When it comes to testing, an increasing share of companies are concentrating on burst testing to push their software closer to the breaking point. They’re spinning up a large number of virtual users and then pointing them at the systems under test in a large burst over a period of time. This simulates heavy traffic generated from sales, promotions, big events, or retail days like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, when a heavy load can wreak havoc on a system.

Those working on performance tests can start up a test for a short amount of time and only pay for the minutes they use.