Andrew Marshall
Sales and Alliance Director, Borland
1. How long have you been working in the IT industry?I have worked in the IT industry for 21 years and have been with Borland as the Sales and Alliances Director for the last nine months. Prior to this, I worked with Mercury Interactive for three years.
2. What is the biggest challenge for you in your current role? And why?
Borland see hundreds of companies we could partner with in the UK. The challenge is identifying those with the right balance of expertise, appetite to broaden their portfolio and market presence to ensure the relationship drives new business for both Borland and the partner.
3. What is Borland’s main focus/objective in the next 2-3 years?
Our main focus is to help our customers better manage their software delivery through Open Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Solutions. By focusing on the critical processes within the delivery lifecycle, we are able to improve predictability, visibility and efficiency, giving our customers increased control over the entire software delivery process.
4. What led Borland to select AppLabs as a gold partner? And how will this help you meet these objectives?
AppLabs is very well positioned and highly respected in the testing market both in the UK and globally. The company also recognized the need for requirements definition in the marketplace and the importance of developing a solution that goes beyond testing. AppLabs also had a strong commitment to partner with Borland which they backed up with actions and not just words.
5. By partnering with AppLabs does it give Borland any particular edge over the rest of the market?
AppLabs and Borland both value solutions rather than products and focus on the business requirements rather than the technology alone. To ensure a successful transformation, Borland employs best-in-class processes, technology, and skills training. AppLabs is vital to this by bringing in the processes and people and therefore completing Borland’s offering.
6. What do you think is the hottest issue in the technology industry at the moment that will impact the way organizations approach requirements gathering & management and testing?
Hot issues in the IT industry currently include the increasing complexity of IT systems, meeting compliance and legal requirements, and meeting the demand for offshoring and outsourcing. All of these challenges make it increasingly important for quality to be considered throughout the lifecycle of the project and the old “throw it over the wall” approach to testing will become obsolete.
Most companies employ some method of requirements management and some form of software quality testing, but most do not - or cannot - link them together. This linkage will become essential to ensure the QA team are involved earlier in the software lifecycle and that testing is performed against the original business requirements. .
7. How do you think this particular industry will look in the next five years? What would you like to see happen in that time?
I believe there will be a strong drive towards SOA. The push towards the agile market will also continue over the next few years with the design of systems moving towards small scale components to allow organizations to adapt easily to change.
8. What is your mantra/golden rule that would define your thoughts on the importance of quality software?
Errors and omission in defining, capturing and managing business requirements are a leading cause of project failures, defects and downstream re-work. Creating quality software is not just about testing; it’s about building quality in at the requirements and development stage. Test what matters, through the alignment of testing requirements with testing priorities.
What our clients say
“AppLabs understands our business and what we are aiming to achieve. Our relationship is a true partnership where goals and objectives are shared and AppLabs provides innovative approaches and solutions to meet these.”
Geoff Hunkin
Director of Delivery (Information Solutions Division), Experian