Migrating from LoadRunner to NeoLoad saves costs
Why switching to NeoLoad is a strategic decision
In the dynamic world of software development, companies face the challenge of testing their products more efficiently and cost-effectively. Performance testing is playing an increasingly important role in this. However, the high costs and complexity of traditional tools like LoadRunner pose challenges for companies. Many firms are therefore considering optimizing their existing performance testing tools or even switching to better ones.
And this is where NeoLoad in: As an agile and flexible load and performance testing tool, it promises simplified testing processes and significant cost savings. Migrating from LoadRunner to NeoLoad is more than just a simple tool change. It's a strategic step towards cost efficiency and increased productivity.
LoadRunner was once the de facto standard for load and performance testing tools. Today, it's increasingly reaching its limits, especially in terms of user-friendliness and integration. Therefore, customers are looking for LoadRunner alternatives that are powerful, flexible, and cost-effective. NeoLoad is one such alternative, boasting features specifically tailored to the current needs of modern businesses.
Why NeoLoad in particular?
Quite simply: because it's my favorite tool. 😊
NeoLoad offers a set of outstanding functionalities, of which I'd like to present my "favorites":
“Test automation” in the load testing tool:
This brings me RealBrowser . With it, I create scripts similar to those of test automation tools – for example, with elements like "Type," "WaitSelector," "OpenBrowser," "Click," and "Drag & Drop." Performance scripting scales well by shifting to agile teams. NeoLoad performance teams are typically smaller than LoadRunner teams.
We know from customers that LoadRunner's TruClient – broadly comparable to the RealBrowser – can be complex to use and maintenance-intensive, often requiring complete re-recordings. NeoLoad's RealBrowser functionality allows engineers and test automation specialists to create and maintain load tests without in-depth programming knowledge. Which brings me to my next point...
Efficient script creation and maintenance
On that point, I would like to quote the customer "verizon":
"With NeoLoad, we created tests in just one day, whereas the same scripts would have taken us four days in LoadRunner."
NeoLoad is significantly cheaper to operate, and customers achieve ROI within a year. The main reasons for this are efficient script creation, customization, and maintenance. Customers have confirmed time savings of up to 97% after migrating to NeoLoad.
In addition to advanced performance engineers, developers, testers, and operations teams can also use NeoLoad. By "operations," I mean system landscapes and integration…
Integrations
NeoLoad offers comprehensive integrations that further optimize your testing processes:
test automation tools
offer seamless integration with tools like Tosca, Selenium, Ranorex, and QFTest. This allows customers to focus on expanding and maintaining their test automation, while creating NeoLoad test scripts is virtually instantaneous.
monitoring tools
such as Dynatrace, New Relic, App Dynamics, Prometheus, and Datadog. Furthermore, its Result API allows users to download test data for presentation in tools like Grafana, Tableau, Splunk, and others. Another advantage is that NeoLoad queries the base monitors via API, eliminating the need for an additional construct like SiteScope.
Orchestration tools:
In the area of CI/CD, NeoLoad offers classic command-line parameters. Alternatively, it uses the modern command-line interface , which can be easily integrated into pipelines.
Cloud/Infrastructure
For customers who don't want to operate their own load testing infrastructure, NeoLoad offers access to the Tricentis cloud. This provides both cloud controllers and cloud load generators distributed across multiple continents. Depending on requirements, controllers and load generators can also be used locally, on VMs, Docker containers, or in a dynamic infrastructure.
Shift-left approach
In addition to classic test case recording, NeoLoad offers the generation of load and performance tests during software development. Thanks to its OpenAPI functionality, WSDL, YAML, or JSON files can be imported, which NeoLoad automatically converts into user paths. Furthermore, Postman collections can be imported, thus consistently supporting the shift-left approach.
Experiences with migrations
The experiences with migrations from LoadRunner to NeoLoad have been consistently positive. These are the key insights and feedback from our customers based on previous migrations:
Migration is not a technical challenge – it is often a fear of change.
Creating scripts in NeoLoad requires the same effort as updating LoadRunner scripts.
- The learning curve is flat.
- No additional knowledge is required for web apps (specialized knowledge was only necessary for specific customer applications)
- Switching tools is a good time to update testing procedures, simplify tests, and become more efficient.
- The duration of previous migration projects ranged from a few weeks to 6 months - on average it is 3 months.
Finally, I would like to share some customer feedback that impressed me:
“We use NeoLoad to standardize our performance tests in a DevOps environment.” (Accor)
"NeoLoad integrates natively with OpenShift and Kubernetes to optimize infrastructure costs for load testing." (RED HAT OPENSHIFT)
«We migrated 50% of testing from Performance Center to NeoLoad in 3 months.» (McKESSON)
Conclusion
Migrating from LoadRunner to NeoLoad is not a major challenge for most companies. Rather, it offers an opportunity to optimize existing performance testing. Infometis, as the preferred Tricentis partner in Switzerland, is happy to support you with the migration and train your employees on NeoLoad.
Interested?
We would be happy to provide you with a quote for the NeoLoad edition that best suits your needs.
Still haven't had enough? If you'd like to delve deeper into the topic, read the following white papers:
-> NeoLoad vs LoadRunner: What's the ROI
-> NeoLoad vs LoadRunner: A comparative guide
Many thanks to Stephan Kehren from Tricentis for his valuable support in writing this blog post.
