MSTB Develops Home-grown Software Testing Service Providers

Kuala Lumpur, 17 June 2013 (Monday) – The Malaysian Software Testing Board (MSTB) is inviting Malaysian Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-based companies keen to venture into the high-value, knowledge-based software testing service provision business to join its vendor development programme.

Called the Malaysia Software Testing Hub (MSTH) Cluster development programme, the initiative is intended to facilitate development of home-grown service providers focussing on the higher end of the software testing services for domestic and international markets.

The MSTH initiative is a public-private collaboration to develop the software testing industry in Malaysia. It is under the purview of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister's Department and MSTB has been entrusted to spearhead MSTH planning and implementation.

Initially, MSTB plans to select 15 companies to participate in the MSTH Cluster development programme. The programme will provide accelerated development in areas such enhancing their test capability, professional competency and institutionalisation of internationally-recognised software testing processes. Participants will also be guided through the phases of the software testing business.

Interested companies are invited apply to participate in the programme and applicants will be required to submit a viable business plan, as one of the criteria for selection.

'Accredited' MSTH Cluster companies will be able to brand themselves a Q-Laboratory (Q-Lab) Partner, which will give them the privilege to leverage the Q-Lab facilities as a business partner and participate in MSTB's international promotional and branding activities.

The Q-Lab is an advanced, state-of-the-art testing facility capable of supporting high-end, international standard testing works and activities. Established under the MSTH initiative, the Q-Lab is anchored to the aspects of people, process and technology - manned by highly certified professional test practitioners, governed by internationally recognised processes and capitalises on the state-of-the-art testing technologies.
“Our software testing industry is still at infant stage and there is a need for a strong understanding of the fundamentals in order to have a good chance to succeed. MSTB is able to provide insights and support for those fundamentals as the ‘backbone’ for these companies to do well in this area of software testing,” said MSTB President Mastura Abu Samah.

"MSTB is looking for companies with a strong business objective and goals. We want the right business organisations with the right vision and attitude because we will want to have a long-term working relationship with these home grown ‘cluster companies’," she said.

Development of the 'cluster' companies is one of the key components in the bigger plan to establish a sustainable software testing ecosystem in Malaysia, the ultimate objective of the MSTH initiative. In turn, the ecosystem is positioned to help transform the country into a destination for high-value software testing services, based on strategic partnerships with domestic and international clients.

The MSTH initiative was rolled out in 2009 as a concerted effort to develop the software testing industry as a new source of economic growth for the nation. The increasing demand for professional software testing services globally has presented Malaysia with the opportunity to position itself as a global player in this potentially rewarding market.

Market projections for the global software testing services have been increasing from year to year.
In 2008, Gartner Research's The Market Trends: Application Development Worldwide, 2008 –2013 report estimated that the global software testing market is USD 13 billion  and the global outsource software QA and testing services market at USD 6.1 billion.

About a year later (in 2009) a report by International Data Corporation (IDC) projected that the global testing services market to be worth USD 17.7 billion by 2013 and in 2010, United Kingdom-based Infiniti Research UK, through its TechNavio Market report, estimated that the global testing services market to be worth USD 18.3 billion in 2013.

And more recently, IDC in its presentation at the EPU in April 2013 projected that the worldwide discrete testing services to be worth just under USD 30 billion.

These increasing projections clearly reflect abundance of opportunities in the rapidly growing market segment
For Malaysians to be able to capitalise on these opportunities, they must ramp up their capability and competency to be on par with, if not better than, existing global players. The MSTH Cluster development programme is a platform to achieve that.

To reach out to potential candidates for MSTH 'cluster Companies', MSTB will be holding series of briefing to explain the programme in greater details.

The series, which started in Penang last Month (May) will be held in Kuala Lumpur in June 20, 2013 at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. Next, it will be held in Johor Baru (on June 21 at Menara Cyberport), followed by Kuching (on June 29 at the Merdeka Palace Hotel and Suites)

Any Malaysian ICT-based company – whether small, medium sized or large, that has an interest to go into software testing or to further develop their software testing expertise, are welcomed to attend any of these briefing sessions.

Those who remain keen to pursue the opportunities in the software testing services market course are required to register their interest with MSTB to go through the next step of selection process.