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Performance Testing in Cloud-Native Applications: Best Practices

Ajay Kumar Mudunuri
Cigniti Technologies

Modern organizations race to launch their high-quality cloud applications as soon as possible. On the other hand, time to market also plays an essential role in determining the application's success. However, without effective testing, it's hard to be confident in the final product. Cloud-native applications leverage cloud infrastructure for scalability and flexibility. Here, performance testing becomes a critical aspect of the development process. Leading organizations prefer hiring software performance testing services quickly to identify potential bottlenecks before deployment easily.

Application performance testing services play a significant role in evaluating cloud-native applications' responsiveness, scalability, and stability. A performance testing strategy generally encompasses various methodologies, load testing services, web service performance testing, etc. These methodologies mainly concentrate on stimulating real-world scenarios to check how the application behaves under different load and stress levels.


An effective performance testing strategy should start with establishing a performance center of excellence within the organization. It is a dedicated team that will be in charge of defining performance testing methodologies, creating reusable test assets, and offering guidance on performance testing best practices.

1. Embrace Pragmatism

Performance load testing can be challenging, especially in modern IT environments. Companies often face limitations with tools or resources, leading to hesitation or neglect in performing these tests. However, waiting for perfect conditions is not a viable strategy. It is crucial to start performance testing promptly, utilizing all available resources and capabilities to their fullest potential. This practical performance testing approach ensures that some level of performance testing is completed, providing valuable insights into application behavior through accurate measurement and vigilant monitoring.

2. Leverage Open Workload Systems for Improved Testing

Open testing systems offer clear advantages over closed systems, particularly in maintaining stable testing conditions despite fluctuations in application performance. By adapting to changes in the application's behavior being tested, open systems provide more accurate and reliable results. Understanding concepts like Little's law from queueing theory helps illuminate the effectiveness of open testing systems in replicating real-world scenarios and comprehending the application's overall performance.

3. Deploy a Diverse Range of Tests

Teams must utilize a range of tests, including soak, spike, stress, resilience, and elasticity tests, to comprehensively assess application performance rather than solely relying on load testing. Each test provides distinct perspectives on the behavior of applications under varying circumstances. Organizations can enhance their understanding of application performance and resilience by integrating diverse test types into their testing protocol.

4. Define Success Metrics & Tests

Each organization possesses distinctive business requirements and goals, demanding a custom-tailored approach to conducting performance evaluations. It is imperative to establish precise success criteria consistent with the organization's objectives and procedures. Through testing against these predetermined measures, teams ensure the relevance and significance of their performance assessments, yielding actionable intelligence that facilitates enhancements aligned with business aims.

5. Testing All Layers of the Stack

Modern applications depend on an intricate array of technologies, from cloud infrastructure to microservices and APIs. To ensure a thorough performance assessment, the team must conduct testing for all system tiers, encompassing infrastructure, runtime environments, and application components. Organizations can effectively pinpoint and resolve potential constraints by evaluating the efficiency of each layer and their collective impact.

6. Prioritizing Mobile-First Testing

Testing should encompass backend systems and APIs to secure seamless user experiences across various device types and usage situations. By giving precedence to comprehensive and intentional testing for mobile, establishments can effectively tackle the distinctive hurdles presented by mobile applications and cater to the ever-changing demands of mobile users.

7. Focus on Realistic Workloads

Directing attention towards practical workloads is more sensible and significant than experimenting with extreme situations, such as minimal loads or maximum capacity. Developing tests that simulate customary usage patterns and anticipated production settings provides actionable insights that coincide with genuine user experiences. By prioritizing realistic workloads, organizations can enhance the utilization of resources and maximize their efforts for optimal effectiveness.

8. Foster a Performance Culture

Practical performance testing should not be treated as an afterthought but as a fundamental aspect of the development process, deeply rooted within a comprehensive culture of superior performance. Embracing Agile methodologies and seamlessly integrating performance testing into CI/CD procedures are vital for fostering a culture of top-level performance. However, sustaining long-term cultural transformation demands assertive leadership, dedication to resource allocation and training, and a steadfast determination to prioritize performance excellence throughout the organization.

Conclusion

The success of cloud-native applications relies on performance testing. Organizations can enhance their cloud-native application's performance and scalability by utilizing software performance testing services and implementing best practices such as establishing a center of excellence for performance, enacting wide-ranging testing methods, and adopting continuous performance testing.

Ajay Kumar Mudunuri is Manager, Marketing, at Cigniti Technologies

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Performance Testing in Cloud-Native Applications: Best Practices

Ajay Kumar Mudunuri
Cigniti Technologies

Modern organizations race to launch their high-quality cloud applications as soon as possible. On the other hand, time to market also plays an essential role in determining the application's success. However, without effective testing, it's hard to be confident in the final product. Cloud-native applications leverage cloud infrastructure for scalability and flexibility. Here, performance testing becomes a critical aspect of the development process. Leading organizations prefer hiring software performance testing services quickly to identify potential bottlenecks before deployment easily.

Application performance testing services play a significant role in evaluating cloud-native applications' responsiveness, scalability, and stability. A performance testing strategy generally encompasses various methodologies, load testing services, web service performance testing, etc. These methodologies mainly concentrate on stimulating real-world scenarios to check how the application behaves under different load and stress levels.


An effective performance testing strategy should start with establishing a performance center of excellence within the organization. It is a dedicated team that will be in charge of defining performance testing methodologies, creating reusable test assets, and offering guidance on performance testing best practices.

1. Embrace Pragmatism

Performance load testing can be challenging, especially in modern IT environments. Companies often face limitations with tools or resources, leading to hesitation or neglect in performing these tests. However, waiting for perfect conditions is not a viable strategy. It is crucial to start performance testing promptly, utilizing all available resources and capabilities to their fullest potential. This practical performance testing approach ensures that some level of performance testing is completed, providing valuable insights into application behavior through accurate measurement and vigilant monitoring.

2. Leverage Open Workload Systems for Improved Testing

Open testing systems offer clear advantages over closed systems, particularly in maintaining stable testing conditions despite fluctuations in application performance. By adapting to changes in the application's behavior being tested, open systems provide more accurate and reliable results. Understanding concepts like Little's law from queueing theory helps illuminate the effectiveness of open testing systems in replicating real-world scenarios and comprehending the application's overall performance.

3. Deploy a Diverse Range of Tests

Teams must utilize a range of tests, including soak, spike, stress, resilience, and elasticity tests, to comprehensively assess application performance rather than solely relying on load testing. Each test provides distinct perspectives on the behavior of applications under varying circumstances. Organizations can enhance their understanding of application performance and resilience by integrating diverse test types into their testing protocol.

4. Define Success Metrics & Tests

Each organization possesses distinctive business requirements and goals, demanding a custom-tailored approach to conducting performance evaluations. It is imperative to establish precise success criteria consistent with the organization's objectives and procedures. Through testing against these predetermined measures, teams ensure the relevance and significance of their performance assessments, yielding actionable intelligence that facilitates enhancements aligned with business aims.

5. Testing All Layers of the Stack

Modern applications depend on an intricate array of technologies, from cloud infrastructure to microservices and APIs. To ensure a thorough performance assessment, the team must conduct testing for all system tiers, encompassing infrastructure, runtime environments, and application components. Organizations can effectively pinpoint and resolve potential constraints by evaluating the efficiency of each layer and their collective impact.

6. Prioritizing Mobile-First Testing

Testing should encompass backend systems and APIs to secure seamless user experiences across various device types and usage situations. By giving precedence to comprehensive and intentional testing for mobile, establishments can effectively tackle the distinctive hurdles presented by mobile applications and cater to the ever-changing demands of mobile users.

7. Focus on Realistic Workloads

Directing attention towards practical workloads is more sensible and significant than experimenting with extreme situations, such as minimal loads or maximum capacity. Developing tests that simulate customary usage patterns and anticipated production settings provides actionable insights that coincide with genuine user experiences. By prioritizing realistic workloads, organizations can enhance the utilization of resources and maximize their efforts for optimal effectiveness.

8. Foster a Performance Culture

Practical performance testing should not be treated as an afterthought but as a fundamental aspect of the development process, deeply rooted within a comprehensive culture of superior performance. Embracing Agile methodologies and seamlessly integrating performance testing into CI/CD procedures are vital for fostering a culture of top-level performance. However, sustaining long-term cultural transformation demands assertive leadership, dedication to resource allocation and training, and a steadfast determination to prioritize performance excellence throughout the organization.

Conclusion

The success of cloud-native applications relies on performance testing. Organizations can enhance their cloud-native application's performance and scalability by utilizing software performance testing services and implementing best practices such as establishing a center of excellence for performance, enacting wide-ranging testing methods, and adopting continuous performance testing.

Ajay Kumar Mudunuri is Manager, Marketing, at Cigniti Technologies

Hot Topics

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Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

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Cloudbrink's Personal SASE services provide last-mile acceleration and reduction in latency

In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 13, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses hybrid multi-cloud networking strategy ... 

In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

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