SQS Group Profile
The SQS Group
The SQS Group, (SQS) is Europe’s largest independent provider of software testing and quality management services. After more than 25 years of successful operation the company has built an unparalleled reputation as the industry-leader. Customers can improve their operations and gain competitive advantage by using SQS’s knowledge, built on strong methodologies, developed from decades of experience. Over this period, the company has developed extensive specialist knowledge in many vertical markets.
With over 4,000 successfully completed projects under its belt, SQS now has approximately 450 customers. Within this high quality customer base are blue-chip enterprises, including half of the DAX 30 companies, 30% of the STOXX-50 and 5 of the top 10 FTSE 100 companies. Spread across several key vertical markets, they include names like Barclays, BP, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Post, Deutsche Telekom, Dresdner Bank, Eurobet, Eurogate, Mercedes-Benz, MessageLabs, Phoenics, or Zurich Group.
Founded in Cologne, Germany, in 1982, SQS has more than 1.000 employees around the world. SQS has a strong presence in Germany and the UK and offices in Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa and Switzerland. SQS also has a minor stake in an operation in Portugal and a partnership in Spain. In 2006 the group achieved revenues of € 78.9 million.
SQS is listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIM) and has a second listing on the Open Market on Deutsche Börse, Frankfurt. In May 2006, SQS made its first acquisition since joining AIM in September 2005, buying Cresta Group Ltd in the UK for a consideration of up to £18m. In August 2007, SQS acquired Triton Unternehmensberatung GmbH, specialised on providing IT consultancy services for the insurance industry.
SQS services and products
Initially, customers approached SQS when problems occurred in key IT solutions– particularly if the applications were developed or bought in from independent software vendors and developers. The quality of the critical applications was then checked by SQS, operating as a totally independent third party, to ensure they met the requirements and standards. It quickly became clear that the motto of ‘prevention is better than cure’ makes business sense. For this reason, SQS offers consultancy services to clients, covering the whole life cycle of the software. This allows SQS’ customers to monitor their development processes constantly, guaranteeing that the systems meet quality and budget requirements.
The SQS portfolio is completed by managed services for long-term outsourcing/offshoring/homeshoring of software testing, by tool solutions, as well as by high-tech engineering in the fields of test systems and embedded systems. SQS consultants have proven skills in a wide range of areas like test management, test environment analysis, testing strategies, Agile development methods, Internet and Web testing, test asset management, health checks, performance and load testing and tuning, automation and in consultancy services. By raising the quality of IT, SQS increases the additional value IT contributes to the value chain of a business unit or the company. Assuming the role of quality manager, SQS provides an independent and unbiased view on current test processes and recommends the tools, technologies and utilities best suited to achieve the business aims.
SQS applies a highly pragmatic approach to business testing by first testing the business critical parts of an application, thus ensuring that possible defects in these parts are ruled out at the beginning. This enables clients to deploy their solutions quickly, a vital part of time-to-market strategy. The SQS strategy of adding value is a deep understanding of the actual business case for testing and the provision of metrics to prove effectiveness and return on investment.
Another important facet of SQS´ activities is its training business, in particular its courses on ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualification Board) and ISEB (Information Systems Examination Board) and its IT conferences. The annual “Software and Systems Quality Conferences” are among the leading software testing and quality management conferences held in Germany, the UK and Switzerland.
Fast Facts
| Established | In 1982 by Heinz Bons and Rudolf van Megen | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Number of employees | 1000 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Business purpose | Services and products for software quality assurance, software quality management and software testing, seminars and congresses | ||||||||||||||||||||
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