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R Dinakar | Posted on | 2 min Read

How pCloudy adapted to the New Normal – 2020 Recap

With 2021 just around the corner, we are all excited to step into the new year with hope and anticipation of new beginnings this coming year. Before we do that, we do want to recollect all the milestones that were crossed and the accomplishments that we achieved as an organization. The year 2020 sure did pan out the way it was supposed to. However, with all the support we received from our partners and stakeholders we were able to enter a journey of a successful year. The challenges of working from home and adapting to the new normal was indeed an adventurous journey so far. We are so grateful to each one of you for instilling your confidence in us to meet your testing needs. We are convinced that with your support we will scale great heights and improve our product ever more in the coming years. With that said, here’s how 2020 unfolded for us

 

100K+ Users


We started the year with a bang as we crossed the milestone of achieving 100k+ registered users in the month of January 2020. There was an uproar of celebration in the office as we achieved this audacious goal at the start of the year itself. We achieved this within the first 36 months of the launch which is a herculean task by itself. This number has been steadily increasing ever since and we believe that we’ll be reaching bigger numbers soon. We are so thrilled to be on this journey of growth and look forward to what 2021 brings to us.



While the momentum of celebrating the 100K registered users did take a hit as the pandemic took its course and brought the world to a stand still. We did not budge, instead continued to thrive. The lockdown forced us to think of creative ways to keep the productivity going and not lose this momentum we created. The leaders at pCloudy came to the drawing board to re-strategize and keep the work going. Despite the dire circumstances, we continued to thrive and transitioned into the Work-From-Home model quite quickly and efficiently. Though there were a few bumps on the road, we overcame the challenges together as a family and ensured that all hands were on deck. 

 

Key Milestones


One of the key highlights of this year was the launch of the most-awaited Browser Cloud feature. This led us to working on getting systems up and running so that our clients could not only test their applications on physical mobile devices but also perform cross browser testing on desktop systems. With a wide range of Browser versions and Operating systems available to choose from, clients can now perform both mobile and web app testing at ease. Our Browser Lab was designed to address the needs of the future. The timing was just right as many corporations started to take the digital leap to meet the consumers at their point of needs during this pandemic as well. While some would say the pandemic is a curse, we think that it was also a blessing in disguise as it mobilized many businesses and technologies to think about digital transformation earlier than expected.



Another project close to our heart was giving our website a facelift as we revamped the look and feel of the website. With a more modern and technological feel, the theme and look of the website is more appealing and soothing to the eye. Streamlining the webpages and aligning them to the desired theme was sure a fulfilling project that we checked off of our tasklist this year.



Along with the revamp of our website, we also made changes to our Pricing policy, making it easier for customers to manage their finances without the hassle of buying and managing extra credits. We have always been focused on making it easy for businesses to manage their businesses, and this pricing policy does exactly that.

With great success comes great responsibility. Understanding that there is an enormous need for cloud based testing platforms. We launched our 3rd Data Center in Singapore in the month of September 2020. We are seeing a great demand for cloud based Testing Platform and expanding our borders to address this need. Consistent improvements are being made to the platform in order to meet the needs of our clients and customers. Creating a solution is one thing, but ensuring that it stays relevant is a whole different ball game. 

 

Product Upgrades


We are determined to constantly improve the features on our platform to ensure that we are future ready. Here are some of the Major upgrades we have made on the pCloudy platform

  1. A major update to the platform has been the addition of the XCTest integration which allows clients to integrate Test Automation for iOS devices through XCTest.
  2. Setting up Wildnet feature was another feature that grabbed attention as you can use this feature to test locally on Private or Internal Servers
  3. We also upgraded to the support the latest version of Appium 1.19 making it easy for clients to automate their testing. 
  4. The QR Code Scanner feature became an instant hit as people were able to use this feature on multiple devices. In a recent update we also automated the QR Code testing for Android devices to save time on testing.
  5. Another fascinating feature is the Object Spy feature, this feature helps you inspect the App’s structure on various Android and iOS devices on the pCloudy platform. 
  6. App Language Feature is another noteworthy feature that allows users to change the language of the installed app while testing.

Additionally we have been adding new devices as and when they become available, our newest addition to the US cloud was the iPhone 12 which has been the talk of the town in the world of Apple products.




Events and Conferences


As a growing company, we have had the privilege of sponsoring some of the biggest events and Testing conferences globally. DOPPA Global Summit 2020 was one of the first virtual conferences this calendar year where we had our Co-founder Avinash Tiwari speak on the topic of “Key to Successful Continuous Testing in 2020”. Leaders from different parts of the world participated in the conference and shared their experiences and best practices in the industry. It was a great time of learning and conversations as we could relate with so many industry leaders and experts at the conference. 

The Annual Step-In forum saw a huge success this year as well. As many software professionals visited our booth to know more about the platform. The Step-In forum gave us an opportunity to showcase our products to professionals from all around the world. 

The biggest highlight of this year however, was the Software Testing Conference 2020 organized by QAI. We got a chance to be the platinum sponsors of the event and became the talk of the town. We saw an increase in the numbers that attended Avinash’s talk on Consumer Experience. We were surprised by the number of people who attended the conference virtually this year, as it was well above the regular numbers in the previous years. Avinash was the Keynote speaker at the event and was well received by many across the globe. Sharing the stage with other experts in the Testing Domain has been a delight in terms of our learning and knowledge sharing.



Recognition and Achievements


2020 sure has been the ride of roller-coasters for us all. Yet, we do want to call out and cherish some of the high points and accomplishments we have had this year as well. We want to start by saying that it is a our privilege and a huge achievement in being mentioned in multiple Gartner reports. pCloudy has also had a consistent high rating in the Gartner’s Peer Insights platform as well.



Being mentioned as a High performer consistently in the G2 stack has been no less of a surprise considering the work and efforts we put in as a team. G2 has recognized pCloudy as a High Performer for the year 2021 as well, which is a huge accomplishment.

 


The Icing on the cake or the cherry on the top has been getting selected for the HPE Digital Catalyst Program. It was a time of joy and celebration at pCloudy when we heard the news that we were one among the Eight that were selected for the prestigious program organized by Hewlette Packard, this sure is a step towards innovation and progress. We are ever so grateful for these accomplishments and look forward to scaling great heights in the future.



Partners and Clientele


We have also had an illustrious line of clients and partners coming onboard who trust and support us. Our sales team has been relentless in winning some of the biggest deals and logos to service and showcase on our website. One of the most popular clients of this year has been the italian manufacturer of luxurious sports cars, yes you guessed it right, Lamborghini. Apart from this huge win, we have also partnered with multiple IT Consulting and Solutions companies such as Feuji, InfoVision Labs, Virtusa and so on. We have been very successful in building new clients such as Sony, Wimbo, Maveric, Temenos, and TATA Digital to name a few. We have also been maintaining the existing clientele by providing excellent support and building relationships through our multi-year contract renewals. All of these achievements point us in the direction of growth and we are ready for taking the industry by storm.



In-house Fun and Learning


All work and no play, makes Johnny a dull boy. Thankfully at pCloudy, we have ensured that all the Johnnys and Junes have their share of fun at work too. While the year started in the celebratory spirit of Republic Day and Holi. Some of the best times at pCloudy during this whole lockdown period have been our virtual parties and events. Despite the overwhelming work situations and work from home scenarios, we have not stopped enjoying the little joys of celebrating birthdays virtually, catching up casually with others through the Virtual Coffee hour initiative by our HR team.



Though we miss the physical interactions with each other in our office space, our virtual celebrations are no less of fun. From playing pictionary, dancing our way through virtually, Costumes presentations at the Fete n Feista, celebrating Diwali and sending gifts as secret santas during Christmas has been a great fun experience at pCloudy.


We have also had the opportunity to learn and grow during this time by challenging ourselves to think outside the box and come up with creative ideas to keep ourselves physically and mentally fit. Some of the exciting times we recollect are the plank challenge, the push-up challenge and posting the number of steps we walked daily to keep fit. 

Our internal Learning and Development Conference – Horizon witnessed a boost in terms of identifying potential public speakers and researchers who passionately presented papers and ideas through extensive technological research. The Grand Finale to the conference was learning from and interacting with the renowned technology veteran Dr. Vivek Mansingh. It was a huge honor and privilege to hear from him valuable lessons to build a mindset of growth and entrepreneurship to see our company scale greater heights.




Final thoughts


The year 2020 sure has kept us all apart, however, it has also shown us that the very motive of our existence is to thrive and overcome the challenges that are set before us. We have witnessed the grind, tasted success and overcame the pitfalls all through this year. We are grateful and proud of yet another year of excellence and growth and look forward to 2021 with excitement for what it holds. We wish you and your family all the joy and happiness in this prosperous new year. May you and your family enjoy good health and peace. 

Happy New Year! 

R Dinakar

Dinakar is a Content Strategist at Pcloudy. He is an ardent technology explorer who loves sharing ideas in the tech domain. In his free time, you will find him engrossed in books on health & wellness, watching tech news, venturing into new places, or playing the guitar. He loves the sight of the oceans and the sound of waves on a bright sunny day.