Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

App performance '1.0' bad for cloud, SOA: exec

IT development and production environments are not adequately served by current application performance management offerings

The founder and CEO of an application performance management (APM) software vendor said that today's IT development and production environments are not adequately served by what he terms "APM 1.0."

Jyoti Bansal of San Francisco, Calif.-based AppDynamics Inc. said applications are increasingly distributed, given the movement to cloud, virtual and service-oriented architecture (SOA) landscapes. "The whole complexity and the moving parts and dynamics of applications, both in development and in production, are changing very rapidly," said Bansal.

APM tools built eight to 10 years ago -- what he terms "APM 1.0," -- "don't work at all" for modern IT landscapes, said Bansal, because they don't allow the IT admin any insight into how end users are being impacted.

AppDynamics is launching the newest version of its APM tool, with several new functions compared to predecessor, v. 1.0. There is cloud orchestration for dynamic capacity provisioning and complex policy creation in internal and external clouds. A self-learning policy engine adapts to the load and performance demands on business applications.

According to Russ Conwath, senior research analyst, with London, Ont.-based Info-Tech Research Group Ltd. there probably was good reason several years ago to term some vendor offerings as "APM 1.0," but that's changed in recent years with the availability of tools that do work for distributed applications.

Conwath said AppDynamic's offering isn't alone in working across cloud, virtual and SOA environments, although other vendors like Hyperic and Optier may not outright market themselves in that manner.

"That's the nature of APMs, in that they are intended to function in a non-homogeneous, heterogeneous environment," said Conwath. "The technology should be somewhat agnostic."

What might distinguish AppDynamic is that the software works for Java, .Net and SOA environments, said Conwath.

One of the biggest challenges that Bansal has heard from customers is that APMs are typically difficult to implement, often requiring external help be brought in.

The complexity of implementation depends on the robustness of the APM, Conwath pointed out. Having evaluated Optier's software, a higher-end product, Conwath said it might take some consulting time to set up, but that of Hyperic is more capable of scaling.

That said, Conwath has observed vendors in the last year increasingly building tools that are easier to deploy and use, even building in learning engines.

Follow Kathleen Lau on Twitter: @KathleenLau

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: APM

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: application performance management, cloud, soa
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Using Application Control to Reduce Risk with Endpoint Security
    Unwanted applications, like games, result in productivity loss. This is often the primary consideration when applying application control. But unauthorized applications also increase your company’s risks of malware infection and data loss. This paper details how endpoint security solutions that incorporate application control provide the most efficient, comprehensive defense against unauthorized applications.
    Learn more »
  • Protecting Generation Web
    From data privacy to personal safety issues, cyber-bullying, inappropriate content and malware, schools are facing an increasingly difficult task when it comes to allowing young people to spread their online wings without compromising their safety and personal development. The reality that most schools are catering to the needs of mixed age groups and abilities, and it’s easy to understand why a simple stop and block approach won’t work. Learning environments are, by nature, flexible. It stands to reason that the IT resources used in them should be flexible too. Read on.
    Learn more »
  • Implementing Energy Efficient Data Centres
    Electrical power usage is not a typical design criterion for data centers, nor is it effectively managed as an expense. This is true despite the fact that the electrical power costs over the life of a data center may exceed the costs of the electrical power system including the UPS, and also may exceed the cost of the IT equipment. Read on.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments