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LambdaTest Optimizes KAYAK's Release Cycles with Streamlined Testing Efficiency

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"LambdaTest has significantly enhanced our efficiency. The support team ensures prompt resolution of issues and timely consideration of feature requests. The exceptional support and diverse options offered by LambdaTest have been a great help."

Richa Bamb, Senior Quality Manager, KAYAK

About KAYAK

Since 2004, KAYAK has been revolutionizing the travel industry. Today, with over 1000 teammates, the travel search engine operates a portfolio of 7 global travel brands: KAYAK, SWOODOO, checkfelix, momondo, Cheapflights, Mundi, and HotelsCombined. Every year, KAYAK generates billions of queries across its platforms, helping millions of travelers around the globe make confident travel decisions.

With every query, the travel search engine searches hundreds of travel sites to show travelers the information they need to find the right flights, hotels, hire cars, and holiday packages. KAYAK was acquired by Booking Holdings, the world’s leading provider of online travel and related services, in 2013.

Device Lab Limitations Challenge KAYAK’s Testing Scalability

KAYAK’s reliance on multiple device labs in various locations presented some difficulties like connectivity issues, node failures, and unpredictable downtimes, disrupting both mobile and automation testing.

As KAYAK expanded, scalability concerns arose, emphasizing the limitations of the local device lab for maintaining an extensive device pool. This became more apparent with the company's push for frequent releases, prompting the need for a more robust testing solution.

Discovering the Perfect Fit: Why KAYAK Chose LambdaTest

Given KAYAK's rapid release cycles, the search for a robust testing solution initially led them to explore a cloud-based testing solution. To choose the right solution for their testing needs, they evaluated cloud providers based on billing models, detailed reporting, performance, and support. Despite all providers being willing to meet KAYAK's needs, LambdaTest stood out in terms of performance, pricing, and support.

The key factors driving this transition were Lambdatest's performance, concurrency model offering, exceptional support, and responsiveness through communication channels like Slack. This allows any user to communicate directly with Lambdatest and get almost instant support, without needing to raise tickets or escalating things through managers. Additionally, the solution proved to be a cost-efficient alternative by eliminating the need for extensive device and OS purchases, resulting in significant time savings on maintenance tasks.

Accelerating Release Cycles and Improving Device Coverage through LambdaTest

LambdaTest emerged as a great solution for KAYAK, resolving their testing challenges and introducing a level of efficiency that significantly impacted their release cycles.

Enhanced Device Coverage with Real Device Cloud

LambdaTest's broad array of 5000+ real devices ensures optimal user experience for KAYAK by testing across a plethora of real iOS and Android devices, effectively identifying and resolving issues. This unified environment meets diverse testing requirements, offering private, public, and on-premises cloud deployment options that provide KAYAK’s testing teams with both flexibility and enhanced security.

KAYAK seamlessly integrated LambdaTest into its existing tech stack and streamlined its testing processes. Further, KAYAK leveraged the cloud-based testing tool not only for mobile app testing but also for web automation. This flexibility allowed them to cover both web and app releases efficiently.

Informed Decisions with LambdaTest Insights

The reporting and analytics features provided by LambdaTest became instrumental in analyzing test results, identifying patterns, and making informed decisions to enhance the overall testing strategy. KAYAK specifically uses LambdaTest to track the pass/fail ratio and device coverage regarding app testing.

KAYAK's Testing Transformation with LambdaTest

KAYAK has consistently embraced new LambdaTest features and products. Their journey with LambdaTest highlights a progressive approach to comprehensive quality assurance. Starting in 2023 with manual testing on real devices and web automation on desktop, KAYAK has continually leveraged LambdaTest solutions to elevate their testing strategy. They also adopted SmartUI for visual regression testing, capturing over 15,000 screenshots to ensure visual consistency across all platforms.

In 2024, KAYAK continued to innovate by adopting HyperExecute Cloud to accelerate their testing processes. LambdaTest HyperExecute is a powerful test automation platform built to streamline and speed up the software testing process. It enables teams to run tests efficiently, quickly identify and resolve issues, and accelerate time-to-market. With AI-driven capabilities, HyperExecute helps organizations enhance their testing strategy and deliver high-quality software faster.

Along with this, KAYAK has been at par with adopting our new offerings and is one of the first users in private beta of the all-new KaneAI. KaneAI is the world's first end-to-end testing agent that allows teams to create, debug, and evolve tests using natural language. This demonstrates Kayak's commitment to scaling and optimizing their testing workflows using cutting-edge technologies from LambdaTest.

The LambdaTest Difference

Switching to LambdaTest reduced time on user management, device labs management, and user adoption company-wide. This also led to considerable cost savings, positively impacting productivity and enabling the reallocation of resources toward enhancing KAYAK's digital experience for users – a task that aligns with the team's strengths and preferences.