S3 Group said it has struck a deal to sell its TV technology division, which includes its StormTest automated testing platform, to Accenture.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but Accenture said it will integrate S3 TV Technology’s StormTest platform with Accenture Digital Video Services, a unit that’s part of the company’s communications, media and technology group.

The acquisition should also boost Accenture’s profile with respect to the Reference Design Kit (RDK), the preintegrated software stack for IP-capable set-tops and gateways that’s being managed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Time Warner Cable. In 2013, S3 Group was tapped to oversee RDK Management LLC’s code management function, ensuring that contributions to the common code base are properly assessed, merged and tested before becoming part of RDK releases. S3 TV Technology is the unit of S3 Group that has been managing that key piece for the RDK. According  to a spokesperson, RDK Mananagement LLC looks forward to its relationship with Accenture

S3’s known customers from the pay TV world include Sky (UK), Astro, BT, Comcast, Kabel Deutschland, Liberty Global, Mediacom Communications, RDK Management, Swisscom, Time Warner Cable, Videotron, and Starman, a TV and Internet provider in the Baltic region.

“I believe that Accenture will provide an excellent new home for our TV Technology business and its people, and I wish them continued success into the future” John O’Brien, CEO of Ireland-based S3 Group, said in a statement.  “This announcement highlights S3 Group’s strategy and ability to create high-growth, market-focused businesses. We continue this exciting journey with our expanding Connected Health and Semiconductor Solutions businesses, and the creation of new businesses in the future.”

Mooreland Partners has acted as exclusive financial advisor to S3 Group.

About half of pay TV operators are deploying multiscreen TV software releases at a speedier rate in 2015 versus 2014, a new survey of nearly 30 operators in the U.S. and Europe from S3 Group revealed.

Of those that are deploying software released more frequently, 46% boosted the number of software releases by more than 20% in 2015, while 39% saw output increases of between 11% and 20%.

Also, 78% of that group cited automated testing (see chart) as the top initiative that contributor to these faster software development timelines, said S3 Group, which also happens to specialize in automated test tools for pay TV providers.  

While pay TV providers have historically been saddled with cycles that allow for one to four releases a year, 26% issued more than one release per month on average in 2014 (ranging from 13 to more than 50 releases annually), and an additional 30% of operators 30% of operators made between five to 12 releases annually.

S3 Group, whose survey covered pay TV operators spanning 77 million subs, said the results amplify the fact that the group is embracing their roles as software companies more rapidly adopt Agile, DevOps and “continuous deployment” models that largely emerged out of the software world. For more on this trend, see this Multichannel Newscover story (subscription required).

Among other survey findings, 41% ranked service availability as their top priority, followed by speed (32%) and efficiency (27%).

“Unlike yesteryear, pay TV providers’ reliability and innovation is no longer driven by the physical plant, but rather by software code,” said John Maguire, chief strategy officer, TV technology at Group, in a statement. “Video service providers are striving to shorten innovation cycles, test and launch services faster, and make updates more frequently.  As our survey shows, this trend is pushing operators to realign their software lifecycle tools and organizational structure to balance the need for speed and stability.”   

S3 Group said Sky (UK) will tap the vendor’s test automation solution to enable the pay-TV provider’s field engineers run diagnostics on set-top boxes that can rapidly determine the root cause of technical issues. 

Noting that Sky’s Home Service Field Engineers visit over 3 million customers in the UK every year, S3 said the solution will enable the service provider’s field engineers to execute a series of tests on set-tops in the home and quickly isolate whether the fault is in the hardware, or if there’s a problem with the in-home configuration.

It will do that via a series of diagnostic tests conducted in real-time using an engineer’s existing tablet device to connect to the set-top, S3 said. The results are returned in a graphical format, enabling engineers to address the problem and to provide assurance to customers that, when the fault is resolved, their STB is working correctly.

“Sky is continuously applying new technology to ensure our customers receive the very best service experience,” said Giles Harvey, supply director, Sky. “Getting it right first time is important for customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency. S3 Group have provided a reliable solution for Sky’s field engineers to efficiently test and resolve device faults during a service visit.”

“The application of automation has become essential for pay-TV providers to reduce operating costs and improve quality,” added Derek Dwyer, S3’s general manager, TV technology, S3. “This solution enables Sky’s field engineers to efficiently test a device, increases customer confidence in the diagnosis, and ultimately reduces device swap outs”.

S3’s other customers and clients include Astro, BT, Comcast, Kabel Deutschland, Liberty Global, Mediacom, RDK Management, Swisscom, Time Warner Cable, and Videotron, among others. 

S3 Group said it has been selected by Kabel Deutschland, the largest cable operator in Germany, to automate the testing of multiscreen services across consumer premises equipment platforms, including Apple iOS and Google’s Android OS devices.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but Kabel Deutschland will use S3’s StormTest Development Center to integrate the testing of its TV services, including mobile video applications into its test framework.

S3 said the agreement announced Tuesday, made in concert with this week’s ANGA COM conference in Cologne, marks an expansion of the use of Development Center in Kabel Deutschland.

“Subscribers want a great user experience, regardless of the device being used. By integrating all devices into our existing test framework Kabel Deutschland will be able to test feature updates and new services faster,” said Bernd Hansen, Teamleiter Service Management at Kabel Deutschland, in a statement. “In particular, mobile video application testing with StormTest will give us a reliable, repeatable, and automated method to assure the quality of multiscreen user experience.”

“The modern television experience is now inherently multiscreen,” added John Maguire, chief strategy officer, TV Technology, at S3 Group. “This is challenging contemporary service delivery methods, requiring more efficient processes, and agile development methods. With StormTest Development Center we will enable Kabel Deutschland to deliver new services and features at Internet speed.”

Kabel Deutschland is also a licencee of the Reference Design Kit, the preintegrated software stack for IP and hybrid QAM/IP set-tops and gateways being managed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Time Warner Cable.  RDK Management is using S3 to oversee its code management function. 

In addition to KD, S3 Group’s customers include Astro, BT, Comcast, Liberty Global, Mediacom, RDK Management LLC, Sky, Swisscom, Time Warner Cable, and Videotron, among others. 

S3 Group said 12 pay TV operators are testing StormTest Warning Center, a platform that enables them to monitor and test new apps and services after they go live.

On the advice of operators, S3 developed this new DevOps capability to help “bridge the gap” between the end of initial testing and development in the lab to the actual launch of a new offering, John Maguire, S3’s chief strategy officer, said.

S3 Group announced its Warning Center trial update Thursday in tandem with the company’s second annual StormTest North American User Group in Philadelphia.

The need for a live-network testing system has come about as operators become more software-focused and shift from a test-and-launch to a launch-and-test mentality, while also moving away from monolithic systems and services to a model that supports the introduction of more granular “micro-services” that enhance the overall system. The trick is supporting and testing those without impacting all of the other pieces of the platform.

“They [pay TV operators] needed to continue to roll that testing into the live network,” while backing it with a cloud-based system that can run the analytics, he said. “This is a 24/7 activity…We’ve got a product platform that is particularly suited for this transition to continuous delivery.”

Warning Center and its cloud-based approach, S3 said, can be used to provide automated service validation, and perform remote troubleshooting and testing of elements such as audio or video quality, EPG rendering, channel change times, and VOD access times.

S3 Group isn’t identifying the dozen operators that are testing Warning Center, which was introduced at the IBC show last fall, but it’s a group that represents a range of distribution types, including IPTV, cable and terrestrial.  However, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Mediacom Communications and Canada’s Videotron are among the North American MSOs that are using S3’s StormTest products. Of that group, TWC is using StormTest tools for its TWC TV app.

S3 Group recently set up a new office in Philadelphia to support new and existing business in the region, and to accommodate cable sector growth. S3 is also managing the code base for the Reference Design Kit, the preintegrated software stack for hybrid QAM/IP and IP-only set-tops and video devices being managed by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global. 

S3 Group said Kabel Deutschland, Germany’s largest cable operator, has selected the vendor’s StormTest Development Center to provide service validation testing on a range of consumer premises equipment.

Under the deal, KD will tap the test platform for both test and product environment, including live service monitoring, channel lineup validation, and A/V and caption quality assurance. S3 noted that its platform will interface with Kabel Deutschland’s headend to validate video service configurations, and integrate with CPE to test services and simulate subscriber viewing experiences prior to deployment.

“S3 Group’s end-to-end service validation platform enables us to replace time-consuming manual tests with more accurate, efficient and repeatable test cycles across our device platforms and software configurations,” said Bernd Hansen, KD’s teamleiter, service management.

KD, which supplies services to about 8.4 million homes passed, announced in February that it had licensed the Reference Design Kit (RDK), a preintegrated software stack for IP-capable set-tops and gateways being managed by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global.

In addition to KD, S3 Group’s customers also include Astro, BSkyB, BT, Comcast, Liberty Global, Mediacom, Swisscom, Time Warner Cable, Videotron and RDK Management, the joint venture of Comcast, TWC, and Liberty Global that is managing the Reference Design Kit for IP-capable set-tops and gateways. Of recent note, Dublin-based S3 opened a new office in Philadelphia to support new and existing business in the region and to accommodate growth it’s seeing in the domestic cable sector.