Companies pay to access public device farms (groups of cloud-connected devices) for testing mobile applications. Private device farms offer more benefits than public device farms. Companies are investing more in private farms as it is beneficial, particularly during a crisis.
What is a private device farm?
Private device farms are groups of devices that a company owns. Every employee can select a device and use it remotely for testing and debugging. The concept of private device farms is similar to a public device farm. Companies don’t need to start from scratch since third-party companies can offer the framework necessary for a private device farm.
Why are private device farms so vital during a crisis?
1. Avoiding in-person contact
During the pandemic, people-to-people contact became risky in most circumstances. Companies benefitted since they could build and operate a private device farm without people-to-people contact.
If employees can connect a device to their computer through a USB, they can add that device to the private device farm. Even if they take the work devices home, they can instantly connect them to the cloud. Every employee can access any device anytime, irrespective of the location from the cloud.
Using mobile device management (MDM) solution, companies can further benefit from device farms. The IT teams can remotely troubleshoot devices enrolled in an MDM solution without being physically present, even when issues arise.
2. Reducing time pressure
Employees can struggle to remain productive if they work from home during a health crisis such as a pandemic. Their productivity can also get affected during standard business hours if they have to give priority to their children. Therefore, employees may have to complete all the tasks working late at night.
If employees work under challenging conditions, errors can become more common. To reduce the errors, employees need to double-check their work. Public device farms will cost a lot of money, so employees may rush through their tasks and make errors. Private device farms do not charge a time-based usage fee. Therefore, employees can take extra time to ensure their work is error-free.
3. Staying agile and adapting to change
During a crisis, companies must consider and possibly change their priorities. When a prolonged crisis, like the current pandemic, their priorities can change weekly and monthly.
When companies fully control a private testing farm, they can change the working methods according to their needs. Therefore, they don’t have to worry about the complications concerning their relationships with other companies. A private testing farm can enable companies to adapt to market conditions even during difficult circumstances.
Conclusion
Companies have to rent time on the farm devices in a public device farm, whereas they own the devices they need in a private device farm. The employees may also be able to access the devices. Therefore, private device farms will benefit companies even when there is no crisis.
Reference link:
https://techstory.in/why-private-device-farms-are-an-imperative-especially-during-crises/