The market research firm IDC reports that enterprises lose up to 30% of their revenues due to business system inefficiencies, including poor performance. Microsoft Dynamics 365 is not an exception. The performance of this ERP and CRM suite often determines the effectiveness of processing critical business operations. Fortunately, it is possible to ensure the performance is sufficient to deal with the workload before any issues occur. To make it possible, companies can leverage a Microsoft Dynamics 365 performance testing tool described in this article.
What tasks can a Microsoft Dynamics 365 performance testing tool solve?
The primary purpose of a performance testing tool is to simulate various conditions and measure the system response. While in the case of Microsoft Dynamics 365, various testing products may be featured with different functionality, it is common for them to support the following types of testing:
- Load testing focused on assessing the system’s ability to perform under a specific load generated by multiple simultaneous users;
- Stress testing, which aims to evaluate the system’s response under extreme conditions;
- Scalability testing, measuring the system’s ability to handle a gradually increasing load;
- Endurance testing or the examination of the system’s performance over an extended period.
There are also other performance testing tasks which can be covered by certain tools, aiming to measure:
- The impact of the network latency on the performance of Microsoft Dynamics 365;
- The impact of various configurations, for instance, server settings, on the system;
- The system’s performance on different web browsers;
- The system’s performance during processing a specific volume of tasks.
Furthermore, automated Microsoft Dynamics 365 performance testing tools, for instance, Executive Automats, can also support other types of testing, for instance, functional testing, and be equipped with other useful features facilitating testing, for example, automated report generation.
The practical meaning of performance testing
A deep understanding of Microsoft Dynamics 365 performance is essential for avoiding a range of issues that can affect your ERP and CRM applications. Below are some of the typical applications of a Microsoft Dynamics 365 performance testing tool:
- General identification of performance bottlenecks such as high resource utilization or slow response times necessary for optimization;
- Support for a proactive approach, which facilitates early issue resolution due to early detection of these problems;
- Effective capacity planning based on the insights into the system’s performance;
- Optimization of resource utilization.
In other words, with the help of a Microsoft Dynamics 365 performance testing tool, a company can understand the behavior of its ERP and CRM applications better, study its weak points that require optimization, and identify steps to optimize performance. All of this can be achieved before end-users encounter serious issues when the system crashes under the load.
When does a company need a Microsoft Dynamics 365 performance testing tool?
A Microsoft Dynamics 365 performance testing tool is recommended for all enterprises relying on the functionality of this suite, even if your organization has implemented just a single application. An effective testing solution will help your company to avoid numerous issues related to poor performance, such as:
- Hampered productivity and bottlenecks in business operations and missed opportunities they cause;
- Inefficient resource utilization;
- Increased support and maintenance expenses;
- Difficulties with compliance and security risks when problems with performance stem from vulnerabilities.
While these issues are serious for all enterprises, and persistent problems with performance can have a detrimental long-term impact on a company, there are particular scenarios in which the use of a Microsoft Dynamics 365 performance testing tool is particularly necessary. Some of them are listed below:
- New implementation of the ERP and CRM suite or its upgrades and patches;
- System configuration or customization;
- Integration with third-party systems or infrastructure changes;
- Increased user base or seasonal peaks in usage;
- Addressing user complaints;
- Enhanced routine maintenance.
Choosing a Microsoft Dynamics 365 performance testing tool – best practices
The recommendations applying to the choice for the most effective Microsoft Dynamics 365 performance testing tool are similar to those given for other types of automated testing software and include estimating ROI, considering the software functionality and capability to meet the testing needs of your software. Yet, there are also more tool-specific suggestions.
For instance, it is necessary to assess the ability of the tool to simulate a large number of concurrent processes and users. One of the common issues affecting tools dedicated to the performance testing of Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the strict limitation of the number of concurrent users or the availability of increasing the simulated load for extra payments. EA is one of the rare testing tools that does not impose such restrictions on its users.
For a performance testing tool, efficient measuring and reporting features are also critical. They should cover such parameters as scalability, response time, throughput, and resource utilization.
Bottom line
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is responsible for critical business processes in your company, which makes it essential to assess this software regularly. Performance testing is one of the most fundamental procedures any enterprise should take to ensure the system works properly under regular load as well as under special conditions, for example, prolonged operation.
Performance testing gives companies valuable insights allowing them to avoid the failure of Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications and all business processes empowered by this software.