Fewer than one in five businesses report efficiency in their software testing procedures, underscoring the vulnerability of IT systems globally.
- Recent research reveals a significant gap in effective software testing, with only 16% of firms satisfied with their processes.
- Despite integrating AI applications, 68% of surveyed businesses face performance-related issues, raising concerns over current testing standards.
- The CrowdStrike outage exemplifies the critical need for robust testing, affecting major infrastructures and causing widespread disruption.
- Industry experts advocate for incremental deployment strategies to preemptively address software issues before they escalate.
Fewer than one in five businesses report their software testing practices as efficient, a recent survey commissioned by Leapwork discovered. This revelation underscores the precarious state of IT systems worldwide, especially in light of recent outages affecting global infrastructure.
The survey highlighted that while 85% of respondents have incorporated AI applications into their technology stacks within the last year, a notable 68% have encountered performance, accuracy, and reliability issues. This has heightened concerns about the efficacy of existing software testing protocols. For executives, the perception of inadequacy rises to 73%, compared to 62% among software engineers and technical leads.
Robert Salesas, CTO of Leapwork, emphasised the lessons from the CrowdStrike incident as a warning of the critical importance in comprehensive software testing. He noted, “Insufficient testing can allow critical issues to slip through, leading to widespread disruptions that affect millions of users and compromise business operations.”
Moreover, the absence of canary releases or phased rollouts was criticised for its role in escalating undetected issues, suggesting a shift towards more stringent testing protocols could mitigate similar future disasters. By implementing progressive release strategies, organisations might safeguard their operations against substantial operational disruptions and financial losses.
The impact of the CrowdStrike update failure was profound, severely affecting major entities such as banks, media outlets, airports, and businesses like the London Stock Exchange. The malfunction resulted in billions of pounds being wiped from market valuations of top tech firms. In response, CrowdStrike’s CEO, George Kurtz, issued an apology acknowledging the widespread inconvenience caused, noting the ongoing challenge of restoring systems, “We’re deeply sorry for the impact that we’ve caused to customers, to travellers, to anyone affected by this, including our company.”
In light of these events, it is evident that enhancing software testing protocols is paramount to safeguarding against future disruptions.
