Clive Grummett - Senior Vice President, Europe
1. How long have you been working in the testing industry?
I have been involved in the technology industry for almost 30 years and have focused my career in the testing space since 1987. I was a founding Director of IS Integration (IS Integration was acquired by AppLabs in September 2006) and I’m now putting my efforts into expanding AppLabs in the UK and Europe.
2. How do you think the European testing market has changed in the last five years?
The testing market has matured considerably over the past five years, with testing emerging as a service in its own right; companies have come to realize that quality assurance procedures must be in place from the outset of any IT project.
The market has moved from being dominated by staff augmentation to the position where full testing services and solutions are now leading the way in providing reliable quality assurance for IT implementations. These solutions combine highly skilled and qualified testing professionals with proven methodologies and toolsets, to meet defined objectives for the quality and timeliness of IT delivery. Testing approaches are now being used to validate against requirements at all stages of the system lifecycle, and the companies providing these services accept responsibility not simply for providing suitable staff, but also for meeting business criteria that have a real bottom-line impact. Clients have realized the value this brings to their IT service provision, building confidence that their IT systems will support their businesses well and ultimately result in them providing better services to their customers.
In my view, the fundamental shift has been driven by the outward exposure IT systems now have in both a business and domestic context. IT is part of people’s daily lives, through email and internet access to on-line banking, ATMs, and self-service supermarket checkouts. The tolerance levels for “poor service” due to IT issues are, quite rightly, dropping rapidly, and it is (somewhat belatedly) becoming unacceptable to use computer errors as an excuse for poor service.
3. The needs and demands of clients in the testing industry are constantly changing. How has AppLabs adapted in order to meet these changing requirements?
Keeping abreast of changes within different market sectors has been fundamental in ensuring we adapt our service offerings to meet our clients’ changing needs. We need to keep up-to-date with new developments in all industry sectors. As an example, we work closely with industry bodies and analysts to stay informed of new compliance regulations in the banking, financial services and insurance industries. By having a clear understanding of the business challenges faced by our clients, we can tailor and expand the services we offer to best support them – it’s a more strategic view, but it’s one that has been met with open arms.
The globalization of the IT market has also helped us extend our offering so we can now provide onsite, offsite and offshore solutions, or indeed a combination of them all. This is an exciting opportunity for us and the industry –clients require a solution that they are comfortable with and that delivers the necessary results. By having more options for how and where the services can be delivered, we are able to provide them with the flexibility and effectiveness they demand.
4. In the past you have been active in lobbying for the need for independence in testing. Do you think the industry places enough importance on this?
Industry in general – and regulatory bodies – are starting to recognize the importance of this and in all honesty it has come a long way in recent times. However, there is still a long way to go.
The important thing to remember is that independent means objective – there are no hidden agendas or politics involved. It’s all about providing accurate information – regardless of whether it’s what people want to hear. Professional testing organizations, like AppLabs, have methods and techniques that ensure that level of objectivity, and therefore project decisions can be made quickly. It undoubtedly adds value to the project/program sponsor who ultimately foots the bill.
Our responsibility is to ensure that clients succeed in meeting their business objectives – we can do this by supporting a successful implementation.
5. What do you think is the biggest challenge in your job at the moment?
My entire job is a challenge! But two areas stand out; the first is not new, but is the platform on which AppLabs’ business is built - always to deliver an excellent service to our clients, so that we help them succeed in achieving their objectives; the second is integrating the European business with the rest of the AppLabs organization.
Other factors that I consider challenging in my role are ensuring our employees’ have interesting and challenging careers where their skills and capabilities are continually improved, that our client base continues to develop and grow and keeping abreast of changes in our clients’ businesses and the industries in which they operate.
6. What do you think is the hottest issue in testing at the moment?
Compliance and regulation is a major challenge for organizations. Most projects/programs aim to achieve a business benefit and therefore clients invest knowing that they will have (or should have) a return that adds to the bottom line – whether that be increased revenue or reduced costs.
Compliance is generally different, in that the agenda is nearly always driven by an outside party. Although compliance-driven change may still bring significant business benefit, because it is often viewed as an external imposition that diverts effort from internally-sponsored initiatives, organizations can be reluctant to commit sufficient resources to such change. Ultimately, though, the same parameters apply to any change no matter what the underlying reason for the change may be. A clear objective approach to quality and testing will definitely pay off in the long term.
7. How do you think the testing industry will look in five years time?
In the next five years I believe we will see the consolidation of the testing industry continue. The major players in the market will consist of two or three big independent testing companies and a few testing arms operating within the larger systems integrators.
Testing will be merged into the wider area of quality assurance and be recognized in its own right as an industry sector.
NelsonHall Report
What our clients say
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Kevin Knowles
Managing Consultant, Reed Professional Services