When You Buy vs. When You Build: Dilemma in Testing Clouds

The global mobile-testing market is set to nearly triple in value over the next decade. It places an unprecedented, existential strain on Testing and Quality Assurance teams. This relentless acceleration brings us to the same, inevitable argument: the choice between two core pillars of mobile QA strategy–buying access to a public mobile testing cloud or building a private testing cloud using owned devices.

The procurement team sees “Buying” as operational ease, citing convenience and scalability.

The engineering lead counters that while buying is easier upfront, “owning” the testing infrastructure delivers long-term control and strategic value.

At the heart of this critical dilemma, we must now scrutinize these two pillars that govern all mobile QA strategy, clarifying the path forward. 

The True Cost of Convenience in Public Testing Clouds

• The Subscription Trap: Unpredictable Cost Spikes

Subscription plans appear predictable at first, but costs explode as device hours, concurrent sessions, premium devices, and advanced geo-testing requirements rise. Over time, the cost curve often grows faster than testing output, leading to severe budget strain.
For example, running 100 automation tests per month on 10 devices can cost around $850, and scaling up to 500 tests quickly pushes the bill over $2,000 per month. 

• The Zero-Trust Barrier: Security and Compliance Gaps

In multi-tenant environments, teams lack full visibility into the device history. This introduces unacceptable risk for organizations working with sensitive, high-value, or regulated applications. This shared-infrastructure model makes it significantly harder to meet strict compliance and audit requirements such as HIPAA or ISO27001.

• Where Automation Depth Starts to Break Down

Public platforms are built for convenience, not deep control. Capabilities required for advanced, stateful QA, such as persistent device states, long-duration testing, access to rooted or jailbroken devices for security checks, or hardware-level configuration are often restricted. This limits automation maturity and slows down complex QA workflows.

AstroFarm: Reclaiming Control with a Private Device Cloud

Many organizations already own a significant number of testing devices. AstroFarm transforms this existing capital investment into a secure, centrally managed private device cloud that can serve teams across locations.

Strategic Advantage: The ROI of Ownership

• Total Infrastructure Autonomy and Regulatory Control

As a QA and testing team, you can build your own testing platform with your devices, be it custom configurations, rooted devices, or specific OS versions, which public clouds simply cannot offer. It transforms your existing fleet into a secure, single-tenant private cloud that meets the most stringent regulatory requirements.

• Shifting Cost from Unpredictable Usage to Fixed Asset Utilization

AstroFarm eliminates the burden of unpredictable usage-based billing by utilizing the devices and infrastructure you already have. By maximizing the uptime of your existing assets, mid-sized teams often see a clear Return on Investment, moving funds from a variable Operation Expense bill to high-value internal asset utilization.

• Elasticity on Your Terms: Scaling Without Financial Penalty

From 10 devices to 500, AstroFarm provides device segregation based on team needs, UI testing capabilities, automation testing features, remote device control, and precise role-based access, all while the devices remain fully managed by you. AstroFarm provides device grouping based on team needs, automation and UI testing capabilities, and remote device control–while all the devices are managed by you. Growth aligns directly with your operational needs instead of being penalized with aggressive subscription tier increases.

• Higher Utilization of Existing Hardware

Devices owned by individual teams in localized labs become globally accessible testing assets. This prevents redundant device procurement, eliminates logistical overhead such as inter-office shipping, and ensures existing hardware investments are utilized with maximum efficiency. 

Quick Comparison

Parameter	Public Device Farm	Private Device Farm
Cost	Pay-per-use; costs rise with device hours, concurrency, and regions	Fixed cost using devices you own; predictable ROI
Scalability	Quick scaling, but costs grow with usage	Add devices easily; growth doesn’t spike budgets
Security & Compliance	Shared environment; harder to meet ISO/HIPAA	Single-tenant; full control, audit-ready, ideal for regulated apps
Device Control	Limited access; no rooting or custom configurations	Full device autonomy; long-running tests and real mobile device testing
Automation & Performance	Suited for basic testing; performance varies with shared devices	Supports advanced automation testing tools; consistent speed and accuracy
Data & Customization	Data passes through shared infrastructure; limited flexibility	Data stays in-network; full control over workflows, OS versions, and policies
Operational Overhead & Utilization	Low setup, but long-term friction	Slight initial setup; maximizes internal device usage
Vendor Lock-In & Strategic Value	High dependency on vendor roadmap and pricing	You own devices, data, and strategy; long-term resilience

The Verdict: Shifting from Rental to Strategic Ownership

In the mobile device cloud domain, buying is speed. Building is strategic resilience.

For organizations scaling complexity, handling sensitive data, or relying on proprietary hardware, the perpetual rental model is no longer financially or strategically viable. AstroFarm provides the architecture to reclaim ownership, maximize asset value, and align your QA infrastructure with the highest standards of security and digital autonomy.