Seven of Top 10 Fortune 500 Choose Collaborator for Team-based Development and Review;New Version Empowers Testers/QA to Conduct Peer Reviews of Excel File Test Plans

BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SmartBear Software, provider of software quality tools used by more than one million developers and testers worldwide, is answering customer demand to extend Collaborator’s award-winning peer review features to more development team members with Collaborator v8.2. The new version, which builds on Collaborator’s introduction in March, allows testers and quality assurance teams to peer review test plans and all artifacts in Microsoft Excel documents. The latest version with extended features also highlights the growing demand by Top 10 Fortune 500 companies for collaborative software development.

“One of the great features of Collaborator by SmartBear is the inclusion of artifact review into the peer review process, a capability that no other product in the industry delivers”

“With the growing trends in software quality and testing, it is critical that R&D organizations identify and fix defects early in the development process,” said Dinesh Dulipsingh, Director at Lexington Soft. “Collaborator's highly customizable workflows and seamless integration with various SCM systems and IDE's, greatly simplifies the code review process and increases collaboration within teams, enabling early detection and resolution of defects. Its automated real time peer-to-peer review and tracking capabilities make Collaborator an unrivalled choice amongst development teams seeking increased productivity and improved software quality.”

Facilitating improved communication and collaboration among software project teams including developers, product managers, QA, support, documentation and marketing is the cornerstone of Agile methodologies. It has also been proven to increase productivity, improve software quality and reduce development costs. A Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) study, “Best Kept Secrets of Peer Code Review,” reveals that code review can be conducted within one-fifth of the time with SmartBear code review when compared with more traditional, heavy-weight reviews. SmartBear also continues to see an increase in demand for peer-based code and document review with seven of the top 10 Fortune 500 using Collaborator by SmartBear, including General Electric, HP and Walmart.

“One of the great features of Collaborator by SmartBear is the inclusion of artifact review into the peer review process, a capability that no other product in the industry delivers,” said Mark Hammer, Senior Product Director at SmartBear. “We’ve seen how development teams – particularly fast paced Agile teams – improve performance when product management, development and QA are all involved in multiple stages of the development process. We are thrilled to see so many not only using Collaborator for code review, but document and artifact review for extended development team collaboration. This latest release for testers and QA members positions Collaborator by SmartBear as a true collaboration tool.”

In addition to adding peer review of Excel files, the new version of Collaborator provides a capability that enables teams to create a checklist of items they want to ensure are looked for in review and to record who checks off each item and when. It also includes eSignature enhancements that ensure its compliance with FDA and other regulators, further Git enhancements that include “ensured reviewed” and "ensure started" triggers as well as enhanced integration with IBM (NYSE: IBM) Rational Team Concert (RTC).

For more information or to trial Collaborator for free, visit:

http://smartbear.com/products/software-development/code-review/free-trial-form.

About SmartBear Software

More than one million developers, testers and operations professionals use SmartBear software tools to ensure the quality and performance of their APIs, mobile, cloud-based and Web applications. With five million downloads and counting, SmartBear products are affordable, easy-to-use and ready for deployment. Free tools and plug-ins for automation and performance testing, code review and website monitoring are available for download on the website. Learn more about SmartBear, the company's award-winning tools or join the active user community at http://www.smartbear.com, on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @smartbear or Google+.

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