Mu Dynamics Brings Performance Testing to the Cloud and Mobile
by Bill Ives
There is a great rush to move applications to the cloud and enable them for delivery on mobile devices. One of the critical tasks to make this move work is the provision of efficient performance testing. Mu Dynamics has stepped into this essential market with Blitz. I recently spoke with Ajit Sancheti, Co-Founder at Mu, about their move.
Mu began six years ago with a focus on security for network infrastructure. They allowed firms to look at the impact of apps on networks, including the rush of iPhone apps and the extensive use of apps like Twitter. They then realized that their core solution would fit well for performance testing in the cloud and mobile apps where there was a lack of this capability. So they built an extension of their core platform to cover this market.
Blitz is a performance testing solution specifically designed for mobile, cloud, and web application developers. They offer usage-based, tiered, low-cost pricing that makes it accessible for both large and small development organizations and platform providers. You can quickly do load testing and you only pay what you use. Developers can instantly load test their APIs and cloud apps without creating complex test scripts. With the Google Chrome extension and integration with Google Analytics, Blitz brings load and performance testing into the development cycle, enabling developers to simply launch a load test of their application wherever they want. It can also be integrated into the application development workflow.
They have integrated with Acquia to provide support for Drupal application development. This allows Druplal developers to run load tests in a matter of minutes, ensuring their sites can handle traffic spikes before they occur. For my most recent review of Acquia see – Acquia Provides Drupal Commons to Support Open Source Enterprise Collaboration). Mu has also integrated Blitz with CloudFlare, a web site development platform. This allows CloudFlare developers to measure the baseline performance of their web applications with quantifiable metrics.
Ajit said that the simplicity of Blitz allows developers to do their own performance testing without having to rely on testing experts. Most of the process is automated and you can access Blitz in a self-service mode through the cloud. While they are constantly adding new features, the goal is to keep it simple at the same time. I think this is a wise move as too many applications add complexity with new capabilities and lose their original attraction.
Ajit said they looking to extend load testing to performance monitoring. They also plan to offer and enterprise version, as well as an offering for private cloud use. Testing is generally not something that makes the front pages but it is critical for application success and simplifying it can allow developers to focus on enhancing their apps in an efficient way. Mu is providing a great service to the market with this offering.