Beta What Is Beta Software?

Beta

What is beta software?

Beta is the second letter of the Greek alphabet, and this is reflected in the nature of beta software, as beta versions are secondary, prototypical or 'test' versions of what may (hopefully) become wider releases of new software systems, if all of the initial problems can be worked out. "After an initial round of in-house testing, software publishers often release new programs to be tested by the public. These versions are...usually denoted by a b in the version number, e.g., Netscape Navigator 2.0b5" ("What is beta software?" 2007, University Information Technology Services).

What does beta do?

No matter how thorough an in-house system of testing might be, there is no way to predict exactly how the software will function in the hands of ordinary, human users, often with less experience than the developers. These 'in the field' users will be deploying software under a variety of novel, unforeseen conditions. Software must be practical and useful as well as functional. "Since the publisher couldn't possibly test the software under all possible conditions, it is reasonable to expect that wider use of the software may uncover problems that were not discovered during in-house testing. The publisher expects to be notified when users find such problems so that the program can be fixed before its official release" ("What is beta software?" 2007, University Information Technology Services).

Why it should be considered?

There are many problems with using beta software for the ordinary user, because by definition the software's designers have very likely not worked out all of the potential 'bugs' of the software. The "bugs may range in severity from minor features that don't work to problems that cause your computer to crash. Nor will the software be guaranteed by its maker, so you should not expect the same level of support as you would receive for an official release version of the program" ("What is beta software?" 2007, University Information Technology Services).

The advantage is being a 'first user' of a potentially new and advantageous system, and also of to provide critical feedback to the developers about how to improve the system. Users "should decide whether the benefit of new features in a beta program outweighs the risk of program instability before choosing to use a piece of beta software" ("What is beta software?" 2007, University Information Technology Services). By using a beta design, a company has a chance to develop a relationship with a designer, "because one of the integral components of the beta phase is a sufficient level of interaction with the applications' potential client base, reputable applications developers go out of their way to collaborate with users -- a relationship that could prove mutually advantageous" ("Get the best benefits from using beta software," 2003, Tech Republic). If the company uses the final product: "A beta product is a tremendous opportunity for the customer to learn a great deal about a software product's capabilities, and a great way to benefit from much more involved support, customization, and participation from the software company"("Get the best benefits from using beta software," 2003, Tech Republic).