than it had previously with its outside service management suppliers.

Digital transformation

“A detailed commercial and contractual relationship has been replaced with a close internal relationship with the new IT internal organisations. This has facilitated a shorter path to change and enabled more experimentation in the delivery of services. There is a closer relationship between the teams that manage government services and the development teams that will enable the delivery of those services,” continued Tofteroo.

According to him, this has also been fuelled by the need to support a rapid programme of digital transformation because we are now in an era where most commercial services are delivered either via the mobile or web channel.

Tofteroo added: “Customers expect to be able to do their banking while sitting on the settee in front of the television, they are starting to expect the same from their government services. The commercial sector has found the delivery of convenience is synergistic with the delivery of cost reductions.”

Reducing costs

According to Ghulam-Abbas Hayat, QA Test Lead at TDCS Home Office, cloud computing also brings the below benefits:

1. Flexibility: Cloud computing offers more flexibility than traditional IT infrastructures.
2. Cost Savings: Cloud computing can save a large amount of money.
3. Collaboration: The cloud simplifies collaboration between government agencies. Data exchange and information can be provided over the secure cloud spaces between businesses and people so that it can available without the extra cost of post and delivery and risk of losing information in the transit etc.
4. Staff Availability: Finally, going to the cloud frees the IT department to work on projects because the cloud service provider takes care of regular maintenance and updates, as well as security checks and procedures. You can access your data remotely anywhere on the internet and as the work environment is changing like companies are getting flexible with work remotely. So, staff can easily access the system on the cloud, rather than only from desktops based in an office environment.

Tofteroo also noted that more of the validation and processing is effectively outsourced to a mobile or web-enabled channel when using cloud services, reducing the costs of the delivery of these services. This is clearly something that cash-conscious government agencies want to copy.

Written by Leah Alger

The post UK government firms commit to cloud computing appeared first on DevOps Online North America.

The programme has been let under the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Digital Outcomes and Specialists (DOS) Framework.

As part of the HOB programme contract, Mastek will develop robust and resilient solutions that comply with law enforcement and immigration user requirements.

Users of this service may include those in law enforcement, immigration, border force and HMPO staff who need to use biometrics in any number of situations and locations including custody suites, mobile locations, borders, passport offices and visa application centres.

Prahlad Koti, Managing Director at Mastek UK, commented: “Mastek has formed a strong relationship with the Home Office since we started working with them five years ago.

“We recognise the strategic importance of the HOB programme requirements and look forward to using our expertise in helping the Home Office protect borders and communities.”

Written by Leah Alger

The post Mastek provides DevOps capabilities to Home Office appeared first on DevOps Online North America.

The fourth annual European Software Testing Awards 2016 took place on 16 November 2016 at the magnificent Old Billingsgate in central London. The Awards were hosted by TEST Magazine’s Editor Cecilia Rehn who was joined on stage by presenters from leading industry service providers Micro Focus, Amdocs and Worksoft, as well as several members of the Judging Panel.

2016 winners

The first award of the evening was the Testing Management Team of the Year, which was awarded to Lloyds Banking Group. The judges felt that the Group Operations Business Testing Services (GOTS) management team exceeded all expectations during their pivotal role in the planning and management of testing processes for the large UK based financial services group.

Tech Mahindra were awarded the Worksoft Testing Team of the Year for their ability to create and bring in a brand new testing team, and make it a success.

The Best User Experience (UX) Testing in a Project category winner was Harman Connected Services, for creating a world class betting and gaming experience with Ladbrokes and demonstrating exemplary UX work by testing/assessing the ease of use of Ladbrokes’ new multi-channel product.

The team at Virgin Media were honoured with the Amdocs Best Overall Testing Project – Communication award, thanks to their developed ‘Einstein’ solution that resolves service faults quickly for customers and slashed the number of call-outs to customers’ homes.

The next award on the night recognised Tech Mahindra as having the Most Innovative Project. Tech Mahindra’s entry successfully validated the non-functional aspects of an IoT (internet of things) platform.

Sony Interactive Entertainment Group took home the award for Best Overall Testing Project – Gaming. This entry presented a mapping tool that singularised test data to one location, so that it can be searched, filtered and displayed in an easily digestible way.

The seventh award was awarded to Tech Mahindra who took home Best Mobile Testing Project after the judges agreed this entry presented the best mobile testing solution, which was developed for a leading European retailer.

After demonstrating their expertise of test management, test automation, agile, performance testing, and most importantly, their move into DevOps, nFocus Testing were awarded with Leading Vendor. QA Mentor was recognised with a Special Commendation in this category.

Judges felt that Isabelle Magnusson from Ticketmaster was deserving of the Testing Manager of the Year award. Isabelle has shown great leadership skills, demonstrating Ticketmaster’s values in building their QA team.

The Best Test Automation Project – Non-Functional was awarded to Tech Mahindra for demonstrating the best use of non-functional automation in a software testing project.

Aaron Gibbon from BJSS was honoured with the award for Graduate Tester of the Year for his integral role in the testing of BJSS’ flagship NHS Spine 2 project, in which he single-handedly produced core test automation components on which the programme relies and which the NHS still continues to use.

Maveric Systems in partnership with Metro Bank was awarded the Best Test Automation Project – Functional for its use of functional automation in a software testing project. HARMAN Connected Services was awarded a Special Commendation in this category.

The Best Overall Testing Project – Finance was awarded to Brickendon Consulting for helping a large tier 1 investment bank roll out its new ecommerce platform across 30 different countries.

Marks and Spencer (M&S) picked up the award for the Best Overall Testing Project – Retail. The entry saw the successful initiation of the retailer’s ‘Distribution Centre 2’ program.

The judges awarded Cognizant Technology Solutions with Best Use of Technology in a Project, for the testing service provider’s design of a BDD-style testing framework with futuristic technologies like OCR and LUX sensors.

Home Office – Immigration IT Portfolio was recognised as this year’s Best Agile Project. Their testing project successfully demonstrated an agile approach to the judging panel.

Gojko Adžić, Partner at Neuri Consulting LLP was selected by the judging panel to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award, for his hard work in the sector, in particular agile testing.

The final, overall award was awarded to Tech Mahindra for the entry they submitted for the Best Test Automation Project – Non-Functional category. Gregor Rechberger, Product Manager at Micro Focus, was on stage to present the Micro Focus European Software Testing Award to the Tech Mahindra team.

About The European Software Testing Awards

The European Software Testing Awards is an annual event held in Central London celebrating the very best in the software testing and QA industry.

A full list of the Finalists in each category can be found here.

The Headline Sponsor for The European Software Testing Awards 2016 is MICRO FOCUS, and category sponsors are AMDOCS and WORKSOFT. The Awards programme is also supported by TEST Magazine, Software Testing News and DevOps Online.

31 Media, organisers of The European Software Testing Awards, The National Software Testing Conference and publishers of TEST Magazine would like to thank its sponsors for their support.

Written by Cecilia Rehn.

The post The European Software Testing Awards 2016 winners announced during Gala Dinner appeared first on DevOps Online North America.