Including a performance testing in your IT infrastructure means, first and foremost, maintaining control over what is actually happening from the user’s point of view. In addition to this, other undoubted advantages include always having the actual use of resources under control and being able to anticipate potential problems in overall performance.
However, moving from intentions to action is decidedly less straightforward. In a scenario that is already complex by definition, the speed of change and the distribution of IT resources and services make the task difficult for those who want to implement an effective APM project.
Although, compared to its origins, Application Performance Monitoring now has to contend with cloud, mobility, IoT, and other factors responsible for increasing complexity, its objectives remain unchanged. On the one hand, it is about ensuring that users enjoy the highest quality when using applications and performing their tasks. On the other hand, it is about allowing administrators to continuously monitor the IT infrastructure in order to prevent overloads, crashes, or other situations that could compromise productivity.
An APM system must therefore monitor applications first and foremost, but also servers, storage systems, connectivity, and security. In short, it is an analysis activity very similar to that of an advanced business intelligence system, where the use of Artificial Intelligence for forecasting purposes is increasingly the norm.
Understand Application Performance Monitoring
Application Performance Monitoring is an essential component to manage the IT infrastructure and ensure the highest quality in application usage. It is not limited to application control, but extends monitoring to servers, storage, connectivity and security systems, functioning as an advanced business intelligence system. It uses Artificial Intelligence for forecast analysis, helping to prevent overloads and other problems that can compromise productivity. An APM strategy is therefore critical to maintain control of the IT infrastructure and ensure application performance, especially in a complex and rapidly evolving IT scenario.
What is APM and differences with Application Performance Management
APM, or Application Performance Monitoring, is a strategic tool for monitoring and managing application performance. It makes it possible to assess the actual use of resources and to anticipate potential problems in overall performance. The ability of APM to keep the IT infrastructure –from applications to servers and storage systems – in check makes it indispensable for companies that rely on complex software. APM, through data collection and analysis, provides a comprehensive overview of performance, significantly contributing to the stability and efficiency of business applications. Application Performance Management, for its part, can be considered as a more organizational and managerial aspect. It also typically has dedicated tools and software, but is primarily focused on end-to-end control of applications.
Why Application Performance Monitoring is important
The importance of APM in the enterprise IT environment lies in its ability to ensure maximum quality for the end user. Through monitoring the performance of applications and related IT resources, APM allows problems to be identified and resolved proactively, avoiding interruptions and ensuring a smooth user experience. This aspect is particularly crucial in an era where software supports business processes and innovation, and application monitoring has direct repercussions on business continuity, making APM a vital tool for maintaining operational competitiveness and efficiency.
Principles of effective application monitoring
Effective Application Performance Monitoring must be based on a few key principles. First, the approach must be holistic, using monitoring tools not only for applications, but also for the entire underlying IT infrastructure, including servers, databases, and the network. This ensures a comprehensive view of the IT ecosystem’s performance. Second, it is essential that APM provides real-time data to enable rapid analysis and response to problems. Another important principle is the ability to predict problems before they happen, through predictive analytics and the use of Artificial Intelligence. Finally, APM should be able to adapt to different IT environments, including cloud and distributed environments, to ensure the scalability and flexibility required in modern infrastructures.
Appropriate tools for monitoring application performance
Choosing the right tools is crucial in APM. They must be capable of collecting in-depth data on application performance, including detailed metrics on insights such as response time, error rate, and resource utilization. They should also support customization to suit specific business needs, allowing you to configure alerts and thresholds so that administrators can be notified promptly in the event of problems. Finally, a good APM tool must integrate seamlessly with other technologies in the IT infrastructure for comprehensive monitoring.
The role of KPIs in APM
Key Performance Indicators are vital in APM for evaluating the effectiveness of performance monitoring. The choice of KPIs should be aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives, allowing critical aspects such as application availability, reliability, and efficiency to be measured. KPIs provide quantifiable insights to identify areas for improvement and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. In addition, they should be used to track progress over time, helping to guide strategic and operational decisions related to the continuous improvement of application performance.
It involves managing a considerable amount of data, if not comparable to the levels achievable by a data warehouse serving the most advanced business analytics, however impossible to control manually. For this reason, it is essential to rely on specific software. The offer is now wide, complete and advanced, so much so that it often requires the support of a partner capable of analyzing the situation and therefore proposing a solution worthy of the task.
This is the ideal terrain on which Sorint.lab has been moving for some time now, with concrete results and expansions confirmed by the feedback obtained. A team of developers, competent and committed on multiple fronts, is in fact essential to guarantee a series of services even when it comes to Application Performance Monitoring.
Faced with a demand for efficiency that is not inclined to compromise, the awareness of being able to exploit the best technologies on the market and count on experts with proven experience and total availability is an added certainty.
The range of options and guarantees offered by Sorint.lab is as wide as few others, especially when it comes to Application Performance Monitoring. It starts from the early stages, with the necessary support in the selection phase and consequent adoption of the right product, to move immediately afterwards to installation and related configuration. Furthermore, if necessary, Sorint.lab can also take care of the delicate migration operation from tools already in use.
Once the migration is completed, it involves developing dashboards, defining personalized alarms and related thresholds according to company directives and user needs.
During the phases of using the software, Sorint.lab experts will also be ready to guide the client towards proactive analysis, as well as ensure immediate support in case of necessary adjustments, or to extend the scope of the project.
Generally speaking, however, some characteristics are still essential. In fact, it is difficult to think of giving up modules capable of measuring the performance of application transactions. In a complex and distributed scenario like the current one, it is also a question of monitoring the performance of application dependencies, up to the code level, so as to obtain a complete picture. On the other front, monitoring in the use of server resources and a centralized application registration system are to be evaluated, in addition naturally to user monitoring.
How to implement an effective APM strategy
Effective implementation of APM cannot ignore the in-depth understanding of business needs and related specific IT challenges, a process that requires identifying critical aspects of IT performance that directly influence User Experience and business operations. An effective APM strategy should consider not only data collection and analysis, but also integration with existing IT infrastructure and applications. As we have seen, it is also essential to clearly identify the KPIs that will guide performance monitoring and evaluation, and choose tools that can offer detailed analysis and useful insights for business decisions.
Identify business needs
Identifying your company’s specific needs is the critical first step in implementing an APM strategy. This step involves analysing the unique characteristics of your IT infrastructure and understanding how applications support critical business processes. It is important to evaluate the complexity of the IT environment, including factors such as cloud, mobility and IoT, and how these influence application performances. Defining specific APM goals, such as improving customer experience or optimizing the use of IT resources, is essential to selecting the most effective tools and metrics.
Select the most suitable APM solution
The selection of the most suitable APM solution must be based on a detailed examination of the different options available. It is crucial to consider the ease of use of the tools, integration with other IT technologies, scalability, and the ability to adapt to various IT environments, including clouds and distributed environments. The chosen solution should provide a complete view of application performance and allow proactive analysis to prevent problems. It is also important that your APM solution seamlessly integrates with your existing IT infrastructure and supports continuous monitoring and timely response to business needs.
Five steps towards Application Performance Monitoring
A good Application Performance Monitoring strategy can be summarized as follows in five steps.
- Identify KPIs: First of all, identify KPIs, i.e. the metrics to follow. Operation not at all simple, but crucial. For example, we are talking about average response times of the various elements, or percentages of use of computing resources to prevent peaks and related restores.
- Track performance: So, you need to be able to track performance in the desired set or place. The relative amount of data can be considerable; therefore, tools and resources are needed that are up to par, capable of identifying anomalies and establishing reference patterns.
- Identify reference standards: Although each organization is different from all the others, it is still important to start from reference standards and establish your own once sufficient data has been collected to paint a detailed picture. Everything today almost certainly takes place in a cloud environment, therefore very distributed and heterogeneous: consequently, even the Application Performance Management modules must know how to adapt, operate in different situations, but provide real-time data to be standardized and optimized according to the relevant analyses.
- Ensuring quality for the end user: Finally, all without losing sight of the real objective of Application Performance Management, which is, to guarantee quality and performance for the end user. Counting on perfectly efficient servers if the user device is unable to access the desired information or complete an operation, is money and time wasted.
The result will allow us to better frame the type of software to be adopted, able to fit into their reality without distorting it and integrate into the IT infrastructure without weighing it down or intervening on business processes. To the benefit of productivity.