ExtraMile by WisdomPlexus is an insightful interview series that aims to deliver knowledge and expert insights on the latest innovations to tech practitioners and enthusiasts while helping them stay informed in the digital era.
In today’s session, Simon Pickersgill, the Managing Director for the UK at Qualitest, joined us to shed light on the significance of adopting AI-enabled quality assurance and quality engineering solutions. The firm is a frontrunner in managed services for advanced quality engineering facilities.
While assisting organizations in embracing digital transformation, Qualitest aims to mitigate risks through personalized quality engineering solutions. With more than three decades of experience in the QA/QE sector, Simon has been leading and managing Qualitest’s operations in the UK.
As an IT expert, Simon reflects on his career in the discussion, alongside highlighting the significance of quality assurance and quality engineering in software development. AI-driven quality engineering is a key topic of this conversation, where Simon sheds light on how Qualitest is leading the way in this regard.
In this insightful interview, learn about software testing and development while implementing advanced quality assurance and quality engineering.
Welcome, Simon; we’re beyond delighted to host you today!
1. You have been operating in the IT and tech fields for more than three decades now. How has the journey been so far and what are the key lessons you have learned along your way?
Simon. Wow! The answer to this question could provide enough material for my first book but I’ll try and be brief! My three decades in the IT industry have seen a profound transformation, marked by rapid technological innovation, globalisation, and massive shifts in how technology is used in daily life and business. When I started as a history graduate in the IT industry in the early 1990s, mainframe “green screen” systems, with overnight batch processing dating from the 60s and 70s, was the predominant technology.
Testing and QA was not seen as discrete discipline and was often performed by developers. While the end User Experience was, by and large, an afterthought. However, the velocity of technical change was about to begin increasing exponentially.
My first decade in the industry saw the advent of the internet era and a rise in personal computing driven by new developments in data storage and retrieval (internet access/web browsers) and communication (email). Increased connectivity and communications necessitated increased levels of security and quality for individuals and for businesses and, as a result, testing and QA began to be recognised as a specialism and a career that I chose to pursue in the late 90s - although using technology to test technology was still in its infancy at this time.
My second decade saw broadband internet replace dial-up which facilitated the emergence of Web2.0 (user-generated content such as blogs and Wikipedia, social networks like Facebook & X (Twitter as was), and dynamic web apps). The mobile phone revolution really gathered pace with the arrival of smart phones towards the end of noughties and open-source software like Linux and MySQL was becoming popular. Faster processing, the move to online businesses and increased access to data all heightened security risks while instant access to business and commercial systems resulted in users/customers demanding a better experience and voting with their feet (or mice) if they didn’t get one.
User-facing applications had to be demonstrably faster, easier to use and more secure and testing and QA began to evolve to assure this new technology faster with the rise in adoption of agile delivery methods and primitive automation test tooling facilitated by the new technology. In this decade, I was able to establish and develop a QA & Testing business to service both traditional, manual waterfall delivery testing/QA needs and these new demands for faster and more complex testing, with Quality Engineering bringing automation and building quality into the development process itself.
My third decade has seen the rise of cloud computing, smartphones and mobile apps in every household, the ability to capture and analyse vast amounts of information at speed (Big Data) and AI moving from the realm of theory and proof of concept to a business reality (with the corresponding rise of data science as a discipline and a career). All this has been accompanied by a rise in Cybersecurity threats and the redefinition of the IT Security Analyst role. Quality assurance at speed was now key in all aspects of system design and implementation. The new technologies also supported the implementation of iterative/agile delivery, more realistic and cost-effective environments for testing and sophisticated tools for quality engineering (test automation and test data generation). During this decade Qualitest acquired my company as their UK hub and brought their fledgling AI capability to integrate with and enhance our ability to manage risk and effectively assure rapidly evolving technologies at increasing speed. Technology is now testing technology in a way that was only dreamed of when I entered the IT industry. These days, as UK MD for Qualitest, I watch in awe of where we are heading as an industry and as a business, with generative AI already with us and Quantum computing around the not-too-distant corner.
Key Lessons:
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- All these new delivery processes and sophisticated technology won’t deliver the desired results without strong, smart, capable and engaged people to implement, run and assure them - so look after your people!
- Quality doesn’t just happen - it needs to be embedded by design in all aspects of the development lifecycle whether buying or building new technology. Complacency in this regard will burn your business sooner or later.
- Failure in a controlled environment is not a bad thing as long we learn from it. Innovation is achieved through repeated failures and IT people should be encouraged to try different things and be allowed to fail.
- Change is inevitable and a driver for improvement, so good people should not feel threatened by it. Automation hasn’t replaced humans; it has just changed the nature of their roles in industry. It will be the same with AI whatever Elon Musk says to get publicity for his extreme politics and failing car business!
2. What is the importance of quality assurance and quality engineering in software development?
Simon. Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Engineering (QE) are essential to software development because they ensure that the system and product delivery meet the required standards (in terms of functionality, performance, security, regulation, usability, etc.).
QA/QE ensure that systems function as expected under various conditions, minimizing crashes and defects. They also make development and delivery more efficient by identifying defects earlier in the lifecycle, thereby reducing the cost of remediating them. Testing verifies that all components of the software work together without issues, reducing system downtime, preventing errors, and ensuring systems deliver the required business outcomes in a performant way. Poor-quality applications impact the end-user experience, resulting in loss of business and potential reputational damage. Appropriate QA ensures that users interact with a product that is reliable, intuitive, and meets their needs, which increases user satisfaction and customer retention. By maintaining a high-quality product, businesses can ensure they stay competitive in the market and avoid damage to their brand.
QA/QE provide organisations with effective risk mitigation for their software releases. For example, security testing identifies vulnerabilities and allows businesses to protect against data breaches, cyber-attacks, etc., while QA/QE teams are responsible for ensuring that the applications adhere to relevant industry regulatory compliance and standards.
In modern Agile and DevOps delivery environments, quality engineering is integrated throughout the development cycle, enabling fast and reliable delivery of new product features. Automated tests, for example, allow teams to quickly validate code changes, enabling frequent releases without sacrificing quality. Continuous feedback loops from QA/testing help developers make informed decisions on areas that need improvement, ensuring rapid iteration with consistent quality.
3. How does AI enhance quality assurance and engineering activities? What benefits does AI integration offer in this regard?
Simon. AI and ML are transforming the way we approach quality assurance and software delivery. At Qualitest, we leverage these technologies to analyse client lifecycle data, uncover trends, and fine-tune delivery to provide optimised quality and cost and risk.
For instance, AI enables intelligent test optimisation. By analysing historical defect data, test cases, and planned changes, we can home in on the most valuable tests to run—drastically improving efficiency and defect detection in critical areas. This data-driven prioritisation reduces noise, shortens test cycles, and routes defects directly to the right teams for faster resolution.
Generative AI is another key enabler. It helps refine requirements to make them smarter, minimises defect leakage by improving test coverage, and ensures that testing asserts real behaviours, not just box-ticking. Our use of vision-based AI also allows automation to interact with systems like real users, especially valuable where traditional automation falls short.
Our clients have seen tangible results:
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- 9% increase in software throughput
- 20%+ safe reduction in test volumes
- 30%+ acceleration in failure detection
- 60% faster defect turnaround
- 90% improvement in requirements quality
AI does not replace human testers—but it empowers them. It gives our QA specialists actionable insights, allowing them to focus effort where it matters most.
4. Qualitest provides top-notch quality engineering solutions, including the Qualisense AI platform. Give us an overview of this tool.
Simon. Qualisense is our proprietary AI platform—designed to be the brain behind AI-led quality engineering. It ingests data from across a client’s ecosystem and applies advanced ML algorithms to deliver real-time, actionable insights.
Supporting over 50 algorithms across supervised, unsupervised, and generative models, Qualisense isn’t just an analytics engine—it’s a full AI enablement suite. Clients use it to build and refine AI/ML models for their own use cases or to rigorously test AI they’re developing or integrating.
For our teams, Qualisense powers AI-driven QA by learning from client data, detecting patterns, and predicting areas of risk or inefficiency. It also underpins our broader AI engineering services.
The platform is securely deployed on-premises, giving our clients full control over their data. With robust tools for data exploration, model development, and continuous learning, Qualisense turns raw data into a strategic advantage.
5. Software testing is one of the core services of Qualitest. How does testing improve the software development lifecycle?
Simon. At its best, testing isn’t a checkpoint at the end of the lifecycle—it’s a catalyst for speed, confidence, and continuous improvement throughout. Testing improves the software development lifecycle (SDLC) by embedding quality at every stage, not just detecting defects but preventing them, enabling teams to release faster, safer, and with greater alignment to user needs.
Consider a leading UK-based insurer which underwent a complete Agile testing transformation. By rethinking their quality engineering approach, they didn’t just improve efficiency, they turned testing into a lever for faster, more predictable delivery. This was one of the strongest transformation stories we’ve seen and was even used in our 2024 WAVE submission.
Another example comes from our work with the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) during the COVID-19 pandemic, for which the NHS won a European Software Testing Award in 2022 in partnership with Qualitest. Tasked with ensuring the quality, reliability and security of the national COVID-19 contact tracing app, we provided comprehensive quality assurance and cybersecurity validation, at speed, facilitating a significant improvement in the end user experience. The result was a robust, secure application trusted by millions of users at a time of national crisis - demonstrating how rapid, efficient and effective software testing can build public (end-user) trust and accelerate time-sensitive innovation.
Even in high-demand retail environments, testing proves its value. A well-known British footwear brand needed to ensure their online store could handle holiday traffic without disruption. Through rigorous performance and holiday-readiness testing, we gave them the confidence to deliver a seamless experience during their most business-critical period.
Each of these stories shows how testing, when done right, doesn’t slow development, it powers it.
6. What is your take on phygital test automation? How do you think physical and digital elements collaboratively transform test automation practices?
Simon. The physical and digital worlds have coexisted for decades—but today, the way they interact has fundamentally shifted. With the rise of advanced connectivity, edge computing, and smarter energy-efficient hardware, phygital systems have moved from niche to norm. Whether it’s in consumer electronics, healthcare devices, industrial machinery, or public infrastructure, we’re seeing an explosion of complex, interconnected systems that span both hardware and software.
This shift poses new challenges for quality engineering. Traditional software automation techniques aren’t enough. Long product life cycles, ongoing firmware upgrades, cross-version compatibility, and evolving hardware ecosystems all demand a new breed of test automation—one that can simultaneously operate in the physical and digital realms.
At Qualitest, we’ve taken this challenge head-on. Our in-house innovation, Qualibot, was purpose-built to bridge this gap. It’s not just a test execution tool—it behaves like a human. It can tap, swipe, press physical buttons, rotate knobs, and interact with touchscreen UIs. What’s more, its actions are API-exposed, making it easy to plug into any mainstream test automation framework like Selenium, Playwright, or UFT. This enables end-to-end orchestration of both physical and digital tests—seamlessly and scalable.
The result? Higher coverage. Lower maintenance. And, most importantly, better quality outcomes across phygital use cases. From connected medical devices to embedded retail systems, we’re helping clients de-risk innovation, accelerate time to market, and deliver phygital products that work flawlessly in the real world.
Because in today’s world, test automation doesn’t stop at the screen, it starts at the surface and goes all the way through.
7. You control the entire management of Qualitest’s UK operations. What challenges do you typically face, and how do you overcome them?
Simon. Managing a large, technical services provider such as Qualitest UK means I am presented with a myriad of diverse challenges and am ultimately accountable for our region in overcoming them. These challenges also vary depending on the state of our market. I think I will need to save the full list of challenges and solutions for when I ever write that book, but I’ve provided a few key examples below.
Although our business is a technical one, attracting and retaining the best people is key to our success and a constant problem that all managed service providers face. This challenge is heightened when our market is booming. To address this, we create an environment where talented people are supported and challenged to be the best they can be. There are structured programs for learning and development that run alongside mentorship programs and external certifications. The nature of our work is interesting and varied. We rotate our consultants across different customers and industry sectors, offering exposure to different businesses and technologies.
We don’t limit the progression of our best people by criteria such as age or time in role—if you are good enough, then you are old enough—and we promote from within wherever possible. Experience is important, but ability is key in an ever-changing technology landscape.
To meet the challenges of growing our business, keeping our board satisfied, and stimulating our talent, we need to ensure that we deliver value-added services to the best of our ability with a customer-first mindset.
Simply doing what we have been contracted to do is not sufficient! We infuse a culture of innovation and improvement into our people and our engagements. We monitor and report on customer delivery in terms not only of service delivery but also of value add. Our teams continuously look to understand what opportunities there are to innovate and/or add value for our customers. This allows us to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction and retention, bringing stability to our business and insulating us to a degree from adverse market conditions.
When our market is strong, our reputation for quality, value, and innovation—allied to our strong customer referenceability—makes our sales team’s life a relatively easy one. We naturally grow with our market, and we often outperform it. However, during a down market like the one we’ve experienced over the last couple of years, we have struggled to get the YoY growth our owners require. There is less work, and the competition is fiercer for what there is.
To address this, we looked to innovate in our new business development area. Over the last 18 months, we have tried new lead generation channels both internally and externally and increased our Sales team to boost the volume of new business opportunities identified and subsequently converted. We have integrated our AI capability into the UK Sales process to support competitive pricing and increase throughput. We have increased our spend on smarter Marketing and better-qualified industry events across the sectors in which we work. Not everything we have tried has worked, but—as with every aspect of what we do at Qualitest—we learn from our failures and celebrate our successes. I am pleased and proud to say we are now outperforming the current UK down market in which we are operating.
A continual challenge regardless of market conditions is the increasing velocity of technological and business changes. Qualitest UK, our people, and the services we offer have to evolve and adapt to our customers’ needs as they are shaped by new technology, new business requirements, and more demanding end users. To facilitate this and support the development of our people to better deliver in this environment, we have organised our business into vertical industry sectors with horizontal specialisms and technical centres of excellence.
Our sectors (including Banking, Finance & Insurance; Energy, Utilities and Tech; Retail; Telco; etc.) provide SME business knowledge and are responsible for staying ahead of business developments and regulatory requirements in their industries. Our horizontal specialisms and Centres of Excellence (for AI, Data, Cloud, Phygital, Cyber Security, Enterprise Systems, etc.) provide technical guidance, support, and innovation across our customers and are responsible for staying ahead of the curve in terms of technological developments. As an aside, it was one of these horizontals that stimulated my interest in quantum computing!
These are a small sample of the challenges involved in running a UK managed services business, but they are some of the core ones: people, customers, growth, and the pace of technological change.
8. How do you see the future of managed services? How will it fill the tech gap within organizations?
Simon. The future of managed services in IT organizations is evolving rapidly, shaped by emerging technologies, changing business needs, and the increasing complexity of IT environments. There is a shift from traditional third-party support towards strategic partnerships that help organizations with their business and digital transformations, cloud strategies, and innovation. Managed service providers are increasingly acting as virtual extensions of IT departments, providing access to a broad pool of specialized skills on demand, something Qualitest does in our particular field.
As most organizations adopt hybrid or multi-cloud environments, the demand is rising for managed service partners who can unify the management of diverse cloud platforms (such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, etc.), eliminating the need for in-house technical capability in these areas. Organizations will also rely on such partners to bridge the tech gap and combat increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. As technology continues to evolve at increasing velocity (AI, edge computing, quantum computing, etc.), and as IoT deployments expand, partners will extend their services to manage these systems—further filling the tech gap organizations face.
As Qualitest is doing for some of its customers, managed services will increasingly leverage AI and automation. This reduces operational costs, improves SLAs, and allows us to deliver more proactive rather than reactive services. Again, as Qualitest is demonstrating, successful managed service partners will tailor offerings to industry-specific requirements (e.g., healthcare, finance, manufacturing), combining deep domain knowledge with technical expertise.
Traditional time-and-materials or subscription-based models are shifting toward flexible, outcome-based delivery models or value-based pricing—and I see this trend accelerating. More and more of our customers pay for results, not just services rendered. Organizations that embrace these more sophisticated managed services—providing scalable, secure, and proactive solutions—will bridge their tech gaps, gain greater agility, improve risk management, and free up capacity to focus on core business innovation.
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