Foliage Test Automation Services Enable Clients to Reduce Costs, Improve Quality of Products and Speed Time to Market

BURLINGTON, MA–(EMWNews – August 25, 2008) – Foliage, a technology consulting and product

development company, today announced its Test Automation Services program,

a package of services designed to address the business challenges faced by

companies regarding the verification phase of the software product

development life cycle.

R&D costs are continuing to increase as a percentage of revenue and for

many companies the cost of testing approaches 50 percent of their total R&D

budget. In addition, the testing process has significant time and resource

implications which can negatively affect the overall product development

cycle. For medical products, any attempts to condense or bypass the testing

phase of the verification process, may negatively impact FDA inspections.

This can result in product warnings, recalls or “voluntary” suspension of

product manufacturing and sales, directly contributing to loss of revenue

and potential liability. In the regulated aerospace industry, if testing

is not comprehensive and completed correctly, the product risks the

possibility of failing the FAA’s SOI audit resulting in delayed product

schedules, revenue loss or deferment and the cost of reworking and

redoing the tests.

To address these challenges, Foliage launched a suite of Test Automation

Services that complements their existing product development services.

Foliage has focused on developing an effective automated software test

approach that when integrated into a continuous development process, has

proven to significantly reduce the amount of time and effort expended in

testing

software-based products, directly lowering the costs associated with

product testing and verification.

The new services include:

--  Strategy Formulation -- this service includes the creation of a

    product test automation strategy, encompassing planning, tool selection,

    technical approach and ROI statement.

    

--  Assessment -- this service provides a review of a client's existing

    test processes and offers ROI-based automation recommendations.

    

--  Implementation -- this service consists of the implementation of the

    appropriate test automation capability along with integration into existing

    product development processes.

    

“In exceedingly competitive markets, under tight schedule and budget

constraints, medical device, capital equipment manufacturers and aerospace

companies must maintain a high level of quality while meeting performance,

reliability and safety demands. Unfortunately, the traditional software

and product test approaches often associated with their product development

efforts is inherently time consuming and accounts for a significant portion

of a product’s development schedule and budget,” said Tim Bowe, co-CEO of

Foliage. “With our Test Automation Services, we partner with organizations

to create a highly structured and encompassing testing approach that helps

to align test automation programs with the appropriate regulatory body’s

governance statement.”

Foliage works with clients to create and align business, product and

technology strategies and lead those strategies through to successful

product delivery. Its services range from consulting that ensures alignment

of product strategies with overall business goals, to custom software

development that accelerates time-to-market. Foliage enables clients to

meet today’s market needs with tomorrow’s product vision.

About Foliage

Foliage, the driving force behind many of today’s life- and

mission-critical products, provides clients with the business sense,

industry insight and technology expertise needed to bring the right

products to market faster. Since 1991, Foliage has provided clients with

vital insight into the product development process, facilitating

better-informed business decisions across the organization. Foliage enables

its clients in the aerospace, financial, industrial equipment, medical and

semiconductor industries to capture market share and maximize

profitability. A privately held company, Foliage is headquartered in

Burlington, Mass. For more information, visit www.foliage.com.