If you have software applications, you might like to take a look at WATSUP. This set of powerful Open Source test tools allows the full power of Python to be used to script functional and performance tests - AND it integrates fully with the Python unit test framework for regression testing.
All tests can not only reference, change and invoke the objects and menus that consitute an arbitrary windows application, but also check for the existence of database records, files, urls .. in fact anything to which the tester has access rights - on the local filesystem, intranet or extranet.
Tim