The role of testing is changing, so is the Squash offer

From one offer per feature family …

Since the project’s inception over 10 years ago, the world of testing has changed, and Squash’s offerings have evolved, reflecting both new functionalities and adjustments to the product’s positioning. This is particularly true when it comes to automation features and their link with DevSecOps platforms. We first had the ambition of providing an automation studio (⇒ Squash TA), then, realizing that part of the automation was intended to be carried out during development, the challenge was to orchestrate automated functional tests (⇒ Squash TF), and, finally, to integrate with DevSecOps platforms, we rewrote the module as micro services (⇒ Squash AUTOM).

Since the beginning of 2021, the Squash offering has been structured into three products:

• Squash TM, for test asset management;
• Squash AUTOM, for test automation;
• Squash DEVOPS, for the integration of automated tests into a CI/CD pipeline.

… to an offer segmented by user type

Today, we feel the need to simplify this offering, to align it with our product vision of a tool adapted to the different use cases of functional testing:

• V-model or agile (XP, Scrum, SAFe…);
• enabling us to build the assets to be used in the run phase during the build phase;
• with or without automated tests;
• limited to the structuring of manual tests or to the deployment of continuous tests.

Thus, within the same IS, the use of functional tests differs from one project to another, depending on methodological, organizational and technical choices — which are constantly changing — and also evolves during the life of the project.

In the multiplicity of these cases, you shouldn’t have to worry about using this or that subproduct of the Squash suite.

Our aim is to consolidate the existing Server offerings into a single Squash product, with a range tailored to different types of user:

• Community offer: the tester’s operational tool
  This offering is free and largely open source (the web application code is available at https://gitlab.com/henixdevelopment/open-source/squash, the OpenTestFactory test orchestrator code at https://gitlab.com/henixdevelopment/open-source/opentestfactory).
  It supports all types of use and aims to be widely used by entities of all sizes, to professionalize the test to the state of the art.
• Premium offer: advanced features for greater productivity and/or comfort
• Ultimate offer: specific features for intense use by key accounts and integration with proprietary automation studios

How do existing offers correspond?

Originally, at the beginning of 2024, the new offer corresponds to the former products as follows:

With a view to supporting automation, the new Squash Premium offer provides support for automation and DevOps Community functionalities (i.e. for automated testing with an open source framework). Previously, this support required an AUTOM or DEVOPS Premium license.

In the future, Squash Ultimate will not be reserved for teams who use a test studio or who want to make the most of their automated tests in Squash or in their CI/CD. We will therefore be adding new features not necessarily related to test automation in this Ultimate version. The offer comparison shows the repartition of these future functionalities by license level.

What about Cloud?

As for our Cloud range (sovereign and connectable to your SUTs), we are continuing to work on the usability and robustness of a SquashCloud offering, which would be available in Premium and Ultimate versions.

In the meantime, the current “Squash SaaS” offering remains, with the same features as the Premium license, without the automated testing part.

Is it more expensive?

We don’t subscribe to the all-too-common “publisher’s doxa” aimed at locking in and then jacking up prices. On the Server side, we are keeping our prices the same (and unchanged since the beginning). The Premium package is at the price of Squash TM Premium, while Squash Ultimate is at the price of Squash TM + AUTOM + DEVOPS Premium.

We aim to remain affordable, providing state-of-the-art tooling at a cost of a few thousandths of the full annual user cost (100 to 300 euros/user/year).

The only cases where there will be an increase are for customers who have subscribed to the AUTOM license without DEVOPS and who wish to upgrade to the Ultimate offer. In such cases, we will be sure to provide a commercial proposal that smoothes out the increase over time.
Finally, a 25-user segment has been added to better respond to some of our customers. We have also clarified the case of configurations (increasingly frequent) above 500 users.

On the SaaS side, we have opted for an increase, particularly for configurations with very few users: the old rates didn’t cover the real maintenance costs of these Squash instances.

All rates are available here.

For the Squash Team

Marion Delobeau
Laurent Mazuré
Product Managers
Philippe Vaillergues
Product Marketing,
Henix President