Skytap’s Cloud-Based Lab Manager Enables Application Testing on Windows 7; Reduces Time and Cost of Compatibility Testing

SEATTLE, Wash. – August 3, 2009 – Skytap, Inc., the leading provider of cloud-based IT labs, today announced support for application compatibility testing on Windows 7, Microsoft’s highly anticipated follow up to Vista. Using Skytap, customers can quickly and cost-effectively spin up a virtual sandbox in the cloud to ensure applications run correctly on the new operating system. For a limited time, Skytap is offering team access to Skytap’s Virtual Lab SaaS application, Windows 7 virtual machine templates and 1,000 hours of testing time for $250 per month.

Skytap is the first cloud computing platform to offer support for Windows 7 which enables Microsoft partners and enterprise IT departments to identify and eliminate potential software conflicts with Windows 7 before releasing applications upgrades. Using Skytap’s cloud development and test solution, customers can ensure compatibility of applications across multiple versions of Windows. Skytap provides a fast and affordable way to test new and existing applications on Windows 7 before broad rollout within an organization this fall.

“Testing and development is one of the biggest use cases for the cloud,” said William Fellows, Principal Analyst at 451 Group. “Support for this extremely popular new operating system will be critical for any cloud-based testing lab and Skytap is well-positioned to handle this demand from the Microsoft community.”

Compatibility testing is often a headache for development and testing organizations because they don’t have the spare hardware or testing cycles to set-up dedicated testing environments. This leaves critical testing to the last minute, which often results in unanticipated bugs and conflicts once a new version of Windows is released. By using the cloud, these organizations can conduct early testing to gain insight into potential challenges before an operating system is released, leaving ample time to resolve compatibility issues with complex application and middleware stacks that will run on Window 7.

“Application development and testing organizations are notorious for leaving compatibility testing until the last minute,” said Chris Menegay, president of Notion Solutions, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. “With a large upgrade like Windows 7, companies that don’t execute a Windows 7 test pass ahead of time will run the risk of compatibility issues. As a software vendor and Microsoft consulting partner, we’re using the Skytap cloud to test our software on Windows 7 and ensure our clients are well prepared for its release this year.”

Skytap provides organizations with a scalable, on-demand IT lab in the cloud for application development and IT testing. Skytap is the only cloud platform that enables IT organizations to utilize their existing MSDN licenses, providing the convenience of pre-installed Windows 7 templates in a virtual machine library. Using Skytap’s cloud-based lab manager, which is delivered as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application, development and test teams can eliminate IT provisioning delays and set-up and tear-down test environments in minutes.

“One of the many benefits of a cloud-based lab is the ability to quickly spin up multiple operating systems as needed for compatibility testing, and run all the testing in parallel if needed,” said Scott Roza, CEO of Skytap. “Using Skytap’s cloud hosting platform and lab manager application, developers and testers can collaborate in real time with other team members while allowing customers and business users to validate their software works correctly. This gives software teams the capability to deploy applications on Windows 7 with the highest degree of confidence possible.”

To learn more about testing Windows 7 in a cloud-based lab, please join Skytap’s “Windows 7 Testing in the Cloud” Webinar on Tuesday, August 11 from 11:00 – 11:30 AM Pacific Time. Register for the event at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/202281840.

About Skytap, Inc.

Skytap is the leading provider of cloud-based IT labs that deliver 100% self-service provisioning of complex IT environments. Skytap is based on industry standard virtualization platforms and supports open migration to and from the cloud with no application or architectural changes. Skytap’s service significantly reduces IT lab costs with an on-demand, pay-as-you-go model, and fosters team collaboration through shared, cloud-based access to virtual machines. For more information about Skytap, please visit www.skytap.com or one of Skytap's solution pages:

- Cloud Development and Test
- Software Demo and POC
- Virtual Training
- Windows 7 Test

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