As wireless devices get increasingly complex, a number of companies are urging wireless operators and handset makers to outsource their internal testing procedures to third parties. Like other outsourcing trends, proponents say outsourcing testing allows carriers and OEMs to concentrate on core areas of expertise.
Accenture last week closed on the sale of Nokia’s Professional Services Operations, which does testing for devices that use the Symbian Operating System. The new division, called Accenture Embedded Mobility Services, also plans to offer device testing for other OSes too, including platforms from Apple Inc., Research In Motion Ltd. and Microsoft Corp., as well as Linux-based operating systems.
According to an Accenture survey, 88% of companies surveyed do not do a good job of testing, which typically consumes about one-third of the product development process and impacts quality, cost and time to market. Even more so, as consumers begin to run more applications on smartphones, testing of such applications are expected to go from 2% of overall testing costs to about 30%, Accenture said. Accenture’s testing procedures can cut overall test costs by 30% to 50%, and increase the product’s time to market, said Abhijit Kabra, an Accenture senior executive in the Embedded Mobility Services unit. With the purchase, Accenture gains more than 160 employees, he said.
Device testing is big business. Metrico Wireless, which also tests handsets, estimates about $1.5 billion is spent a year on compliance and device approval. But carriers are also spending billions of dollars each year on handset subsidies, noted Des Owens, general manager at Metrico Wireless, which does independent testing for AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA Inc., Nokia and Motorola Inc., among others.
Knowing how a new device is going to perform on the network compared to other devices the carrier is selling can help the carrier make smarter choices about subsidies and marketing efforts, he said. Metrico just introduced an A-GPS performance testing tool to help carriers and device manufacturers make sure their location-based service offerings work properly on the network.
“Knowing a device can pass CTIA RF certification and FCC certification doesn’t translate into how good a device is,” Owens said. A device that tests well can be fast-tracked by carriers; devices that need more work to perform adequately can be pulled from the carriers’ launch cycle until they are up to par.
Spirent, which tests devices for Verizon Wireless and others, said the continued success of smartphones depends on working through all of the glitches that can plague an handset’s performance on the network.
As devices become more sophisticated, testing also has to become more sophisticated, Owens said. Metrico tests for voice and audio quality, but also for things like whether an e-mail being delivered to the device interferes with call performance.
Testing also is becoming more automated, rather than just using engineers testing a handset in the field.
Accenture’s testing framework consisting of remote, offshore, simulator- based and automated testing, called ROSA.
