Finally, a low-cost cloud-based QA testing tool hits the market. After an extensive beta program by software testers at 500 companies from 23 countries, QASymphony announced general availability of qTest, a cloud-based enterprise test management solution.

The testing tool is aimed at small and growing QA teams looking to escape the heavy lifting and expense required from enterprise-focused systems such as HP Quality Center.

Its vendor claims qTest is on par with large enterprise systems, yet unlike those heavyweights the platform's SaaS subscription model makes it a low-risk proposition to pilot and adopt.

At a scant $20 per user per month, it certainly offers teams an affordable path towards formalizing their quality control procedures.

The tool offers a collaborative work environment for teams to manage requirements, design test cases, plan test execution, track defects, and generate status and quality-metrics reports.

Says Ursula Wlodarczyk, a QA tester for Typecast, a designer of web fonts based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, "I needed a platform that gave me the freedom to easily update my test plans and keep them structured, organized, and in good working order. Ideally, I was looking for a cloud solution so that I could access my work from any browser. qTest responds well to quick inputs. It's easy to imagine that the tool was developed by testers."

The cloud-based tool arrives with pre-built integration and popular development lifecycle tools and defect tracking systems. Some of the qTest features and modules include test planning, defect tracking and management of requirements, test cases and test cycles.

qTest integrates with defect tracking and ALM providers such as VersionOne, Fogbugz, Jira, and Bugzilla defect trackers as alternatives to the application's built-in defect tracking tool. qTest also integrates with the qTrace screenshot capture and defect capture tool, which can submit bug reports directly into qTest.

A free 30-day trail is offered on the vendor's website (www.qasymphony.com).