8 Best APM Tools Available (And The Reasons You Should Consider Using One)

Mar 23, 2022
apm tools

Between network issues, server maintenance, and customer support the process of maintaining an application on the web isn't easy. But there are only certain hours to go in one day.

APM is a system that offers unified monitoring, tracking and analysis for both the frontend as well as the backend for an app. The information provided by APM helps detect and rectify issues to ensure the highest possible user experience.

In this post, we'll explain precisely what is an APM tool does and the reasons it is important to use one.

Then we'll take a look at the most effective solutions on the market currently, which includes a variety of open source alternatives. There's plenty of material to cover, so let's dive right in!

APM and APM Tools: Introduction APM as well APM Tools

APM refers to Application Performance Management. APM is also known as Monitoring of Application Performance Monitoring particularly lately.

Though the two terms are commonly used interchangeably, there is an important technical distinction between management and monitoring. Management is a more involved job than monitoring. Monitoring typically means automated, regular scans of apps on the web.

The data is then used to identify, diagnose, and resolve issues so as to enhance the user experience. APM tools are the software packages used to collect and evaluate all the data.

The Essential Elements of APM

The APM sector is a wide one. Many firms offer software that can technically be described as APMs. It's become unclear enough that research firm Gartner has created a list of requirements that software must satisfy to be eligible for the term.

The original definition included five elements that were essential to the definition:

  • Monitoring of the experience of end-users
  • App runtime architecture identification and modeling
  • Profiles of user-defined transactions
  • Application component monitoring
  • Analytics and reporting on application data

But that's an extremely specific definition that's not always the case, and the field is always changing. Then, a couple of years later Gartner revised its guidelines and reduced the guidelines down to three fundamentals:

  • Monitoring digital experiences
  • Discovery, tracking, and diagnostics
  • Built-in purpose Artificial Intelligence (AI) for IT operational processes

The new list is more understandable in a practical sense.

Digital experience monitoring is a reference to the user interaction your users have using your app. Are they content with the way everything works? Are they experiencing issues getting into issues and issues? An APM tool can help to identify the issues.

Tracing and discovery of applications and diagnostics are exactly what it is: exploring the intricacies of your software to discover and pinpoint potential flaws.

In the end, artificial intelligence is commonly used in order to support the automation of these processes.

These are the core elements you'll want to look for when considering any APM solution.

Why You Should Be Using an APM Tool

A APM tool provides a single platform where you can monitor and manage the entire suite of apps and programs. It is a single platform that can offer a massive boost in productivity and efficiency.

Additional benefits of having APMs include: APM include:

  • Faster development cycles
  • Greater confidence in the deployment of new software

In other words, APM doesn't just benefit the customer, but also you too. A win-win situation for everyone involved.

3 Examples of APM In the course of

If you're wondering how this translates to real-world commercial use, here's three organizations that are implementing APM in a positive way:

  • Cornell University found itself in an somewhat of a dilemma: a mission-critical software system used by the university was crashing several times a week due to the complexity of transactions. By leveraging APM instruments, Cornell was able to quickly identify the bottlenecks and drastically reduce processing times for user complaints.
  • Alaska Airlines deployed APM to help optimize its complicated cloud-based systems as well as maintain customer satisfaction. APM tools helped the company reduce critical outages and other issues by 60%, and catch problems before they had an opportunity to affect the user experience.

APM instruments can be employed to solve a variety of scenarios that can help you achieve various goals. Whatever your business might do there's a good chance you could apply APM to help you.

How APM Benefits WordPress Users

APM tools are able to be leveraged to benefit all platforms.

It allows you to swiftly solve issues and ensure an outstanding user experience on your website. APM tools can be used to fix issues quickly. APM tools to debug slow-loading pages as well as identify unnecessary procedures that may be creating high overhead and server strain.

The majority of APMs will work with WordPress installations. However, some offer features more specifically tailored to particular platforms.

In our following list.

What is the best APM Tool

Below are some things that are essential in any APM tool that you are considering:

  1. Comprehensive monitoring of business transactions, infrastructure, users' experience and performance of the network.
  2. The best analytics and reporting available on the same dashboard.
  3. Ability to dig deep into the data.

Beyond that, the cost of purchase is a factor. Some of these tools specifically designed for enterprise use, can be expensive. However, when looking at the cost, be sure to take into account the cost savings that you'll earn by boosting productivity and reducing downtime.

It's Free APM Tool

APM gives you insight regarding the slowness of PHP transaction, MySQL queries, external requests, and so on. APM was designed specifically to monitor WordPress websites. You can utilize it to swiftly identify problematic plugins and themes.

Watch the video below to learn more about how to use this APM tool to troubleshoot performance issues on your site.

The 8 Top APM Tools

Now that the initial steps are out of the way We've compiled our recommendations of the top APM tools on the market. There is something that are suitable for all, from tiny businesses and developer teams all the way up to massive enterprises.

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Five premium tools are included in addition to three free and open-source options to ensure that every budget is also covered.

Beginning Price Free Trial Standout Feature Who is it for
Datadog $31/month 14 days The clear visualization of performance data Small-scale business
Loupe $50/month 30 days A powerful web-based client IT and Enterprise specialists
AppDynamics At your request 15 days Business insights based on data Enterprise
Stackify Retrace $79/month 14 days App scores to quickly gauge efficiency Software developers
New Relic $99/month Free plan limited to a certain amount Monitoring of WordPress specifically for power Businesses that are based on WordPress
Stagemonitor Free N/A Web-based widget to monitor the process of development Java-based developers
Scouter Free N/A Alternative to FOSS AppDynamics Small business
Pinpoint Free N/A The broad data overview and all the way to transaction transparency at code level Enterprise

We'll take a review of each APM tool now.

1. Datadog

datadog
Datadog APM. Datadog APM.

Datadog features robust monitoring of the user experience, enabling you to monitor time-to-market, transactions as well as other. Additionally, it provides alerts of any issues that occur across the system of software.

The most appealing feature of Datadog is the way it displays the performance. The customizable dashboard enables you to design your own surveillance system, which gives you visibility into what you need for when you require it.

Prices for Datadog begins at just $30/month per host. There's an array of packages and add-ons and you'll be able to make sure that you are getting all the features you require. It also has a 14-day no-cost trial period available. Its affordable pricing and ease of use makes it a great APM for companies of all sizes.

2. Loupe

loupe
Loupe APM. Loupe APM.

Loupe is designed primarily for enterprise customers and IT experts, however its speed of setup and ease-of-use make it a decent option even for small-sized businesses.

Even though it's not as comprehensive as many applications as some similar APM software, Loupe offers all the essentials you'd expect to find in the APM suite. What's more, it does stand out from the rest with some unique features.

Loupe costs $49 monthly with the basic Plan, with enterprise solutions beginning with 500 dollars per month. It also has a free 30-day trial, which means it's possible to test the software on a test run before making a decision.

3. AppDynamics

The AppDynamics APM
The AppDynamics APM

The standout features of AppDynamics are the extremely visible and high-quality service even in challenging environments, and its AI-powered technology for detecting performance problems and bottlenecks and promptly correcting these.

Beyond that, AppDynamics offers the usual characteristics that are typical of an APM suite, including infrastructure, applications, and end-user monitoring. It can also provide suggestions and business insight using performance information to create the business results.

What's more, this solution is supported by company that makes software Cisco. So you don't have to worry about poor service or lack of updates.

AppDynamics offers a 15-day free trial. Then, prices are accessible upon inquiry. It can be quite expensive (in the thousands-of-dollars-per-year range), so it's probably best suited for enterprises and medium-to-large sized businesses.

4. Stackify Retrace

Stackify Retrace APM
The Stackify Retrace APM.

Retrace from Stackify is an APM tool specifically made for developers. It detects and monitors any bugs or bottlenecks. It then transmits notifications to your preferred channel of choice for example, SMS or Slack.

Additionally, it combines all the logs you have into a place, making it easier to look over them. The most impressive feature they offer is the app's performance score. This allows you to get a brief overview of how the app runs.

Stackify Retrace offers a 14-day free trial. Following that, pricing starts at $79 monthly.

5. New Relic

New Relic - APM tools
The Relic New APM.

New Relic is a powerful APM tool that bills its self as an "observability platform". It lives up to that assertion: one of the most notable features is the transparent visualization for your entire application stack.

6. Stagemonitor

Stagemonitor - APM tools
The Stagemonitor APM.

Stagemonitor is an Java-specific APM which is designed specifically to be used in web-based apps. It's a little more limited than the other options listed on this list. If you're working mostly using Java-based applications, Stagemonitor might just be your solution.

Best of all, Stagemonitor is free and Open Source Software (FOSS). In other words you won't pay a thing to use.

7. Scouter

scouter
The Scouter APM.

Scouter bills itself as an FOSS replacement to AppDynamics. It's not certain if it does what it claims to, but it's still a solid and well-rated APM tool that doesn't cost you a dime to make use of (while AppDynamics doesn't even list a price on its website).

It's not the most beautiful software we've ever seen, but it does cover the essentials requirements of an APM tool. It includes user activity, resource metrics, and response time. Scouter is a FOSS APM tool, which means there's no cost to use it.

8. Pinpoint

pinpoint
The Pinpoint APM.

The main strength of this application is the powerful overview it gives, demonstrating how the various components of your application stack integrate and function. Pinpoint additionally provides transparent transaction monitoring at the code-level, as well as the ability to set up monitoring with no code changes.

As Pinpoint is a free program, it doesn't cost you a dime to try it out.

Summary

Whether you're trying to streamline the IT budget, ease the workload for your support team or just provide the best possible user experience, APM tools will assist.

It's a highly competitive field and choosing the right method for the job could be difficult.

If you are looking to find the APM tool that can provide the basics, you should be off to a strong start:

  1. Comprehensive monitoring for customer experience, transactions, infrastructure, and the response time.
  2. The capability to dive deeply into that data.
  3. A robust dashboard for tracking analytics and reports.

Are you having any concerns regarding application performance management? Let us know in the comment section below!

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