Global Business Awards 2020

Used by over 200 computer system manufacturers, compiler developers, independent test laboratories, government agencies and large scale end users around the world, Perennial Inc has been providing software test programs to validate conformance of compilers to International Standards for the C and C++ programming languages for over three decades. We profiled the firm to find out more about their innovative programs. Specialising in testing the requirements contained in the International Standards for the computer programming languages C and C++ through ‘validation testing’, Perennial Inc has been a market leader in providing computer software test programmes since the 1980s. Licensing and providing validation suites to compiler developers alongside their Technical Support and Update Service for twelve months at no additional charge, Perennial is able to offer their customers the latest and highest standards in testing programs. Shortly after the firm’s establishment, Perennial was the first company to develop and market a product like this and was selected by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to provide a validation test suite for US Government use in a competitive procurement. The company was also the first to develop and market a validation test suite for the C++ programming language and worked very closely with AT&T, the inventors of both C and C++, in developing a combined validation suite for C++. This partnership came to an end as a result of AT&T’s shift in business strategy and Perennial took on the combined validation suite’s intellectual property rights and business model. Perennial have remained active in both the US and International Standard Committees for POSIX, C and C++. The Perennial engineering team have since contributed thousands of hours in support of national, international and government standards organisations, as well as acting as committee officers and technical contributors in the development of standards. This extensive expertise has been distilled into Perennial products, resulting in superior and exceptionally thorough C and C++ validation suites. Active involvement in Standards committees ensures the highly trained team of engineers at Perennial are always up to date with revisions and updates to the C and C++ International Standards that occur on a three-year cycle. As the C committee and C++ committee work to Best C & C++ Compiler Validation Test Suite Provider 2020 Global Business Awards 2020 25 Aug20399 revise their own standards whilst staying in cohesion with one another, Perennial is able to stay in the loop and adapt accordingly. This ensures Perennial customers are given access to exceptional products and services and as a result, their client base now extends across the globe. Typically, this clientele consists of compiler developers that are either independent corporations, semiconductor manufacturers or systems software organisations, but this is not an exclusive demographic. Perennial also provides the developed application software for safety and artificial intelligence for transportation systems, government agencies, and educational centres. The breadth of software used that must serve the purposes of reliability, safety, and security has been spreading widely, even as the number of providers of similar software has been shrinking due to industry consolidation. This is just one of the challenges currently facing Perennial and its competitors, the other being the Covid-19 pandemic, that has had an enormous impact on the way Perennial’s client base operates. However, at the heart of the Perennial organisation is an ethos founded on solid communication and trust, and being a small firm enables agility and the ability to provide excellent checks and balances. The Perennial team have therefore consolidated their customer resources and reshuffled customer priorities and business strategies, in order to continue operating at the highest level for their customers. As the dust settles following the global lockdown, Perennial’s goals for the near future are to satisfy their client base and serve the needs of C and C++ community. Having thrived for more than thirty years, we are in no doubt that Perennial’s resilience will pull through for many more successful years of business. Contact: Barry Hedquist Email Address: [email protected] Web Address: www.peren.com