Looking for a monitoring tool? Some questions to ask

While the need for a strong monitoring tool for your business is justified, you need to ask a lot of questions in order to determine that it is the right one for you. After all, your IT budget needs to be judiciously spent, and the monitoring system that you bring in should justify the spending. The number of APM solution providers in the market has increased exponentially, so you need to tread carefully while looking for one. So in addition to keeping your requirements in mind, ask the right questions before signing an agreement for a monitoring tool. Following are some of the questions you should ask:

1. How detailed is the monitoring tool? Many products out there only pinpoint the problem, but will not identify the root of the problem. A good monitoring system should not only identify the problem, but also its cause so that the IT team can take appropriate steps to solve the issue. Only if the problem is identified quickly will the bottlenecks be solved and service level agreements met.
2. Does it cover all applications? There are a lot of elements in the business infrastructure which can affect the performance of applications. If your monitoring tool cannot monitor all such infrastructure, it at least needs to be able to pull in data so that the IT team can get the true picture of all the applications. An effective monitoring system hence has to become the eyes of the IT team, so it can spot and prevent problems in applications.
3. Is the monitoring system easily manageable? Some monitoring tool available today are very efficient, but require constant tracking. Also check whether the tool requires any element to be installed on your production environment. Vendors now offer totally non-intrusive monitoring systems, which will help ensure that there is a reduction in down time. This also ensures that he promises made in the service level agreements are delivered.
4. Does the vendor offer support with the monitoring tool? An elaborate monitoring system may be very complex and you will require proper support to unravel it and put to use. Be sure to match find a monitoring tool which fits your requirements best. If there is no support provided with the system, go for one which provides less features but comes with full support. A simple monitoring system would be much more helpful than one which is complicated and requires expensive assistance.

Due to the popularity of monitoring tools and their importance in maintaining service level agreements, many APM solution providers have come forward with innovative solutions. Look for a monitoring system which matches your requirements closely, so that it can help you reduce downtime of all applications within your business.