A testing environment is a facility or service where a company can try out technology under conditions close to real operation, before making an investment decision. It is provided by digital innovation hubs, universities, research institutes and some technology parks, often free of charge or for a nominal fee, because their activity is financed from public funds. This lets a company find out whether a solution can handle its specific data, material or working conditions, without the risk of procuring technology that does not work. The output of testing is also often a strong basis for a grant application, because it demonstrates the feasibility of the plan. In the field of artificial intelligence, this is complemented by the regulatory sandbox, intended for verifying solutions in dialogue with the supervisory authority. The list of available centres and their equipment is published, so a company can check in advance whether any of them corresponds to its sector.
See also: Testing before investment, European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH), Regulatory sandbox.
