Service Level Agreements: Reporting And Automation

Service level agreement is not so technical as it may seem; it can actually help boost end-user or even customer satisfaction through ensuring compliance of the terms and conditions that have been determined for services provided by the IT department.

On a larger scale, service level agreements are good indicators of the performance of your system. These agreements can also help you figure out if the services being provided are in compliance with requirements. If the requirements are set or determined in consonance with the business development team, then your service level agreement can help facilitate loyalty of your customers through ensuring their needs are met.

Ensuring service level agreement (SLA) directives are met can result in several advantages, including:

> Defining and outlining expected standards of service; both from the side of the vendor, and that of the customer

> Ensuring and measuring compliance of IT services being provided

> Help define benchmarks and quality standards

> Help define process and implementation better

> Setting clear rules and making expectations easier to understand

> Helps goal-setting

Application performance monitoring and the SLA

Your application monitoring tool can help you monitor service level agreement compliance. Some tools will also provide service level reporting, which in turn can help you monitor service level agreement compliance. One of the advantages of choosing a tool that can help monitor SLA compliance is that it will ensure your systems run smoothly and with lesser disruptions. Some tools also have reporting levels to align the customer's perspective with IT goals and deliverables. These tools not only monitor individual components and services, they also help address the need to enforce the SLA directives.

A service level agreement need not be taken as a proverbial sword hanging over the heads of the IT personnel. Judiciously used, it works as an effective means of communicating expectations from the customer perspective to those in charge of managing the technical details.

The ideal performance testing tool

Service level agreements can also help ensure regular review and maintenance so that bugs are caught before they have caused severe damage. Service level reporting can prove to be extremely useful when it generates the necessary results in the stipulated time frame. Alerts are a necessary component of reporting as they bring to notice issues and problems, thus initiating troubleshooting wherever needed. Comprehensive performance testing tools approach the need for a service level agreement to be implemented across an organization. An SLA that is implemented across all of the systems in a business helps implement consistent performance and ensure smoother operations across the organization. Further, you can choose advanced options that allow you to test applications in a manner similar to that of an end user. This includes testing transaction time, response time, other factors such as ease of access, etc.

About the Author:

Tevron develops and delivers Application Monitoring Solutions, Service Level Agreement, IT Service Management, and end to end performance monitoring system available globally. Tevron has also successfully delivered enterprise Application Monitoring Solutions and Testing solutions to support every IT enterprise application to hundreds of customers across the globe. Tevron's solutions designed to support diverse environments, business processes and applications with a service oriented management.

Ensuring an Effective Service Level Agreement

Drafting a Service Level Agreement (SLA)? Make sure it is an effective one. An SLA will set the standards for the service quality and the route taken to achieve it. Service Level Agreements can be complicated to establish and if not well-defined, prone to non-compliance as well.

Outlining or Defining expectations

As a first step, defining the basic expectations from the project is important. After the project expectations are listed out clearly, the vendor can also decide whether or not they can be met. Both, the client and the vendor need to spell out the expectations in the beginning of the Service Level Agreement and the ability to meet them.

Defining the process

The client can also define the process they would like to be followed. This must be spelled out in the beginning of the Service Level Agreement; if pursued later, it can be dismissed as a communication lapse. Defining the process is important if the client wants the project to be executed a certain way. It can also help clear out confusions regarding client expectations and pave the way for clearer outlining of goals.

The meeting point

The Service Level Agreement should also serve as a meeting point, ideally. SLAs are primarily the bridge between the technical team creating the solutions and the business team representing customer needs. Only when both reach a meeting point, can the solution be termed as an effective one. The SLA needs to be drafted keeping in mind goals that are achievable in terms of IT services management. At this point, the agreement also needs to be reviewed and any omissions or changes addressed.

Service Level Agreement And Its Significance

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is an important document that records specifics of a deliverable or project from inception to end.

Service Level Agreements are significant sources of data and information, including keeping track of goals met and conditions not fulfilled. An SLA is a necessary component in cases where critical projects and final-stage deliverables are handed over to an external vendor.

While drafting an SLA might be more of a norm than exception, when you draft a Service Level Agreement, you set down rules that determine how work will be measured and performance be monitored nd measured. Further, SLA will also eventually determine the quality of services provided by the vendor.

Why do I need one?

It's a good idea to create a Service Level Agreement because it does not leave anything to chance or expectations. An SLA brings together parties involved in an agreement, outlining details involving work, resources and deadlines. Typically, an SLA will outline in writing the expectations and the responsibilities of both parties. Thus, while the party that needs the work done has a clear idea of what it will be receiving, while the vendor or party that will execute the project provides the customer with a true estimate of its capabilities.

In this manner, the expectations of services and work to be received are legally bound and no longer open to individual interpretation. Thus, one party cannot tell the other that it is not doing work properly, or that work is not going as per schedule. In terms of high-value contracts, where significant amounts of money change hands, an SLA can prevent miscommunication and misunderstanding. Thus, a Service Level Agreement protects the interests of involved parties in the agreement.

Elements of a Service Level Agreement

Typically, an SLA will contain two kinds of elements: the service element and the management element. Service elements include:

- Availability and provision of customer requirements. In the case of a particular service being unavailable, the vendor may propose an alternate, which can then be assessed for feasibility

- Costs for different services and requests

- Deadline and timeframe for processing the request is also part of the SLA

- Outlining troubleshooting or steps to be taken in case of requirements not being met

Management elements include:

- Clearly defined procedures and processes, including mutually agreed-upon methods

- A dispute-resolution process in the case of conflict

- A clause that provides protection from third-party litigation that may arise out of failure to adhere to agreement

About the Author:

Tevron develops and delivers powerful and comprehensive Application Monitoring Solutions, Service Level Agreement, End to End Performance, and Automated Testing Solutions available globally. One of it's solutions, APM solution, addresses Service Level Agreement enforcement for all applications in an organization. APM solution also helps to regularize SLA reporting. Tevron's solutions are scalable, flexible, and easy to maintain; they are also designed to support diverse environments, business processes and applications with a service oriented management.

Fortune-100 Energy Company Selects Tevron for its APM Requirements

Nashua, NH. USA - December 22, 2010 - Tevron, the leader in IT performance and availability monitoring solutions, announced today that one of the nation’s largest combination utilities providing electric and natural gas service to over 7 million customers, deployed a 575 desktop configuration of CitraTest APM (http://www.tevron.com/citratest-apm.asp) for the monitoring and testing of their call center SAP infrastructure hosted via Citrix.

Tevron was selected based on its powerful & flexible IT monitoring technology that fully supports their very complex SAP and Citrix environment. Having one solution that intelligently supports this environment is invaluable. Unlike the products from other vendors, Tevron offers a tightly integrated, simplified and scalable solution that meets the needs of their business.

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.

© 2010 Tevron, LLC. all rights reserved.

For more information:
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Phone: +1 702.518.7435

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Ensure that your monitoring system has these components

A strong monitoring system is required for all the businesses which deliver their products and services through applications. Constant and consistent monitoring of all applications in your organization will ensure that service level agreement conditions are upheld. If you are looking for a monitoring system for your business applications, you need to ensure that all your business requirements are met with. Some important components of a good monitoring system are as follows:

• Monitoring from the end users’ perspective
  
  A good monitoring system considers all the factors which affect the end users’ experience from not only within the firewalls but from outside them as well. The IT team can not only ensure that end users have a smooth experience by eliminating all problems in applications, they can also meet service level agreement conditions through such a monitoring system.
  
• Monitoring from end to end
  
  Your monitoring system needs to not only point out that there is an error in applications, it also needs to guide the IT team to where the problem lies exactly. Look for an appropriate monitoring system which monitors all processes from end to end. This will make the process easy for your IT department and help you with fulfilling the service level agreement terms. You should also support your monitoring system with a good performance testing tool, which will help you improve the performance of your applications.
  
• Ease of use
  
  Ensure that your monitoring system is easy to use, so that it doesn’t take up a lot of time of your staff in deployment and analysis. If the tool you deploy is too complicate or time consuming, it will fail to serve its purpose as an independent tool.
  
• Reliable
  
  If you want a monitoring system for the long run, look for an experienced service provider, which provides customized solutions. Getting a reliable tool from the beginning will ensure that you are able to meet end user expectations and are well equipped for future performance problems as well. The combination of a strong monitoring system with regular performance testing will ensure that you meet all service level agreement terms with ease.

There are a lot of service providers in the market today which provide reliable monitoring systems for small and mid-sized businesses. Search for a reputed service provider who will become your long term partner in solving application performance issues.

Performance testing: Importance and objectives to keep in mind

Organizations which depend on applications for mission critical activities are increasingly turning to performance testing to overcome bottlenecks. Through effective performance testing, such small and mid-sized businesses can evaluate whether their application performance is up to the established standards. It also helps them in avoiding down time which affects bottom lines of their business. Such a defined performance testing process ensures that all service level agreement conditions are met. The following are some importance and objectives of performance testing to keep in mind.

Importance of Performance Testing

• If mission critical activities depend on applications, performance testing improves the overall quality of services which are provided


• Performance testing is needed to make sure that all applications are running on time so that end users do not face any problem and have a smooth and satisfactory experience


• It also helps in meeting the terms of the service level agreement


• Clients can be satisfied by providing them with a fast and reliable application through performance testing of all important applications

Objectives of Performance Testing

• Helps when IT teams need to compare the performance of multiple applications


• Performance testing minimizes application costs


• Enables faster response time of applications


• Is useful in spotting application bottlenecks and solving them


• Helps in meeting service level agreement terms


• Through performance testing, IT teams can meet application criteria set by a company and its clients

The importance of performance testing in a business setup cannot be over stressed. Most of the small and mid-sized businesses have started using customized packages from experienced vendors for testing their applications. Spotting the need for custom performance testing solutions, a lot of APM vendors have also entered the market. A customized performance testing solution will not only help in spotting and eliminating application performance issues, it will also help with service level agreement conditions.

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.

Service Level Agreements: Some features and advantages

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is an important step for establishing a business engagement. When a Service Level Agreement is signed between a vendor and a client, it contains the parameters which will guide the business relationship. A SLA defines the deliverables, priorities, responsibilities and guarantees/warranties associated with the services provided. Service Level Agreements are particularly important for IT service vendors, as buyers specifically look for vendors who define the terms and conditions and roadmap for achieving the deadline of the project from the start. Having established standards and procedures to follow will also allow effective IT service management and performance testing for all business applications. Vendors who wish to get outsourcing projects from IT companies need to have a strong Service Level Agreement to convince them to outsource to them. Forming, tracking and managing SLAs is also an important aspect of the business engagement.

The IT service industry gives particular importance to a Service Level Agreement in all its contracts. Critical business functions depend on softwares and a single malfunction in IT operations can severely damage the bottom line and business functionality. It is hence very important to have a defined process and strict rules to ensure that the promised IT services will be delivered. A Service Level Agreement helps define these processes and regulated the business engagement. It not only helps in IT service management, but is also a good tool for performance testing.

Features of a good Service Level Agreement

A Service Level Agreement is generally customized according to a client’s requirement and hence differs from client to client. However, an effective SLA has some common key aspects. 5 of the most important aspects an SLA should include are:

• Definition what services are being provided


• What the measurement criteria for services will be


• Method of delivery of services


• Action to be taken if the provider fails to deliver as promised


• What the quality standards of the services will be

Advantages of having a SLA

The vendor and the client both benefit from having a Service Level Agreement in place before the start of the project. Some of the important advantages a SLA are:

• Documented evidence of business engagement


• Defines what the quality expectation will be


• Defines the implementation of the agreement


• Becomes a referring point in case of disagreement between both parties


• Gives a standard against which the quality of the services can be measured


• The goals and methodology are clarified from the start

Want to undertake performance testing for your business applications? Importance and objectives you should know

Performance testing is being increasingly undertaken by organizations which depend on applications for critical business activities. Such performance testing of applications can help evaluate how the applications are performing and are crucial for avoiding downtime in mission-critical applications. IT teams can ensure that all applications being tested are available on time so that the bottom line of the organization is not affected by outages. Such availability can also ensure that all service level agreement conditions are met. For you to test the performance of your business applications, you need to know why you require it and what objectives performance testing can achieve for your organization.

Performance Testing: Importance


• Performance testing of all business critical application is important as it helps in improving the overall quality of services provided


• It is only through performance testing that you can ensure that all applications are available so that the end users have a smooth and satisfactory experience when buying your products or services


• Testing is also important if you want to meet all the terms mentioned in the service level agreement


• You can also avoid facing bottlenecks which hamper your business growth. Testing of applications ensures that all problems are solved before the applications go into the production stage


• Performance testing of applications helps meet the expectations of clients for a fast and reliable application
  

Performance Testing: Objectives


• Comparing the performance of two or more applications


• Analyzing the bottlenecks in applications and creating a plan for solving them


• Minimizing the costs through performance testing


• Reducing the response time of applications


• Meeting service level agreement conditions


• Ensuring that all applications meet the criteria set by the organization and its clients


• Eliminating any error or malfunctions in all applications before they go into the production stage

A majority of organizations which use applications for revenue-generating activities have realized the importance of performance testing and are using the appropriate tools which help them maintain the heath of their applications. Until a few years ago, multiple testing solutions were required for different applications. But with the rising popularity of performance testing, APM solution providers now provide integrated tools which cover all applications across an organization. There are many professional APM solution providers which can provide a customized performance testing tool for your organization, with which you can optimize the performance of all applications. This will not only help you meet service level agreement conditions, but will also prevent downtimes in critical applications.

Does your monitoring tool have these 4 features?

A good monitoring tool is very useful for businesses which conduct their business-critical activities with the help of various applications. It helps in knowing whether their application’s performance is up to the mark or not. However, many business owners and IT heads struggle to find a monitoring system which is suitable to their business and meets all their requirements. Ideally, any monitoring tool which helps in preventing bottlenecks in the applications and prevents losses should be enough for monitoring applications within the organization. However, there are some features which your monitoring tool should have, which will make it a strong one. The following are some of them:

1. It should support all applications within the business

Until some time ago, application monitoring tools were created specifically for only a few popular applications. This required businesses to deploy multiple monitoring systems for them to be able to monitor all applications that were in use. This was an expensive and tedious task. There was a demand for a single monitoring tool, which would cover all applications across the organization. As a result, APM vendors have now come up with a single tool, which would reduce costs as well as efforts. Such a monitoring tool will help in ensuring that service level agreements are met and the business is managed efficiently.

2. The monitoring tool should be able to give real time alerts

Does the monitoring system you are considering provide real time alerts related to the availability and performance of your applications? If the answer to that question is no, then you should consider some other monitoring tool. In case of business-critical applications, you require real-time alerts if the application has a problem or if the response time is high. A good monitoring system will not only help IT managers in establishing a threshold, it will also provide real-time alerts in case those thresholds are crossed. This will also help in IT service management of your business.

3. It should provide proactive and consistent application monitoring

Monitoring of business-critical applications should be a proactive and consistent activity. A monitoring tool which helps in proactively monitoring applications can help in spotting as well as overcoming bottlenecks before they start affecting end users. Such a monitoring system will help in ensuring that all applications are available 24/7, so that the bottom line is not affected by application downtimes. Businesses can also avoid breaches in service level agreement conditions with such a monitoring tool.

4. The monitoring tool should not intrude on the business environment

The best monitoring system for an organization is one which is non-intrusive to the production environment. When you are looking for a good tool, inquire about one which excludes installation of any element on the database servers. Not only will such an independent monitoring tool help in reducing down time and improving application performance, it will also make IT service management easier for the system managers.

Thinking of undertaking performance testing? Some objectives to keep in mind

Performance testing helps businesses and IT departments to ensure that their systems perform optimally under particular loads. This is especially useful in cases where the applications are critical to the bottom line of the business. Through performance testing, IT professionals can determine how applications perform in certain pre-determined conditions. They can also solve bottlenecks which hamper business service management goals. Performance testing is hence vital in ensuring that all applications are available, stable and speedy when put under load and that service level agreement conditions are met.

Since testing is vital for IT service management, it is crucial to keep its overall objectives in mind when testing your applications. Various performance testing objectives to keep in mind are:

• Improving application performance


• Solving application bottlenecks


• Ensuring that business applications uphold certain standards


• Comparing application performance for two applications


• Minimizing response times of applications


• Assessing the stability and performance of applications


• Ensuring that end users have a smooth experience


• Conforming to the established service level agreement conditions


• Minimizing organization costs through performance testing

Businesses which depend on various applications for revenue-generating activities have increasingly started using performance testing tools to ensure that all applications are fully functional at all times. Performance testing is also included in the business service management goals of all such businesses. Until recently, a business required many testing solutions in order to cover all applications used by it. However, now many APM vendors provide performance testing solutions which cover each and every application across the organization, which makes the process uncomplicated and affordable.

Keeping the above-mentioned performance testing objectives in mind will not only help you get clarity while testing your applications, it will also help you in selecting a testing solution which meets all your testing goals.

Developing a Service Level Agreement? Some Steps to Ensure it is an Effective One

Service level agreements are an important part of business engagements between a client and a service provider. They establish the levels of services that the client expects and the service provider delivers. A service level agreement is especially important for businesses which use applications for business-critical activities. A single malfunction affecting the application performance can have a direct impact on the bottom line of the business. A SLA basically sets the expectation for quality of service which is deliverable and creates a roadmap on how to achieve it. In the later part of the service contract, a SLA can help in IT Service Management as well.

That said, establishing a service level agreement is a complicated process, which needs to be handled properly. Some steps for developing an effective SLA are as follows:

Get the Basic Info Right

The first step to developing an effective service level agreement is gathering the basic info. This needs to be done by both the client and the service provider. Both parties need to ensure that the client’s expectations and the service provider’s deliverables match. If this basic information is not collected properly, the service level agreement is meaningless.

Define the Process for Working Together

This is the most important step of developing a service level agreement. There are bound to be differences in the communication style, expectations and working methods between the client and the service provider, which need to be solved at this stage. Only when there is a defined process of overcoming differences, can an effective service level agreement be chalked out. On the basis of the agreed terms, the client can then go ahead with Business Service Management for his/her business.

Consensus

In many cases, the clients and service providers may have a varied viewpoint on what the service level agreement can achieve. Don’t let the negotiations break down due to your strong viewpoint; keep the possibilities of discussion open so you can develop an effective SLA and meet IT Service Management goals. At this stage, iron out all differences of opinion and develop the SLA further.

Develop the SLA

Next comes developing the structure and content of the service level agreement. This will take up some time, as it consists of discussions and negotiations regarding the terms and conditions to be included in the SLA. After the first draft is created, the people who are responsible from the client and service provider’s side need to review and offer suggestions for it. After all the required revisions are made, the service level agreement can be finalized.

Apply the SLA

Once the service level agreement has been applied, its management is also an important aspect. The client and the service provider should elect a member each, who can be the point of contact in case of any problems related to the SLA. In addition to this, reviews of the SLA and modifications and enhancement in services provided should also be taken care of.

Solve Application Performance Bottlenecks Before They Affect End Users

Application performance is perhaps the most important aspect for small or mid-sized businesses which depend on applications for their business. Such businesses have fewer resources and need to make the existing ones work well. It is even more important for small businesses to undertake application monitoring so that bottlenecks in applications can be solved before they start affecting end-users. This is one way of ensuring that application performance is up to the par. Some strategies work really well when application performance needs to be improved before it starts affecting end users. The following are some of them:

Real time view of application performance
The first step IT managers need to take for ensuring application performance is have a monitoring tool through which they can analyze traffic, data flow, transaction details etc. This helps in knowing real time performance of applications as well as the network. If IT managers are able to understand the health of the application and the network, they will be able to pinpoint whether application performance problems are because of the network or due to some other issue. This will also enable proactive application monitoring within the organization. Such real time view of performance of applications will help small business owners in ensuring that business critical applications are always performing optimally.

Transaction monitoring
IT managers can help solve application performance bottlenecks quickly if they are monitoring application transactions. Having a detailed look into transactions can help IT managers know exactly what went wrong and solve the problem quickly, before the problem starts affecting end-users. Transaction monitoring also ensures that small businesses can meet the ever-demanding service level agreement conditions.

Real time alerts
Small and mid-sized businesses should consider using monitoring tools which give real time alerts in case of problems within the application. IT managers who want to improve application performance will need the help of a strong application monitoring tool. Through the monitoring tool, IT managers can establish certain thresholds of acceptable service levels. Establishing this threshold of performance is a very important step in ensuring that application monitoring is perfect. When application performance falls below this threshold, a real time alert is generated, which lets the IT team know that application performance is not up to the par. Such real time alerts pertaining to application performance can help the IT manager in identifying and resolving bottlenecks before end users are impacted.

For small and mid-sized businesses to survive in this tough market, it is vital that business-critical applications are monitored for performance and that application performance bottlenecks are solved before end users or business is affected. Business owners can choose from some of the many experienced APM service providers and select a strong application monitoring tool which can help them solve application performance issues before they affect end users.

Business Service Management: What It Is And How It Benefits Your Business

All types of businesses today are increasingly becoming reliant on their IT infrastructure to deliver their products and services. However, many times, the business owners and IT managers have a tough time in figuring out how the business's IT infrastructure is performing and how it is affecting business at any given point of time. So how can IT managers ensure that they spot the bottlenecks and know exactly how they are affecting business? The answer to that is business service management (BSM). In this post, we discuss what business service management is and how it can benefit a business.

What Business Service Management Is

Business service management is a methodology of monitoring IT services and understanding its impact on business. Through business service management, IT managers can have an idea where the bottlenecks in IT are and how they are affecting business. They can also understand how IT investment, infrastructure and technology are benefiting the business. It is hence an important element of IT service management. IT managers use BSM solutions to ensure that customer deadlines are met and service level agreement conditions are not breached. BSM solutions hence track, monitor, manage and view the investment and operational part of IT to make sure that they are in the interests of business.

What The Benefits Of Business Service Management Are

Business service management is especially useful to businesses which are dependent on their IT department to provide services to their customers. It is also beneficial to larger companies with huge IT departments and a lot of IT infrastructure. A BSM solution is an integral part of effective IT service management for larger companies. With business service management solution in place, if the system fails, a business owner or IT manager will be able to spot where the error has occurred on a real time basis. He/she will also be able to analyze the reason for the failure later on. With such real-time updates, business managers can analyze the financial aspect of downtime and IT managers can ensure that there is no breach in service level agreements.

The many benefits of using business service management are:

• IT service management becomes easier with a BSM solution
• Ensures that business-critical applications remain available
• IT managers can avoid a breach in service level agreement conditions
• Through business service management, business owners can understand the impact of system failure
• A business service management solution can help reduce losses and improve productivity in business
• With business service management, work can be prioritized according to importance
• A BSM solution helps both business owners and IT managers in figuring out what caused system failure and avoiding such occurrences in the future

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.

Business Service Management and its Benefits

Business Service Management (BSM) helps businesses in understanding how IT services can be used, benefited from and improvised. Through Business Service Management, IT managers can monitor applications so that they can foresee and deal with application outages. In large organizations, in case of an outage, it is important to know exactly which department is going to be affected in order to prevent major impact. IT managers also need to ensure that Service Level Agreement conditions are met by ensuring that all business-critical applications are available and error-free. Business Service Management helps IT managers in doing this by tracking, monitoring and managing the investment and operational part of the information technology to make sure that they are in the interests of business. BSM hence intersects the IT processes with the business processes in order to ensure that the IT infrastructure gives maximum benefit to the business.

Business Service Management solutions are not only useful to IT managers, but also business managers. Business managers can quickly analyze the business impact of downtime and deal with clients accordingly. IT managers can then take action to solve that problem and avoid a breach in Service Level Agreements. Using Business Service Management solutions, IT managers can see on a real time basis, where the problem has occurred and which departments will be impacted by it. With this information, IT managers can then plan on how to resolve the problem and which area to target first. This helps them ensure that conditions of Service Level Agreements are not breached.

Business Service Management helps organizations in many ways:

• Business managers can allocate resources efficiently with the help of BSM
• With a Business Service Management solution, business managers can understand the business impact of system failure
• Service Level Agreement conditions can be met successfully
• The root cause of the problem in any application can be pinpointed and a solution can be found quickly
• A Business Service Management solution can help avoid considerable loss in costs
• Businessmen can alert clients in case there is a critical outage
• IT managers can allot work according to priorities to get the problem solved quickly
• Business Service Management solutions give visibility to IT infrastructure, which can help with better management of business resources

Performance Testing: 3 Tips To Effectively Test Application Performance

Application performance testing is undertaken by companies to determine the performance, availability, speed and reliability of applications. IT departments usually undertake performance testing to note how applications perform under different types of workload. Performance testing of applications is used for different purposes: it can be used to identify performance bottlenecks, to ensure that the applications meet set criteria or to compare the performance of two applications. Performance testing of applications hence helps IT managers in IT service management and also to meet terms of service level agreements by ensuring application availability and reliability.

The following are three tips for performance testing that can make the process easier for you:

1. Set Specific Performance Criteria

Application performance criteria need to be set keeping the end users in mind. Without an idea of their expectations, performance testing may be rendered useless. Take inputs from end users regarding the problems they generally face and what they expect from applications. Companies dealing in various industrial verticals are increasingly using performance testing solutions to ensure that their IT service management meets customer expectations. Only if end user expectations are satisfied can the performance testing activities prove successful.



2. Take the Database into Consideration for Performance Testing

Simultaneous user sessions and their response timings are usually taken into consideration while undertaking performance testing. Load testing is also performed on applications to check the effect of multiple simultaneous user sessions. Such steps are essentially important for companies involved in IT service management. However, the database affects the end user experience drastically. For example, a transaction for a user can be very fast in case it is inserted into a table which is empty; however, the response time deteriorates once the table grows. Taking the database into consideration is hence vitally important for performance testing of applications.



3. Don't Overdo it

You need to take some points into consideration in order to optimize application performance. For example, before even getting involved in performance testing, optimum application performance can be ensured through scalable architecture and strong hardware resources. Performance testing of applications is then done by IT managers to double check that all applications are available according to the service level agreement requirements. However, you should not overdo it. Talk to end users about which parts of the application they use most frequently and concentrate on optimizing those parts for performance. Don't spend more time than required on performance testing of rarely-used application features.

Application Monitoring: Types Of Solutions Available

Organizations in literally all industries today undertake application monitoring for knowing the performance of applications which are critical to their functioning. Through application monitoring tools, an IT administrator can not only know application performance, but can also check for unauthorized access or data theft, if any, within the network. IT administrators can also ensure that service level agreement terms are met by ensuring that all applications are performing impeccably. However, with today's businesses becoming more complicated and using multiple applications across various levels, it has become tough to get visibility into all applications and network technologies within the business. Such complex applications can be monitored through a custom-made application monitoring solution which covers the entire organization. But for the monitoring to be accurate and complete, the type of application monitoring needed must be identified. The following are the types of monitoring available for various applications:

1. Monitoring for Security



Business applications now have a global connection, and hence need to be monitored for security. Application monitoring for security ensures that the application, database as well as servers are implemented with security patches. Software products generally include a security warning, which needs to be studied and implemented in order to ensure that security standards are complied with and the application is safe from hackers. Generally, application monitoring tools are equipped to ensure that applications are updated with the latest versions of softwares. Security monitoring helps administrators with IT service management and also helps them avoid ongoing security threats through newsletters and other mediums.

2. Application Monitoring for Errors



An error in any application can result in failure to submit or display the requested information. In such a case, end users are the ones who are severely impacted. Such errors can be resultant to software problems related to the application like its code or the data base or servers. Problems can also arise due to hardware-related issues of CPU processing, network or memory. In such a scenario, application monitoring for errors is undertaken, which can pinpoint the cause for the error. Custom-made application monitoring tools are available today, which take into account the architecture of the application, platform, error messages, documentation etc. Error monitoring in applications is especially important in companies involved in IT service management.

3. Performance Monitoring



Application monitoring is also undertaken to judge performance of application, so that a good end user experience can be ensured. Application performance can be judged by monitoring the code of the application, which determines that a certain number of actual user requests can be handled. Application monitoring for performance is also derived from the supporting hardware, which provides capabilities for handling user requests through memory, processing etc.
Application monitoring can determine the performance of applications by noting the time taken for access and request processing in the logs. One can judge the actual user experience by sending requests to applications for different location and then observing the real response time.

4. Health Monitoring



Application health monitoring helps IT professionals foresee any problems and solve them before they start affecting end users. Application health needs to be constantly monitored so that any issues can be solved before they become major problems. Application monitoring for health consists of comparing snapshots of system and application parameters to the standard benchmarks. Hence, IT professionals may, as part of application health monitoring, set up alerts in case response time for transactions increases more than the normal level.

5. Configuration Monitoring



IT professionals can avoid untested and undocumented configuration elements through configuration monitoring for applications. Releases of new applications and operating system changes can affect hardware as well as software configuration of any machine. In this scenario, IT professionals need to monitor each configuration change for any unauthorized change. The best application monitoring for configuration is a process within which change is implemented only on approval by authorized personnel. Through such application monitoring, the person in charge is always aware of the changes that have taken place in the configuration.

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.