A test or software development environment is most times likely to consist of a thin client (Front End UI accessed via an Internet browser). A desktop thick or thin client which simply means that you install on your desktop computer and use a client-side component of a software application to access the rest of the application.

 

The other components that will make up a development or test environment can include, a middleware, an application logic, database layer. As it relates to our discussion here an application environment configuration layer that also needs to be accurate for the tested application software to work accurately.

 

These layers mentioned between them could hold configuration items or values that could run into the thousands or the millions depending on the complexity of the actual business application.

 

Automation tools and utilities such as Omnium Lite can compare and analyse these configuration items to ensure that the application code logic tested on a test environment will behave in the same exact manner when promoted or deployed to the production IT environment.

 

Such Automation tools and features as mentioned assist in the following manner:

 

• Reducing the occurrence of software bugs in the production IT system.

 

• Provides confidence and the certainty all code, application changes or new features or products developed in a development environment and tested in a test environment when promoted to the Production system will work.

 

• Minimises the several man effort hours at significant cost required to trouble shoot and investigate the anomaly when it manifests in the Production system.

 

• Reduces the occurrence of application down time, business disruption and minimises degraded customer experience due to system down time.

 

• It provides confidence to both middle and executive level management that new digital products, features, software applications etc when deployed to the Production IT system will work.