Why Every Company Needs a Digital Lab

A digital lab is a must-have for testing web and mobile applications. Here, we define what it is — and how to leverage it. 

What Is a Digital Lab?

A digital lab provides access to real devices and browsers though an automation interface with a guaranteed level of uptime, or service availability, to support Agile development of web and mobile apps.

Why Enterprises Need a Digital Lab

Mobile and web are now primary touch points for users. Thus, you need a digital lab capable of bringing the real user experience into the hands of developers and testers.

The Buyer's Guide to Web & Mobile Test Automation Tools

But there are complexity concerns and costs associated with building your lab, consisting of real devices and browser platforms. Here, we break down what it takes.

Right-Size the Digital Lab for Your Organization

It's important to right-size the lab for your organization. To do so, we will reference our annual Test Coverage Guide to identify the digital platforms to include in our lab as a representative set. You are encouraged to define your own devices and browsers based on your customer data.

Related Reading: Compare using a Device Farm vs. DIY vs. Testing Platform

From this guide, we will select the top 25 devices and the recommended 33 browser/operating permutations. We assume the lab has the capability to test across all devices and browsers concurrently. The cost calculations are estimated using Perfecto’s lab calculator and summarized in the screen capture below.

The key assumption here is that the lab must be always on during the work day to support an app team working in an Agile/DevOps enabled environment (i.e. testing in and outside of continuous integration processes). The reality is that the current assumption does not provide support outside of normal working hours, so nightly testing is not accounted for. This would add to the cost but was ignored for simplicity.

Of course, there's a lot more to test coverage than what's listed here. Learn more about test coverage in our test coverage index >>

Try Perfecto's Digital Lab Today

You could build your own lab. Or you could take an easier way and use Perfecto's cloud-based lab today. 

Related Reading: 4 Ways Perfecto Delivers ROI

Check out Perfecto's smart cloud testing lab — complete with mobile devices and leading web browsers, AI-powered analytics, and streamlined test execution. But don't just take our word for it.

Try it for yourself. Get your free Perfecto trial now.

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