Leading Edge Healthcare Service Provider Selects Tevron for its Application Monitoring & Testing Requirements

Nashua, NH. USA - February 21, 2011 – Tevron, the leader in IT performance and availability monitoring & testing solutions, announced today that one of the leading health services companies that provides patients with a wide range of integrated health care services, including medical diagnosis and treatment, health education, self-care products, and services with over 8,000 employees, deployed CitraTest APM (http://www.tevron.com/citratest-apm.asp) & CitraTest (http://www.tevron.com/citratest.asp) across their US locations for the monitoring and testing of all of their mission critical business & medical applications.

Tevron was selected based on their powerful & flexible IT monitoring technology that fully supports every one of their very complex business applications (Epic, Web) and environments (Windows 7, Windows XP, RDP). Having one enterprise monitoring solution that intelligently supports every application is invaluable. Unlike the products from other vendors, Tevron offers a tightly integrated, simplified and scalable solution that meets the needs of their complex healthcare business and their ever changing technologies.

About Tevron (http://www.tevron.com)

Tevron® is a global software company that develops and delivers the most powerful and comprehensive suite of End To End performance, Application Monitoring Solutions, SLA (Service Level Agreement) and Automated Testing Solutions available in the world today. Tevron has successfully delivered enterprise APM & Testing solutions that support every IT enterprise application to hundreds of customers worldwide.

Tevron, CitraTest APM, and the Tevron logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Tevron, LLC. All other company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

© 2011 Tevron, LLC. all rights reserved.

For more information:

North America (HQ)
Tevron, LLC
Phone: +1 702.518.7435

EMEA
Tevron, LLC
Phone: +44 (0) 2089 066 591

Germany
Tevron, LLC
Phone: +49 (0) 800 664 6695

4 Features of a Good Application Monitoring Tool

Businesses which rely in their IT infrastructure for business-critical activities need a strong monitoring system or monitoring tool for determining whether their applications are functioning properly or not. However, business owners and IT managers usually struggle to find an ideal monitoring tool for its IT infrastructure, which suits all its business requirements and helps prevent bottlenecks which affect the bottom line. In this post, we discuss some critical features your application monitoring tool should have, in order to become a strong tool for system monitoring.

A strong application monitoring tool should have the following four features:

1. Support For All Applications

Until a few years ago, monitoring tools offered support for specific popular applications only. This meant that businesses needed to deploy different monitoring tools to monitor various applications used by them. However, with the increasing requirement of a single monitoring system which can monitor all applications throughout the organization, new vendors have now come up with a single monitoring tool. Such an all-encompassing monitoring system eliminates the requirements of different tools as well as reduces costs.

2. Real Time Alerts

A strong monitoring tool is one which can provide real time alerts on application availability and their response times, which helps IT managers in knowing the performance of all applications. Such a monitoring system helps IT managers establish a threshold, and generate real time alerts in case those established thresholds are crossed. IT managers can then take the appropriate steps to overcome those bottlenecks before they start affecting end users.

3. Proactive And Consistent Monitoring

Application monitoring needs to be undertaken proactively and consistently by the monitoring system so that application health issues can be addressed as soon as possible. With such proactive application monitoring, bottlenecks can be prevented before they become bigger problems. Such a monitoring tool can help IT teams ensure application availability, so that all the business-critical applications function 24/7 without a hitch.

4. Non-intrusive

An ideal monitoring system should also be non-intrusive to the production environment. Find a monitoring tool which does not install any element on the database servers. Such a non-intrusive and independent monitoring tool will ensure that, all applications across an organization are monitored constantly and any bottlenecks can be avoided before they start affecting end users.

Application Monitoring: Some Major Challenges Businesses Face

Application monitoring is a must for all businesses which use IT for business-critical activities. However, businesses face many challenges when it comes to application monitoring. Any down time in applications can directly affect the bottom line of businesses. In order to undertake active monitoring of applications, such challenges need to be identified first. Businesses face some of the following problems while monitoring applications.

Proactive Application Monitoring

Proactive application monitoring help in preventing or solving application bottlenecks before they start affecting end users. However, a certain threshold needs to be set before IT teams can ensure application availability. In case the established threshold is surpassed, the monitoring tool generates a real-time alert. Studying application performance for setting this threshold is a major challenge for almost all businesses. For overcoming this challenge, the IT department needs to determine the number of processes which need constant application monitoring, on basis of which they can set the threshold.

Application Monitoring for Multiple & Complex Applications

If the business has global users, the applications may be very complex because they have to support many locations, languages and cultures. Application monitoring of such complex applications becomes a major challenge for IT departments. Active monitoring of such applications can only be done after understanding the interconnectivity and flow of applications.

Application Monitoring for Shared Applications

Businesses often share applications in order to utilize resources optimally. Application monitoring of a single application is a simple task; however, a shared application creates the complication of constantly tracking logs, memory, disk resources etc. As an example, a single application using a lot of resources could affect the performance of other applications within the organization. Active monitoring of such applications can only be done through an effective application monitoring solution.

Application Monitoring for Clustered Applications

Many business applications are hosted in clustered environments with systems located at separate locations. This creates an application monitoring challenge for tracking failure logs, resources like disk, memory etc. Only by undertaking active monitoring of all the different components can an IT department track which application is causing problems.

A strong application monitoring tool can help overcome all the above-mentioned challenges for business organizations. There are a number of service providers in the market today who can help businesses ensure that service level agreement conditions are met. An experienced APM solution provider offers tools with which IT teams can undertake active monitoring of applications, ensuring end users are not affected by bottlenecks.

Application Monitoring: 5 Steps to ensure effective monitoring of business-critical applications

Businesses are starting to give due importance to application monitoring of business critical applications, which prevents bottlenecks from affecting end users. Application monitoring also ensures that any glitches in the application can be solved quickly and efficiently before they become bigger problems. In addition to this, monitoring makes sure that application performance is up to the mark so that the business can function efficiently. The following are 5 steps through which you can ensure effective application monitoring for all business applications.

ADVANCED PLANNING

The first step for effective application monitoring is to plan well in advance. Application monitoring cannot be undertaken unless a roadmap is laid out. This is true especially in case of a new application or software. Such monitoring ensures that application performance is also on par with the business standards which are set.

PROACTIVE APPLICATION MONITORING

Many businesses make the mistake of ignoring application monitoring unless there is a problem in it. This is a blunder, as waiting for a problem to occur before solving it may affect end users adversely. Application monitoring should be proactive and constant so that any bottlenecks in the application can be dealt with before they start affecting end users. Constantly monitoring applications also results in optimum application performance. IT managers can undertake proactive monitoring by establishing threshold values of IT infrastructure like bandwidth, CPU, memory etc. In case these parameters are exceeded, they can perform a system health check to prevent a major problem.

SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT

A written contract like a service level agreement (SLA) can serve businesses well and establish the extent to which application monitoring needs to be undertaken. The IT team can determine the requirements and measure application availability according to the standards set in the service level agreement.

FORM A RECOVERY PLAN FOR APPLICATION FAILURE

An important step in ensuring application monitoring is to have a well-prepared recovery plan in case of application failure. Sometimes, despite taking precautions and ensuring application performance of business-critical applications, they fail; in such a scenario, the IT team needs to ensure that the error is rectified as soon as possible so that there is minimum impact to business bottom line.

GET PROFESSIONAL HELP

If your business-critical applications are not being monitored for application performance, your bottom line may get affected in case of a serious problem in any application. You can get the help of a professional for application monitoring. There are many service providers today who offer customized APM solutions which cover all the applications within the organization, and are highly efficient in ensuring optimum application performance. Such APM solutions can help you ensure that applications are available and there is minimum downtime.

5 Steps To Developing A Service Level Agreement

An important characteristic of completing a business engagement is the service level agreement entered into by the customer and the service provider. SLAs set forth the service levels expected by the customers and deliverable by the service provider. They are especially of importance in businesses in which mission-critical services are supported by applications/softwares and a single malfunction in the IT operations can damage the bottom line of the business in a major way. A service level agreement determines the terms and conditions of the services and creates a roadmap for achieving the goals of the project. SLAs can provide the network administrator with complete details on application availability and is a great tool to application monitoring and performance testing.

However, the process of determining a service level agreement is lengthy and complicated. Industry experts recommend a step by step process for developing a SLA which is explained below.

1. Basic Information
   

Gathering of basic information on part of both the customer and the service provider is the first step in developing a service level agreement. Before any commitments are made in the SLA, the customer needs to spell out his requirements clearly and the service provider needs to verify whether meeting those service requirements is realistically possible. Without this basic understanding, a service level agreement cannot be successful.



2. Establish the Process of Working Together
   

This is a critical step in establishing a service level agreement. When there are two parties involved, there are bound to be differences in communication style, expectations, working method etc. When these differences are identified upfront, the process of working in tandem with each other is easier to chalk out. Once this process is worked out, the exact steps to be taken will be known and the service level agreement will have greater chances of success.



3. Consensus
   

Many times, customers and service providers have two very different viewpoints regarding what a service level agreement can achieve. Negotiations for SLAs are known to have broken down due to differences in viewpoints. It would help this purpose if both the concerned parties hold an open discussion to ensure that their viewpoints match. Any differences in expectations can then be ironed out at this stage and the service level agreement can be developed further.



4. Develop and Approve the Final Draft
   

This step involves developing the structure and content of the service level agreement. This is a time-consuming process, with customer as well as the service provider discussing, negotiating, and after a time arriving to the conclusion regarding the terms and conditions to be included in the service level agreement. Even after the draft is created, members of both the parties who are responsible for the success of the SLA should be allowed to review it and offer suggestions. After such discussions and revisions, the service level agreement can be finalized.



5. Applying and Managing the Service Level Agreement
   

Even after application of the service level agreement, its management remains an important aspect. There should be a member from both parties who has to be a point of contact in case of problems related to the SLA. In addition to this, constant reviews with regards to services provided, modifications in the existing service level agreement, enhancements to the services provided etc. need to be taken care of through the management of SLAs. Finally the teams at both ends need to be taken into confidence so that they help achieve the goals of the service level agreement.

Developing and entering into a service level agreement is a complex process and requires a lot of attention. Through the above-mentioned steps, a successful service level agreement can be developed and entered into.

4 Major Application Monitoring Challenges Faced by Businesses Organizations

Application monitoring challenges are faced by almost all business organizations which utilize applications for their daily business. Any problem that interrupts performance of business-critical applications affects the bottom line of the business as well. It is hence necessary to identify the major challenges of application monitoring before figuring out how to deal with them. The following are some challenges which are faced by organizations using applications for conducting business:

Monitoring Applications Proactively
In order to prevent and solve application problems from affecting end users, proactive application monitoring needs to be undertaken. But ensuring application availability is only possible if a certain threshold level has been defined. A major challenge in proactive monitoring is studying the performance of applications in order to set a threshold. In case this threshold is surpassed, the monitoring tool generates a real time alert. The IT department thus needs to first figure out how many processes need constant monitoring based on which the threshold can be set.

Monitoring of Multiple & Complex Applications
If an organization has global users then the applications may become very complex. This is due to the fact that applications have to support multiple locations, languages and cultures. For effective application monitoring of such global applications, understanding the interconnectivity of the applications and their flow becomes necessary.

Monitoring Shared Applications
Applications are often shared in order to have optimum utilization of resources. Monitoring a single application is a relatively simple task. But when an application is shared, application monitoring becomes a challenge in which logs, memory, disk resources etc. need to be tracked constantly. For example, one single application sucking up all the resources would affect other applications and thereby pull down their performance. Only a perfect APM solution combined with rigorous monitoring can spot this problem and resolve it.

Clustered Application Monitoring
Applications are many a times hosted in clustered environments with systems located at separate places. This poses a challenge in application monitoring of tracking failure logs, resources like disk, memory etc. Only after monitoring these various components can the IT team determine which application is causing the problem.

To overcome all these challenges of application monitoring, a strong monitoring tool is required. There are many service providers available in the market, which offer APM solutions including application monitoring, which help ensure that service level agreements are met. Hiring only the best APM solution provider can help simplify the monitoring process and also meet all the challenges of application monitoring.

5 Tips for Effective Application Monitoring of your Business Applications

Application monitoring of business applications ensures that any problem can be apprehended before it starts affecting end users. Monitoring also ensures application performance so that business activity keeps running smoothly. In spite of its importance however, many organizations do not take action until a serious problem occurs that impacts business efficiency badly. The following are 5 tips for application monitoring that are recommended by industry experts:

PLAN IN ADVANCE
In case of a new application or software, application monitoring needs to begin right from the initial assessment phase. In many cases, application monitoring alone might not be enough and may require additional time, support and resources to make it effective.

MONITOR PROACTIVELY
As mentioned before, many organizations ignore the monitoring of applications until a serious problem occurs which affects their business output or revenues. Application monitoring should be a proactive, all-time effort, so that the IT team can foresee and deal with problems before they start affecting end users. Proactive monitoring can be done by observing the threshold values of IT infrastructure like CPU memory, bandwidth, application health parameters etc. If it exceeds the threshold value, the IT team may need to perform a system health check to prevent problems.

CREATE A SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT
By having a service level agreement in place, organizations can emphasize the scope of application monitoring. A written agreement provides the IT team with the requirements as well as measurement techniques for monitoring. The IT team can work in advance to create a recovery plan which can help meet the service level agreement.

HAVE A RECOVERY PLAN READY
Ideally, an organization should have a recovery plan handy so that minimum time is wasted in correcting errors. This way, in case of application failure, the steps for recovery are planned well in advance so that if and when an error occurs, it can be swiftly rectified without a major impact on the bottom line.

HIRE A PROFESSIONAL
Application monitoring is a tough task; hiring a professional for the task can make the process simple and easy. There are niche companies in the market today which offer specialized APM solutions including application monitoring which can help businesses avoid downtime and prevent end users getting affected. With the guidance of such experts, organizations can ensure that applications are always available, healthy and performing optimally.