The channel has seen the launch of a new partner program at the intersection of mobile apps and the cloud, as SOASTA announced an initiative aimed at increasing its engagement with VARs, MSPs, ISVs and SIs. Read on for details and what they mean for the channel.

SOASTA, which was founded in 2006 and is based in California, provides services for developers to test software applications. The "radical idea" at the core of its operations, according to the company, is to:

The new partner program, called PERFORM, focuses especially on developers of mobile and cloud apps interested in integrating SOASTA's automated testing platform into their products. Partners will have access to SOASTA software as well as to related support, sales and training services.

SOASTA already lists some big-name partners as members of the program, including open source cloud vendor Rackspace (NYSE: RAX), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) Web Services. Other organizations—large, medium or small—can apply for membership.

SOASTA's niche may be somewhat specific and esoteric, but it's also one ripe for further growth as mobile and cloud apps continue to boom—and as the job of making sure software actually works as expected (as opposed to designing and writing it, which is often a lot more fun) remains as tedious and time-consuming as ever.

Meanwhile, from the perspective of the channel, the program provides new oppurtunities for integrating software testing solutions directly into third-party products. Those solutions could appeal to VARs, MSPs and ISVs across a variety of areas, from OEMs to hosting providers to vendors of app-development toolkits.