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10 Top ERP Application Testing Strategies for Retail Efficiency

ERP systems and applications are the backbone of many retail operations. Pulling business processes into a single system, they simplify operations, enhance the customer experience, and offer important data insights. However, implementing an ERP system in a fast-moving retail environment demands rigorous testing to ensure the best performance.  

Good news! Thorough ERP system testing roots out problems before they start affecting operations. This helps to ensure smooth functioning, giving you maximum efficiency.  

Whether you're an IT professional or a C-suite executive, this blog will guide you through what works best with ERP testing to get your systems and apps running at peak performance. 

You’ll discover ten top ERP application testing strategies tailored for driving retail efficiency at the highest level. This includes finding out about the benefits of each approach and how ERP testing services can help optimize your operations. 

Ready to get started? 

Functional testing 

This helps ensure all modules and features of the ERP system work as expected. In retail, the modules and functions you need to check include apps and systems associated with the following.  

Inventory management 

POS systems  

Supply chain management 

Customer relationship management 

This is just the basics. Looking at your business operations, there’ll surely be more you need to test. Creating comprehensive test cases covering all possible scenarios can detect system functionality discrepancies. This is the first step in rectifying those discrepancies. 

Benefits 

Helps ensure all components function correctly. 

Enhances the reliability of retail operations. 

Helps in the early detection and fixing of bugs. 

Performance testing 

This is crucial for measuring how the ERP system stands up to different levels of demand. Peak shopping periods, such as the holiday season, can increase system load. Performance testing helps ensure the ERP system can handle high transaction volumes without slowing down or crashing. 

Benefits 

Helps ensure the system can support high traffic. 

Improves response times and efficiency. 

Find potential bottlenecks in performance. 

Integration testing 

These ERP systems in retail mostly integrate with other software, such as e-commerce websites, payment gateways, and supply chain management systems. Integration testing ensures smooth running between those systems. This includes: 

Testing for data flow between systems 

Checking for compatibility 

Verifying that all the integrated components work as expected 

Benefits 

It provides smooth operation across different systems. 

The risk of errors in data transfer is reduced. 

The reliability of the overall system increases 

User acceptance testing 

User acceptance testing is about real users who assess the ERP system. This list of people includes store managers, sales associates, and inventory managers, etc. UAT helps you find out if the system is user-friendly and whether it can oversee real-world scenarios. 

Benefits 

Helps ensure the system meets the user requirements. 

Finds usability issues. 

Increases user satisfaction and confidence. 

Security testing 

With customer information and financial data at stake, every retailer worries about security. Testing pinpoints any loopholes in your ERP system that hackers may exploit. It involves checking for:  

Potential data breaches.  

Unauthorized access to sensitive information. 

Whether processes, payments and data handling meet security standards. 

Benefits 

It protects the sensitive data of customers and businesses. 

It ensures that all security regulations are followed. 

There is less chance of a cyberattack. 

Regression testing 

This checks that recent changes or updates to the ERP system haven’t corrupted functions that previously worked OK. This is critical for online or in-app shopping where every minute of a system outage equates to lost sales and disillusioned customers. Indeed, why not automate your regression tests where you can? 

Benefits 

Helps ensure the latest changes don't break existing functionality. 

Maintains system stability and reliability. 

Saves time with automated testing. 

Load testing 

This simulates how your ERP system works in the real world by assessing it under various loads. This helps identify how the system behaves under normal conditions and what happens under peak conditions.  

Retailers need to be confident that the system can handle high transaction volumes, user numbers and data-crunching tasks in scenarios such as: 

Holiday shopping seasons: Times like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or the Christmas season when customer activity surges. 

Promotional events: Sales, discounts, or marketing campaigns that drive a large number of customers to the system. 

Inventory restocking or product launches: When large batches of data are uploaded or when new products are added to the system, causing high demand on the system’s resources. 

Benefits 

Help ensure system reliability during peak times. 

Identifies potential load-related issues. 

Improves overall system performance. 

Data migration testing 

When upgrading or switching ERP systems, data migration testing ensures that all data is accurately transferred from the old system to the new one. This is critical in retail, where inventory data, customer information, and transaction histories must be kept without any loss or corruption. 

Benefits 

Helps ensure accurate and complete data transfer. 

Maintains data integrity and consistency. 

Reduces the risk of data loss. 

Scalability testing 

This evaluates the system’s ability to grow and handle increased workload without compromising performance. As retail businesses expand, the ERP system must scale accordingly. This testing ensures that the system can support future growth and increased demand. 

Benefits 

Help ensure the system can grow with the business. 

Shows potential scalability issues. 

Enhances long-term system viability. 

Disaster recovery testing 

Disaster recovery testing verifies the ERP system can recover quickly from unexpected disruptions, such as  

Power outages 

Hardware failures 

Cyber-attacks 

This is crucial for supporting business continuity. 

Benefits 

Ensures quick recovery from disruptions. 

Minimizes downtime and operational impact. 

Enhances business continuity planning. 

Conclusion 

ERP apps and software are important across various business domains. To keep these applications working seamlessly, ERP testing is necessary. The strategies discussed in this blog help you conduct testing without any hitches. Through ERP system testing, retailers can improve their ERP systems, ensuring smooth operations, more satisfied customers, and a sharper competitive edge in the market. 

Functional and performance testing help ensure the system works as intended and can oversee high loads, integration and user acceptance testing helps with seamless operation and user satisfaction. Security and regression testing protect against vulnerabilities and keep system stability. Load, data migration, scalability, and disaster recovery testing ensure the system can manage various scenarios and grow with the business.  

To achieve these outcomes, your business needs to opt for the right ERP application testing services. Picking the best ERP testing services is the first step toward a successful testing journey and securing tailored solutions that save you both time and money.

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Top 12 Benefits of Testing Salesforce for Healthcare Providers 

Salesforce offers a wide range of advantages that can transform healthcare organizations. As a powerful customer relationship management (CRM) platform, Salesforce can: 

Streamline operations 

Improve customer and patient care 

Enhance efficiency 

This blog explores the top 12 benefits of Salesforce testing services for healthcare providers. You'll discover how testing Salesforce boosts patient engagement and ensures compliance with industry regulations. 

Data integrity and accuracy 

A critical aspect of any software is ensuring data accuracy and integrity. Any discrepancy or error can have dire consequences. Testing your Salesforce system ensures that data is recorded, retrieved and processed accurately. This reduces the risk of costly errors or data corruption. Maintaining data integrity helps you make informed decisions and provide high-quality patient care. 

Enhanced performance 

As your healthcare practice grows, so does the volume of data in your CRM system. This could lead to performance bottlenecks. Regular testing helps you identify and address these issues. It ensures your CRM responds fast when handling patient data, running reports, or managing appointments. 

Security 

The healthcare industry is highly regulated, and patient data is sensitive. Ensuring the security of this data is paramount. Salesforce testing can help identify potential security vulnerabilities. QA (quality assurance) ensures that your CRM's security features are working as intended. This is crucial for protecting your patients' information and preventing data breaches. 

Bug identification and resolution 

No software is immune to bugs or glitches and Salesforce is no exception. Regular testing helps identify and resolve these issues. Issues can range from minor interface glitches to critical functionality errors. These errors can be so grave that they disrupt your entire healthcare operations. Addressing these bugs in a timely fashion ensures that your CRM works smoothly. This contributes to an efficient patient and customer care process. 

User experience improvement 

Your healthcare staff rely on the Salesforce CRM for their daily tasks. If the CRM is not user-friendly or doesn't meet their needs, it can lead to frustration and inefficiency. It may also cause your staff to leave. Testing helps identify usability issues, ensuring that the CRM's interface is intuitive and easy to use. A positive user experience can lead to improved staff satisfaction and, in turn, enhanced patient care. 

Integration verification 

Most healthcare providers integrate Salesforce with other applications. This can include third-party ERP software and electronic health records. Testing can help ensure that data flows between these systems are seamless. It reduces the risk of data synchronization issues or disruptions in your workflows. This ensures that you have a consistent and up-to-date view of health data across platforms. 

Compliance and reporting 

Healthcare providers need to adhere to industry regulations. This includes maintaining HIPAA compliance. To meet these regulations, they also need to generate reports. Testing ensures that your systems and processes are always compliant and up to date. It also verifies that your CRM can generate accurate and reliable reports. This helps you meet industry rules and guidelines without any hiccups.  

Risk mitigation 

In the healthcare industry, the stakes are high. Even a small error can lead to costly lawsuits and damaged reputations. Regular Salesforce testing helps mitigate risks. It identifies and addresses potential issues before they can cause harm. It's a proactive approach that safeguards your business and its reputation. 

Efficient resource use 

Testing can be a resource-intensive process, requiring time, expertise and specialized tools. Healthcare firms can benefit from outsourcing this function to a Salesforce testing services provider. These experts have the knowledge and tools to perform testing more efficiently. 

Scalability 

As your healthcare enterprise expands, your CRM needs to adapt to new challenges and demands. Healthcare testing providers scale their services to match the size and complexity of your CRM. This ensures that all aspects of your system are thoroughly tested. This flexibility allows your CRM to grow alongside your business. 

Cost-effective testing 

Salesforce testing services can be good for your budget too. They’re a cost-effective solution because you don't have to train your in-house testing team in Salesforce. Plus, there’s no need to invest in specialized testing tools. You pay for the testing services you want, without any overheads. 

Test automation 

Testing providers often use automation tools to run repetitive tests. This reduces the chances of human error and ensures thorough testing coverage. Automation can also save time and resources, as tests can be conducted more efficiently. 

Summing up 

Salesforce testing for healthcare providers is critical. It ensures high-quality patient care, regulatory compliance and risk mitigation. 

Partnering with a healthcare testing services provider can ease the testing process. It can also be a cost-effective solution. 

Prioritizing Salesforce testing can unlock operational and patient care excellence for your business. It does this by ensuring that your CRM is always secure, efficient and accurate. So, don't compromise - make Salesforce testing a top priority. 

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How video streaming works on the web

So, the current video streaming services are efficiently satisfying the growing content consumption of the audience by giving the small and mid-size firms an opportunity to leverage their competence in business.

Due to the OTT platforms, we have realised the powerful and dynamic presence of the internet, which now has made OTT and Connected TV as ubiquitous. The recent transition of the digital media on the OTT platform has apparently shown the effect of streaming digital video content.

In this time, where the world is going wireless and the number of cable TV subscribers is going down, OTT has definitely grabbed the charm of the millennials whose pre-requisites were earlier not considered by the old forms of TV and entertainment.

About OTT

Over the top is simply defined as the content streaming directly to the consumers over the internet network. This platform takes care of the on-demand video requests on a revenue path and avoids the traditional media platforms to enable media streaming over the web.

Uses of video streaming

Globally, online video streaming and newly trending OTT have gained a key importance and an exclusive consumer base. Latest developments in the market are now inclined towards offering a more measurable, safer and non-coding video streaming platforms with personalized membership options and newest technology.

Distinguished streaming

In the last many years, live video streaming has achieved various milestones. The elementary video streaming categories are further divided into two categories-

Live demand video

On-demand video

The former is just an event offered live via the internet, for e.g. cricket match. On the contrary, the latter type refers to the content, digitally, recorded and streamed on the server as and when requested by the consumers like movies. Let’s study the types of streaming in sequence:

Client and Server Video Streaming- The time of mid 90’s encountered the involvement of client-server video streaming that largely represented design and execution of fresh streaming parameters like Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP). These RTP’s were used by special media players to receive video streaming over the internet via servers.

Peer-to-Peer Video Streaming- P2P video streaming came into the picture to serve the increasing consumer base. This streaming technology has fruitfully found utility in live video streaming. P2P was created on the rule of, the peers(hosts) behaving as an interaction bridge between the clients and the servers. This is opposite to the conventional streaming form which only had the customers who used information from the streaming servers.

Online HTTP Video Streaming- Because there was a limitation in downloading applications that supported P2P video streaming protocols, it was concluded that it would be quite easier if the video content can be used over the internet not using any third-party devices, hence, cloud-based or Online video streaming was presented. HTTP based video streaming segregated the content into small pieces of information that were downloaded using this protocol.

Because of easy operations and simple protocols HTTP gained high importance for the users and streaming platform’s cloud hosts. Currently, the scenarios showcase the global acceptance and widespread transition to a new era of cloud computing. Also, the extensive usage of social media has made the cloud computing HTTP based video streaming very popular, becoming one of the most preferable modes to consume and share the video content streaming.

Value addition by the OTT live streaming platforms- Some live streaming solutions have created a blend of finest IT with the best live streaming services. These platforms have efficiently answered to some of the critical painful queries of the market such as:

Improved influence- Over-the-top platforms have ruined the conventional TV industry. This has immensely increased the traffic of the marketers to an amazing count. The Prime time TV hours that once considered as a high-class spot are now losing its importance. The marketers which, initially, targeted the prime time shows limited users have now moved towards OTT streaming.

Huge content security- We were always amused by the movie pirates, but the content piracy is not fun. Today, the security of the video content has been taken in supremacy by the live streaming platforms. Digital watermarking has one of the fundamentals of blockchain technology that is a mark of faith and ensures complete video safety.

Revolution in ROI- Today, the revenues of the internet service providers of both developing and developed nations, has been largely affected due to the presence of OTT live streaming platforms. The biggest reason for this increased number of video streaming platforms like Hulu or Phando, is their premium quality of network. This has resonated with the consumers’ inactivity and seamless video streaming experience.

Maximum utilization of the data- With the birth of OTT video streaming, there has been a rise in various opportunities and leveraging the data for maximum benefit is one of them. The reach of marketers and advertisers has been quite huge now with video streaming, and it has touched beyond specified age and gender. Hence, OTT players have been able to segregate their customer base in standard and premium categories, which enabled these players to create curated promotions and on- demand content.

 Benefits of Live Online Video Streaming

Let’s walk through some of the main advantages of live online video streaming:

Improved quality of use engagement- Content distribution and persistent user engagement has been some of the major advertising challenges that the market is facing today. The OTT based live streaming platforms are pulling in a massive and focused attention with no option to switch to a different channel. Besides, one more reason for higher engagement is the availability of the content as per the choice.

High video security- In the recent digital times, safety has been one of the major concerns of these live streaming platform players and it has taken a new status altogether. Many OTT players have employed the technology of blockchain to assure complete security from the illegal authorization of the content and unauthorized downloads. Integration of the blockchain technology with OTT platforms have enabled the highest class of security, i.e. digital watermarking. This has risen as a sign of trust and data security with the players and users.

High class streaming- When you use personal servers to stream the content, it is troublesome to offer high class videos to your consumers. However, if you have a dynamic infrastructure and quality content delivery network (CDN), there is a full scope of delivering high class online video streaming services. Content Delivery Network functions by dispersing the content with their own servers. Hence, in presenting your video content to your consumers, you should choose a consistent live streaming platform that streams without any pitfalls and loopholes in the network bandwidth, and offers amazing user experience.

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Switch to Video Marketing Platform For Maximum Business Value

The advent of OTT service providers and various live streaming platforms have significantly amplified the consumer’s knack towards online video streaming. Leading players from various industries have now initiated their video-on-demand offerings. Mass content producers are now shifting towards their personalized online video streaming services to offer on-demand video content to their users in a personalized way. This has disrupted the consumer’s video consumption demand and traditional content marketing strategies. Thus, a video marketing platform is the choice of the hour for the medium as well as large brands. Let’s take a look at some advantages that video marketing platforms offer:

Search Engines Adore Videos

Popular search engines continuously look for content that offers high-quality content and engages the user for a longer period of time. This is what makes YouTube the world’s 2nd largest search engine and a popular video marketing platform. Marketing for your brand on the website and online video streaming and marketing platforms gives you an amplified level of engagement. Even marketing through live streaming channels offered by various social media platforms can elevate the voice of your brand to the next level. 

Ranking on SERPs

When executed with a sound strategy, video marketing platforms can improve your website’s ranking on SERPs. Video marketing seamlessly increases the user’s engagement time due to which Google search offers it a higher ranking in the result pages. Studies show that an average internet user spends 88% more time on videos as compared to other forms of content.

So, if you are promoting your product or service with video marketing platforms, you are more likely to be showcased on Google’s 1st page. Video marketing through on-demand OTT video service providers not only increases the reputation of your brand but also elevates you through the result pages to make you stand out of the crowd. 

Personalization

Be it Instagram, Facebook or any other live streaming platform, watching stories is the trend. Marketing through online video streaming helps you to penetrate the niche target and thus personalize your strategy accordingly. According to a Cisco study, 13% of the total traffic will be governed by live video streaming.

Marketing through video-on-demand or live streaming platforms offers personalized offerings and creates a significant emotional impact. This strategy creates a more personal relationship and makes story-telling through video and sound more effective, thus connecting your audience’s emotions with the message you are trying to convey.

Boosts Conversion

Video marketing is undoubtedly the most popular platform and studies show that almost 90% of users leverage videos to make a purchase decision. Although, it is proven that strategic videos can boost the conversion rate by 80% but it is important to remember to keep autoplay off as it could lead to a higher bounce rate. Videos are generally admired by those who are not avid readers and it keeps them engaged for a longer period of time.

Effective marketing through video streaming platforms and optimized SEO practices creates a positive impact on the metrics. Another significant reason behind using live streaming as a marketing tool is that it keeps the user hooked for a comparatively longer period of time.

The on-demand OTT service providers and video streaming platforms including Facebook & YouTube include several features that give you a precise report of the marketing performance and analytics. These online video streaming platforms show detailed views, shares, likes, acquisitions and other social interaction parameters that help you to create your content in a more focussed way and plan your video marketing campaigns accordingly.

Increased Social Sharing

This is 2020 and it’s the era of viral videos. A majority of users tend to share videos online and this has received an exponential boost with the advent of social media. Leveraging new age social media applications such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and more for marketing and promotions gives your product or services a significant advantage over conventional media channels. 

It is important to understand that ‘Mobile first’ is the key to success, and focussing on mobile devices for planning a marketing campaign for your brand brings it close to success. All you need is an optimized video streaming platform with minimum or zero coding that provides you attractive monetization options. Simply choose an OTT services provider that offers you the perfect blend of security, privacy, simplicity and compatibility.