MKS Adds Testing to ALM Platform

• By Jeffrey Schwartz
• 09/21/09

Application lifecycle management supplier MKS last week released a new version of its flagship ALM platform, adding test-management capabilities to the suite.

The company's new MKS Integrity 2009 includes new analytics capabilities and provides real-time views of testing processes, allowing developers to make better decisions about any given process, company officials said.

"Testers can readily see in real-time their testing deficit as the developer is actually doing real-time work," said John Cull, vice president of global marketing and strategic alliances at Waterloo-based MKS in an interview.

By incorporating requirements management with testing, MKS' ALM platform will offer a more complete lifecycle management offering, Cull said. "It takes us cradle-to-grave with full end-to-end core competencies within ALM, so we cover all of the core disciplines within a single platform in this release," he said.

MKS is in a crowded field of ALM vendors that include some heavyweights such as Microsoft, IBM, and Micro Focus, which recently acquired Borland's ALM business. The company last week said its revenues for ALM software for the quarter ended July 31 were $14.4 million, a 7 percent year-over year increase.

Integrity targets large enterprises with disparate tools, systems and application platforms including Java, .NET, and mainframes software. The ALM platform is targeted at organizations looking to reuse source code, components, mappings and other features. Cull said as demands come from the business to implement changes into applications or processes, being able to test in real-time has become a priority.

"This gives them a better governance management story," said Bola Rotibi, an analyst at U.K.-based MWK Advisors in an interview. Rotibi said MKS excels in shops that have cross-platform systems. "Integrity's appeal is its repository, which is home grown," she added. "I think that resonates with a lot of organizations in terms of consistency and not having to worry about needing to integrate with disparate tools."

Pricing for single users starts at $1,300. A three-year license for a 10-person development team would cost about $26,400, according to the company.