Financial Services Companies increase stress test capabilities using advanced test technologies from Ascert

As alternative methods of consumer purchase continue to be created and transaction volumes increase, the need for financial institutions to verify system capacity quickly and accurately is critical. So called “stress testing” is aimed at ensuring transactional workloads at volumes that are in line with, and above, predicted peak production levels. VersaTest is uniquely capable and scalable to meet this challenge – helping with optimizing, tuning, and finding error conditions at real-life operational transaction rates.

“It is important to our customers that our ability to simulate transaction loads and traffic keep pace with their business growth”, said Paul Adams, Product Architect at Ascert. “Working closely with our partners during stress testing exercises, we are able to push their software & hardware configurations to their absolute limits.”

Ascert recently completed a stress test project of an HPE NonStop system belonging to a top-10 world-ranked financial institution. Using standard off-the-shelf software deployed on a flexible array of virtual servers, VersaTest was used to simulate the company’s point-of-sale terminals, back-end authorizing hosts and related card-issuer networks. The project achieved transaction per second levels more than double the previous exercise conducted for the same client, and 10 times the levels they were achieving in the run up to Y2K.

VersaTest’s ability to rapidly scale and balance across virtual nodes means there is no real upper limit to the TPS rates possible. Stress testing of full end-to-end payment transactions at rates of tens of thousands of TPS are now possible for any organization with a large and diverse enough consumer-base to demand such large-scale usage.

Ascert provides certification and stress testing services both on-premise and via the company’s popular cloud based test system called Ascertified (www.Ascertified.com). A growing number of companies have created a hybrid of both cloud and self-hosted options, increasing flexibility for both internal users and external partners.

To find out more about Ascert products and standard test interfaces visit the Ascert website or contact a local Ascert office.

About Ascert:
Ascert is recognized as a leading provider of premier testing software solutions. Ascert was founded in 1992 to provide automated software testing solutions that help companies measure the performance, reliability and scalability of their mission-critical back-end servers and applications. With over 100 clients worldwide, Ascert's products and services are used at some of the world's most successful companies.

Off-the-shelf simulators for Ascert’s VersaTest product include solutions for EFT testing, POS testing, stress testing, ATM testing, Fraud testing, IFX testing, EMV/chip card testing, ISO8583 testing and 3270 & 6530 terminal testing. Ascert’s custom simulators have been used for testing air traffic control systems and biometric payment systems. Ascert delivers flexible solutions that are either customer site installed or accessed via Ascert’s Remote Testing Services. Ascert's products assist testing professionals across industry segments to better manage their testing processes and environments through an end-to-end tool set.

For inquiries in the America’s and Asia-Pacific:
Richard B. Greene
Ascert, LLC
759 Bridgeway
Sausalito, CA 94965, USA
Telephone: 1-415-339-8500
Toll Free:1-877-ASCERT-IT
Fax: 1-415-339-8501
E-mail: info(at)ascert.com
http://www.ascert.com

For inquiries in Europe, Middle East, and Africa:
Simon Miles
Ascert Limited
6th Floor DBP House
63 Mark Lane
London, England EC3R 7NQ
United Kingdom
London EC1M 3JP England
Telephone: +44 (20) 7488 3470
Fax: +44 (20) 7488 3477
E-mail: ukinfo(at)ascert.com
http://www.ascert.com

Ascert expands certification, ATM testing, and end-to-end test capabilities with Ascertified, its cloud-based testing service. 

Ascert continues to expand its testing service offerings via the Ascertified Cloud. “This last year has shown amazing growth in the flexibility of offerings to the financial services industry,” says Mike Wainwright, Ascert’s Director of EMEA Sales.  “A few short years ago, many of the companies we talked to were reticent to use a cloud-based service because of security concerns. The beauty of what we deliver is that it is a highly secure and flexible platform that readily passes companies’ security reviews. Its flexibility gives us the capability to host thousands of these secure connections, providing on-demand automated testing services.” 

The beginning of the year marked a fast start with an expansion of the range of testing available within the Faster Payments Scheme Accreditation Service running on Ascertified.com. A total of nine financial technology companies are using the service to certify to the FPS Central Infrastructure. It’s anticipated that usage of this FinTech service will expand in 2018. 

Ascert also marked the year with expanded cloud testing capabilities to assist with PSD2 implementation, API testing, and other types of test certifications. “Our cloud platform enables companies to provide a simple yet effective pre-certification platform where organizations wishing to expand their consumer reach can prepare their systems to interface with the consumer’s personal banking institution,” said Wainwright. The benefit to the financial institution is that it lessens the impact on system resources during this transition period and does so in a fast and cost-efficient manner. 

The company plans to also offer ATM and card level testing services via the Ascertified Cloud in 2018; greatly expanding their customers’ ability to conduct end-to-end testing while achieving rapid scalability and cost savings. 


About Ascert:  
Ascert is recognized as a leading provider of premier testing software solutions. Ascert was founded in 1992 to provide automated software testing solutions that help companies measure the performance, reliability and scalability of their mission-critical back-end servers and applications. With over 100 clients worldwide, Ascert's products and services are used at some of the world's most successful companies.  

Off-the-shelf simulators include solutions for EFT testing, POS testing, stress testing, ATM testing, Fraud testing, IFX testing, EMV/chip card testing, ISO8583 testing and 3270 & 6530 terminal testing. Ascert’s custom simulators have been used for testing air traffic control systems and biometric payment systems. Ascert delivers flexible solutions that are either customer site installed or accessed via Ascert’s remote testing service platform, Ascertified.com. Ascert's products assist testing professionals across industry segments to better manage their testing processes and environments through an end-to-end tool set. 

​For inquiries in the America’s and Asia-Pacific:  
Dr. Richard B. Greene, DBA 
Ascert, LLC  
759 Bridgeway  
Sausalito, CA 94965, USA  
Telephone: 1-415-339-8500  
Toll Free:1-877-ASCERT-IT  
Fax: 1-415-339-8501  
E-mail: [email protected]  
http://www.ascert.com 

For inquiries in Europe, Middle East, and Africa: 
Mike Wainwright 
Ascert Limited 
3rd Floor Signet House 
49 - 51 Farringdon Road 
London EC1M 3JP England 
Telephone: +44 (20) 7488 3470 
Fax: +44 (20) 7488 3477 
E-mail: [email protected] 
http://www.ascert.com 

Twenty-five years of innovation, growth and solid business philosophies lead the company to a historic milestone

Sausalito, California – 14th November 2017. Ascert has reached an exciting milestone as the company celebrates 25 years of delivering innovative testing technologies. Using Ascert’s automated testing offerings over the past quarter century, financial institutions have improved their day-to-day business operations, enhanced their ability to take valuable services to market faster for their customers, and helped to achieve significant operating cost reductions.

In 1992, before the coining of the “Fintech“ name for our industry, Ascert recognized the need to provide financial institutions with testing tools that made a real difference to the quality and development of financial solutions to the marketplace. This motivation and founding spirit remains the same today. The end goal has always been to deliver testing tools that enable automated solutions that are predictive, powerful, and protect the integrity of the financial transaction processing networks and applications. Ascert has achieved this goal through its continued adoption of advanced technology coupled with an ongoing commitment to excellence.

Ascert is led by Andrew Mould and Rob Walker, and has maintained its privately-held ownership throughout its history. This has allowed Ascert to control key strategic and business decisions that have ensured a consistent focus on meeting the specific business needs of its customer base.

“This last 25 years has been the most interesting and rewarding period of my professional career,” said Andrew Mould, Ascert’s Managing Partner and one if its co-founders. “Our first line of testing products was developed by listening to what the marketplace wanted and needed, and establishing great relationships with our first customers. We continue that successful practice of listening to our customers and have been able to deliver world-class testing products that make a significant difference in protecting their businesses. I want to express a big thanks to our hundreds of valued customers and strategic partners who have helped us to be a leader in testing technologies.”

"We have achieved this milestone through the hard work and dedication of our associates and our entire organization’s commitment to high levels of customer service” said Rob Walker, Ascert’s other Managing Partner. Mr Walker is also the founder of Ascert in the UK, which is itself celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. “We have dedicated ourselves to 25 years of product innovation and providing testing

technologies that really make a difference to our customers. I attribute our success to our singular focus of helping companies streamline the way they test their internal and external transaction and communication networks, enabling opportunities to achieve both production efficiencies as well as increased revenue possibilities.”

Over the last quarter century, Ascert’s suite of product offerings has expanded in response to customers’ evolving business expectations and technological needs. Initially designed for the Tandem Computer (HPE NonStop), where “failure was not an option”, it now operates on any hardware platform in addition to being available as a cloud-based service. Ascert’s technologies have shown they can truly withstand the ultimate test – that of time; we look forward to continuing that for many more years.

About Ascert: Ascert is recognized as a leading provider of premier testing software solutions. Ascert was founded in 1992 to provide automated software testing solutions that help companies measure the performance, reliability and scalability of their mission-critical back-end servers and applications. With over 100 clients worldwide, Ascert's products and services are used at some of the world's most successful companies.

Off-the-shelf simulators for Ascert’s VersaTest product include solutions for EFT testing, POS testing, stress testing, ATM testing, Fraud testing, IFX testing, EMV/chip card testing, ISO8583 testing and 3270 & 6530 terminal testing. Ascert’s custom simulators have been used for testing air traffic control systems and biometric payment systems. Ascert delivers flexible solutions that are either customer site installed or accessed via Ascert’s cloud-based Ascertified Testing Service. Ascert's products assist testing professionals across industry segments to better manage their testing processes and environments through an end-to-end tool set.

For inquiries in the America’s and Asia-Pacific: Richard B. Greene Ascert, LLC 759 Bridgeway Sausalito, CA 94965, USA Telephone: 1-415-339-8500 Toll Free:1-877-ASCERT-IT

Fax: 1-415-339-8501 E-mail: [email protected]://www.ascert.com

For inquiries in Europe, Middle East, and Africa: Mike Wainwright Ascert Limited 3rd Floor Signet House 49 - 51 Farringdon Road London EC1M 3JP England Telephone: +44 (20) 7488 3470 Fax: +44 (20) 7488 3477 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.ascert.com