The race to deliver software quickly without compromising quality is intense. Companies are constantly searching for ways to improve efficiency, cut costs, and maximise their return on investment (ROI).

Service virtualisation has become an effective solution to these challenges, but how can it benefit your business?

This guide will explain the essentials of service virtualisation and show you how to use it to improve your software delivery lifecycle and, most importantly, boost your ROI.

What is service virtualisation?

Imagine you’re building software that relies on several other systems or services—these could be internal components or third-party APIs. What happens if those services aren’t available when you need them for testing? It’s now when you rely on service virtualisation. It allows you to simulate those unavailable services so your development and testing teams can keep moving forward without delay.

In simple terms, service virtualisation is a way to create a ‘stand-in’ for parts of a system that aren’t available, letting you test your software as if everything is up and running.

Why should you care about service virtualisation?

Service virtualisation can significantly speed up your software delivery lifecycle. If you’re stuck waiting for certain parts of your system to be ready before you can test, you’re wasting time and resources. Service virtualisation eliminates this bottleneck, allowing you to test sooner and catch issues early in the development process. This speeds up delivery and reduces costs by avoiding last-minute fixes and reworks.

Key advantages:

• Faster time-to-market: Get your product out the door quicker by removing roadblocks in the testing phase.
• Cost savings: Reduce the need for expensive physical testing environments and cut down on rework.
• Better test coverage: Test a wide range of scenarios, including failure conditions, without disrupting other tests.

Steps to implementing service virtualisation for maximum ROI

Now that you understand the basics, let’s talk about how to implement service virtualisation to maximise your ROI.

Here’s a step-by-step approach:

1. Assess your current setup: Start by evaluating your current software delivery process. Identify the components or services causing delays or being too costly to use frequently. This will help you figure out where service virtualisation can have the biggest impact.
2. Create a proof of concept: Once you’ve identified the right areas to focus on, it’s time to create a proof of concept (PoC). This is a small-scale test to see if service virtualisation is the right solution for your needs. During this phase, you can calculate a good ROI for a business like yours by comparing the time and cost savings against the investment required.
3. Choose the right tools: Choosing the right virtualisation products is crucial. Whether looking at on-premises tools or a cloud-based solution like Planit’s Service Virtualization as a Service (SVaaS), ensure the product fits your needs. For businesses in Australia, it’s also important to consider the availability of local support and compliance with Australian regulations.
4. Integrate with your delivery management software: To maximise service virtualisation, integrate it with your existing delivery management software. This will streamline communication between your development and testing teams, making the entire process more efficient.
5. Monitor and adjust: Implementation doesn’t stop once the tools are in place. Regularly monitor the performance of your virtual services and make adjustments as needed. Monitor key metrics like time-to-market and cost savings to ensure you get the expected ROI.

Service virtualisation vs. mocking: Which is right for you?

It’s easy to confuse service virtualisation with mocking, but they serve different purposes. Mocking is simpler and is usually used for unit tests where you just need to simulate the behaviour of a specific service. On the other hand, service virtualisation is more comprehensive, allowing you to simulate complex behaviours across multiple services.

When to use service virtualisation:

• When dealing with complex systems or unavailable services
• For large-scale testing that requires accurate simulations
• In situations where you need to simulate a wide range of scenarios

When to use mocking:

• For simple unit tests
• When you only need a basic simulation
• In scenarios where speed is more important than accuracy

Understanding the difference between service virtualisation and mocking can help you choose the right approach for your project and ensure you use the most effective tool for the job.

Realising ROI: How to measure success

After implementing service virtualisation, it is important to measure its impact on your business. Start by setting clear goals, such as reducing time to market or cutting costs. Then, track your progress against these goals.

Key Metrics to Track:

• Time savings: Measure how much faster you can deliver software compared to before implementing service virtualisation.
• Cost reduction: Track how much you’re saving by using virtual services instead of physical ones.
• Quality improvement: Look at defect rates before and after implementation to see if your software quality has improved.

By monitoring these metrics, you can ensure that your investment in service virtualisation is paying off and adjust your strategy as needed to maximise ROI.

Discuss whether service virtualisation is right for your business

Service virtualisation could be the solution you need if you’re struggling with delays in your software delivery lifecycle or looking for ways to reduce costs and improve efficiency. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can implement service virtualisation in a way that maximises ROI and helps your business stay competitive.

Contact us at Planit Testing today for more information on how to get started with service virtualisation or to see how it can benefit your specific situation.