June 03, 2014 : Appirio and Applause Connect the Applause Testing Community with Topcoder Developers to Create a More Unified Crowdsourced SDLC
BOSTON and SAN FRANCISCO – June 3, 2014 – Applause, the 360° app quality company, and Appirio, a global cloud consultancy, today announced a crowdsourcing partnership to bring high-quality apps more quickly to market. The partnership combines Applause testing services and its global community of more than 140,000 professional software and app testers around the world, with Appirio's Topcoder development platform and the 630,000 developers, designers and data scientists in the Topcoder community, to provide customers with a more unified and complete crowdsourced software development lifecycle.
Together the two companies will help enterprises realize the benefits of crowdsourcing as customer organizations design, develop, test and launch winning digital experiences. As part of this agreement, Topcoder will also refer its customer companies to Applause testing services, enabling a unified, crowd-based experience across the software development lifecycle, including functional, usability, load and localization testing. Applause will recommend Topcoder to interested companies from its base of more than 2,000 customers.
"In today's apps economy it's more important than ever that web and mobile applications work in-the-wild, where users work and play," said Applause CEO, Doron Reuveni. "By empowering the Topcoder community with our global testing capabilities, companies can be sure the user perspective is taken into account through application design, development and testing. And this valuable insight will enable those companies to launch apps that delight their users."
"We're thrilled to be working with Applause," said Appirio CEO, Chris Barbin. "Appirio customers will now have access not only to incredibly skilled developers and designers via Topcoder, but to professional testers who can enable them to launch their applications more quickly and cost-effectively. This is a fantastic alignment that will advance the enterprise business case for crowdsourcing."
Lee Odess, General Manager at Brivo Labs and Vice President of Marketing at Brivo Systems, an Appirio customer, added,"We've had great success working with Appirio to accelerate development of innovative applications via crowdsourcing. The Applause partnership makes this an even more comprehensive solution, by adding the testing functionality that is so critical to our business and to the quality of applications generally. The alignment of these two organizations is a value-driver for any business concerned with both speed and quality."
The move comes months after Appirio acquired Topcoder, giving Appirio and its customers access to 630,000 of the world's best developers, designers and data scientists.
Founded in 2007 as uTest, Applause launched under its new name and expanded its app quality vision last month. That same day, the company announced its formal entry into the EU market by acquiring German crowdtesting leader, Testhub (which will become Applause EU in the coming weeks). In January, the company (then still known as uTest) closed a $43MM Series E Round of funding, led by Goldman Sachs.
About Applause
Launched in 2008 as uTest, Applause is leading the app quality revolution by enabling companies to deliver digital experiences that win – from web to mobile to wearables and beyond. By combining in-the-wild testing services, software tools and analytics, Applause helps companies achieve the 360° app quality they need to thrive in the modern apps economy. Thousands of companies – including Google, Fox, Amazon, Box, Concur and Runkeeper – choose Applause to launch apps that delight their users. Learn more at www.applause.com.
About Appirio
Appirio is a global cloud consultancy that helps customers achieve results in weeks, not years by harnessing the power of the world's top talent. Appirio's 630,000 member Topcoder community and crowdsourcingplatform, combined with the company's business and technical expertise, have helped 700+ enterprises confidently use technology to increase innovation and transform business. Founded in 2006, Appirio is a trusted partner to companies such as Apria, Coca-Cola, eBay, Facebook, Japan Post Network, L'Oreal, NetApp, The Four Seasons and Virgin America.
About Topcoder
The Topcoder community gathers the world's experts in design, development and data science to work on interesting and challenging problems for fun and reward. The community helps members improve their skills, demonstrate and gain reward for their expertise, and provide the industry with objective insight on new and emerging technologies. Topcoder is managed and operated by Appirio.